Vapers In Recovery

Hi Guys!
My name is Ghost and I'm an addict.
That's how I have identified myself in meetings for almost 7 years now (Well, I use my real name, not Ghost) and I have met quite a few people that are both in recovery AND vapers.
So... Why not have our own 'Room' here on BDAU- a place to share, to support each other, to vent, whatever...?
All Fellowships are welcome (AA, NA, CA, HA, Overcomers Outreach, AlaNon, NaraNon, Overeaters Anonymous, etc... If I didn't happen to list your program, it wasn't a snub, just naming some off the top of my head) and anyone can post as long as we keep it respectful.
If your life, either directly or indirectly, has been affected by addiction to a chemical or a behavior, then pull up a seat, grab a cup of coffee and stay a while!

As is my tradition (to help keep me focused) I'll post a series of links to meditations each day. If you have any that you want to post, please, please, PLEASE feel free to do so, ok? Or, I can include them along with mine- whatever works.

Ok then- WELCOME!!!

 

Meditations

http://www.jftna.org/jft/

http://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection

http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/thou ... catId=1904

http://www.step12.com/promises.html

 

Here or 'there', you know you can always PM me if you need to

 

Glad ya found our little corner.
I hope to keep it a positive place for us to share and offer support. I can't count the number of times others have been there for me when I needed it. Maybe together, we can all be there for someone else when they need it!

 

I hope you don't mind me asking- are you working a program of recovery? By no means is that a requirement- either way, I'm glad you're here- but it kinda helps me know where you're coming from...

 

The only reason I asked was the 'deserve it' comment.
Working the Twelve Steps taught me to let go of a lot of those feelings that I had and better manage the things I couldn't let go of.
Props to you for being able to go cold turkey by yourself. I know that can't be easy. I quit drinking that way and it very nearly killed me.
Have you explored alternative methods of pain management? Acupuncture? Compression?

 

Amen to that!

 

Ghost glad to see that this thread is already gaining traction. I've said for a long time that our community over a VU was a support group for a lot of us which is the AU group seems to be such a close knit group as can been seen by the sheer volume of activity here in just a short couple of days with only 18 active users.

As you may have realized in how quickly this site got fully fleshed out after I realized how dissastified people were with the direction VU was going, I can say that my addition is stress. I've needed it for a long time to function and the loss of stress is a part of the reason that I think my cognitive impairments came out a couple of years ago because I had time to slow down and "enjoy" life I lost a lot of the stress and activity that I thrived on and discovered that I don't function well without it.

My coping mechanism is the fact that the main impact of Mild Cognitive Impairment is that my memory really sucks so I don't really have much time to dwell on things that have changed in my life since going on permanent disability. Probably a good thing, and I'm also very happy to have made such great friendships through VU because I don't care to have any IRL. With Asperger's Syndrome I don't deal well with others on a casual basis and don't have a lot of tolerance for stupidity, so having to type out everything I want to say and then giving myself time to edit and edit helps me cut down on the number of people I put off, piss off and/or make feel stupid.

Hoping that this thread helps bring everyone even closer and I'll be keeping an eye out on it cause I don't think that ANY abusive, attacking, or demeaning behavior should be tolerated in this particular thread.

 

Meditations

http://www.jftna.org/jft/

http://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/daily-reflection

http://www.hazelden.org/web/public/thou ... catId=1904

http://www.step12.com/promises.html

 

IMI, please don't think I am ignoring your post- I got a call in the middle of replying and when I went back to finish it, it was gone.
I'll retype it after I get my grandson on the bus.
Until then, thank you!

 

I can certainly relate to being addicted to stress.
I spent most of my life a a major Type A personality. I had to have a dozen impossible deadlines a day just to feel productive- the more chaos the better. I would push and push and push myself. It didn't matter what it was- I had to have more.
But MORE was never enough.
That's what they are going to put on my headstone...
MORE was never enough.
Behavioral addictions can be just as devastating as chemical addictions. At various times, I struggled with gambling, stress, sex, adrenaline, the internet, money... you name it.
If I could use something to change the way I felt about myself, then I was hooked. Through it all, there was my first and most powerful addiction- alcohol.
And my life very nearly killed me. I had two heart attacks detoxing. Various manifestations of my disease have left me with ulcers, a bum hip, insomnia... my x-rays look like a jigsaw puzzle that's missing pieces...
It wasn't until I learned to love myself that I could set aside all of those other things and become the person that I was meant to be. I'm not there fully yet, never will be. It's a constant work in progress, but every day I get a little closer and I'm cool with that.
Sometimes, MORE is too much.
Sometimes, what I have right now, in front of me, is just right...
Go easy on yourself and find the person you're meant to be. I found out that all of the expectations I placed on myself weren't shared by others and they are much happier with me being me...
IMI, thank you and thanks to everyone that's helped get this rolling. Support from others that understand us is crucial and I'm grateful for this platform where we can share with each other.
God Bless and have a wonderful day

 

Life is about management and moderation. Fortunately the only thing that I truly regret in my life is not spending more time with my daughter before moving to Indiana just before she started 4th grade. Seems like the only time I ever saw her was to punish her because her mother couldn't do it. Wasn't that the daughter was that bad, or that she talked back, my wife just didn't have the heart for it.

Through her teens I could tell the damage that was done in how she reacted to situations that were emotional, and while things have gotten better for her emotionally, it is still there and probably will be for a long time to come.

Fortunately we are extremely close now and she tells me everything. It was even funny because after she started college she came down and gave me a bag of my favorite suckers and then meekly sat with me. It was weird but I let it go, then she started with "dad you are going to be disappointed in me" and that was always what she was afraid of, not anger, but disappointment... Anyway she blurted out that she had tried an electronic hookah pipe.

I laughed because she was 19 and has never smoked a single cigarette and didn't ever realize that all an e-hookah is an eGo. It was doubly funny because she was the one who finally convinced me to try e-cigs after I started smoking again due to stress fighting with my disability insurance carrier.

Longer story short, I just set her up with a kit, made sure she knew how to use it and got the lowest nic she could if 0 wasn't available in a flavor she liked and sent her on her way. Three months later she just gave me her kit and told me that she had never really used it much and didn't have much interest in it anymore.

Love my girl