How do Sane people kick drugs/booze? Force of Will?

In My Humble Opinion
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I agree with the life-condition/recognition of problem/force-of-will assertions above. My grandfather was an alcoholic for years, until he had his gall bladder removed and a physician told him that his heavy drinking would kill him. At that point he quit, cold turkey. Moreover, years later, he decided that he missed social drinking and resumed it, in moderation (which 12-step theory seems to insist is impossible).

I suspect that his drinking in the first place was less of a compulsion than a crutch to cope with boredom. He similarly was a pretty heavy gambler, and remained so throughout his life, but moderated that depending on his current finances.

22

I’ve recounted a few of my addiction experiences elsewhere on the boards, so some folks might already know what I’m gonna say.

Anyway, two important points:

  1. It’s important to recognize that substance addiction can be either or (more usually) both of two different phenomena: physical dependency, and psychological addiction. The Rational Recovery idea of the “addictive voice” addresses only the latter. So if someone is both physically dependent AND psychologically addicted to a substance, the whole “willpower”/I’m-in-control method will only address one of the conditions, at best, leaving the physical dependency issue untouched. This is why addiction specialists attempt to treat BOTH aspects of addiction: the physical, and the psychological. Not everyone who is physically dependent will be addicted, and not everyone who’s psychologically addicted will be dependent (but very many are both, myself included at several points).

  2. Re: the question of physical dependency: Willpower/cold turkey methods can actually be life-threatening in the case of some substances. AFAIK, there are only two classes of drugs from which withdrawal is actually physically DANGEROUS: alcohol and benzodiazepines. Medically unsupervised withdrawal from either of these can cause seizures and death (not to mention increase the risk of suicide). If you believe yourself to be physically dependent on either (and there’s a strong possibility that if you’re experiencing abuse issues with either, you ARE dependent), see a doctor or check into rehab before trying to detox.

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p.s.

One last comment: Medical rehabilitation often works wonders. In getting off opiates/opioids, I started taking Suboxone. It itself is an opioid, but it’s very mild, long-acting, and contains a small amount of naloxone, and opioid antagonist (a drug that limits the potential euphoric effects of both the Suboxone itself and any other opiates/-oids that you take, including heroin, morphine, Oxy, Vikes, etc. So while you’re on the Sub, you can’t go out and score any junk and get high; the built-in naloxone keeps any other opiates/-oids from having any effect on you).

It’s not an ideal situation to start taking one drug to get off another, but the benefits of Suboxone therapy are many:

  1. It’s LEGAL, and physician-supervised and -controlled.
  2. It can be tapered over time, to the point that the patient isn’t on opiates/-oids at all.
  3. It’s very, VERY mild, and does not impair day-to-day functioning.
  4. It keeps people off of the hard, illicit opiates/-oids.
  5. It’s much cheaper than heroin or Oxy that you buy on the street!

Suboxone therapy has literally been a lifesaver for me. I’m still on it, but at a very low dose, and am actively working towards getting off it entirely.