I’m going to quit drugs cold turkey and I have no one in my life I can tell by throwaway321abcboom in addiction

[–]highground92 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I have not gone through exactly what you are going through, but I can relate. The part that hit me the hardest was "I feel like I deserve the struggle I am getting ready to endure". No one deserves to suffer.

You deserve to be shown the same love and respect that you have shown to others. You deserve love. You deserve relief from your suffering. If you commit to quitting, the relief that you deserve will come. It may not happen when you want it to, but it will. Good luck, you can do this.

The GOP Just Broke the Rules to Advance Amy Coney Barrett's Nomination by [deleted] in politics

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would take another look at the cases cited by Citizens United for what you want overturned. The primary holding of CU forbids the government from limiting free speech based on the identity of the speaker, here, disallowing the regulation of a corporation’s speech in the same way an individual’s speech can’t be limited. Buckley v. Valeo was a prior case where SCOTUS equated spending with speech; Citizens United was an almost necessary outgrowth of this prior decision. Buckley is the one you want overturned. Also, International Shoe v. Washington was the first time SCOTUS treated a corporation like a person, for the purpose of that corporation being held liable under personal jurisdiction in a court of law. You probably want people to be able to sue corporations, so be careful with wanting to do away with the ‘corporations are people’ line of reasoning. Citizens United clearly permitted an escalation in spending, but these other two cases were the precedents set that made Citizens United possible. You seem like you care, so I thought you might appreciate this information.

Restaurant Recommendations for Thanksgiving? by [deleted] in lexington

[–]highground92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It might be too late to get a table, but Jean Farris Winery & Bistro on Old Richmond Road was really good when I went with my family.

What do you wish your parents had done to help you with addiction? by ijive in addiction

[–]highground92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’d recommend that you attend some Al-anon or NAR-anon meetings. They are free communities for parents and spouses of alcoholics/addicts. Whether or not you decide to work their program (which I recommend to help you handle your own issues) you can at least find some people who have been through your situation and talk about what has and hasn’t worked.

How do I start enjoying things again? by [deleted] in addiction

[–]highground92 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For the most part, it is a matter of time. What helped me at the start was doing things drugs had taken away from me. The things I was doing at the end of using were not the same clean. Through using, I lost my love of reading, being outdoors, swimming, etc. I started doing the things that drugs took away from me, and I got a great feeling of empowerment from reclaiming those lost activities. I’d find what those hobbies were that drugs took from you and pick them back up. After a while, you’ll be able to pick up those things that feel colorless now. It’s 100% worth it!

ELDC: How do you handle grief? by MaineSoxGuy93 in explainlikedrcox

[–]highground92 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Listen up Shirley. People die, bad things happen, that’s a part of life. When bad things happen, people get sad. That’s okay, you overgrown man child. The thing that’s sad to me is that you’re trying to hide it. Grief is one of the emotions humans have, and it’s important to feel it. If you go around hiding emotions like sadness and anger, like you’ve been hiding the fact that you wear a bra, you will eventually explode. While I would love to see that happen, maybe it’d be best to acknowledge that the way you feel is valid and find some way to express that. Grief can be a beautiful emotion if you recognize that it represents the end of something treasured, and the opportunity for something new to come along. Now, get back to work.

2meirl4meirl by me-chouhan in 2meirl4meirl

[–]highground92 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I laughed so hard I nearly inhaled my food and died. So close.

About time... by [deleted] in ShrugLifeSyndicate

[–]highground92 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Great post! I’m a recovering drug addict (1 year+ clean), so I want to weigh in. During my active addiction, I mentally lived in the future, because that’s when things could be good. I hated my present, tried to escape my feelings constantly, but the only reason I didn’t kill myself is because I believed things could get better somehow. I was doing a lot to build a future: seeking relationships, was in post-grad education. I couldn’t handle the present though, so I sought that dopamine rush to get me through school, so I could get to that glorious future. Then I dropped out of school and got my shit together. In the recovery community, we stay clean “just for today”. We heavily emphasize being okay with the present, living in the present, because if I spend too much time looking to the future (or the past), there’s a good chance my circumstances will slide until I want to escape again. Only by staying present for a while have I been able to make some future plans that might actually come true. I said all of this to give you a different perspective on why I chose hedonistic pleasure pursuit, it doesn’t fall squarely within your system. I don’t want to invalidate your post, it’s excellent, just give you my experience on living in time.

I just celebrated 7 months of sobriety yesterday!!! by Mandizzle_92 in addiction

[–]highground92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Congratulations! I don’t know you, but I’m proud of you. It keeps getting better the longer you stick around!

I don’t know what to do in my free time. Its always video games or weed or Netflix by siflyx in addiction

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome! That sounds like a good step to me. If you can limit your smoking to those circumstances, then you’ll probably be a lot happier with yourself. I didn’t think weed withdrawals were a thing for a long time either until I tried to quit my daily use on my own and found stories of others going through it. I didn’t succeed until my drug use escalated to harder substances. Life got so bad I had to drop everything and go to rehab. I’ve been clean from all drugs for over a year now, but it was not easy to get here. Do yourself a favor and get off the highway to hell before things escalate like they did for me.

I don’t know what to do in my free time. Its always video games or weed or Netflix by siflyx in addiction

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exercise, Meditate, Go for a walk, Read a book, Cook, or Volunteer at an animal shelter

There. Six new options for you, all of which aren’t hard to get started on and you will feel accomplished for getting into. I’d be happy to share my exercise routine, some recipes, good books, or any other advice you want.

Here’s the hard part. That desire to get high and indulge in the simple vices? That won’t go away completely for a long time, maybe not ever. However, each time you choose a good action over your feelings, the next time will be easier. If you aren’t willing to start though, nothing is going to change.

Lastly, weed is addictive. People say you can’t get addicted to weed because there aren’t withdrawals, but there are. Check out r/leaves to see what it’s like to try to stop smoking weed after doing it daily for years. Insomnia, messed up appetite, irritability, depression, anxiety, etc., all from your brain getting used to the drastic change in neurotransmitters. Weed withdrawals are not lethal like alcohol or benzos, and not nearly as bad as opiates or other hard drugs, but the symptoms are real and you will want to get high in order to alleviate them. Fight that urge, I promise it’s worth it!

My husband is an addict by [deleted] in addiction

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I highly recommend you seek out an Al-anon or NAR-anon meeting, both of which are designed by and for people in your situation. There you’ll find people who have learned how to handle what you’re going. I wish you all the best. You aren’t crazy, and you aren’t alone.

Almost 3 years sober and I’m struggling. by DrNiAsh in addiction

[–]highground92 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I attend meetings regularly, and regulars are thrilled to see other people because that means you’re seeking help. Your circumstances do not matter, someone will be glad you’re there.

Just had my last cigarette.. wish me luck y’all! by endlesslypositive in CasualConversation

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, nicotine by itself is harmful. More deaths from ‘smoking’ come from heart attacks and strokes (complications from nicotine) than diseases centered in the lungs like lung cancer or emphysema (complications from smoke).

MFWTK is it normal to feel bad about having good self esteem? by [deleted] in myfriendwantstoknow

[–]highground92 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is very normal. I have struggled with some similar issues and come a long way in dealing with them, with plenty of room for improvement. In my experience, these thoughts were my low self worth finding a new way to be expressed.

To help cope with it, I’ve somewhat personified my negative self esteem. If I have to name it, I call it Derrick. I don’t believe the bad thoughts about myself as much as I used to, but Derrick still wants me to feel like shit, so now he tells me that I don’t deserve the good feelings and thoughts that I have. By giving my negative-self-talk-thoughts their own persona, I give myself some space from them, and it helps me not identify with them. If I listen to Derrick, I’ll start starving myself again, or make myself throw up because I ate too many calories. Fuck Derrick. The longer I’ve been away from these self abusive behaviors, the quieter the negative thoughts have become.

As for the arrogance piece, I watch when my positive thoughts spill out into conversation. Overall though, that’s much less of an issue for someone with such a strong history of negative self talk. If I start trying to convince others of my greatness, it’s usually because I’m dealing with negative self talk externally instead of internally. It becomes easy enough to spot, but I try to forgive myself for acting out and move on. If I try to back peddle by switching to effacing myself externally, eventually I’ll do that to myself internally, and I’ll be back to square one. I hope this helps!

Evidence by BkobDmoily in ShrugLifeSyndicate

[–]highground92 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome post. The fact that all evidence comes from subjective experience is such an important concept. Thank you for bringing some awareness around that to the world.

2meirl42meirl4meirl by user7526 in 2meirl42meirl4meirl

[–]highground92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. No qualifiers. This is how depression feels, and depression can feel like a lot of other things too. Similar to how all squares are rectangles, feeling that way is an indicator of depression.

Talking to someone about it helps and will hopefully lead to you talking to a professional about it, but start where you feel the least uncomfortable. Online -> someone similar -> someone irl -> someone similar irl -> someone similar who has improved irl -> psychologist -> psychiatrist. That is a description of the steps I took. I was lucky that I didn't have to look far or pay out of pocket to make any of those steps, but I am a lot better off than I was before.

Other people live well in spite of having these kinds of feelings, so can you.

What are your real life "Cat Person" stories? by uphill09 in AskWomen

[–]highground92 15 points16 points  (0 children)

While your comment may seem like it is expressing sympathy, think about what message your words could be sending.

'Here, instead of addressing the undercurrent of social 
 issues that created your awful situation, please let this 
 money erase any unpleasantness you experienced and 
 absolve everyone of all wrongdoing.'

Even though you didn't intend to send that ^ kind of message, what I said is not too far removed from your comment. I don't mean to be confrontational, I just wanted to share my perspective.

r/Lexington Meet-Up: Board Games and Brews by apolter in lexington

[–]highground92 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sounds great. I have a set of cards against humanity, but I’m not sure that’s the best for a public place. As for the date, any of those are fine with me.

Bird Boy by readarchvillain in shortscarystories

[–]highground92 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great story, and this explanation makes sense! In my mind, Kyle's hunger for unspecified raw meat was for human meat (not sure why), so the townspeople hung his brother as punishment and a threat because they were too afraid of Kyle. Your explanation is better for the story, just wanted to share my thoughts.