From Addict to Exercise Junkie

MrTolerable

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I battled with substance abuse through basically a large amount of my teen years. Longest in-patient stay at a rehab was 15months. :yawn:

Has exercise also helped you guys suddenly drop all cravings and triggers and suddenly allowed you to grow up?

I will say one blessing for us - quitting hard substances - and please don't rattle off specifically what you struggled with because others are still deep in the trenches. - but our willpower I feel is on a whole other playing field from the others at the gym - I'm assuming its because we had to battle so much harder to get where we are at? Or our self-control had to work overtime because we had to develop it and develop ethics-because we all were basically moral vacuums living in nihilistic hedonism.

Your thoughts ?- and if you are 4+ years of sobriety, feel free to friend request me. :flowerforyou:

yopeeps025

I just finish my IOP treatment for substance abuse yesterday. I found that I was a self medicating. Yes exercise and nutrition has help me. I never got any triggers. I would still go to partying and bars and not use. I love the sober live. I cannot say I will never drink again. I CAN say I will not drink until I hit my weight goal.

MrTolerable

I just finish my IOP treatment for substance abuse yesterday. I found that I was a self medicating. Yes exercise and nutrition has help me. I never got any triggers. I would still go to partying and bars and not use. I love the sober live. I cannot say I will never drink again. I CAN say I will not drink until I hit my weight goal.

^yeah good stuff!!! Likewise I still go to parties, casino, and da bars - I just am always the DD. Likewise - Holidays and Family Reunions - FTW.

Glad to hear that you acknowledged you were self medicating - similarly for me when I first started abusing substances it was to aid my insomnia and I guess I had those teen angst acceptance issues going on.

yopeeps025

I needed this IOP. It saved my life in a sense.

SugaryLynx

:flowerforyou: I haven't but I'm glad you've found the light and wish you and anyone who is battling this the best.

Chevy_Quest

Hey OP thanks for having the guts and courage to fight your addiction and taking the time to post here.It is great to see people fighting to be better any way they can.

Inspirational post! :glasses:

Calliope610

OP (and others), congrats on your recovery! I have been sober of 10yrs now, and the personal accountability and discipline I developed during my recovery is now being put to use in my quest for better health and fitness.

bellesouth18

Hey OP thanks for having the guts and courage to fight your addiction and taking the time to post here.It is great to see people fighting to be better any way they can.

Inspirational post! :glasses:

Ditto to all of the above! Congratulations on your success. And I hope anyone who is struggling will be encouraged by your post.

I have a question for you. My son-in-law has a substance abuse problem. He has been to rehab 3 or 4 times for various lengths of time--from 3 days to 30 days, but always relapses shortly after he comes home. What can I do to help him, anything? I fear for his life sometimes. What helped you the most? His parents are both deceased and I'm the closest thing he has to a mother now.

yopeeps025

Hey OP thanks for having the guts and courage to fight your addiction and taking the time to post here.It is great to see people fighting to be better any way they can.

Inspirational post! :glasses:

Ditto to all of the above! Congratulations on your success. And I hope anyone who is struggling will be encouraged by your post.

I have a question for you. My son-in-law has a substance abuse problem. He has been to rehab 3 or 4 times for various lengths of time--from 3 days to 30 days, but always relapses shortly after he comes home. What can I do to help him, anything? I fear for his life sometimes. What helped you the most? His parents are both deceased and I'm the closest thing he has to a mother now.

Substance abuse education. Just talk to him. Find out how severe his addiction is? For example, when he does it to fell normal.

MrTolerable

Hey OP thanks for having the guts and courage to fight your addiction and taking the time to post here.It is great to see people fighting to be better any way they can.

Inspirational post! :glasses:

Ditto to all of the above! Congratulations on your success. And I hope anyone who is struggling will be encouraged by your post.

I have a question for you. My son-in-law has a substance abuse problem. He has been to rehab 3 or 4 times for various lengths of time--from 3 days to 30 days, but always relapses shortly after he comes home. What can I do to help him, anything? I fear for his life sometimes. What helped you the most? His parents are both deceased and I'm the closest thing he has to a mother now.

I wouldn't say take the tough love approach - it can build resentment. And the mind of the addict isn't really them...so trying to reason by yelling will not work. What moved me the most was people around me who wouldn't yell or judge me - per se... it was my parents and real friends that looked at me and I could see the disappointment in their eyes. - express yourself and say your disappointed, but don't beat up the individual.

I went to 4+ rehabs myself biggest ones was a 6 month in-patient and the 15 month in-patient... I used my entire time in the rehab and it was a miserable experience to look back on because all you talk about and think about is the substance, its all thats discussed and it becomes a focal point in their life- rehabs are very very unhealthy I think because it just surrounded me around other addicts and it lead to me making friends with harder abusers which lead me to trying harder substances. A great deal of staff at rehabs are former addicts themselves, and sometimes the individual can make a huge impact, but the rehab as a whole tends to be viewed a bit negatively by me.

I recommend loving, smiling, and expressing your disappointment.


Aside from exercise which helped the most because it treated a great deal of the problems like insecurities, and anxiety etc that I was using for - but also getting a career also made a HUGE impact. And if he can't get a career I'd advise him to make his job a career, and he will stand out and find a career.

It may sound materialistic and bad, but morality is simply absent when you are an addict - it may not make any sense but there is so much inward selfish thinking - but I would also recommend pushing him to work just to purchase nice things... One of the biggest changes I remember was going back to a new apartment and actually having furniture and clothes... have him set materialistic goals - such as buy a car by such and such date, get an apartment on such and such date, get a nice suit on such and such date. - etc.

Good luck! - just said a prayer for you.

MrTolerable

OP (and others), congrats on your recovery! I have been sober of 10yrs now, and the personal accountability and discipline I developed during my recovery is now being put to use in my quest for better health and fitness.

*clap clap*

Congrats!! Personal accountability and discipline - that's what it's all about.

edit: PM'd inquiring about how many years sobriety I have had - basically 4 years. fell off the wagon hard-core a few times in the first two years- but always always fall forward!!

yopeeps025

Hey OP thanks for having the guts and courage to fight your addiction and taking the time to post here.It is great to see people fighting to be better any way they can.

Inspirational post! :glasses:

Ditto to all of the above! Congratulations on your success. And I hope anyone who is struggling will be encouraged by your post.

I have a question for you. My son-in-law has a substance abuse problem. He has been to rehab 3 or 4 times for various lengths of time--from 3 days to 30 days, but always relapses shortly after he comes home. What can I do to help him, anything? I fear for his life sometimes. What helped you the most? His parents are both deceased and I'm the closest thing he has to a mother now.

I wouldn't say take the tough love approach - it can build resentment. And the mind of the addict isn't really them...so trying to reason by yelling will not work. What moved me the most was people around me who wouldn't yell or judge me - per se... it was my parents and real friends that looked at me and I could see the disappointment in their eyes. - express yourself and say your disappointed, but don't beat up the individual.

I went to 4+ rehabs myself biggest ones was a 6 month in-patient and the 15 month in-patient... I used my entire time in the rehab and it was a miserable experience to look back on because all you talk about and think about is the substance, its all thats discussed and it becomes a focal point in their life- rehabs are very very unhealthy I think because it just surrounded me around other addicts and it lead to me making friends with harder abusers which lead me to trying harder substances. A great deal of staff at rehabs are former addicts themselves, and sometimes the individual can make a huge impact, but the rehab as a whole tends to be viewed a bit negatively by me.

I recommend loving, smiling, and expressing your disappointment.


Aside from exercise which helped the most because it treated a great deal of the problems like insecurities, and anxiety etc that I was using for - but also getting a career also made a HUGE impact. And if he can't get a career I'd advise him to make his job a career, and he will stand out and find a career.

It may sound materialistic and bad, but morality is simply absent when you are an addict - it may not make any sense but there is so much inward selfish thinking - but I would also recommend pushing him to work just to purchase nice things... One of the biggest changes I remember was going back to a new apartment and actually having furniture and clothes... have him set materialistic goals - such as buy a car by such and such date, get an apartment on such and such date, get a nice suit on such and such date. - etc.

Good luck! - just said a prayer for you.

\
OP in my treatment we always question ourselves on if we use our addicted behavior to soberity how much different we would be. Exercisism is the way to go. Yes I just made up a new word.

MrTolerable

OP in my treatment we always question ourselves on if we use our addicted behavior to soberity how much different we would be. Exercisism is the way to go. Yes I just made up a new word.

+1 I like it, very clever!

yopeeps025

thing is i never stopped working out. It was always what I consumed to make me the high weight I am today. Alcohol has so many calories and I have a pretty high tolerance+overeating binge eating= gaining lots of weight

ThinLizzie0802

Substance abuse was a serious issue for me throughout my teens and early twenties. It played a major role in the negative changes to my weight/health. Once an addict, always an addict but focusing on nutrition and exercise is a very, very key component in staying sober for me.

MrTolerable

@yopeeps025 - yeah I can't relate so much there because I struggled with alc but struggled with substances that would prevent or supress any appitite from coming on.And It's good you kept working out - keep up the good work.

@thinLizzie080 - so true - there is no way I'm going to go back to a substance when I'm able to tell myself no everytime I get a craving to have a piece of food and whatnot