You do not die or get addicted to ANY drug if you do not abuse it.

[vonRicht]

The reason why "normal good human beings commit atrocities to satisfy their habits" is because of the physical pain and maybe because they wanna hit that virgin fix feeling again. The pain of course alters the state of mind for the duration of the pain, like drugs alter the state of mind during the efffect time. But I'm talking about the deeper cognitive thought patterns and so forth, not the top layered cravings and physical pains. You have to take in to context that a person lose self esteem during a deroute in to addiction. The person may also be affected by school and government  "drug info", as well as info from friends ect. If it's a person who want's to keep up apperances then it gets really complicated with an addiction.

What I'm trying to say is that the person comes unto an unknown psychologically path. Your thoughts starts to change (not because of the drugs, I don't believe that), be different. Anxeity, especially shame and later on depression sets in. This is where it gets really dangerous for a person who wants to keep up appreances, with suicide thoughts, paranoia and finally (self) isolation.

This idea that people just take some drugs and then gets addicted and it's all about the pain that they wanna stop the pain, and they're fucking weak bums that needs to be executed with an assault rifile is the usual mainstream bullshit! I'm not saying that that kind of people doesn't exists, maybe they do. I just think it's all a bit more complicated. A bit more human...

[dueda]

ANY addictive substance hijacks the pleasure sensors in your brain. It turns your brain into being able to accomplish 1 function: fulfilling the addiction by doing whatever you need to. Any and all other issues with your life fall away (family, bills, work, safety, etc). Don;t quote me (too tired to confirm via Google), but isn't addiction (or addict), Latin for submit?  Your brain submits to the craving and your habit.

That's why (IMO) normal good human beings can commit atrocities to satisfy their habits when under normal circumstances they would never do. They can see logic, since their addiction is in front of their face, and they see nothing else.

The only difference between a rock star and a bum, is the rock star still has resources to continue their habit and hide what they are doing... It'll just take them longer to hit bottom

Yep.

Latin is a bitch of a language and not my forte, my own is a derivative of roman troops and greeks present in the regions currently known as Portugal (mainly) and Spain (minimum), with their then local primitives. But "add" means sum, to increment / incorporate; so that thing becomes part of you or you need it to.

Dictionary says it has to do with an old word meaning "slave" or "submit" / "hand over".

The reason why "normal good human beings commit atrocities to satisfy their habits" is because of the physical pain and maybe because they wanna hit that virgin fix feeling again. The pain of course alters the state of mind for the duration of the pain, like drugs alter the state of mind during the efffect time. But I'm talking about the deeper cognitive thought patterns and so forth, not the top layered cravings and physical pains. You have to take in to context that a person lose self esteem during a deroute in to addiction. The person may also be affected by school and government  "drug info", as well as info from friends ect. If it's a person who want's to keep up apperances then it gets really complicated with an addiction.

What I'm trying to say is that the person comes unto an unknown psychologically path. Your thoughts starts to change (not because of the drugs, I don't believe that), be different. Anxeity, especially shame and later on depression sets in. This is where it gets really dangerous for a person who wants to keep up appreances, with suicide thoughts, paranoia and finally (self) isolation.

This idea that people just take some drugs and then gets addicted and it's all about the pain that they wanna stop the pain, and they're fucking weak bums that needs to be executed with an assault rifile is the usual mainstream bullshit! I'm not saying that that kind of people doesn't exists, maybe they do. I just think it's all a bit more complicated. A bit more human...

Oh definitely. You're talking about behavioral change by perception modificator, neuro language imprints. It is part of what society is made of.
But I believe drugs, on the bio-chemical level, will change who you are, too. That's what prozac is and Bell Co. greenies were for, no?
Some chemicals will work temporarily and leave no residual, but others are permanent modificators; you change your perceptions (neuro paths) and thus create different memories. Concepts change.

[vonRicht]

1.  Oh definitely. You're talking about behavioral change by perception modificator, neuro language imprints. It is part of what society is made of.

2. But I believe drugs, on the bio-chemical level, will change who you are, too. That's what prozac is and Bell Co. greenies were for, no?
    Some chemicals will work temporarily and leave no residual, but others are permanent modificators; you change your perceptions (neuro paths) and thus create different memories. Concepts change.

1. Yes.

2. I believe that the drugs work (mind and body) as long as it's inserted in to the body, as soon as you stop and your body has disposed of the drug, probably long before that, your brain and body will return back to  normal. That's why you have to keep take medicin at a regular basis for it to have any effect on your brains regulators. With for example anti depressive you keep taken them regularly over a certain amount of time, and when you stop the hope is that the drug has set into action certain regulators so that they keep producing that certain chemical. It's very common for people who has been on a loong opiat or opiod addiction to be depressed and get anxiety problems when they quit the addiction and get cleaned up. The reason is because the dopamin regulator has stopped producing dopamin during the addiction, because opiats/opiods has dopamin "like" chemicals in it, making the brain think that it doesn't need to produce dopamin anymore and shuts the regulator down.

[dueda]

2. Some chemicals will work temporarily...

2. I believe that the drugs work (mind and body) as long as it's inserted in to the body, as soon as you stop and your body has disposed of the drug, probably long before that, your brain and body will return back to  normal. That's why you have to keep take medicin at a regular basis for it to have any effect on your brains regulators. With for example anti depressive you keep taken them regularly over a certain amount of time, and when you stop the hope is that the drug has set into action certain regulators so that they keep producing that certain chemical. It's very common for people who has been on a loong opiat or opiod addiction to be depressed and get anxiety problems when they quit the addiction and get cleaned up. The reason is because the dopamin regulator has stopped producing dopamin during the addiction, because opiats/opiods has dopamin "like" chemicals in it, making the brain think that it doesn't need to produce dopamin anymore and shuts the regulator down.

I'm not a physician but for what I can read, some recreational drugs are neuro killers, others will not only act on chem level but make your brain learn new paths for the same information or, or to information that is not there, or even connect/disconnect others, thus making different perceptions wich would be unprobable under a sober condition; but there're too many variables and results are unpredictable.

While most abstinence disorders effects can be reduced, the emotional scars (neurological imprints) will stay - Once addicted, you'll probably live one day at a time, thinking "here we go again, will this be the day I fall back to it?"

[LZA]

While most abstinence disorders effects can be reduced, the emotional scars (neurological imprints) will stay - Once addicted, you'll probably live one day at a time, thinking "here we go again, will this be the day I fall back to it?"

That's pretty much what they try to teach in A.A. and N.A (Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous). They have said thing like: "Once an addict, always an addict" , "One Day at a Time", "Once to become a pickle, you can never go back to being a cucumber"etc, as ways to try to ease the pain...

I say if it helps, use whatever you can... but new pathways can always be made, and you can train your brain with positive stimuli to get used to thinking and living differently. Willpower is underrated...

However, addicts need to be honest... If an addict was to start drugs again, the old destructive paths the brain used will probably be reopened... Once they admit to themselves they can't handle drugs/alcohol like people without addictive traits, it makes the journey that much easier.

[dueda]

That's pretty much what they try to teach in A.A. and N.A (Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous). They have said thing like: "Once an addict, always an addict" , "One Day at a Time", "Once to become a pickle, you can never go back to being a cucumber"etc, as ways to try to ease the pain...

I say if it helps, use whatever you can... but new pathways can always be made, and you can train your brain with positive stimuli to get used to thinking and living differently.  Willpower is underrated...

However, addicts need to be honest... If an addict was to start drugs again, the old destructive paths the brain used will probably be reopened... Once they admit to themselves they can't handle drugs/alcohol like people without addictive traits, it makes the journey that much easier.

Yup, I know...

Positive thinking would be the same, just instead of a pessimistic approach we would use an optimistic one. Problem is, optimism may be mistaken by denial, thus having a different effect than the expected one.

My understanding is that once the brain makes connections, they'll stay there, imprinted, and it will be very hard to reset/clean up. That's why we have a garbage collection system but even what we can't recall, is laying there. Much like the file delete command, it just clear the index entry but leaves the data in the storage. Oh yeah, it is a poor comparison to the brain functions but will illustrate.

So, out of nothing, one can remember some irrelevant fact or feeling from 30 years ago. And drugs have a damn sticky effect... Posi or neg, the day-to-day system is in effect. So far I never heard of a permanent total wipe / recalibrating of one's dependency, even with big life and mindset changes.

[LZA]

I understand what you are saying, and I don't think they ever completely erase, but if you learn to live differently, you learn to use the new pathways you create. You just have to make the good practices your habit. But if you go back into old negative practices, you use the same old negative pathways, and you see the same old negative results.

Like. if you're driving somewhere, you only know one way to get there... You always get into traffic jams and accidents...One day, you get sick of it and find a clearer, faster, better way to get there... So you start taking that route. The old crappy route will always be there (like the crappy pathway), but if you constantly make the effort to decide to take the new way, you're less likely to get into trouble. Same with the brain.

Optimism is good because its not self defeating. BLIND optimism is like arrogance and can lead you into trouble. The only think that combats this is humility. This way, you are always willing to learn and be on the lookout.

This is just all in IMHO. I'm just relaying it how I see it, but it may be agreeable for everyone. If I had any official advice to give, is that you can listen, but try to apply it to yourself. No one is totally correct or incorrect and an exact fit for you. However, do your own research, and SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP by that I mean MEDICAL help. AA/NA can be a great support system, but they are not professionals and a lot of their advice is subjective, not objective. I'm just scratching the surface on this, but I think you get what I'm saying...

[dueda]

I'm just scratching the surface on this, but I think you get what I'm saying...

Oh totally, and agreed. Just I've heard those stuff from medics. I've been around health and support services, part of my past job. A nut job...

And that is the hardest part: For one to change his/her life. Some people don't have many choices under normal circunstances, what to say about marginal society.

The social borderline/marginal ones living as divergents (like street musicians), poor rednecks on a lost village by the railroad, or a common diner variety waitress. If it is hard to change with good education, under normal status, on a developed, calm place, it is improbable on the other side of the spectrum.

The outcasts living as bums, whores, junkies or criminals, no explanation needed. Those won't change without help from people with knowledge, resources and dedication, a kind of help hard to find anywhere in the world. Miracles happen but not for everyone, everytime.

And there's the context matter, family, job, etc.

[5c4lLY349]

Drugs R Good.

Moderation z Key.

[ClockBlocker]

Troll much?