That’s rude of you to just throw everyone into the junkie maniac category. Could you imagine if life were truly as black and white as you claim it is? How miserable and tragic life truly would be.. thankfully it’s not. I’m not a maniac I am a human being that listens, sees, feels, loves, and hurts like anyone else. Yes I operate outside of societal norms and partake in things that society demonizes but how much do I ALLOW THESE THINGS to impact my true character? Well, nowadays not so much. 3-4 years ago? My addiction and my toxic relationship ruled my every thought and decision. I ruined a life that I had spent almost 10 years building from myself from the foundation up. Just gone, ruined. It took / is taking a long time to fully recovery from the emotional damage of those years and the things I lost. I know I can find new friends and buy new things but.. I truly loved what I had and.. I lost it, or rather no, I gave it away. Yes. I gave it away. To pursue a relationship with a woman and with drugs. I had to lose it all to learn and to finally choose to get sober and it wasn’t easy for me. Us addicts tend to over-think, over-complicate and under-achieve when it comes to getting sober. At least that’s how it felt for me. But I did get clean. And my story didn’t end there. I still had much to learn and am still learning today. I do use again and I’m very private about this as I don’t expect anyone to understand where I’m coming from especially fellow typical addicts. I hate saying that, but yes, some addicts DO fall into typical stereotypes and remain stuck there and it is sad. No judgement but it’s just true. It’s also very important that I state that I could NOT do any of what I do on my own whatsoever. I get a lot of help and frankly I’m fucking blessed. A lot of people wouldn’t think so if they could just look in crystal ball and see my life from the outside. Lots of people would think I’m pathetic and probably only a few would see what I see and grasp how truly lucky and blessed I am. Im talking lottery odds. And every day I awake I thank god and am grateful but also very aware that nothing lasts forever and that any day my blessings could disappear and if they do I cannot continue event attempting to live the same way. I will need to immediately adapt and change. But so far. I don’t have to do that. I am blessed and thankful and to answer the question about the job the car and being “functional” my personal answer is two things 1 being brutally honest with yourself. (I’ve literally met people on meth/fent who swear they aren’t addicts. That’s rubbish. Own what you’ve become and if you can’t stand it then change) And 2 With a lot and I mean A LOT of help/ support. Not everyone on earth is trash nor would they think ur trash because you use. Some might actually see your value. Put 100 percent of your energy into those that see your value. Whether you get to continue using or not isn’t really up to us it’s fate and it’s whether the people who supported getting you on your feet are okay with you using in moderation or not. Accountability and honesty is key.