r/Assistance REGISTERED 22h ago

THANK YOU A Million Thanks!

I wanted to take a minute and thank everyone on here who has helped me and those who have been so kind and thoughtful. I also really appreciate those of you who congratulated me on my year of sobriety. That means a lot! If you’re struggling with addiction, please feel free to reach out to me.

Again, thank y’all. I hope you’ve had a happy holiday!

27 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

u/Outside_Prompt5624 7h ago

Congrats! I’ve almost made it to a year!

u/Neither_Ad6425 REGISTERED 7h ago

That’s awesome! How are you feeling about your sobriety? Pretty confident??

u/Outside_Prompt5624 7h ago

Thank you so much. And it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. However, I’m going through a very stressful time with my vehicle taking a poop on me and with it being the holidays with the kiddo & my wife being laid off of work, it’s been more tempting than usual. Although, I know I’m stronger than that and don’t ever want to go through it again.

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u/al-ea REGISTERED 22h ago

Hi, congratulations on your journey!

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u/Neither_Ad6425 REGISTERED 22h ago

Thank you!

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u/Holisticallyyours REGISTERED 22h ago

That's so awesome!! I'm on my own journey too!!

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u/Neither_Ad6425 REGISTERED 22h ago

How is it going so far for you (if you don’t mind me asking)? I’m proud of you!

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u/Holisticallyyours REGISTERED 22h ago

Aww! Thank you! So...it's going?! No, actually it's been 2 & 1/2 months (since Oct. 8th) and I'm finally starting to feel like I'm more than existing, you know? I was so worried about, "Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome" (PAWS) but hope that since I'm finally starting to feel better, I might be ok? One thing I know I definitely need to do, is find a therapist. #2025goals !! I've been in therapy before and was actually discharged, I guess you could say. My therapist said I was doing so well, I could call her if I needed to. Then, I discovered opioids and well...unfortunately, she's no longer practicing but I know I need someone to help me with coping mechanisms. Even if it's short-term. By the way, I'm proud of you too!!

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u/Neither_Ad6425 REGISTERED 22h ago

It’s definitely important to learn healthy coping mechanisms so we can change our behavior and responses when we encounter stressors. So, therapy is great for that.

Please also consider talking to an addiction doctor about getting on suboxone. My drug of choice was opioids (pain pills), and suboxone prevented me from going into withdrawals, has eliminated my cravings, and it’s been a huge aid in my recovery. I really consider it to be a life-saving medicine! Don’t let anyone tell you it’s cheating to use medications for treatment.

I’m an atheist/sometimes agnostic and AA did NOT resonate with me. I have a lot of religious trauma and it felt way too much like church for me. Given the fact that AA is rooted in evangelical Christianity, this makes sense. So I turned instead to Refuge Recovery, another support group option based on Buddhist principles, without being religious. I think RR encourages self-growth much more than AA.

Anyway, therapy, suboxone or methadone, and support groups should all be an important part of your journey! And in -patient is always another good option. That’s what I I did for 51 days, and just physically separating from the drugs and the environment was a tremendous help and a way for me to clear my head.

You got this!

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u/Holisticallyyours REGISTERED 21h ago

Oh my goodness!! Did you read my other comments? lol I am taking Suboxone! I didn't want to say anything about it because of the things some people say about it! In fact, it's horrible but I can not lie...I was one of those people. I was so judgemental! I was adamant that it was "trading one addiction for another". It wasn't an easy decision for me, however, I agree with you, it is a life-saving medication. I had an intake appt on Oct 7th, an appt with my provider on the 8th, and went to pick up my scripts that night. It's taken until very recently for me to feel better. Now that I'm good physically, I am definitely ready for therapy and/or meetings. There's been a few times when I was like, "ok, how do I deal with this?!! I have nothing to take!" I haven't felt that in weeks and I even made it through dinner with my family for my mom's birthday Dec 15th and Christmas, yay!! (I totally skipped Thanksgiving) I can't tell you how grateful I am for your support of medication! Even in the Suboxone subreddit, most of the people are tapering or want to taper, or talk about Subs ruining their teeth, their libido, etc, etc... I feel confident about my decision. Again, thanks so much for sharing and for your response! I appreciate it!

u/Spiy90 REGISTERED 8h ago

Congrats on your sobriety. Happy for you.

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u/Regular_Lobster_842 22h ago

Congrats on your sobriety!!

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u/Neither_Ad6425 REGISTERED 22h ago

Thank you so much! Very kind of you.

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u/F0xxfyre REGISTERED 20h ago

Congrats! 🫂

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u/Glass_Front3595 REGISTERED 13h ago

Congratulations & Happy Holidays!