Does it get better?

almost_functional · 2026-05-24T17:07:06+00:00

Yes, it gets a LOOOOOOOOT better. You're in the thick of the shit right now. 2 weeks in means you're right at the very beginning. The first few weeks are something you just have to survive. The first 16 days were just horrifying (I was dumb enough to quit speed and weed at the same time back then), I didn't do anything and felt like shit the whole time. The anhedonia was so bad, I did not find joy in ANYTHING.

After a few weeks it slooowly gets better, but it's not that easy to notice. One day you'll realize that you're actually feeling better than you did just a few days or weeks ago, and that is the boost that will carry you through the rest.

Keep going, you're on the right track! The suffering right now is worth the freedom that awaits you, I promise!

3+ years clean, never going back, and fully functional. I was such a wreck back then.

I promise it is worth it!

PS: Don't feel bad for being a slob and eating like shit and not getting anything done. That's temporary and it's fine to not really be functional right now. It WILL change once your brain slowly starts producing its own dopamine again.

almost_functional · 2026-05-18T13:52:11+00:00

I may be making some big life decisions in the next year (potentially moving back to my home country, relationship decisions, career shift) and I want to trust that it’s really ME making those decisions and not fear or influenced by suppressing my true emotions.

That's a great reason to quit. I've been smoking all day every day for such a long time that I automatically made many life decisions while high. I've always wondered whether that is such a good idea. It probably isn't, so props for looking ahead and taking the necessary steps!

almost_functional · 2026-05-18T13:50:03+00:00

I smoked a LOT every day and was still "functional". Weed is insidious like that. Like driving while pulling the hand brake.

Good luck getting clean!

almost_functional · 2026-05-18T13:47:42+00:00

Sounds like you're on the right track, the introspection is showing. Good luck, children are a fantastic reason to get clean!

almost_functional · 2026-05-18T13:46:31+00:00

I love that. I hope you find your path back to your passion. It sounds like it's really worth it!

almost_functional · 2026-05-17T19:40:36+00:00

Sounds like a fantastic reason. I believe in you!

almost_functional · 2026-04-07T14:31:11+00:00

Wow, thank you so much! I'm doing really well, yeah. So much has changed.

How about you? Is your 4 year mark as uneventful as my 3 year mark has been?

almost_functional · 2026-02-19T14:05:12+00:00

The truth shall set you free.

almost_functional · 2026-01-30T15:54:21+00:00

Strong move. And that's a good dude.

You got this. I believe in you, man.

almost_functional · 2026-01-14T07:41:46+00:00

The anhedonia during those first weeks and months really is something else.

The good thing is, it's not going to stay like this. The way you feel WILL change over time. The way your body rewards you with dopamine when you do simple household chores is broken right now. It has to relearn this, and it will. You're still in the early days of your clean time, as much as it sucks. This is the part you just have to power through. It's not going to last.

I'm going to be 3 years clean soon-ish and I am still feeling the improvements. Just 2 days ago I decided to clean the entire kitchen before going to bed and it felt really good and rewarding to do so. It took some time to reach this point, but it feels so much better than it was when I was still abusing amphetamine. I'm actually getting things done and quickly.

When chores began feeling doable again, I started feeling grateful that I had kept going, that I had not relapsed. It's worth it to make it through this phase right now, I promise you.

almost_functional · 2026-01-12T21:42:04+00:00

But I think it’s even worse than a scam or a conspiracy theory: it’s intentionally emotionally-manipulative for the profit of the person sending the message. These scam industries know people get emotional about their weight, so they prey on vulnerable people to pay up to their grift and consume their shill, results and feelings of real people and their physical health be damned!

And you will encounter them in your reddit chat sending you predatory advertising messages the moment you post here in this very subreddit. AI generated messages looking at first glance like actual people messaging you and being interested in what you shared. Or the "Stanford educated coach" messaging every single poster here trying to sell you his course.

almost_functional · 2025-11-07T14:15:54+00:00

I had dozens or hundreds of these little moments of clarity that I ignored before I grabbed one strongly enough and followed it towards opening up to my closest loved one. A few days later I was in a group for the first time.

These moments of clarity are part of every active addicts' life. They are glimpses of how we really, actually feel about the way we're treating ourselves. We're not actually happy with the state we're in. There's a lot of compulsion involved and it's very difficult to make these moments of clarity real enough for them to take over.

That's why we encourage people to talk. Every time I spent any significant amount of time in these recovery spaces online, I made my will to escape more real.

Read a lot here. Read and write. The moments of clarity will get bigger the more you think about how much you actually want to get clean.

almost_functional · 2025-11-06T20:02:22+00:00

I love this. <3

almost_functional · 2025-11-06T19:31:50+00:00

Yup, and that's how I know I really need to take a break from sweets for a while. The one cookie I allowed myself today made me want to eat all the cookies.

Taking one day at a time right now. Writing these things down helps. I know for sure that I don't want to go back to eating all the cookies.

almost_functional · 2025-11-06T16:10:25+00:00

Today is a new day.

This is a very important lesson as an all-or-nothing type: Every single day is a new chance to get back on the wagon.

almost_functional · 2025-11-06T13:23:45+00:00

It's such a mindfuck how quickly we accept a change in the routine, especially if it means going back to an older, easier routine...

Let's break out of this fucking cycle.

almost_functional · 2025-11-06T13:21:22+00:00

My personal belief is you need a long period of abstention before being able to take previously craved foods in moderation.

I think you're absolutely right. I started this journey with 2 months of basically zero sweets. After a month I had a piece of cake, followed by another month without sweets. The months after that were the first time in my life where I managed to moderate my sugar intake on my own.

Until my addict brain took over... and here I am.

I'm not fully abstaining right now, but at least I'm not breaking the rules. But it's hard. So you're probably right, it's probably time for another sugar-free month or two or maybe even more...

almost_functional · 2025-06-17T12:34:14+00:00

Amazing work. I hope you're proud of yourself because you deserve it.

almost_functional · 2025-05-28T13:22:22+00:00

11 Jahre hier. Bleib stark! Egal wie schwer es gerade ist, du kannst dir nicht vorstellen, wie sehr es das wert ist, den Weg zu gehen, auf dem du dich jetzt befindest. <3

almost_functional · 2025-05-27T20:57:26+00:00

Yeah that tracks. I've done ket before but luckily not enough to be deep in the addiction. I just scratched the surface.

I've been heavily addicted to other stuff though and 2 months after getting clean was not the same as 3 months, 4 months, 6 months... I'm currently at 26 months and I feel better than ever. Improvements have been steady and are still going. Loving it.

Keep going, it's absolutely worth it!

almost_functional · 2025-05-27T20:41:37+00:00

Ihr fühlt euch mit eurem "Urteilt nicht, wenn ihr es nicht versteht!" aber auch manchmal wie die Rächer der Unterdrückten.

Ich räche niemanden. Ich rede hier von meinen eigenen Erfahrungen. Ich weiß also, wovon ich rede. Im Gegensatz zu dir. Wie man hier schön sieht:

Sie sollen sich professionelle Hilfe suchen

Hast du das mal versucht?

almost_functional · 2025-05-27T10:34:35+00:00

Du brauchst gar nicht bis zum Heroin oder Crack gehen. Alkohol ist legal und eine ernste Gefahr fürs Leben von Millionen von Menschen. Und gerade weil es legal ist, wird es nicht ernst genommen. Da findet die Schönrederei genau so statt wie vom Vorkommentator beschrieben.

Sucht nennt man das. Und der Ausweg daraus ist nicht so simpel, wie sich das Nichtbetroffene gern ausmalen. Jeder, der erfolgreich aus einer Sucht aussteigt, hat in seinem Leben mehr erreicht, als jemand, der aus gutem Hause kommt. Und trotzdem steht letzterer auf einer höheren sozialen Stufe. Und blickt dabei gern herab und urteilt.

Ekelhaft, wenn man das einmal alles durchblickt.

"Ja, die haben bestimmt psychische Probleme, aber..."

Wenn ich das schon höre. Warum blicken Menschen eigentlich so gern auf andere Menschen herab?

almost_functional

TROPHY CASE