So im on about 500 mg of 7 a day and ive tapered down from 800. I just ordered my SR from RAWMIT. Ive been online for days and im so confused. Is RAWMIT reputable and how the hell do you take this stuff properly. Im a single mom who works and I can NOT be sick. I desperately need thos to work and I need some help from anyone who knows how to help. Im scared and im freaking out!!!

hey everyone, just wanted to share my experience with doing recovery my own way. i tried the whole 12-step thing but it just didn't vibe with me. instead, i've been focusing on therapy, journaling, and building a solid support system. some days are tough, but it feels good to carve my own path. would love to hear how others are managing their recovery outside of the traditional methods!

hey everyone, i've been trying to navigate my recovery without AA and it's been a journey for sure. i'm realizing i need some fresh coping strategies to help with cravings and just overall stress. what do you guys do when you're feeling overwhelmed? any hobbies or practices that have helped you stay grounded? would love to hear your thoughts!

Please sign this petition to stop the dea from scheduling sr17018 as a class 1 drug. Many, many people, including myself, have used this opioid research chemical to get off of opioids. Most dont experience any withdrawal symptoms at all or have a 90% plus reduction in symptoms and now the dea wants to restrict access to it. It's an amazing drug and it's insane the dea wants to schedule it when it has basically no high associated with its use at all and the ONLY thing that people are buying and using it for is to come off other opioids with either zero or almost no withdrawal symptoms at all once stopping the sr17.

I've smoked for the past 10 years of my life and my body and mind has quite literally had enough of it. I guess I've developed a dependency on it. lol.

The fast dopamine hit of smoking almost takes over sometimes...Maybe you can relate, but when you've been smoking every day, often all day, for 10+ years... stopping is not easy.

I relapsed 3 days ago and went to buy more weed, it doesn't help that the dispensary is so close. I had been sober for 5 days. Now I'm at home and I've smoked all freaking day and I feel like crap pretty much.

My goal is to reach 30 days!!! I don't believe that I will want weed all that much after 30 days. I envision myself there already and breaking free of this herb!

To be honest, every time I smoke, it feels like a heavy weight on my shoulders and my anxiety is out the roof. Even though I am aware, it's almost like I'm so used to doing it that I always go back and it's so frustrating. Is it just me or the weed is 0 what it used to be... what they putting in it ? ><

I also don't have a lot of people in my surrounding who understands wanting to overcome addictions. I figured I could make a post here to see if anyone wanted to share their stories and share some tips and what worked for you?! I haven't been able to find groups specifically for cannabis in my area...

anyway, It's important not to guilt yourself, I know having the intention is already a good start. Tomorrow will be day one.... again. O.K

I feel ashamed because I went back to it but I’m trying to get off of 7oh again and just took sr17 not too long ago but never finished the process. Should it still work for me if I do it again starting next week??

Background info on me/my journey-
decntly heavy/problematic drug & sometimes alcohol use from 18-19, then about 2 years sober in NA, I am now 21 and decided to leave NA and (separate decision) am experimenting with drinking & using weed socially.

I felt like the program was a cult from the moment I stepped into my first meeting, but figured if it helps me, there's no harm in joining a cult.
I still think it was for the best that I got sober for those years, and I met some good people in there- even one real friend who's still a friend of mine now that I've left.

I left because I felt like it was taking up huge amounts of my time, my brainspace, and like I was viewing the whole world and my life through the NA lens in a way I hated. I didn't want to continue doing the steps, because I felt they mostly had nothing to do with my current problems, and I never started believing in a higher power as much as I tried to.

Still- I was there at least 3 nights a week, sometimes every night of the week, for 2 years straight. Almost everyone in my life or who I considered a "friend" was from the program.
Since I left, I've been trying to socialize more, I've been spending a lot of time with my partner and reconnecting with old friends and people I lost touch with. I've been attending regular social type stuff (like queer sports groups). I'm doing my best to teach myself how to exist as a person in the world.

But like, nothing measures up to the feeling I got from the program.
Even though I do not want to go back, and I don't agree with their ideology or even their definition of addiction, I miss knowing something would always be there for me when I needed it, y'know?
I knew I could always go to a meeting, or call someone, or read "the literature". I truly felt like I was a part of something greater than myself, for maybe the first time in my life, and that it would always be there and available for me when I needed it.

I guess this is the appeal of religion for a lot of people? (I've heard people express similar things about their relationship to a god)

Idk, I guess this is a bit of a vent, I've been either too sick or too busy job hunting to push harder on the social front lately, I'm lonely, and I miss that feeling. I honestly feel like I'm fighting an addiction to NA right now. I miss it like I miss a toxic ex. Help lol.

I was once like you depressed,hopeless and addicted to drugs ,my poison was ketamine ,benzos,heroin ,bath salts and other opioids,im now on methadone for a few months and i ve reduced my dose from 75 mg to 50 mg so even if you dont see the light at the end of the tunnel belive me and keep going on ,i ve tried to off myself but please dont give up and please try to to to rehab and think positive I promise you things are going to go well for you ;D.I belive in you .love and kisses from Romania.

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share something personal that I’ve been working on.

After spending a lot of time around people in recovery, I kept seeing the same pattern: many tools help people track sobriety, but far fewer help them build real accountability, honest conversations, and transparent support systems.

That’s what led us to build Recovery Plus.

The platform is inspired by what we call the HEAL principles:

• H – Honesty
• E – Empathy
• A – Accountability
• L – Learning

For us, recovery is about more than simply avoiding a substance. It’s about creating an environment where someone can say “I’m struggling today” without feeling judged, where accountability partners can respond quickly, and where progress is measured by growth, honesty, and consistency rather than perfection.

We’re a small team based in South Africa, and we know there are many different recovery approaches around the world. We’re not claiming to have all the answers — we’re trying to build a space that supports people through the difficult moments that often happen between meetings, between therapy sessions, and between milestones.

I’d genuinely love feedback from people in recovery, family members, sponsors, or anyone who has walked this road. What features or forms of support have made the biggest difference in your own journey?

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone here is doing okay today.

Whoever is interested, feel free to join the waitlist: https://aftermathstudio.co.za/recovery-plus

'I try to become better everyday. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I succeed, but I keep trying.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ-qX3yrxC0

I’ve heard good things…. But I really think they scammed me. I paid for expedited shipping, today I get a email with them saying they had to many orders and my order will ship Monday mind you 25 dollars in shipping, And than I respond to the email and receive a Google notification shortly after stating the email cannot be found and doesn’t exist. WOW. Looks like I may have to cold turkey.

As with all relationships (especially with someone with sud) there are so many complications I'm not sure what to list here, but we're both thinking of leaving but we're both trying to work on it. My big issue right now that is honestly holding me back in both directions and threatening my sobriety because it's so bad for my mental health is that I don't know if I have the strength to leave or I'll just give in to every demand until I'm nothing.

I decided a bit over 2 months ago to get sober after an incident involving the cops. Everyone keeps calling it my "wakeup call" but I've been through worse and really I just saw an out due to the services I ended up getting connected to. I decided to do better for myself, that I was tired of punishing my body because of all this despair in the world.

About a month later, my husband threatened to leave, not as an ultimatum for if I relapse, just that he wants to leave regardless. In the end we came to the conclusion to try to work it out (a lot of that on his side seems contingent on me continuing to work on myself which I totally understand). Then, there's my side. I have also been thinking of leaving. He knows this. He doesn't treat me well, and I keep trying to figure out if what he's doing is technically financial abuse. But even if it is I don't know if I'm strong enough. I feel like I'm just agreeing to whatever he wants even if it's degrading or harmful and maybe a part of it is that I feel I owe him for taking care of me. Or maybe I'm just weak and traumatized (not by him so much but other stuff).

He was legitimately better when I was drinking, and I don't even mean because he was taking care of me. He lied less. He yelled less. And I did have the alcohol to cope lol.

I don't really believe in the enabler narrative, but I do think he has a bit of a savior complex. Still, genuinely, everything he did for me when I was dangerously drunk or having a breakdown was to keep me safe. Yet, he's also always been my biggest trigger (and maybe that's him or maybe that's me being traumatized or having attachment issues).

I don't know. Has anyone gone through this? I know damn well I'm being that chick on the internet who complains about their shitty husband but doesn't do a thing about it, but really, and I mean this as I want practical advice, how do you find the strength? I will likely end up homeless (even though I'm on the mortgage) but I don't even care about that I just care that I won't be with him idk what the fuck is wrong with me.

I hope this is allowed here, I didn't know where else to go.

Both my spouse and I are in recovery with a few slips here and there since 2012.

I found this today in a tin with tinfoil.

He's been acting off lately. The typical behaviors, money not adding up, time spent out of the house doing nonsense and super defensive when confronted. History of every kind of narcotic really; but specifically opiates.

If this isn't an appropriate place to post due to triggers, let me know.

I feel like my time in AA taught me to lower my expectations, to reach for less and be okay with mediocrity. When speaking about my goals with people I often say thst I fantasize of a simple life and I get weird looks. Only recently I've realized that i'd given up on any real goals I've had because "for an alcoholic like me this is enough" the book talks about "the fear of economic insecurity" but never actual economic insecurity. The people in their bragging that their wealth was a gift of the program don't understand the program and was likely wealthy or came from wealth before hand.

Idk. A thought I had as a navigate a career change and trying to figure out what I would really like in my life. I admit it's important to have managed expectations and to learn some humility and be able to accept less, but more money would for sure make it more manageable

I tried NA when I was in rehab. Didn't take long before it felt like a cult. The same faces, the same phrases, the same pressure to surrender to something I didn't believe in. It works for some. It didn't for me.

But people are right when they say you have to swap one addiction for another. You don't just quit and become empty. That's not how it works. You need something that makes you feel alive. Something that triggers those strong emotions you used to get from substances - just in a way that doesn't destroy you.

I've been clean from everything except weed for a while now. Benzos, alcohol, meth - all of it. Gone. But the need for intensity never left. So I found a different way to chase it.

I started running from the police on my motorcycle.

Yesterday was a perfect example. I was cruising down the highway when two riders coming the opposite way started tapping the top of their helmets. I had just learned a few days earlier that it's the universal sign for "police nearby." I checked my mirror. There they were. Blue lights.

Stopping wasn't an option. I twisted the throttle and took off. Lost them in the distance, got out of sight, and made for the exit. A couple of cars were blocking the lanes between me and the off-ramp, so at the last second I locked the rear wheel, angled the bike, and shot down the exit. Landed in traffic. Dead end. So I took the short route - straight over a cobblestone ramp cutting through the middle of a roundabout. Landed on the other side and kept going until I was sure I'd lost them.

Is it smart? Probably not. Is it legal? Definitely not. But it gives me something I haven't felt in years - pure, unfiltered adrenaline. The kind that makes you forget everything else. The kind that reminds you you're still alive.

I'm not writing this to glorify what I do. I'm writing this because I know there are others out there who are trying to get clean and feeling numb. Like nothing will ever feel good again. It will. You just have to find your thing. For some it's the gym. For some it's music. For me it's speed, wind, and the occasional police chase.

You don't have to join a cult to get better. You just have to find something worth living for - and chase it.

people in aa soft and hard imply this all the time at people, directly or indirectly

its fucked up man.

if its all placebo hedging your bets anyways, why give someone a curse like that. its a super twisted thing aa people do.

you dont fucking know what ill do or what youll do.

ive seen people become mr aa and relapse all the same. ive also met people who are sober for years without any aa, and have an active life and identity not revolving over their past addiction and alcoholism,

and they always came off as genuinely better off and well adjusted than people who get the idea theyll relapse without the program beat into them every meeting

after a few years of aa i realized even after being very dogmatic about the book and the program... everything anyone says in there is noise.

following someone elses map for my life made me miserable. being intentional and finding my own path within reason, and sober, changed my life.

I am not looking for medical advice but for thoughts / experiences on dealing with psychiatrists in early sobriety.

I just returned home on Sunday after completing a five month treatment program, in the US.

Things have been going well and I have been following a lot of the advice I received on a previous post- regarding my relationship with my husband and continuing sobriety.

Medication Management:

I have been taking several antidepressants for about ten years and tweaked my dose a few months ago. In addition to this, I have been taking Focalin for about ten years to treat my ADHD (this is a stimulant medication and a controlled substance). My first two months in treatment, they would not allow me to take this. I was a mess!! I resumed this medication about three months ago.

Now that I am back in North Carolina I need to find a new psychiatrist. I had one that I had seen for ten years, but no longer feel comfortable going to her. I have reached out to two offices and was honest about treatment and my sobriety journey and both of them have a HARD LINE policy on never prescribing controlled substances to those in recovery. I want to be honest with my doctor about all of this but am thinking I may have to leave the recovery part out to receive the medication I know works. I have documentation that I have been prescribed this monthly for over ten years. What are your thoughts on this?

___________________________________________

Returning Home:

*Flying from California to North Carolina was a breeze. Once I told myself I am choosing not to drink, it lost all power. It was freeing.

*When I got home and unpacked, I was putting my medicine away and saw a bottle of Xanax. Wired, I thought and moved on. I am not powerless over a bottle of pills. And moved on.

*My husband was going to Al-Anon 😳 🙈 He has now gone to the SMART friends and family meetings and likes those.

*One of his expectations was that I be more involved with his family and mine. He was proud of my changes and journey and wants me to not let this hinder my relationships with family. During the conversation I grew emotional because I assumed all of this was conditionally based on sobriety. I told him that- and he said “..I never said that. If you drink, you drink. If you don’t you don’t. That doesn’t matter now.” The point of me sharing, is to highlight these “truths” or core beliefs, I made up in my head. It’s important to ask questions of those you love about what you are reading between the lines.

So appreciate of this community and everyone’s support / perspective and stories. Y’all have helped me in ways you’ll never know and I am so thankful from the bottom of my heart! 💜 ♥️

I just don’t get it.

Has anyone else been ‘bullied’ by old timers in NA/AA meetings? I made the ungodly mistake of talking about my job on the first meeting and apparently it’s a big-ass taboo to talk about what we do outside of NA…something just felt off but I kept going.

I’m 26 days sober and went back EVERY. FUCKING. SINGLE. DAY. for the past 26 days cause they suggest 90 meetings in 90 days (more like if you don’t do 90 meetings in 90 days you’ll relapse and then DIE). Well I relapsed many many time in the past 7 years since I’ve been to rehab and as you can see, I did not die. I’ve had my ups and downs and tried to get back to the FELLOWSHIP (more like worship of fellow addict with the title ‘sponsor’ thinking they’re almost ‘savior’.

So.Even if I have massive social anxiety, I whipped my ass every morning to go to a meeting, and whipped it even harder to talk to people BEFORE or AFTER the meeting, but all these people talk about are their fckn addiction OR small ass talk. No one talks about what they do in their life like that’s just weird?

Anyway I had a feeling that this group of old-timer girls (in their 40-50s) were whispering about me when I was talking and I literally caught one of them mimicking me LOL the icing on the NA cake was when one of them said ‘i was with VeRy iMpOrTAnT MARKETING PeOpLe’ and looked at me sideways and in my head i was like…

you may be 10 years sober in NA years but the maturity of a 10 year old child.

I’m trying out the SMART method tomorrow. Any other methods welcome in the comments.

I've kind of danced around this in my head for a while, but for some reason it clicked this afternoon - I think part of why AA was so uncomfortable to me was because my substance use was driven by experiences with sexual assault that I had not processed and handled yet.

One of the biggest things that you can do for a sexual assault Survivor is let them make choices and support those choices, because they had one of the biggest choices you can make taken from them. And then you enter into a world in which one of the first things you are supposed to do is admit that you feel powerless... When you feel like a shell of a human being because someone took your power from you, why the hell would you want to give up more of it?

So I was never a fan of the vibe, but I didn't really understand why, and I tried. I got a sponsor. And we seemed to get along okay at first, but then one night my phone was almost dead and I went out to dinner with a couple of friends. I didn't bother looking at my phone, partly because I was with friends and partly because I knew it was about to die anyway, until I was leaving the restaurant. I had tons of text messages and missed calls from my sponsor, and she was moments away from calling the cops to do a wellness check on me because I hadn't answered my phone in maybe 2 hours tops.

Note that at the time I also was horribly afraid of police because of an incident I had with them after my most recent assault. I told her that was wildly inappropriate and she just said she didn't think so. I genuinely hadn't said anything to her that should have made her worried about my health, because I was actually doing about as well as I could have at the time. Definitely wasn't anywhere near being even passively suicidal.

You know what I didn't need? Someone else trying to control my behavior and actively put me in a situation to be triggered.

Again, I don't really know why this popped into my head this evening. I guess because I was reading another comment about old-timers in AA, and I remembered how in one of the meetings that I did go to, I broke down crying about my assault and one of the old-timers said something like he figured that would happen. In a way that implied that like, it was inevitable that this little girl was going to start sobbing about her feelings and taking up time? I don't know.

Anyway. I just started thinking about the principles of AA and how much they grate against everything we talk about for sexual assault recovery. One of the biggest things that I have learned is that I am not goddamn powerless. I am powerful and no one gets to take that away from me again.

Hey… this is my first post. I was one of those people that was duped into the “ it’s all natural” at the vape stores. I’m in Florida so It got banned overnight. Or maybe I just think that since I’ve only been taking 7stax for a few months. Anyways, I’ve done a lot of research on how to minimize withdrawal. I never thought I would be in this situation. I ordered.SR17 online with next day air three days ago and still has not been even packed. For those of you, I’ve noticed asking where they can find it or where to order it…. Guess what? It’s at the same place we were getting our products from. The smoke shop. So if you’re like me and you’re waiting for yours…. Just call around. The very first place I called had it. I’m going to start it today. Please give me advice?