Alcohol and Drug Addiction..

I would love to hear from people who have learned how to overcome their substance abuse problems. How did you win this battle?

Easy!
30 months in prison.

working in a night club for 5 years kinda put me off alcohol. now i drink 1 or 2 bottles a month

For me it was smoking, and it took my friends. If i smelled like smoke, they wouldn't talk to me. They would randomly search my purse and if i had cigarettes, they threw them away. It was actually really irritating lol but it worked

Nearly losing my job and nearly being thrown out of College.

That is a pretty big influence to stop anyone drinking.

Stop considering them to be a problem

Stomach problems made me cut way back on booze, but not out.

You could resort to using a needle?? Intravenous. They couldnt charge you with drinking and driving..... maybe?

I smoked marijuana, quit when I found out I was pregnant, started again when I miscarried, then quit for good over a year ago. Just decided I didn't want to smoke and stopped associating with people who did smoke.
I started smoking cigarettes when I was 15 because I was mad at my parents (long story) and started stealing their cigarettes. Have yet to quit, but I really enjoy smoking cigarettes. I love them, I just don't like the price.
As for alcohol, haven't drank since November. Haven't been drunk since June I think. Not a huge alcohol fan. Only time I want to drink is when I am upset. I haven't given into the desire to drink because I was mad since November, though.

I was a cocaine and crack addict for about 3 years. Even though I've done rehab many times, I wouldn't credit them persay. I just lost contact with those people. So haven't really had anyone to cop dope from. It's been 8 years.

However, I currently struggle with pain pills, herb and cigarettes. It's very possible I just switched my addictions. I'm not as bad as before this time around either. Today I consider myself more of a user as opposed to an abuser.

I was addicted to playing the slots. It's considered an addiction very similar to cocaine. The brain chemistry is affected much the same. It has taken every ounce of grit I could muster to stop. For one whole year I didn't go out of the house with a credit card or a check book or cash in my purse. I had to go shopping with someone else so as not to be able to act on the temptation. Every now and then it grabs me by the throat but I have over two years of abstinance and one slip would put me right back where I started. So I hang in there because I don't want to have to do this again. The user fits get farther and farther apart. But I do not for a moment take my non-using status for granted. My compassion for people with addictions has greatly increased. Hang in there. It's a matter of saying NO!, when everything in you wants to say yes. Also, I remind myself that I don't want my tombstone to say "she used up all of her resources, time, talent and money sitting in a casino". blessings, bybee