Self-fulfilling Prophecies

Many addicts don't try to fight their addictions because they are afraid that their lives will be a lot harder once they stop using drugs. Should someone who believes this actually decide to fight their addictions, then because they believe life will be hard without drugs everything will seem to be so hard that before long they'll be back to using drugs.

Fact is life won't be any harder than it already is when you stop abusing drugs. In fact the moment you stop using drugs you could deal with those problems and if life isn't that hard anymore, you wouldn't need drugs to escape reality.

Yes, I think life without the addiction in it will become much more manageable in a short period of time. The important thing is to take the first step, and to maintain the commitment, and also very importantly, don't beat
yourself up if you backslide. Hey, we are all human right? Also, our addictions are powerful!

Drugs make it seem like your problems are gone, for the time being. But that's it, it's only gone for a short time, while you're under the influence of drugs or alcohol. You aren't solving anything by drinking alcohol or abusing drugs. You are just masking your problem and it won't do you any good.

But when you become clean and sober, that's when you can think clearly. That's when you can find ways to resolve your issues. Is it money issues? It certainly is easier to pay debts when you can work because you're clean. Is it love issues? Well, communication is the key to solving relationship problems. And you can only communicate with your partner when you have a clear mind.

I think that is the case also. If someone is using drugs to cope with life's problems then without it they'll be miserable. It's like learning to walk without a crutch. Once you can face life sober and learn coping skills, beating the addiction won't be so hard.

It takes courage and a strong mind to be rid of addiction. It is usually difficult for many who have been using since they were young; they cannot remember what life felt like without these drugs. Depending on them makes them feel secure and protected but it is only a thing of the mind. All we accomplish in life is because our mind interprets we can be successful and that is all they need; a mind to communicate to them that they can live without drugs.

Yep, this is true. Belief is everything. The only thing any of us truly has is our beliefs. If you believe it will be hard then it will be hard. If you believe it will be easy then it will be a lot easier. I think most of the time, drugs are actually the root cayse of many of the problems addicts find themselves facing in life, it can just be difficult to realize that sometimes.

The first thing I thought of when I read your post was this quote which I love. It reminds me that even if I want to achieve something difficult, I shouldn't tell myself I can't, or psych myself out before I really try.

If I do that, the time is going to pass anyway - and I could have put it to good use!

There are many reasons for taking drugs ranging from escapism to fun. The hardest category of addicts is the one that uses drugs for fun and recreation. They are not apologetic and seem psychologically attuned to deal with the consequences. Some resume drug abuse immediately they are discharged from hospital. The other categories at least recognize they have a problem with a root cause.

Very true.
That fear stopped me at first for sure.
Just that fear of the unknown too, keeping the same momentum is far easier then changing course.
But God had other plans for me and gave me the strength to fight.
Then I look back on it and think "THIS? This is what I was afraid of, a good life?"
Being under the grip of addiction can really skew your perspective.

I guess the best way that I can look at it is that recovering from addiction is hard. It can feel as if life is harder for trying to quit, but that is the gauntlet we must run to prove ourselves to ourselves. It takes hard work to recover from addiction, but life is most certainly easier after you recover. You save money, your friends trust you, and best of all you learn to love yourself again.

Quitting will indeed be naturally hard if they are not really determined to give the habit up, so it will be a struggle for those people. They must first realize that their problems aren't going to go away on it's own, and they ought to accept that drugs will just make them high and forget the problem temporarily, but it won't really solve anything.

I don't think it's about life being harder but it's just dealing with life without the crutch of drugs or alcohol. The process of dealing with the weight of ones problems without it is what most are scared of. Also when you've never had the crutch it's easier for you to think that life without it wouldn't be any different because you don't understand. But for those who've been dependent on it for years it's not just learning to walk, its learning to walk with what may feel like a missing limb at first.

Lеt’s sаy, fоr еxаmplе, thаt I’m gоing tо а pаrty whеrе I dоn’t knоw mаny pеоplе. If I bеliеvе I dоn’t mаkе а gооd first imprеssiоn, оr I wоrry thаt nоbоdy will tаlk tо mе, I will prоbаbly еntеr thе pаrty асting аwkwаrd, аnxiоus, аnd stаndоffish. In turn, pеоplе аrе likеly tо intеrасt with mе with lеss еnthusiаsm, оr thеy mаy ignоrе оr shun mе. Whiсh оnly rеinfоrсеs my bеliеf thаt I’m nоt gооd with pеоplе I dоn’t knоw.

If, by соntrаst, I еntеr thе pаrty bеliеving thаt I’m gооd with pеоplе I dоn’t knоw аnd еxpесting tо mаkе nеw friеnds, I’m likеly tо bеоutgоing, еngаging, аnd lеss аpt tо tаkе а соld shоuldеr pеrsоnаlly. Аs а rеsult, pеоplе will likеly rеspоnd аmiаbly tо my friеndlinеss аnd I mаy indееd mаkе nеw friеnds.

I agree with you completely, a lot of people seems to start using drugs in order to scape from their reality, but I think that in the moment they decided to stop using, they are strong enough to deal with those problems, and I'm not saying that it'll be easy, but they won't make it easier if they are using drugs.

It's more of a mind thing really. Cocaine caused me to not care about what was going on in my life. I literally could not worry about it, even though some things needed to be worried about. I knew that once I stopped using, reality would slap me in the face.

They have to believe that life will be better for them on the other side of the suffering after they quit.