Drug Addict of 6 years finally clean, what do I do now?

[Vickram]

My title says it all; I really need help and would appreciate any insight offered.

 

Coles notes:

-Was a promising NCAA starting running back at a large university

-Blew out my knee ending my career in a game in freshman year

-Football was all I knew, depressed I closed myself off from everyone

-Had prescriptions for oxycontin after surgery and all alone, depressed, I got hooked fast

-scholarship ended, had no value to football program and lost my residence

-lost complete motivation for school, life and extremely depressed and left school

- When prescriptions for oxy`s ran out, I replaced them with marijuana.

- Spent the last years just smoking from when I wake to when I sleep. At first I was smoking to just forget, but after a while I needed to just to have an appetite and feel right. Did this for almost 6 years.

 

Here I am today. I am 26, all alone and completely depressed.

I`ve pushed away everyone that ever cared about me in my drug induced haze of a past half decade.

I don’t know how, but I`ve managed to kick smoking marijuana. But now I don’t know what to with my life now.

 

I`m 26, and half way through my degree. With no special skill or talent, I know I need to finish that education to have any chance at a decent non labor job. I get depressed thinking about it though. I will be 28 or 29 by the time I finish, and then I will be entering the workforce taking entry level jobs at 30. Thinking about this, and then seeing the successes of my friends and people I know, I get extremely depressed.

I feel like such a loser, I`m older than everyone will be in my classes. I have absolutely zero real friends, having pushed away those who really cared about me and replaced them with loser smoking buddies. I don’t even really like smoking anymore, but just do it because I`m so depressed, alone, bored, etc.

 

I need to get out of this cycle asap. I want to turn my life around, but I need help, I`m not sure even where to start. Sometimes I feel finishing school and approaching 30 is embarrassing and I should just go accept my life and get a average labor type job.

 

Any advice out there? I feel so lost right now. The last 5-6 years all my time and energy was spent either getting high or finding more weed and wasting away in front of the tv. Now tv seems to boring to me, the day seems so long, but I have nothing to do, and I dont know anyone.

[skydiveaddict]

[

Any advice out there? I feel so lost right now. The last 5-6 years all my time and energy was spent either getting high or finding more weed and wasting away in front of the tv. Now tv seems to boring to me, the day seems so long, but I have nothing to do, and I dont know anyone.

 

 

 

 

 

see a dr. get treated for your depression and most important of all:

 

SKYDIVE!

[bornfighter]

Good advice skydiveaddict but I know from personal experience using one drug to treat the cause of another drug doesn't work, At least not in the long run.

 

Vickram, I came here for dating advice but I came across your post and couldn't help but make it my first post lol I see another person just like my self in you except you got farther then I did, I never made it out of high school before I got into weed and drugs and the whole thug life mind state and I wasted my life from age 18-23 now I'm 24 and been clean for over a year n half and just trying to pick up where I left off and I feel like it's a race against time for me to go for my dreams and if it wasn't for my dream of becoming a mma fighter I might be in the same place or dead, So my advice is find something to live for, cause if your anything like me and have a addictive personality you gotta have something in your life that keeps you on track and motivated and as far as depression goto the gym workout take a multivitamin and take pride in being healthy it will most certainly help your depression as drugs are only a short term fix that I believe 90% of people don't need.

 

"get busy living or get busy dying"

[Imnotreal]

My title says it all; I really need help and would appreciate any insight offered.

 

Coles notes:

-Was a promising NCAA starting running back at a large university

-Blew out my knee ending my career in a game in freshman year

-Football was all I knew, depressed I closed myself off from everyone

-Had prescriptions for oxycontin after surgery and all alone, depressed, I got hooked fast

-scholarship ended, had no value to football program and lost my residence

-lost complete motivation for school, life and extremely depressed and left school

- When prescriptions for oxy`s ran out, I replaced them with marijuana.

- Spent the last years just smoking from when I wake to when I sleep. At first I was smoking to just forget, but after a while I needed to just to have an appetite and feel right. Did this for almost 6 years.

 

Here I am today. I am 26, all alone and completely depressed.

I`ve pushed away everyone that ever cared about me in my drug induced haze of a past half decade.

I don’t know how, but I`ve managed to kick smoking marijuana. But now I don’t know what to with my life now.

 

I`m 26, and half way through my degree. With no special skill or talent, I know I need to finish that education to have any chance at a decent non labor job. I get depressed thinking about it though. I will be 28 or 29 by the time I finish, and then I will be entering the workforce taking entry level jobs at 30. Thinking about this, and then seeing the successes of my friends and people I know, I get extremely depressed.

I feel like such a loser, I`m older than everyone will be in my classes. I have absolutely zero real friends, having pushed away those who really cared about me and replaced them with loser smoking buddies. I don’t even really like smoking anymore, but just do it because I`m so depressed, alone, bored, etc.

 

I need to get out of this cycle asap. I want to turn my life around, but I need help, I`m not sure even where to start. Sometimes I feel finishing school and approaching 30 is embarrassing and I should just go accept my life and get a average labor type job.

 

Any advice out there? I feel so lost right now. The last 5-6 years all my time and energy was spent either getting high or finding more weed and wasting away in front of the tv. Now tv seems to boring to me, the day seems so long, but I have nothing to do, and I dont know anyone.

 

Wow man, you sound just like me minus the cool football part..

 

It sounds like blowin your knee wasn't really the problem somethin else was buggin you. Are you married, hows the personal life?

 

You got to just prioritize. ASk what's the most important thing you need.. a job you really love, a girlfriend, kids, money.. whichever it is.. that's all you focus on right now.

 

I was just like you.. graduated college at 28. I'm 36 now, and what you don't realize is people can be like 40 nowdays and still be "new". Our company has them all the time.

 

Where do you live? For me the best thing was to drown myself in work. I didn't want to become some workaholic but it got me out of the drug/loser cycle. Once I got comfortable with that, and money was now steady, I could focus on the real issues.. like dealing with insecurities or problems with women or people, deal with past mistakes.. etc.. but you just take things a step at a time.

 

If you're 45 and still feeling this, then come back and ask again, but you got lot of time. Just chill out and let your natural instincts decide for you.

[mark982]

vick, contrary to your beliefe, your still a young man. quit comparing yourself to other people,and who did this and who got what. you're going to have to dust yourself off and move on. there's ALOT of people who don't clean up their act for decades, hell it took me 25 yrs. of hard core drinking before i straightened myself up. congrats on your being clean,now do the best you can.

[pureveritas]

"With no special skill or talent" ?

 

Give yourself a bit more credit, eh?

You sound resilient , willing to understand your past and move forward in your life positively. That's a skill !

Baby steps.

It won't be a magical ,overnight transformation..

you're young. a plus.

becoming aware. a plus.

willing . a plus.

 

look around you, at school, everywhere...

you'll see "balcony" people and "basement" people. Hang out with the ones in the balcony.

good luck.

[Confused728]

I am 28 and feel the same way! I live at home with family, I didnt finish college i really dont want to go back.. I had three Jobs in past ten years and got laid off because i dont have any special skills, I have relationship problems, but good thing is im smart, i read alot,I have great credit,Always pay bills on time, good looking, have good morals and treat everyone well, I dont have any addictions never did, i dont even like to drink, I guess luck just hasnt been on my side... Im still trying to figure out what to do...I think my only real problem is not having a good job that i like and living at home.. i just dont know what to do.. anyone have advice?

[elle01]

at 26 I entered college for the very first time as a single mother and no support from my family (rather large and no college attendees or graduates)... when I applied they asked for my ACT score but I dropped out of HS in the 11th grade because I was pregnant with my oldest son.. so I barely knew what an ACT was... but I took a residual ACT the day before my classes started and made pretty good. I started my classes as the oldest girl in all the classes... surrounded by sorority girls and jocks (ha ha)!! anyway long story short... four years later I had a degree in Biology and Chemistry (did I mention I was a high school drop out and single mom)?? I did take an entry level teaching position but advanced quickly (not in education) due to hard work...

You are being too hard on yourself... you are not the first person to make a mistake or do something that you regret. Its just life. What is great about it is that you can make it anything you want... but it requires hard work and lots of it.

Once people see you are serious about turning your life around and that you arent going to let them (or yourself) down they will rally around you.. people love the underdog to make it...

You have to accept that you can do it or no one else will believe you... you have the power to be successful.

GOOD LUCK

[Space Ritual]

My title says it all; I really need help and would appreciate any insight offered.

 

Coles notes:

-Was a promising NCAA starting running back at a large university

-Blew out my knee ending my career in a game in freshman year

-Football was all I knew, depressed I closed myself off from everyone

-Had prescriptions for oxycontin after surgery and all alone, depressed, I got hooked fast

-scholarship ended, had no value to football program and lost my residence

-lost complete motivation for school, life and extremely depressed and left school

- When prescriptions for oxy`s ran out, I replaced them with marijuana.

- Spent the last years just smoking from when I wake to when I sleep. At first I was smoking to just forget, but after a while I needed to just to have an appetite and feel right. Did this for almost 6 years.

 

Here I am today. I am 26, all alone and completely depressed.

I`ve pushed away everyone that ever cared about me in my drug induced haze of a past half decade.

I don’t know how, but I`ve managed to kick smoking marijuana. But now I don’t know what to with my life now.

 

I`m 26, and half way through my degree. With no special skill or talent, I know I need to finish that education to have any chance at a decent non labor job. I get depressed thinking about it though. I will be 28 or 29 by the time I finish, and then I will be entering the workforce taking entry level jobs at 30. Thinking about this, and then seeing the successes of my friends and people I know, I get extremely depressed.

I feel like such a loser, I`m older than everyone will be in my classes. I have absolutely zero real friends, having pushed away those who really cared about me and replaced them with loser smoking buddies. I don’t even really like smoking anymore, but just do it because I`m so depressed, alone, bored, etc.

 

I need to get out of this cycle asap. I want to turn my life around, but I need help, I`m not sure even where to start. Sometimes I feel finishing school and approaching 30 is embarrassing and I should just go accept my life and get a average labor type job.

 

Any advice out there? I feel so lost right now. The last 5-6 years all my time and energy was spent either getting high or finding more weed and wasting away in front of the tv. Now tv seems to boring to me, the day seems so long, but I have nothing to do, and I dont know anyone.

 

 

Start going to a 12 step program. Not only will you be able to meet some people there that may have been in a similar situation, but its your best bet to stay clean.

 

How do I know? I was an everyday cocaine user for nearly 25 years. I tried everything from going cold turkey to going into treatment. I never worked a program after I left treatment and I was right back where I started, and even worse.

Not until I decided that I needed to make a true effort in NA/AA did I have success. Last week I celebrated 9 years without a drink or using any drugs. 12 step programs may not be for everyone, but I suggest you give it a shot...and I mean a true shot. search out a temporary sponsor right away if you want to succeed. The biggest part of it will be getting honest with yourself. getting clean is the easy part., remaining clean is what is hard

 

The part of getting clean and/or sober is that the problems you had are still there. You just will have a chance of tackling them in a sober fashion instead of running away from them.

[Confused728]

as an everyday user what are some signs you should look for in a person that might be using? check out some of my other threads lol i have a long story..