Addiction Or Treatment

[Little Flower]

My question would be I shouldn't feel"guilty" about needing my Xanax rightoff? My stupid brain tells me I'm an addict if I need something to help me kick start the day.

 

[Little Flower]

Ok thanks. I was reading alot today and it never occuried to me I could take my medicine before I got out of bed. Like 6am. Think I may not wake up in a panic
Has any one else felt stigmatised not just seeking help but accepting the help. "Mental illness = drug addict, lazy, don't discuss her, the doctors just want your money, they're doping you up?

 

[Spiderallis]

Xanex exists because it's quite helpful for people who struggle with anxiety. Your doctor prescribed it to you for a reason. Would you consider someone a drug addict if they needed to take insulin for diabetes or had an inhaler for asthma? I hope not. Xanex can be misused and some people do abuse it, but there's also a lot of people who take it as prescribed and find it quite beneficial. Some people can cut down to only taking it when they need it after they've worked on learning coping skills in therapy. I know a daily dose of something similar helped me a lot through the early phases of recovery, now I only take it when I really need to. Other people need that type of medicine every day, and that's okay too. So long as you're taking it for the right reasons, you're treating a medical condition and not abusing drugs.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I'll Challenge your thinking and ask why you need it when you haven't even gotten out of bed yet?

If you feel you need it that quickly then you need to work on coping skills.

 

[Little Flower]

Thats all i do is work on my coping skills. Sadly i haven't become perfect but I do still work in them
This is what I'm doing to cope. When I wake up the first thing I think about is i need to call and check on my folks. They are dead. The second thing I think about is why in the hell couldn't I have died in my sleep. Then it's the realization that I am still here and that just makes me so angry. Realizing I had to quit a job I love sinks in. So now I think it would be better just set an alarm take it and sleep another half hour if i can.
Thanks for your concern

 

[Little Flower]

And with all due respect Ayesha, I'm still very wary of this website. I'm trying to find the best way to use it that will help me. I'm learning the culture gaps and meeting people I can "talk" to. I feel I've been treated very harshly by the admin and I try to take into consideration that they also suffer from PTSD and are making lives better. However, I don't believe you are qualified to tell me what I " need" to do.

 

[Little Flower]

And thank you @Spiderallis for reminding me it is like diabetes. I had never thought of taking the meds early because I try to get up and eat a cracker or two first. But I tried this today and I was able to get out of bed without crying :)

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

@Little Flower You used the word 'need' many times and started this thread about addiction or treatment, questioning how healthy your habits are. I'm giving an honest reply. I worry that you feel the "need" (your words; used twice) to take an addictive medication before you have even gotten out of bed.

This is a forum and you asked a question. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm giving you honest feedback. Like everything on here you can take or leave the feedback.

I'm out of this discussion. Take care.

 

[Little Flower]

Thank you. I leave it

 

[Little Flower]

The only time I said need except in quote was I wake up thinking I need to call my folks. I have no idea what you're talking about

 

[ghotiff]

website. I'm trying to find the best way to use it that will help me.

you can take or leave the feedback.

@Little Flower I value your posts and thought it might help you to explain what this comment has meant to me in my time here.

In one of my early posts Anthony responded in a way that I found very hurtful and I interpreted his comment to be very invalidating. I ignored his comment and tried to not let it get to me. Many months later I see what he said from a different perspective. Firstly I "know" him better so I know his intention was good and secondly I now see what he was trying to do, which was to push me to acknowledge something I wasn't ready to acknowledge. I am now ready, so I now understand his post. It still stings a bit, but I know I need to accept it, I'm just not quite there.

My point with this example is that in threads sometimes you can get comments that are timed badly with where you are emotionally. As such, I believe these posts should be ignored because they are not helpful. That doesn't put fault on the poster it's just a mismatch between where they think you are, and where you actually are in your recovery.

I hope that reads in the friendly and supportive way in which I intended it. All the best.

 

[Marymickaela]

First of all let me say I'm sorry you are in so much pain. Truly. I just posted about my psych doc calling me an addict because I took sleeping pills (that he prescribed). It was traumatizing. Some of the responses to my post said I was in denial and called me an addict.

How long have you been on the Xanax? How often do you take it? What dosage are you on? Are you in any kind of therapy?

I was prescribed Xanax back around 2001/2002. My psych doc felt sorry for me because of all the stressors in my life I was dealing with. For me I became addicted to the Xanax and it happens very quickly and insidiously. Xanax is quick acting, but also has a very short half-life so you soon need to take another to ease your anxiety. I had to go into treatment which was very traumatizing, being called a drug addict and treated with disrespect.

I’ve currently been on Klonopin for many years, which stays in the system much much longer. Right now my dose is too high and my goal is to get it way down or even get off of it.

Let me know how I can support you.

Feel better,