Addiction

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Just got back from the funeral home.

I'm not seeking your condolences. Rather, I'm seeking insight.

My first.cousin has been living the hippie lifestyle for as long as I can remember. However, he met a beautiful girl in his youth, married her, and they had two beautiful daughters.
Daughter A is pretty much living a normal life.
Daughter B was the wild child, and followed in Daddy's footsteps, to the nth degree, overdosed several times, and wound up as the guest of honor at tonight's soiree.

Now, I myself had a really good start on an alcohol problem for a short while, many years ago. I had to give up cigarettes after my stepmom developed lung cancer and I knew the moment I heard that she wasn't going to make it. I do have a little understanding of addiction from the inside. But I don't for the life of me understand how one can even take a chance on something so potentially lethal, much less develop an addiction, and not even try to kick it.

To the best of my knowledge this kid never really even tried to break her addiction. If anything, she's been rushing headlong into that casket for half a decade or so. I remember seeing her a couple of years ago and wondering if it had even occurred to her that she was, essentially, a dead woman walking. This was right after an O.D.

So, what do you all think? Is it just impossible for some people to fight it? Is it nature or nurture? Is addiction an illness?

 

[femurphy77]

Uneducated opinion: Nurture builds or lowers your natural defenses allowing you to introduce yourself to harmful lifestyles you would otherwise avoid. Some of those lifestyles can be extremely destructive.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

I very strongly agree with that.

 

[Dean C.]

I am making an assumption here about the choice of drug but "chasing the dragon" or Heroin just seems to do that to people, they don't care of that next high kills them or not they just want that feeling back.

I was watching an HBO documentary about heroin addicts and their dealers literally had a line at 5AM of junkies ready to buy because they were already getting "dope sick" from withdraw. That and I am under the distinct impression junkies aren't as afraid of OD'ing anymore due to the prevalence of Narcan.

 

[Ddillard]

In order to kick an addiction, one has to know that they are addicted. Once they conceive the notion of such, they would then have to acknowledge that there was a problem. Some people are so lost in the now, that they do not have the want nor will to fight back. Then there are those that find it a measure to avoid lifes turmoil. We all have addictions, yet most of us do not let these control our lives. I, myself had the alconol bug that almost destroyed my Navy career. If it weren't for NADSAP, I would have thrown it all away.~~"One Man's Opinion!"

 

[UTL]

I do criminal/drug interdiction when I work at the sheriffs department. For 8-12 hours I do nothing but look for illegal narcotics users/dealers. If I see a car with kids in it, I dont waste my time. If I see someone who is clean cut and alone, I dont waste my time. If I see someone in a vehicle that it looks like they make payments on it, I dont waste my time. You can physically see it in the way that they react to a marked police car that they have dope/warrants in the car.

Illegal narcotics users care about anything but getting high. They can not stay married, keep their kids, hold down a legit job, have a valid drivers license, afford anything of value.

When working a two man car, we average 7-9 traffic stops a shift with 6 felony arrest from warrants or illegal narcotics. Including all LEO's, 450+ narcotic arrest last month in Indianapolis with 45+ people charged with dealing.

I will say that illegal narcotic users are some of the nicest people. They will give another addict half of their food. I also know that when I pull over a car and 3 people admit to using and the 4th one says they are clean, the 4th one is lying.

When I do come across someone that we havent had any interactions with for a few years I ask them what changed. Its always the same thing. "THEY' decided they were done.

Drug of choice in Indy by far seems to be meth, followed by cocaine and then heroin.

 

[flatlander]

Most people don't start off saying to themselves, "gee, I can't wait to be an addict!" They start off thinking they can have a little fun but can control it. Drugs and alcohol trigger the brain into thinking it's ok. People do it to feel different/ better.
It creeps on up a person until they find themselves out of control. You wake up every day wanting to stop when you have that moment of clarity but then the obsession kicks in. You can't think of anything else because at this point your body needs it. If it doesn't get it, you'll get deathly ill. Many people die from withdrawals when not under Dr. care.
Even if you make it through it and get clean you may relapse because you think it will be different this time. You do it long enough and it does change the way the brain works and then you may be totally screwed. A person with no hope is a terrible thing to see.
I've seen it up close and personal to more people I know than I can count. It goes across all socio-economic groups. I don't believe it's nature or nurture. It just is.
I watched a strong, young business owner start over and built his company into a real money maker. Got married, 2 kids. Had the world by the a$$. Talked to him on a Thursday morning. Thursday night he OD in his mothers bathroom while the rest of the family was visiting. It only took that 1 time after a few years clean to kill him.
Sorry for your loss.

Bob

 

[Spear Dane]

Some people commit suicide slowly.

 

[churchmouse]

We (spouse and I) have seen this up close in family. UTL pretty well nailed. it. So did flatlander. None of this makes any sense. Not to someone with a will to live life and see it pass by.

I lost my only brother. The spouse did not loose her older sister completely but close enough as there is just not much of her left.
Our son. Lost to us in his own life style choices. To ask any of them they did not have a problem. Adamant about it. Any help given was seen as weakness. Once you stopped helping they would turn on you like a snake.

Such a waste.

There is nothing you can do.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Gabriel]

Whether you agree with the politics of Mr. Hari or not (which becomes fairly evident here and there during the podcast), this conversation on addiction is extremely interesting...

[video=youtube;CDpjvFn4wgM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CDpjvFn4wgM[/video]

 

[Denny347]

 

[El Conquistador]

I just retired as a firefighter and I have been on more heroin overdoses than I can remember, sometimes twice on the same person in the same day. I can tell you from my observation is they all are chasing the high and will do anything to get it regardless of who it hurts. From what some have told me once heroin gets ahold of you its almost impossible to give it up.

 

[phylodog]

The thing I find most interesting is that the substances which we are now considering to be of epidemic proportions aren't really new. Heroin has been around for a might long time. I don't believe the drugs have changed so much as society. There was a time when a drug addict was on their own, they had to fight to survive which meant food, water, shelter, clothing and their addiction. Nowadays they're viewed as some sort of victim and everything short of the drug is provided making the addiction the only focus of their efforts. It's a pretty sad state of affairs and it damned sure isn't making the country stronger as a whole.

 

[Brad69]

I firmly believe that certain people are prone to addiction to substances no matter what the poison. In the past they were not really tolerated and nature took its course normally leading to early death. Now we enable them as a society and basically bring them back from the dead with narcan. When a being a drug user is no longer a taboo and being around drugs is “ok” we end up with the situation we have now.

 

[chubbs]

We as a society need to stop supporting the addicts like they have a terminal illness. Instead we need to rally around their families in their times of need. The addicts are typically past the point of our help. Helping typically enables them to continue to use. Yes this sounds cold I know, but treating them like victims has made it into the "epidemic" we have today. I feel for the familys effected by the addiction.

 

[NKBJ]

Why isn't getting caught dealing a mandatory death sentence?
OK, I know why. It's because the dirty money flows through banks and corporations and into corrupt political pockets.

So we're on our own. Why not start a grass roots movement to make it change?
Is universal despair that pervasive now? Frankly it looks as though people no longer care to control what filth they and their families live in.

 

[NKBJ]

The AFP, Anti-Filth Party.
Has a nice ring to it.

 

[NKBJ]

And another passing thought...
It's become pretty obvious to the world at large that something is being done to children to kill their minds.
The percentages in the population are going up and up.
And the public is looking away. What is it that would make them do such a thing?

 

[Denny347]

Why isn't getting caught dealing a mandatory death sentence?

 

[Denny347]

I firmly believe that certain people are prone to addiction to substances no matter what the poison. In the past they were not really tolerated and nature took its course normally leading to early death. Now we enable them as a society and basically bring them back from the dead with narcan. When a being a drug user is no longer a taboo and being around drugs is “ok” we end up with the situation we have now.

We as a society need to stop supporting the addicts like they have a terminal illness. Instead we need to rally around their families in their times of need. The addicts are typically past the point of our help. Helping typically enables them to continue to use. Yes this sounds cold I know, but treating them like victims has made it into the "epidemic" we have today. I feel for the familys effected by the addiction.

It's quite easy to sit here and say you'd do this or you wouldn't do that. It's quite another to put your money where you mouth is. I can assure you that being present at more OD's than I can remember, I've NEVER thought, "Just let this person die." I've never just stood by and let "Nature take it's course." Have ANY of you stood over a dying person and just watched them die? I have watched helplessly as they took their last breath, waiting for EMS, their injuries were beyond what I could address. Addict or victim, if I can help, I will. I've seen enough death for 10 lifetimes, I'm not going to contribute more, if I can help it. In the end, we are what we do.