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I'm polluting my body with shite every evening

161 replies

PinkOrchidD · 30/06/2021 09:58

I feel like shit. I drink, take pills (Valium and Codeine) and smoke weed every evening. I wake up feeling awful.

I have two young kids and I worry that I have to drive them to nursery and school each morning.

I really want this to change.

OP posts:
DavidTheDog · 30/06/2021 11:24

I think it's rooted in stress. I'm not doing anything that others can't do without drink etc but I just find having small children and a busy job defeats me

I think most of us have unhealthy ways of dealing with too much stress. Over-eating, mindless scrolling on the phone, over-exercising, self-harming, smoking, drinking, drugs, promiscuity etc. are all ways of numbing out too.

merrygoround88 · 30/06/2021 11:25

OP well done for addressing this

However, on thinking that your young children aren’t noticing - they absolutely are even at that young age

Bumpsadaisie · 30/06/2021 11:25

I think what you need to do - and I think you are starting to do it - is really allow yourself to feel how concerned and worried you are for yourself. Once you know this, you can then take steps to properly look after yourself.

Before you can find the strength to fix a problem, you have to full know about the fact that it really is a problem.

I think the issue at the moment is that you aren't very good at looking after yourself, perhaps you think you aren't worth it, or looking after yourself is silly, or perhaps, although there is one part that is worried, there is another more destructive part that thinks "you know what, I don't care, it doesn't matter, it's not so bad".

People can tell you that you do have cause to be worried, but really it is you that needs to feel the worry about yourself. Once you do that you'll be motivated to seek help and cut down on these things that are very damaging to you and your family.

As well as facing the pain of coming off these crutches, they are probably masking other worries you have about the reality of your marriage and your DH's problems, the upbringing of your children and whether that is right for you and your DC.

That will also be very painful, both in terms of what you have done to yourself and your family, and the decisions you might have to take going forward.

But it is ALWAYS better to try to face reality. You can't hide from it. You can mask all your worry about your difficulties in drugs and alcohol, but it is no solution and creates even more anxiety.

Reality is VERY painful but if you face it, at least you can address all these other worries you have about yourself which are pushed out of your mind (but which still exist and plague you even if you don't know it).

You will always be better off overall, with your feet on solid ground and properly in touch with reality.

Good luck.

DavidTheDog · 30/06/2021 11:26

Great post @Bumpsadaisie

PinkOrchidD · 30/06/2021 11:27

Thank you for such thoughtful posts

OP posts:
SmellThat · 30/06/2021 11:29

Well done @PinkOrchidD , you have been incredible brave today already
This first step is the beginning to a better journey

SunglassesSeventy · 30/06/2021 11:31

Just wanted to say you have my sympathy and empathy re the stress of working and small children. When my two were little I really struggled, I often felt suicidal as I didn't know how to cope, we also had very bad money worries.

Drink and weed don't work for me but if I'd have liked them I could see how I would have used them to de-stress.

Good luck getting on the straight and narrow, I'm sure you can do it. The challenge will be to find other things that help you cope with the stress e.g. time out for yourself away from the kids, doing something you enjoy e.g. swimming or a walk or bike ride, making sure you can carve some time for you out of the madness that is working family life.

It does get easier as the kids get older and less needy.

nimbuscloud · 30/06/2021 11:32

Will your husband engage with stopping as well ?

HugeBowlofChips · 30/06/2021 11:32

Get it all out of the house now.

And then don't get any more.

YellowMonday · 30/06/2021 11:34

If you can't stop smoking cannabis, you must stop driving your children immediately the morning after.

Research shows that cannabis users were impaired for between three and 10 hours after taking moderate to high doses. THC can be detected in the body for weeks after cannabis consumption. Roadside test is likely to show positive for up to 24 hours.

You are risking your children's lives each time you get into the car after smoking. You are risking other people's life each time you get in the car after smoking. You are risking losing your license each time you get in the car after smoking.

I do wish you well, and I hope you find the confidence to reach out to your support network, alongside your support groups/sponsor. I echo other posts in seeking support with your GP; if they engage with child services then it may mean you and your husband are not currently in the position to look after your children until you get the help you need. Valium and codeine are both addictive substances, and I expect you will need medical support to come off these drugs.

ChargingBuck · 30/06/2021 11:36

[quote PinkOrchidD]@OrrisRoot that's exactly what I want to be like. To take pleasure in healthy things[/quote]
The gradual slide into dependency, especially alcohol, smoke & prescription pills, can be a Very Middle Class problem, because the apparent "normalcy" of the family life makes it easy to present as functional while hiding increasing levels of consumption.

Congratulations on recognising the need for change, & wanting to commit to a process of recovery. People who commit to taking charge of big personal improvements like this are admirable!

As a first step - speak to your GP about what form that process might take. It's YOUR process, & only you, with expert advice & support, can choose what is most likely to work for you.

The point you make about "wanting to take pleasure in healthy things" is a great one, because it's easier to replace habits than eliminate them. Hence e.g. dietary advice "swap fizzy pop for fizzy water" & "swap sweets for fruit". A big part of your therapeutic process should be your engagement in deciding what makes you happy, what activities/things/achievements you are going to enjoy in place of the substances.
Something as simple as putting the money you would have spent on booze & weed - in cash, the physical form is psychologically important - away in a savings tin can be a powerful motivator. It gives you positive reinforcement by seeing all the cash you now have to buy happy experiences/have security etc - negative reinforcement be seeing how much you would have blown on substances that are adding nothing to the quality of your life.
Another one might be waking up without a hangover.
If you're drinking heavily all the time, you might not even be aware of the hangover, because you've acclimatised to feeling like shit. But as the hangovers disappear, you'll get all the rewards of feeling lighter, clearer headed, less inclined to reach for compensatory junk food or codeine to deal with it. Obviously that's a positive reinforcement in itself, but it leads to other positives like being able to focus at work, so starting to enjoy it more, feel more confident, push for more opportunities. The negative reinforcement is when you realise how much you were stalling in your responsibilities/achievements/career, feel horrifed at the waste, & even more determined to escape the slump of addiction.

If you want to do this, you can do it. It needs dedication, & it's normal to 'slip' - recovery isn't usually a smooth line on a graph, but a series of bumps. So long as the overall pattern is gradual improvement, all is well.

So please do this under medical supervision, & accept all the therapeutic help you can lay your hands on.

FFS do NOT go cold turkey. It will be far too much stress on your physical & mental health, & could easily backfire you into a crisis.

You might want to discuss how to reduce one substance at a time, e.g. tackle the drinking separately from the drugs - or it may be recommended that you go for a simultaneous reduction.

Either way, your focus has to be about more than "volume of substance X ingested today" as a measurement of success.
You will need to focus on the reasons underlying the substance abuse, because until you get an in-depth understanding of that, & a handle on how to manage it, you won't have the tools to recognise, manage & prevent the desire to relapse.

It would be great if you & DH are on the same page, but you can't manage his recovery, & he can't manage yours. So for right now, get in touch with your GP & kick off the process, & ensure that your process is about YOU, not your DH. (You are likely co-dependents or mutual enablers - this is NOT said to 'judge' you, it's just a sad fact of how the condition pans out.) You have to ensure you are each responsible for your own process, not each other's.

Very best wishes to you Pink, & enjoy taking back control of your life Flowers

Rockdown2020 · 30/06/2021 11:36

@orisroots advice is spot on.

Try not to be too hard on yourself as you are recognising the issue. It’s easy for others to judge but alcohol, weed and pills of the nature you are taking are inherently addictive.

Blanketpolicy · 30/06/2021 11:43

@PinkOrchidD

I do realise the seriousness of it and I feel massively ashamed. I'm a complete hypocrite because I'd never get behind the wheel after more than a glass but I have a sort of cognitive dissonance about driving the next day.
The only thing worth being ashamed of is if you don't do something about it starting today.

It will be bloody hard, it will get worse before it gets better, but try to picture the pure pride you will have one year from now when you have totally kicked this. You are changing your children's futures for the better.

I agree with many above, if your dh isn't on the same page you can't do this with him around.

Aisforharlot · 30/06/2021 11:44

My DP works in this area, he says you need to find your local drug and alcohol services. And that you can't come off these yourself. Good luck.

ChargingBuck · 30/06/2021 11:53

I feel it's too risky to speak to the gp with regards to safeguarding

It isn't.
You simply tell GP that you've realised you need to make changes, & the first of them was an honest appraisal of alcohol units consumed vs: number of hours elapsed prior to driving.

You explain that this was your wake-up call, & that until you have reduced or avoided the number of units, you will be taking taxis rather than driving.
Your GP will be pleased to be dealing with an honest patient who takes responsibility for her choices. They are the ones most likely to succeed in their recovery.
It's the patients who make excuses & blame anyone but themselves who will fail.
GP's like backing winners. Trust your GP. They want you to win.

Also, PP commented that GP's are useless & she cannot even get signposting to support services. I'm really sorry about that experience for her - but it's not generally true.

Don't allow either of these concerns to stop you ringing your GP - preferably today! - because taking action in itself will give you an initial, small measure of relief.

Bluntness100 · 30/06/2021 11:56

Op can I ask what is your plan for tonight? And your husbands? This is a one day at a time thing. Will today be your first day?

LifeIsAMotorway · 30/06/2021 11:59

Do you have a local directory page you can look at? Or try googling your area and substance/alcohol support. There's likely to be a local service available to you which you can self-refer to without accessing the GP.

Think about what you do when drinking/smoking and change those habits. I found I was slipping into too much drinking so I started doing things that kept my hands busy so I couldn't keep reaching for a glass.

Well done for taking the first step. I'm not going to berate you as you know you need to change and are realising the severity of it. Good luck, OP.

Franklyfrost · 30/06/2021 12:10

Do get outside support and also, give it time. You may not feel any true change within yourself for weeks or months after being clean. Give it time.

Nicknacky · 30/06/2021 12:11

So it’s street Valium you are taking?

ChargingBuck · 30/06/2021 12:16

@PinkOrchidD

I think it's rooted in stress. I'm not doing anything that others can't do without drink etc but I just find having small children and a busy job defeats me
Yes, it's rooted in stress. BUT - & this is a big, capital letter BUT - where is the stress coming from? This is what I was driving at in the long post above. Stress is complicated. It's a symptom as well as an ailment. Long-term engagement in some form(s) of therapy is required in order to fully understand your psychological drivers, so that you then have a toolkit to unpick what is causing you to self-destruct.

It's likely to be a good deal more complicated than - I'm not doing anything that others can't do without drink etc but I just find having small children and a busy job defeats me - so PLEASE stop beating yourself up like that.

Stress didn't cause your addictions.
It may be a factor, but there will be deeper issues behind it.
Stress is also highly likely to be a symptom of the alcohol & drugs themselves.

Hence feeling trapped in a cycle where you are stressed out, reach for the habitual stress relief substances, & still feel stressed. The 'medicine' you use to de-stress adds to the stress burden.

Great that you have called AA, & I hope you felt a mini-blast of relief & anxiety-reduction just for doing it :)
AA may or may not suit you. Go along with an open mind, & decide in your own time.
It doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" solution.
There are so many therapies about, & this is why you would be wise to find out about as many as possible, because a combination of techniques & therapies is more likely to suit you that a "one size fits all" approach.

This is why your GP should be your first port of call. They can act as your 'handholder', referrer, or recommender of many of the various services available.

And if you need to go private, eg for psychotherapy, you can afford to.
Remember all that cash you are going to be putting into a special savings tin because you're not wasting it on weed? ha! Invest it in yourself, not your dealer!!

xx

ThatOtherPoster · 30/06/2021 12:22

I’m doing the 12 steps in an online group and it’s amazing. Russell Brand said most people would benefit from doing it so I just signed up. It’s honestly brilliant. What’s weird is that everyone in the group - and it’s a wildly diverse group - has the same core issues: a need to control; a feeling of chaos; anxiety; an unpredictable childhood; possibly ADHD.

Fruityfriday · 30/06/2021 12:24

Do you ever have a night without taking drugs or drinking?

Onehotmess · 30/06/2021 12:26

I can guarantee that someone at school already knows. Even if you smoke away from the house, you bring the smell back in with you and it lingers. I work in education and over the years many children come in with hair/ clothes/contents of school bag smelling of smoke or weed. Also parents appearing intoxicated (which can include smelling of weed or alcohol) could rightly be refused in terms of collecting their child. You would then have a much bigger issue. Go to your GP now. If CS get invoked it’s because you are putting your children at risk. Which you know you are.
Good luck

mamakoukla · 30/06/2021 12:26

It takes courage to want and work at change. I wish you strength, love and compassion. You are stronger than you realize and this is within your reach

Onehotmess · 30/06/2021 12:27

*involved

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