I was surprised in another post to learn that some of our AP enthusiasts used to be addicted to speed. I began to wonder about this, so I have decided to conduct this poll. Feel free to just participate in the poll without comment if you wish, although comments and stories are welcome.

Question:
Have you ever personally struggled with an addiction?

Choices:
Yes, cigarettes
Yes, alcohol
Yes, prescription drugs
Yes, "soft" illegal drugs
Yes, "hard" illegal drugs
Yes, gambling or other non-drug addiction
Yes, more than one of the above
Yes, other
No

 

I voted yes, for cigarettes. However, I had only been smoking for about a year and I was pretty young when I quit, so quitting wasn't as difficult for me as I think it is for many other smokers. I rarely feel any desire to smoke anymore, thank goodness.

Cigarettes and alcohol. I still smoke, but rarely drink, and when I do, I limit it to two or three beers. The various organizations that operate alcohol detox programs insist that I was not an alcoholic, because I was able to quit without their help. Of course, if they admit that it can be done without some kind of program, their very existence is threatened. A few professionals will agree with me, but "off the record." However, drinking a minimum of a quart of Canadian whisky a day for 10 or so years gets me in the club. (A few nights, I drank 2-3 quarts.) Among all the heavy drinkers I knew, I was considered a heavy drinker. I quit cold turkey for about 3 or 4 months, and usually go for anywhere from a few months to a year or so between nights of having those 2 or 3 beers. It took about a year or so for my hands to stop shaking, but, other than the damage I did back then, I am fine. I have probably felt that "tickle" to want more 3 or 4 times in the last 15 or so years, but never had a drink after I felt it. I refuse to allow it. When my marriage fell apart, I placed a full quart of my whisky in front of a well lit mirror in the house I lived in. There were many nights I stood and stared at that bottle, and I really wanted to crawl back inside. But after 9 months, when I moved, the tax stamp was still intact. I'm not going back to the life again.

Besides what I did to my health, during that time, I lost the love of a truly good woman, and I saw another woman I loved lose the battle with junk. (She is still alive, if you want to call it that.) Because I started controling my addiction when I did, I was able to father and raise a wonderful son.

I struggled with cigaretts for 30-plus years. During that time I would quit for a time (once for more than a year) but it seemed like I always wound up smoking again.

Finally a heart attack followed by a long hospital stay convinced to quit smoking for good.

Dwight

I fell face first into a bag of meth around age 22, after several years of casual use of other drugs... Cocaine did not trap me, nor did any of the botanicals I dabbled in, so I did not anticipate meth being any different.
Boy, was I wrong! The thing with meth is that in very short order, you're not using it to feel good, you're using it to avoid feeling bad... the "come down" is truly ugly.
I was fortunate in that I had a little better grounding in preventative health care than many and so I took great care throughout my addiction to eat and stay hydrated and so avoided many of the secondary health problems associated with meth use, but still did dreadful things to my life... If not for having wonderful friends, I would have been homeless, and I was constantly broke, often working for my dealer at odd jobs to pay my bill with her (Great gal! I'm very pleased to report that she's out of that life and doing very well).
My "bottom" was much shallower than it is for many... I realized one day that I had not seen my mom in more than 2 months because I did not want her to look at me all skinny and strung out... I moved in with mom, did nothing for two months but eat, sleep and attend NA meetings... then registered for the fall semester at my local college... I fell off the wagon for a week one day shy of one year clean, but since then have never looked back.
I generally prefer not to talk about it, but sometimes it is neccessary to do so... 14 years later, I'm a happily married homeowner headed for a career in law.

Cigarettes are my downfall. Over the last 2 weeks though, I have put a limit of 10 a day. When my little glass of cigarettes is empty, that's when I stop for the day.

My addiction was food. It may not sound like much but when you hide the fact that you are eating from your own husband, then something is seriously wrong. I used to work in Home Health and that was an ideal time for me to indulge in the addiction through expensive restaurants while my family didn't even know it was happening.

I gained weight to almost 300 pounds and was starting into the downward spiral of deteriorating health, but nipped it all in the bud with the Gastric Bypass June 2nd last year (2005).

I lost about 130 pounds now and I am feeling (and eating) much better.

But the food obsession will always be there.

I have the exact same problem as you, Sherasi. Thank God though for good metabolism, though. I am not over weight, but obviously no one is every happy the way they are.

I just can´t stop eating!!! But as long as I´m at a healthy weight I don´t know if I want to stop eating... I LOVE FOOD!