I've been sober for three years and I never forget how pleasant the feeling was. I have to snap out of it and remember how bad it really was not how good it felt.
Yes speed is great fun until you are still up at 4 o clock in the morning thinking that people you know are coming after you! Then you do it all again the next day and the cycle continues. I did speed casually for a month and then said i cant live like this i'm paranoid all the time. It's not worth the several hours of bliss only to be terrified later.
Hi, i'm izzy and i'm an addict. I made it 7:10 into this video and honestly from an addict's standpoint, i'm appalled. A lot of what he's saying is in fact true in regards to the use and crash, the company you keep while in use, and the SOMETIMES emotionless feelings. I've been off and on in addiction for the last 4 years, my longest sobriety was 18 months. I've had days at the peaks where my suspicion is through the roof and everyone is starring at me. I've also had days during my daily use where i just use to get through my 3rd shift job. I was reckless, careless, and selfish at one point before the 18 month sobriety. Since then, i've used "responsibly" if there is a thing, to where i'm awake, aware, a loving father, a compassionate husband, and a damn good hard worker. Has the use gotten my wife and i in trouble? Yes. We live with our mistakes every day and i know one day we'll finally make it out of this relapse, today? Next month? I'm not sure, but i do know that when in addiction, you don't need someone to group you into individuals you see with no teeth, picked to high heaven, and talking to themselves. In addiction we only need support, understanding, and people willing to just say,"What can i do to help?". Thank you, this has been my TedTalk
He everyone, me again. I’ve been sober since 2/2/21. Since then I’ve had my ups and downs in recovery including my wife who still in active addiction OD’d and passed away in September. I’m on a higher road now with no more set backs or urges. WE DO RECOVER. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk follow up!!!🙏🏽
Addiction is not substance specific. Addicts want to feel good, chemically 'normal'. We pursue the substances that help to achieve that, or at least alleviate the discomfort of feeling horrible. Whether it's meth, food, sex, shopping or exercise; addicts are seeking a sense of peace and contentment. Stop focusing on the substance or the symptom. Start trying tro understand why the individual finds sobriety so uncomfortable. Resolve that, and the addictions become realistically manageable.
Addiction CAN be substance specific. It's really about the obsession to pursue whatever entity will change how the user feels and then the compulsive engaging of that entity resulting in the changed feelings but also the loss of control, the tolerance development, the overwhelming obsession and the internal dismay that wreaks havoc on the soul. That is addiction. This video has merit
I love how he's at least trying to study & understand meth addiction. Seems like he actually cares about finding a solution for ppl. He may not understand it on a personal level but he is trying to understand. He has obviously dedicated a lot of time to studying it.
I don't see it that way. I know that 99% of everything said here is false. When people start talking like this, it's a waste of time for them and all of us. WASTE. To me, based on the manner he was speaking, he is only trying to teach/listen to himself on all of this, probably to save him from the feeling of failure from the whole of this part of his life he dedicated to "studying it". 🚮 If you generalize as he has, then your lost from the start because it's not OK to do that. The way I see it, is this whole little "play" has added to the wall that is already built up between the "rich" and the "less fortunate" . He has no idea at all regarding what each of these people have been through. He is trying to shove them into his make believe nomenclatures, however. 😵💫
Almost 4 years sober. I was not an addictive person and could cold turkey quit things like weed and alcohol. But, meth it took one hit and I wanted it for the rest of my life. It took me and my wife having a kid to cold turkey quit meth. Because, I knew he shouldn't have to grow up with parents with an awful problem like this. I remember my days doing everything I can to get more but, now I would never touch it even for a billion dollars. It takes over your life. It's the worst thing imaginable and I wouldn't wish it on even my worst enemy
Really love this! I’m only affected by this with my close family members and relatives,and it’s hard to watch and try to support them. Couldn’t imagine trying to quit it. Hope all is well brother! Stay strong 💪
I can say, as a former meth addict, that 90% of this is true for probably half of meth addicts. There are 2 different types of addicts. The type that are gluttons {for lack of a better word} and just consume all the drugs they have because they just want to get as high as possible and stay that way- these are the addicts that he's talking about- then there's the type that use to maintain a certain mentality or energy level. The latter can maintain employment and feel pleasure and function just fine without meth. Generally, you wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference between when these people are high or when they're not. I was once accused of being high by my lawyer and it was the only time that he'd seen me sober.
I just quit alcohol and this is the toughest thing.. When I go to a club or restaurant its the worst because I remember only one thing that is drinkable in those kind of environments, Alcohol 😕 Ordering a soda feels wrong but I guess soon I will be okay.
I admire people going head on with this epidemic. Especially when it hasn't ruined there life personally but you really need someone who's been through it to reach other addicts
When I came to canada from india , the first thing I noticed is ppl are so disconnected with each other in the need for privacy. Yes india there is poverty, but it is very very easy to make friends , take someone for a cup of coffee and ppl are generally curious and it helps
I'm from the far west of Europe, and have travelled to over forty countries - though only as far as the Middle East. It has been my experience that the further east I would travel, the more community-minded people are (regardless of the politics within respective countries at a particular point in time). I have no doubt that there will be exceptions, but that is my experience. On the rare occasions I have shared accommodation with people from India or, say, China, I found myself spending a long time conversing with those people in a way that is rare in the West (in my experience).
im there right now. life boring, anxious about all these plans i have. dont wana drink alcohol anymore, hate all my friends, familys not here, no relationship to keep me busy. its dangerous. luckily i love myself too much to do this but not everyone does and i wana understand it.
@@janeswurld I regained control back from alcohol by having a year of abstinence. Now I don't drink to get smashed. Drink alone or even buy it unless it's a special occasion. Good luck with your relationship with alcohol. I have no friends. My girlfriend is becoming more and more distant. I have given up smoking cigarettes about two and a half years ago and I am constantly having thoughts to smoke. I have to tell those thoughts to jog on. I have plans......🙂
I have a theory I'm going to put out there. If you were a child of the seventies and eighties, and you haven't been able to talk about what happened to you, because you tried to talk to adults at the time and nobody cared, you might be like me. Our nervous systems are shot, symptoms look a lot like ADHD I'm getting yourself to do anything you're supposed to seems unbearable at times. Effectively not very high functioning. And then.. you get to a substance and you can suddenly do all the things. You're capable, energetic, clever and sure you don't sleep as much anymore but you feel like you found the Fountain of Youth. And you can't really talk to anyone else about it because well people are age if you had a good you had it pretty good but for those of us that had it really bad as children it's just not talked about, and we get gaslit by everyone. That was the era of well they were quiet and kept themselves but they seem like good neighbors who would have thought what was really going on behind closed doors.. that would never play these days with the internet and if you're a Gen X but you will raise like a boomer he won't be able to understand. We're brain damaged to begin with cognitively impaired I'm getting back to the ADHD symptoms, chances are pregnancy Young. We were not parented, we were unwanted. We were conceived right one Roe versus Wade started and there was still so much pressure to comply to your family and their religion we were kept out of obligation often conceived out of obligation to parents who really wanted to go out disco dancing and doing coke. And then there's the income ceiling that plateaued cutting off the path of middle and lower income people. These are all symptoms. We're on cell phones because my parents were part of building that industry and I'm screwed because of it. Because I live next door to a predator and then was instructed to grow up and fear hiding and dark houses that I didn't exist, no one should ever know that I'm there. We are the hidden ones and if you never felt that way then you wouldn't understand
im sorry you had to go thru that, my heart goes out to you and i hope that one day you will be sharing your story in recovery to help other addicts who are at the point you used to be ❤
You do matter. No matter what you were told or how you feel you do matter and you are very important. I really hope that you’re able to see this thru your own eyes some day.
@OfficialMel my life resonated with your story. You are so beautiful and so worth everything you want. Finding the strength and happiness to get there is always going to be a challenge. I’m working with a therapist to get me through my CPTSD and I expect that I will have the strength and courage to address my trauma without having the mental decomposition that comes from it. I hope you find your peace and wish you well on your journey. It’s okay to feel okay. It’s also okay to not feel okay. Work through your emotions with the methods you are successful with and you can make it through to the next stage.
Yes and for someone who’s always had a difficult time sharing their feelings, the words naturally come out smoother than I would have sober. I occasionally smoke it, and when I do, I learn alot about myself (intentions/goals)
It is nice to finally see the counselor's get close to why people use and why they keep using; the socializing with people and being accepted no matter how weird you are, and it covers up the awful feeling of depression. As long as the depression sets in the chest, that is how long it will be used (for some people). People aren't accepted right at once, like you mentioned. But after accepted, the social part of it is enticing and accepting to what meth is being done.
Such a over simplification its almost criminal - over time meth distorts your perception of the 'level of njoyability' the drug gives you, and that is artificial yes, but your brain treats it as reality and releases massive amounts of dopamine, so you can remember this ( on a primitive level, the function is to preserve life ) all of this gets processed and linked to memory which gets triggered by anything you experienced in that moment. Your brain then releases glutamate which motivates you to seek whatever your brain linked survival to (in this case - your brain is telling you that in order to survive the best option is using/seeking meth ). And I would think its a bit more intense experience than a involuntary reaction as a result of conditioning. Just to touch on the reason why advanced meth addicts dont experience pleasure in normal things is because of a prolonged exposure to massive amounts of dopamine when using. Your brain then accepts this artificial level of dopamine spikes as the new 'normal' and re-sets the 'detection' level of dopamine, effectively causing a person to feel no joy or have any interest in normal pleasurable activities - the only thing that registers will be meth. Think the condition is called hypofrontality - dreadfull state to be in. If this 'community based treatment' actually worked I would eat a hat
Very proud. My boyfriend and I are trying to stay sober he has made it almost a month, i am not even a day. But tomorrow is a new opportunity to start over. Im hoping it is also the year i recover
RIGHT NOW is the best time to get started BUT FIRST, get it all out of the house. All of it. Pipes, straws, needles and all. Last thing you need is to find an old pipe up in the closet. Clean house.
@Jaxyn Trent I hope you're doing well and that you are achieving your dream to be in active recovery. I wish you nothing but the best. Blessings, peace and love 🤍
I was an AOD counselor and what I heard is still a basic diagnostic/ treatment model ... Not specific to meth . I said I was an AOD counselor .. I relapsed and when I did I used meth for the first time . Took me 6 Years to get off it , I been off of meth for 19 months now . And I can tell you all something of the psychosis that is at the root of the uphoria of meth addiction . It feels better than anything . The example he gave about the dog and the amount of saliva produced by the Bell ( conditioned ) being less than the food (natural ) is incorrect when it comes to (Specifically Meth) ... Meth produces more saliva than food or anything else . It feels good , and it sucks that you can't turn it off for days at a time (have to let it run it's course) .. Yet we still do it , why ? One reason is because the uphoria is so great and hijacks our natural senses and abilities that it takes aprox. 18 months before we are eaven able to Salivate to food again .. using his example of the dog , spit and water or food . Meth is a powerful specific drug ! And needs to be addressed as a separate entity when I comes to treatment and recovery . I'm Carl and I use to be a AOD counselor , today I am recovering from a 6 Year meth addiction . 19 months now , no meth ...
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing. I am an advocate helping women. Very often, these women come into the shelter after being victimized by partners on meth. It’s also common for these women to have been introduced to meth use by their partners. I started researching more on meth because since I’ve never taken meth, it’s hard to wrap my mind around a high that can replace or surpass the pleasure that comes from life itself and love. Thank you for helping me understand more. And I hope the best for you and yours. Luisa
Yeah, this guy had an extremely simplistic view. I think most people would be blown away by how many meth addicts are actually born through its relationship with work. It makes work fun and can do more of it. It's also the perfect excuse. It helps me work better. Then it snowballs and you have to do it to work or even wake up at all. I think this is far more common than his explanation of how it takes hold.
While he wasn't spot on with everything I must say he gave it a damn good try. Also, just because it wasn't spot on for me doesn't mean it wasn't for someone else. I've been to rehab and it sucked!! The worst part was being under the guidance of individuals that had no real clue what I was experiencing. They only knew what they read in their text books. At least this guy seems like he's really trying to understand or gain understanding.
As A former methamphetamine/Dexedrine addict this really hit home and related to me. I have been off speed for almost 2 years now, and can feel pleasure from natural stimuli (food, spending time with family and friends, music, learning etc.) What I learned from my speed addiction were the 2 lessons mentioned in this video.
Lari Nope 1.5 years of pure coldness (no emotion), then for approximately 7 months I was just so dramatic and over - emotional it's only been in these past few months I can really genuinely have fun without amphetamines, Disclaimer:I replaced meth with smoking pot, which boosts pleasure in its own way. however even not while baked I can laugh and smile and cry and experience a long range of emotions. bit literally meth makes your emotion disappear if your not tweaked 24/7
Meth isn't this godly feeling of bliss that everyone talks about. Nothing can replace the feeling of falling in love with someone, or seeing your family after a long period of time, even holding a kitten, whatever. It's synthetic, forced pleasure, and it makes life suck very quickly.
I was addicted to meth and fentanyl. A month ago I cold turkeys the fentanyl. Now that I've recovered from that I'm getting rid of the speed. I'm on day 1
As a user, I will say that a lot of what he states is true but I disagree with a few key points. I believe the stigma around meth, and all drug users is skewed. I truly feel that users have a deep hurt they're trying to numb and addressing the root of the problem through therapy would help a lot. I was 18 when meth was forced upon me. Yes I began sporadically using which turned into many days awake followed by the crash and my life spiraled downward. I was never paranoid or had psychosis or the picking thing. But I also got my life together while using. I used meth to keep me awake studying for medical exams and working 14 days straight 14 hour shifts at the hospital during the pandemic. I was responsible for letting my life go and I was responsible for turning my life around despite the drugs I was using. I in no way am condoning drug use and I wish I had never done meth but I believe that the person still makes the choices and is responsible for the life they live and we need to stop blaming or pushing responsibility on drugs.
I started using speed back in the early 80s... .I've had bits of clean time & didn't use while pregnant. Right now I have since Feb 16 this year. These later years I can't get a year clean. This time I got to church now sometimes have a an alcoholic beverage. Been to 12 treatment centers in my lifetime...I've completed like 4 of those. I've always been hirable even held a same job for more than 7 yrs. I have a bone density issue that I contribute to the drug use. Several arm fractures ...like 9 iin total. I haven't IV used in a long time like a year and a hal I'm hopeful this time. I won't give up a beverage or a hit of weed once in a while. I prefer the small local church I got to vs 12 step meetings. Not every person who does speed is a tweaker. You'd be surprised who does it that you don't know. I lived in a posh area central coast in CA. I didn't steal and known for my honesty. Just saying
I am so happy that this documentary is on you tube I am sitting here with my family and I am hoping that this will show that I am not such a bad guy and that I am going to be a addict for the rest of my life but I’m very much going to do everything that I can to do and become more of the person that is the result of the research program
People like this don't and never will get it. You ought to have to be addicted to something at least once in order to be able to give talks on the topic of addiction
@ Navonod on NLH Totally disagree. You just have to watch someone you love destroy their life with an addiction. It's a real death and grieving that one goes through seeing their loved one turning into a person unrecognizable. Watching them abuse themselves and those who love them. It's a destruction of the worst kind. If you've been an addict, then recognize that someone like this may have been through a much worse pain in watching someone slowly killing themselves right before their own eyes. Because, it is a slow and painful death. And this more than gives them every right to not only give a talk about it, but try to do something about it, too.
@@travelingmntngal7963 Theres a difference in watching someone u love go thru it verses going threw it yourself. No way someone thats never been there n done it could ever know wat one feels being in that addiction.
@Marketing Lions Same with Depression. Saying I'm depressed today to a person who has Deep Depression. NO Where Near the Same Thing. And theadvice they give to the Chronic Depressed like "Just Think Positive" Is INSULTING. They Just Don't and Can't get IT.
I appreciate the video and to be honest it is true about the forced happiness from meth being different from just nature happiness. But this video does not explain to meth addicts about what happens 30 years down the road from constant using. Never in my lifetime would I have thought I would lose the person I was and become what I have turned into now. I act like I'm a child still and have become so uncomfortable around people. When sober I don't want to leave my house or even answer my phone. And when I'm high I become depressed and basically want to be dead. which is so ridiculous. This isn't crying this is who I am and pray that someone down the road reads this and say's I don't want to be this person
I want you to quit and be an inspiration to others, because she too just wants to be that good, bad example. Your life isn't over and it doesn't have to be comfortable.
Hi Derek. I know we don't know one another but it's weighing on my heart to tell you that you were not put here to just be an addict and the things that you've endured throughout your life are not entirely your fault. You have a choice to be whoever you want to be but no one can change your life but you. If you were to choose to make the necessary changes in your life to be the best version of you that you can be you have the potential to change and effect lives for the better. YOU have to want it bad enough and YOU have to understand that YOU are responsible for your happiness. Stop sacrificing YOUR happiness for someone else's and go get the life that you are capable of having! I'm sending you lots of love and good vibes my friend. From one addict to another, you can do this ♥️‼️
Recovery from addiction is a long road. It must come from sustained effort, strong principles, and support. I commend this man for helping his community.
9:00 .. missed a whole rabbit hole in the dopamine reward system and it's much more interesting and complex than old mate's explanation. Natural vs Unnatural is a very misleading term and that is why in my opinion anything that follows (i.e) is built on false foundational principles.
There are recreational meth users. There are also highly functioning daily users. It would probably shock you to know how many people surrounding and interacting with you every day. I disagree with much of what this man says, but I've heard the same things said by many, many people in conversations, documentaries, books, articles, studies, etc. I think the biggest mistake is treating drug users as universal, and prescribing a "one size fits all" solution to an extremely diverse issue. People want to feel differently than their situations allow them to feel being sober. The most common denominator that drug addicts share as the reason for continued use is pain. Meth has a lot of different effects that make it attractive: confidence, energy, focus, relaxed inhibitions. There is a sense of inclusiveness and belonging, but he's horribly off track in his ideas about meth users protecting each other. The stigma and misunderstanding and lies everyone has heard make meth use a secretive thing. You can't stick your neck out and risk exposure. But even more than that is the fact that meth users know "the rules", and when you follow them you don't get caught. It's not apathy, but understanding that will keep them from unifying or protecting one another. I applaud him for trying, but he has no real understanding of the issue, like most people in the "treatment" industry.
No man, meth heads are seriously easy to spot. Same as smack heads and alcoholics. No such thing as a high functioning class a drug addict. You'd have to be high on class a drugs to think nobody notices.
The only thing I'm 100% on is it's a lonely existence. I am loving and accepting of anyone but the paranoia is overwhelming. I think my family tried to kill me. I've turned my demons to this phone now. I'm emotionally unstable. I just want to go play in my head but my body doesn't want to cooperate. The system uses our demons to distract us from becoming what we're supposed to be. It's a war on our collective consciousness. Genetically, we are 99.9% the same person but programmed to hate ourself.
I think I see your point and I agree. We're being led like sheep just so things like Google and the Government can have control of the flock. I get stuck in the recesses of my mind too, who wouldn't?
namaste, fellow fiends. this is my favorite comment. i am for this. the collective consciousness. release all past guilt trauma pain all wounds forgive ourselves and forgive others . mastery of love is key.
That was some fairytale shit right there! Skiing doesn't compare to shooting up a half gram of glass. And he mentioned nothing about meth and sex. That's just as addicting as the meth itself. But I'm just junkie so what do I know?
I think society views addicts as criminal when they should be viewed as someone that needs help . Anyone who uses on a daily basis is either suffering from untreated mental illness or trying to self medicate some trauma they’ve experience in their life .
His options for natural joyous experience are kinda weak and totally incomparable to a meth high. Especially in cases of disfunctional families. Social and economic structures are the root cause of addiction and until there are conditions that foster and support positive and meaningful relationships more than there are conditions that foster and support separation and stress, there will be addiction. Addiction is a conditioned response to being overworked and emotionally stressed.
but... he IS providing positive and meaningful social and economic structures. That's the point. And sure, you could choose to view a natural joyous experience as weak compared to a meth high, but every time you get a meth high, you grow progressively weaker and dependent, whereas every time you have a natural joyous experience, you grow progressively stronger and more resilient. I get your point tho'. When you're frozen in survival mode, long-term thinking is a luxury. IOW, what's the point of climbing an iceberg that's mostly underwater, unless you're drowning to begin with? My best advice is: Let Christ be your anchor, die to that self, be reborn, and calm the waters.
I don't think they elevate to "root cause" but I certainly appreciate the point you're making and totally recognize the important role it plays. To this day when you look at the population of people who have recovered from profound addiction you find overwhelmingly that they are white men - in other words, the one's society (of white men) valued enough to give help. I know, you're saying to yourself "but you're a white male. How was rehab, asshole?" Yeah, I'm a white male but I'm also a faggot. I'm lucky to be going into drug court next month. That's how it was.
+Chris Mecham, what is your source? Correlation is not causation -- when you break down the demographics for those who have an addiction in the first place (who then go on to recover), women (except late teens/early 20s) drink less, and less frequently than men. Both poor and rich drink less than lower/middle, which also corresponds to education levels, and whites drink more than anyone except Native Americans. And on an on. There are hundreds of ways to slice the demographic pie. It might not be an issue of who is valued enough to be offered help, but who designs the recovery model. A similar issue pervades pharmacology - as test subjects are overwhelmingly young males 18-25, many other groups experience serious side effects from approved drugs, the ironic result of avoiding testing bias by clueless white men wearing lab coats. So, it's not so much a matter of ranking end-value, but one of a-priori stupidity in experimental design. Regarding alcoholism, the metabolic differences between men and women alone are significant enough to warrant tailoring recovery models to biological gender. For example, the way women metabolize alcohol heavily increases our risk of developing liver disease, not to mention considerations of FAS and FASD. Meanwhile, insurance companies can be counted on to bean-count, and are moving toward limiting coverage for rehab, so recovery options will target the biggest bang for their buck, meaning, why target retirees, or the homeless, or Asians, when they make up a much smaller proportion of chronic heavy drinkers? When it comes right down to it, environmental issues *influence* the course of addiction, but alcohol use disorder is, in fact, a heritable, neurobiological, medical, disease. I also strongly suspect it has a spiritual component as well, but then again, clueless white men wearing white collars can do as much damage as their more doggedly rational brethren if they're not careful.
or using artificially raises itself to the level of a survival tool. You get the right trifecta of genetics, culture, community and exposure and the idea that you can choose or not choose to pick up becomes an academic exercise because by that point the question is moot.
It works both ways. Many who are/were on drugs have been hurt badly by the judgment and poor treatment from others who never used and don’t know the despair of trying to get clean/off drugs.
It’s prescribed to people with ADHD and severe Depression so there are also medical benefits if monitored in low dosage ‘being a major stimulant ‘ Dont abuse it like most people because ephedrine can be deadly raising your Heart Rate
I think you're thinking of Adderall. Desoxyn (prescription methamphetamine) is one of the most restricted drugs that doctors can prescribe. It's not just given out to people with ADHD like candy the same way Adderall is
i searched "what to do if a friend is addicted to meth" this came up and now I can't beleive i watch almost 20 min of this to get to a "kids on their cellphones" anecdote . an almost complete majority of people have never made a definitively truly risky decision for use of a smartphone. Similarly stopping the use of a smartphone "cold turkey" would barely impact a majority of people. conversely, it is only a very small minority of meth users that have not made a definitively truly risky decision for the habit and the thought of stopping use isn't even humorous. i can not think of a single person that has lost a loved one to a cellphone. i don't have enough fingers to count how many i know that have lost them to meth. I am currently losing my best friend and brother. while i suppose this ted talkers pontifications on meth and pleasure correlations make sense on a very basic level, him leaving on a note correlating it to the standard use of phones at the dinner table is daft and tone-deaf.... and as already stated "basic". i do not buy that he would be a successful expert in the field of addiction based on anything he has said here.
As a recovering user, id have to say hes ON with the 'pleasure hijacking' stuff... kinda feel him with the social stuff too..there is abit of stigma amongst users when you say your "clean " now..its just expressed in different ways
It's a much more internal struggle than having simply two groups try to pull you to their side. Its definitely not as straight forward as good and bad.
I learned nothing from this. I am a Meth user at 57 years old. I live alone with my cat. I sit in front of my laptop all day and I don't often have friends over. Meth helps me to keep my anger in check. And although it is a drug that keeps me up all night, I do not use it if I can't afford it. I know that it would be better if I was not using, but it has opened my eyes to some amazing things that I would not have seen otherwise. What I don't like is how I have been stigmatized into being a "Meth head" by other classes of people. I can still look after myself and I face many challenges daily that I have been able to overcome. I guess I know what I am going to write about next so that people have a better understanding of why a person would choose to continue using Meth. I have my work cut out for me now. Thank you.
It does have potential for positive things but its easy for most to abuse it and become addicted. When u compromise ur character to feed the addiction is approaching meth head status
wow for a second I thought I stumbled across an old yt comment my mom posted. then I saw how recent this was, and genuinely felt sad... she passed in Dec. 2020 at 62 after probably 40+ years of using. If you have kids, please know how much it will hurt them.
Very few people will get off it the first time they try . For most it requires a series of attempts until the person becomes aware they have no choice if they want something different .
Maybe less people would be tempted to try the drug if we just changed the name. My suggestion would be "hopeless agonizing torture" or "the long suffering death" has a nice ring to it yeah?
Excellent talk, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot as I am a former user. I now realize why I use to constantly want to chase the high. Now i can reinforce my sobriety by using your technique to solidify my resolve and help my family who were worse off than i was in addiction.
This man takes buzzwords and has zero f****** idea of the reality of being in the situation are you kidding me? You think he understands you because of those buzzwords? This is so ridiculous it's almost like a dog standing up on stage explaining what it's like to be a cat and if you agree with any of the b******* this man saying you have not come to terms with who you are my friend
Pleasure produced from the use of methamphetamine is the same pleasure produced by other activities, only stronger since more dopamine is released in the brain. The effects of methamphetamine are not a conditioned response to the drug.
A year and 5 months clean, you summed up the progression perfectly for me this was a beautiful presentation and will aide me in my recovery presentation for a mothers of addicted childrens group coming up so thank you so much!
Yeah women and mothers love the meth and go hard. Is it to have the energy to get things completed for the day ? I’ve never found meth good enough to get addicted to so I’m just curious
I wish the title of this reflected the greater message. I thought it was just about meth and meth treatment, but the overarching message is so much wider. Thank you.
While I get that an addict can best relate to addiction, in his defense I also believe there is value in what those who aren't necessarily addicts bring to the table. As an addict I know how to be an addict. What I don't know is how to live this life without addiction. Those who aren't addicts who are trying to help addicts to live without addiction - they probably have a way better grip on that then I do...
Well I believe you make a good point I do not believe this makes a good front on anybody who's going through it because all it does is make you feel less than even more than most of us already do so I don't need any more judgment from the peanut gallery in a suit especially considering but I'm quite sure even in my f****** most meth out Haze my IQ level is way higher than somebody that just repeats s*** that they already heard and does not think for themselves like every administration we've seen both sides left or right the whole world is full of ridiculous f****** repetitive automatons. So unless you can give me a response with an original thought and not something that you're repeating that you've heard please keep your f****** idiocy to yourself
This program would completely change my life you have no idea.... All I want is a sober group of people to spend time with... I've been so lonely and I isolate myself from people that I know care about me because I don't want them to see the person I've become due to addiction.... I would give anything to be a part of that program. It would save my life..
This is a great intelligent person in his field:he does care about the whole picture of this addiction,he doesn’t speak ill of his patients as if there less than or a helpless cause.this program needs to be initiated everywhere
Dude... to the guy here , .. Thank u so much ... I realize all this, and been thru it all .. but there is so much reward and pleasure I've had jacked, that I didn't realize . Til now.. but thank u. U've changed not only my perspective and life, but my entire family... That will get to enjoy me again..and see me enjoying enjoyment again. Thank you. Thank you ... Thank you
You forgot to add the HUGE fact of weight loss because of meth. It is an extreme component to women addicted to the drug. No woman living in this world can tolerate the automatic weight gain without the drug. It is a sad fact that women feel they need to maintain a certain figure to be desirable. There are alot more variables excluded in your talk. Will power goes both ways in this situation, quit meth gain weight, eat less and work out, gain weight. I know it is a cause of lack of will power, but, it remains a true reason why women choose this route. Thank you for your talk and love for people.
wow. It is very sad to me that a woman would exchange her face and her skin all over her body, not to mention changes in bone structure and loss of her hair to lose some weight. Good God, people. What are they thinking? I agree with the notion that meth addiction, like any addiction is simply a neurotic attempt to manage psychological suffering. I believe the way to BEGIN helping any addict would be to offer them validation of their feelings and a path to sobriety that involves a lot of love and hand-holding. Addiction is probably the most difficult personal struggle a person can have, except, perhaps, the process of death for some.
The point that is missed is that in order to try it in the first place one must already be not able to find joy in what you listed. This was originally and still serves the same function of prescription drugs used for mental illnesses. People don't like to be miserable.
Pleasure to meth is not a conditioned response... doesn't make sense, it's not like the bell, it's not learned, you give someone some meth and tell em its sugar and they're still gonna feel a hell of a lot of pleasure
Nick Yazdani the reason it's called hijacking pleasure is because the pleasure isn't felt first use. Usually it's heavy anxiety or paranoia surrounding the high. Eventually meth hijacks pleasure and the user learns to appreciate it, thus becoming addicted.
Nick Yazdani I disagree the couple times I did it, I didn't feel anything, I was just more focused and awake, but I wasn't high like weed, heroin, or alcohol, there wasn't a brain feeling you know what I mean haha. Meth is definitely not what I would consider pleasurable.
+Mandolin Ash whattttt...are you on crack lol, u obviously got some bunk shit or take adderall a lot or something. First time I smoked only like 1 shitty hit, wasn't much euphoria just focused and energy. But when i actually smoked it for real the first time it was the best high in my entire life. Incredible! Which scared me because I knew I loved that feeling. Felt like I was in heaven. but I know how easily I could get addicted. But honestly it's a good thing u didn't get the good high, because once you do you're gonna wanna chase that feeling
I am now 4 months clean ...its hard to deal with the pain I feel now that i couldnt work through 2 years But I cant even explain all if the beautiful experiences that I have begun to have since Ive quit ...now I am struggling with My exes addiction. i can't seem to get him to see the beauty around us because he thinks that the drugs make him powerful and sufficient. Ive left him with everything I own just to live ..finally.
@@kristyhoward6897 thank you so much for checking up it is rare that anybody cares enough to do so! I definitely relapsed but God has a way of using consequence make you stand up and try again. If you were to say I was to start over I would be 3 weeks clean now but I love the fact that at this point I know that I have influence others that I don't have to go back. The process is a little rough but I am learning to appreciate around me without that substance ..and I am becoming wiser about my choice in freinds.
I hope you can stay clean. I have two brothers who are heavy users. I am currently caring for one of my brother's baby because he was using. I hope you can find joy in simple activities.
I love his connection of drug addiction to everyday addictions to things like smartphones and facebook. I think its a very real and relevant comparison. Really broke down addiction to its most basic parts
It's not even close to a real or relevant comparison. an almost complete majority of people have never made a definitively truly risky decision for use of a smartphone or facebook. Similarly stopping the use of a smartphone or facebook "cold turkey" would barely impact a majority of people. conversely, it is only a very small minority of meth users that have not made a definitively truly risky decision for the habit and the thought of stopping use isn't even humorous. i can not think of a single person that has lost a loved one to a phone or facebook. i don't have enough fingers to count how many i know that have lost them to meth. I am currently losing my best friend and brother. while i suppose this ted talkers pontifications on meth and pleasure correlations make sense on a very basic level, him leaving on a note correlating it to the standard use of phones at the dinner table is daft and tone-deaf.... and as you said "basic". i do not buy that he would be a successful expert in the field of addiction based on anything he has said here.
In the beginning of use, meth gives people energy, it takes aches and pains away from the body and helps a person to be more social. Then once it is being used daily it becomes the reason for lack of energy, the reason why your body has aches and pains due to dehydration etc., and ultimately causes you to not be as sociable. I think like most chemicals put into the body, it causes the body and brain to not produce the natural chemicals that give us pleasure or energy. Leading to mental and physical dependency of the drug. Retrain the thought process of the brain (not an easy feat) and then the use or thought that meth is needed by an addict can begin to be overcome. The biggest problem with a person becoming drug free starts with their want to stop. If a person doesn't want to stop, there is no treatment or rehab program that will help them. You have to truly want to rid yourself of the drug. I think when the drug stimulates pleasure for that person even when the bad outweighs the good, it makes it hard for the person to truly want to stop. Taking the drug is much easier than the work it takes to not want to take the drug.
@@HappinessOrDeath True- I'm on my 3rd night. Since early afternoon done nothing-chilled. All evening sitting here looking at my full pipe on table- wanting, but see if I can resist. So Far-So Good. But man, I want to continue.
Just remember, nobody has ever credited their success to meth/drugs. Lol. You got this. You want to be a part of life. Meth ain't that great. If you're struggling you need to get treated for depression. Someone that loves themselves wouldn't do that to their body or life. Love yourself
Does anybody have any information about the effects of psychedelics (like LSD, psilocybin, and DMT) on recovering meth addicts? It would seem like a psychedelic experience might be incredibly helpful for someone recovering from such an addiction.
williamofdallas I would say in the case of meth probably not a good idea, the risk of a bad trip would be pretty high in a good percent of users (due to mind state) and in the case of DMT most people smoke it in a meth pipe so that could be a trigger for them to want to use, also I know quite a few meth heads who used LSD and other psyches and it never had a beneficial effect for them, if anything it made them a bit worse, this probably has something to do with the way meth affects people's brain chemistry.
Bad trips are often the most beneficial. Anyhow, I know very well that psilocybin works well for treating alcohol, tobacco, and other addictions, but I have very little knowledge on the subject of meth. I would look into Ibogaine treatments for addiction. Ibogaine is a natural psychedelic commonly used to treat heroin addiction, and I don't see why it wouldn't work for meth addiction. It has also helped many people quit alcohol and cocaine., and is even known to eliminate withdrawal symptoms. The trip is usually unpleasant, as you are typically faced with dark parts of your subconscious mind, but that's what makes it so therapeutic. Side note: Meth pipes are not the most common method of vaporizing N-N,DMT. People often use it with cannabis, or what is known as a "dmt machine" which is a homemade pipe designed for vaporizing DMT.
I've never heard that. I've found the best method is a concentrate pen; You just put the dmt on the coil, close it, and hold the button as you inhale, and It quickly vaporizes it quite effectively.
I've been wondering if that would work. That's really convenient. I'd much prefer that to changa. Have you tried mixing it in with vape juice? That would be even more convenient, just throw it into a blu or a vuse.
It's not too surprising that a moment in the trees, laying fresh tracks in the backcounty, with the sun glistening through the branches of the trees, was one of the things that made me realize that the natural high is the best one
RULivingYou ? Your totally right man. Especially when your knowledge of nature gives you a purpose in being there with her. Foraging edibles, hunting, fishing, learning botany and animal behaviors....most city folk have no idea what they are missing, and all they know is a monotonous job with no real life purpose.
RULivingYou ? Your totally right man. Especially when your knowledge of nature gives you a purpose in being there with her. Foraging edibles, hunting, fishing, learning botany and animal behaviors....most city folk have no idea what they are missing, and all they know is a monotonous job with no real life purpose.
I'm clean for a month now after addicted to it for nearly 2 years,I had very bad anxiety and paranoia,I see people spying after me,same car passing by me to spy me,I was working to distract myself from meth but the I was mentally sick I felt like everybody at my workplace trying to get me sacked,all this feels very very real sadly it could lead to suicide if you're not mentally strong....
i was a closet user.. i was part of the community, worked hard and well known UNTIL i admittted it! once. i asked a what i thought was a best friend i needed help.. I was tossed under the buss and talked about... the worst thing i ever did was admit it.. i dont know if it was because i fooled them for so many years and embarrassed them or if the "status quo" is that judgmental and backstabbers..ill never do it again . as much as i want to quit, im afraid to even ever mention it again. I can say im 1 year sober and see how much different im treated.. its pathetic. i do understand what hes saying.. i used to LOVE to garden.. over time i lost that desire.
The best thing you can do is admit it, friend… water on wax paper, the judgement will come but it will also go. Being honest with others is the same as being honest with yourself. Peace to you.
cigarette smoking hijacks your ability to experience pleasure too i have been smoking a pack a day for 32 years and i can't experience any pleasure with anything in life unless i am smoking cigarettes and it pisses me off
Jeff Fuehr: Check out my reply on another post above- LASER THERAPY! Seriosly worked for me- 3 half our sessions-3 days- Walked away and 10 yrs later- Still Not even tempted. A week after had friends over- they were going to go outside away from mefor a smoke- I said no prob.- Stay. I didn't know if I might be tempted. Sat right beside best friend- Not even tempted. As it is today. Seriously- check it out.
Yeah apparently meth gives users a sense of superiority vs. "fake confidence" as they like to label it. 😂🤷♀️ Everyone has their own opinion based on their own experience I suppose.
You are villifing meth. Meth user's are not all the same. Most work, have family, eat and sleep. Not every meth user is outside of society. You don't know enough to give a talk on meth, I'm sorry to say. Sincerely Candy Tuck
Its killing you whether you see it or not ....the agenda was intitially to control And thats what it because, no matter whether you may be a functional user or not.
I agree ur on the right track to understanding the Meth Addict or stimulant addictive personality. I regret to say I’ve been an addict for over 25 years and it has taken its total cognitively, physically and well the list goes on. Until they develop some kind of pill that can balance ur endocrine and Lympic systems so that u can feel ur memories and cognitively be conscious during a conversation it will only temporarily work. Mind or matter is great for a dry out time but impulsivity and endocrine imbalances added too shame and guilt for not being the person expected. Recipe for failure again again. Too live we need the dry out times but the percentage will always be low in the long term
We do not have to be slaves to the drug yes recovery is hard yes recovery takes a lot of work yes recovery involves change but it is possible! There is no magic wand that will heal us (no pill) but if we want to be better and are willing to do the work we can recover and on the long term! Stay grounded don’t forget your rock bottom practice acceptance show gratitude be humble do the next right thing and be honest ( not with just with others but with yourself especially) shame and guilt keeps us sick we don’t have to continue to suffer
Yes, im addict. I used to do it to get high but now it's just to get by. I need it to be able to get up at 2:00 am to be to work at 4am. I sleep and I eat. It's so hard. I would love to go to treatment. It's just so expensive. I'm getting older, my kids ( well they are grown) know nothing. I worry and have worried about quitting for many years. But I'm so scared. I just need help.
Powerful start to the presentation nice visuals and examples of how meth takes over one's life (e.g. woman having baby with no joy). However, he got weak towards the end. I was with him up to 12:00 when he started talking about "forced pleasure," versus "natural pleasure!" That's where it seemed like he didn't know what he's talking about or lacked true experience working with people on meth.
Xanx was my favorite. Meth was good but I knew better and grinding my jaws togethe sucked. I had to bust all my addictions. I needed to fill good without drugs. I just wanted to see if I could stop. Xanax was really hard to stop for me 5- 10 bars a day for 5 years. I cold turkeyed them was he'll for 2 weeks. I'm finally happy.
@@RM-fo9qh Thank you. Addiction was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. I've dealt with it in many ways. I'm never going back.. I have found myself.😊
Got a month clean hope dis is my year
10 months later now hows your year been?
6 months already.
This is if you wanted it to be
16 years for me😎
2 years clean
I've been sober for three years and I never forget how pleasant the feeling was. I have to snap out of it and remember how bad it really was not how good it felt.
Over time that memory will fade and yoiu will recall that it felt good, but that actual sensation will fade and make it easier and easier over time.
Amen
We call that euphoric recall my brother.
@@markf3521 Heh that's a good name for it. I just thought 🤔💭 of "The Devil's Whisper". 😂
its only good sometimes for me. other times i just think im dying or everyone around me is sneaky and planning something.
All drugs are REALLY fun until they're suddenly not. Then it's misery chasing normalcy... Pure Agony chopped up by small moments of temporary relief
Rich Hozzy That sums it up well.
Ao true
Not true. Some drugs are not even fun in the first place.
Thats why people use moderation when drinking alcohol and other mind-altering substances.
Yes speed is great fun until you are still up at 4 o clock in the morning thinking that people you know are coming after you! Then you do it all again the next day and the cycle continues. I did speed casually for a month and then said i cant live like this i'm paranoid all the time. It's not worth the several hours of bliss only to be terrified later.
Hi, i'm izzy and i'm an addict.
I made it 7:10 into this video and honestly from an addict's standpoint, i'm appalled. A lot of what he's saying is in fact true in regards to the use and crash, the company you keep while in use, and the SOMETIMES emotionless feelings. I've been off and on in addiction for the last 4 years, my longest sobriety was 18 months. I've had days at the peaks where my suspicion is through the roof and everyone is starring at me. I've also had days during my daily use where i just use to get through my 3rd shift job. I was reckless, careless, and selfish at one point before the 18 month sobriety. Since then, i've used "responsibly" if there is a thing, to where i'm awake, aware, a loving father, a compassionate husband, and a damn good hard worker. Has the use gotten my wife and i in trouble? Yes. We live with our mistakes every day and i know one day we'll finally make it out of this relapse, today? Next month? I'm not sure, but i do know that when in addiction, you don't need someone to group you into individuals you see with no teeth, picked to high heaven, and talking to themselves. In addiction we only need support, understanding, and people willing to just say,"What can i do to help?". Thank you, this has been my TedTalk
Hope you're drug free today 👍
Stay off the tweak
@@ryangarcia42095. Don't insult ppl who struggle. You're the kind of punk that probably mocks handicap ppl.
Wrong answer, Ryan
He everyone, me again. I’ve been sober since 2/2/21. Since then I’ve had my ups and downs in recovery including my wife who still in active addiction OD’d and passed away in September. I’m on a higher road now with no more set backs or urges. WE DO RECOVER. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk follow up!!!🙏🏽
I've been 12 hours sober...
Addiction is not substance specific. Addicts want to feel good, chemically 'normal'. We pursue the substances that help to achieve that, or at least alleviate the discomfort of feeling horrible. Whether it's meth, food, sex, shopping or exercise; addicts are seeking a sense of peace and contentment. Stop focusing on the substance or the symptom. Start trying tro understand why the individual finds sobriety so uncomfortable. Resolve that, and the addictions become realistically manageable.
Addiction CAN be substance specific. It's really about the obsession to pursue whatever entity will change how the user feels and then the compulsive engaging of that entity resulting in the changed feelings but also the loss of control, the tolerance development, the overwhelming obsession and the internal dismay that wreaks havoc on the soul.
That is addiction. This video has merit
i am always desperately seeking control
No, YOU resolve it. No one else can
I beg to differ. It can definitely be substance specific. Addiction can be presented in various ways, stop pigeonholing something so complex.
I'm a addict . I do it for hate to feel bad.. maybe I'm different . If a slam half gram of meth 2nite . It won't be fun or make me feel good
5 months clean and serene. Please pray my strength in the Lord. Thanks Nicolas this talk was very informative.
Congratulations
Updates?
I learned more from reading the comments than listening to the speech
He lost me a lpng time ago...
funny
Ha I’m glad I saw this first. Not gonna waste my time watching.
Super common phenomenon imho
word - COz¥ rep
I love how he's at least trying to study & understand meth addiction. Seems like he actually cares about finding a solution for ppl. He may not understand it on a personal level but he is trying to understand. He has obviously dedicated a lot of time to studying it.
I agree.... Thank you
I don't see it that way. I know that 99% of everything said here is false. When people start talking like this, it's a waste of time for them and all of us. WASTE. To me, based on the manner he was speaking, he is only trying to teach/listen to himself on all of this, probably to save him from the feeling of failure from the whole of this part of his life he dedicated to "studying it". 🚮 If you generalize as he has, then your lost from the start because it's not OK to do that. The way I see it, is this whole little "play" has added to the wall that is already built up between the "rich" and the "less fortunate" . He has no idea at all regarding what each of these people have been through. He is trying to shove them into his make believe nomenclatures, however. 😵💫
I agree
Almost 4 years sober. I was not an addictive person and could cold turkey quit things like weed and alcohol. But, meth it took one hit and I wanted it for the rest of my life. It took me and my wife having a kid to cold turkey quit meth. Because, I knew he shouldn't have to grow up with parents with an awful problem like this. I remember my days doing everything I can to get more but, now I would never touch it even for a billion dollars. It takes over your life. It's the worst thing imaginable and I wouldn't wish it on even my worst enemy
Really love this! I’m only affected by this with my close family members and relatives,and it’s hard to watch and try to support them. Couldn’t imagine trying to quit it. Hope all is well brother! Stay strong 💪
I can say, as a former meth addict, that 90% of this is true for probably half of meth addicts. There are 2 different types of addicts. The type that are gluttons {for lack of a better word} and just consume all the drugs they have because they just want to get as high as possible and stay that way- these are the addicts that he's talking about- then there's the type that use to maintain a certain mentality or energy level. The latter can maintain employment and feel pleasure and function just fine without meth. Generally, you wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference between when these people are high or when they're not. I was once accused of being high by my lawyer and it was the only time that he'd seen me sober.
The ability to re-learn how to enjoy other things in life is vital to recovery.
This is so true
i couldnt enjoy things before meth. for a while i thought meth saved me :/
I just quit alcohol and this is the toughest thing.. When I go to a club or restaurant its the worst because I remember only one thing that is drinkable in those kind of environments, Alcohol 😕
Ordering a soda feels wrong but I guess soon I will be okay.
I admire people going head on with this epidemic. Especially when it hasn't ruined there life personally but you really need someone who's been through it to reach other addicts
Yes you do.
When I came to canada from india , the first thing I noticed is ppl are so disconnected with each other in the need for privacy. Yes india there is poverty, but it is very very easy to make friends , take someone for a cup of coffee and ppl are generally curious and it helps
Loneliness epidemic here.
I'm from the far west of Europe, and have travelled to over forty countries - though only as far as the Middle East.
It has been my experience that the further east I would travel, the more community-minded people are (regardless of the politics within respective countries at a particular point in time).
I have no doubt that there will be exceptions, but that is my experience.
On the rare occasions I have shared accommodation with people from India or, say, China, I found myself spending a long time conversing with those people in a way that is rare in the West (in my experience).
Irony is smoking meth while watching a ted talk about meth
Bobby Digitol wow
I am going through it too Bobby. Prayers for ya , we shall be redeemed, because HE LIVES !!! .
Nikki Springer amen
caleb jordan crazy how that works huh?
😂
when life becomes boring, chemicals become interesting.
im there right now. life boring, anxious about all these plans i have. dont wana drink alcohol anymore, hate all my friends, familys not here, no relationship to keep me busy. its dangerous. luckily i love myself too much to do this but not everyone does and i wana understand it.
@@janeswurld I regained control back from alcohol by having a year of abstinence. Now I don't drink to get smashed. Drink alone or even buy it unless it's a special occasion. Good luck with your relationship with alcohol. I have no friends. My girlfriend is becoming more and more distant. I have given up smoking cigarettes about two and a half years ago and I am constantly having thoughts to smoke. I have to tell those thoughts to jog on. I have plans......🙂
Yes, this is exactly what it is about..in my case too.
I have a theory I'm going to put out there. If you were a child of the seventies and eighties, and you haven't been able to talk about what happened to you, because you tried to talk to adults at the time and nobody cared, you might be like me. Our nervous systems are shot, symptoms look a lot like ADHD I'm getting yourself to do anything you're supposed to seems unbearable at times. Effectively not very high functioning. And then.. you get to a substance and you can suddenly do all the things. You're capable, energetic, clever and sure you don't sleep as much anymore but you feel like you found the Fountain of Youth. And you can't really talk to anyone else about it because well people are age if you had a good you had it pretty good but for those of us that had it really bad as children it's just not talked about, and we get gaslit by everyone. That was the era of well they were quiet and kept themselves but they seem like good neighbors who would have thought what was really going on behind closed doors.. that would never play these days with the internet and if you're a Gen X but you will raise like a boomer he won't be able to understand. We're brain damaged to begin with cognitively impaired I'm getting back to the ADHD symptoms, chances are pregnancy Young. We were not parented, we were unwanted. We were conceived right one Roe versus Wade started and there was still so much pressure to comply to your family and their religion we were kept out of obligation often conceived out of obligation to parents who really wanted to go out disco dancing and doing coke. And then there's the income ceiling that plateaued cutting off the path of middle and lower income people. These are all symptoms. We're on cell phones because my parents were part of building that industry and I'm screwed because of it. Because I live next door to a predator and then was instructed to grow up and fear hiding and dark houses that I didn't exist, no one should ever know that I'm there. We are the hidden ones and if you never felt that way then you wouldn't understand
im sorry you had to go thru that, my heart goes out to you and i hope that one day you will be sharing your story in recovery to help other addicts who are at the point you used to be ❤
Wow!!!! Very intense reading for me,,, I'm at a loss for words,,, born 1978
You do matter. No matter what you were told or how you feel you do matter and you are very important. I really hope that you’re able to see this thru your own eyes some day.
This comment above brought to you by meth!
@OfficialMel my life resonated with your story. You are so beautiful and so worth everything you want. Finding the strength and happiness to get there is always going to be a challenge. I’m working with a therapist to get me through my CPTSD and I expect that I will have the strength and courage to address my trauma without having the mental decomposition that comes from it. I hope you find your peace and wish you well on your journey. It’s okay to feel okay. It’s also okay to not feel okay. Work through your emotions with the methods you are successful with and you can make it through to the next stage.
Meth made me realize that I should not let outside forces control me.
Yes and for someone who’s always had a difficult time sharing their feelings, the words naturally come out smoother than I would have sober. I occasionally smoke it, and when I do, I learn alot about myself (intentions/goals)
It is nice to finally see the counselor's get close to why people use and why they keep using; the socializing with people and being accepted no matter how weird you are, and it covers up the awful feeling of depression. As long as the depression sets in the chest, that is how long it will be used (for some people). People aren't accepted right at once, like you mentioned. But after accepted, the social part of it is enticing and accepting to what meth is being done.
Wow you did not speak for the majority of us
Such a over simplification its almost criminal - over time meth distorts your perception of the 'level of njoyability' the drug gives you, and that is artificial yes, but your brain treats it as reality and releases massive amounts of dopamine, so you can remember this ( on a primitive level, the function is to preserve life ) all of this gets processed and linked to memory which gets triggered by anything you experienced in that moment. Your brain then releases glutamate which motivates you to seek whatever your brain linked survival to (in this case - your brain is telling you that in order to survive the best option is using/seeking meth ). And I would think its a bit more intense experience than a involuntary reaction as a result of conditioning. Just to touch on the reason why advanced meth addicts dont experience pleasure in normal things is because of a prolonged exposure to massive amounts of dopamine when using. Your brain then accepts this artificial level of dopamine spikes as the new 'normal' and re-sets the 'detection' level of dopamine, effectively causing a person to feel no joy or have any interest in normal pleasurable activities - the only thing that registers will be meth. Think the condition is called hypofrontality - dreadfull state to be in. If this 'community based treatment' actually worked I would eat a hat
the way you explained it makes logical sense excellent information..
Meth makes you psychic
@@MaTTer1235 yes it can make you psychotic but I've been reading that it makes people psychic too
Purrrrfect explanation! Purrrrfectly worded to a T!
@@DanielDaniel-xt3jh Na bro, it doesnt
Recovering addict here. I really appreciated this presentation and Dr. Taylor's insights. Thank you.
Very proud. My boyfriend and I are trying to stay sober he has made it almost a month, i am not even a day. But tomorrow is a new opportunity to start over. Im hoping it is also the year i recover
RIGHT NOW is the best time to get started BUT FIRST, get it all out of the house. All of it. Pipes, straws, needles and all. Last thing you need is to find an old pipe up in the closet. Clean house.
@Jaxyn Trent I hope you're doing well and that you are achieving your dream to be in active recovery. I wish you nothing but the best. Blessings, peace and love 🤍
I was an AOD counselor and what I heard is still a basic diagnostic/ treatment model ... Not specific to meth .
I said I was an AOD counselor .. I relapsed and when I did I used meth for the first time . Took me 6 Years to get off it , I been off of meth for 19 months now .
And I can tell you all something of the psychosis that is at the root of the uphoria of meth addiction . It feels better than anything . The example he gave about the dog and the amount of saliva produced by the Bell ( conditioned ) being less than the food (natural ) is incorrect when it comes to (Specifically Meth) ...
Meth produces more saliva than food or anything else .
It feels good , and it sucks that you can't turn it off for days at a time (have to let it run it's course) .. Yet we still do it , why ? One reason is because the uphoria is so great and hijacks our natural senses and abilities that it takes aprox. 18 months before we are eaven able to Salivate to food again .. using his example of the dog , spit and water or food .
Meth is a powerful specific drug ! And needs to be addressed as a separate entity when I comes to treatment and recovery . I'm Carl and I use to be a AOD counselor , today I am recovering from a 6 Year meth addiction . 19 months now , no meth ...
I totally agree that meth recovery programs should be specifically tailored to the drug and the mental/neurological affects it creates.
19 months is 1 year & 7 months. 18 months is 1 year & 6 months.
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing. I am an advocate helping women. Very often, these women come into the shelter after being victimized by partners on meth. It’s also common for these women to have been introduced to meth use by their partners. I started researching more on meth because since I’ve never taken meth, it’s hard to wrap my mind around a high that can replace or surpass the pleasure that comes from life itself and love. Thank you for helping me understand more. And I hope the best for you and yours. Luisa
Yeah, this guy had an extremely simplistic view. I think most people would be blown away by how many meth addicts are actually born through its relationship with work. It makes work fun and can do more of it. It's also the perfect excuse. It helps me work better. Then it snowballs and you have to do it to work or even wake up at all. I think this is far more common than his explanation of how it takes hold.
While he wasn't spot on with everything I must say he gave it a damn good try. Also, just because it wasn't spot on for me doesn't mean it wasn't for someone else. I've been to rehab and it sucked!! The worst part was being under the guidance of individuals that had no real clue what I was experiencing. They only knew what they read in their text books. At least this guy seems like he's really trying to understand or gain understanding.
This dude has got it all Methed up
On god.
Is somebody who has a list I read this correctly
Hahahahahahahahahaha
Alex Lee Methin up the worlds outlook on meth
OmG! I use the term "methed" up, too! 😹
As A former methamphetamine/Dexedrine addict this really hit home and related to me. I have been off speed for almost 2 years now, and can feel pleasure from natural stimuli (food, spending time with family and friends, music, learning etc.) What I learned from my speed addiction were the 2 lessons mentioned in this video.
Lari Nope 1.5 years of pure coldness (no emotion), then for approximately 7 months I was just so dramatic and over - emotional it's only been in these past few months I can really genuinely have fun without amphetamines, Disclaimer:I replaced meth with smoking pot, which boosts pleasure in its own way. however even not while baked I can laugh and smile and cry and experience a long range of emotions. bit literally meth makes your emotion disappear if your not tweaked 24/7
Why?
@@kalichernenkof424 how long did you do meth before stopping?
@@kalichernenkof424 proud of u
Meth isn't this godly feeling of bliss that everyone talks about. Nothing can replace the feeling of falling in love with someone, or seeing your family after a long period of time, even holding a kitten, whatever. It's synthetic, forced pleasure, and it makes life suck very quickly.
You've clearly never smoked glass, there's a reason why people lose contact with their families, it's THAT tremendous.
@@JustShotsForMeh I have and it's not
Meth taught me you can be a superhero for 40 bucks
Lmfao. Word.
Cmon man.
You're not wrong
😂
And die if you survive the procedure
I beat it's all on my own it was tough and I'm so proud of myself😇
I'm proud of you too Peggy :) hope you're doing better then ever! Sending much love
I was addicted to meth and fentanyl. A month ago I cold turkeys the fentanyl. Now that I've recovered from that I'm getting rid of the speed. I'm on day 1
WOOHOO!! NO TRAINING WHEEL'S NEEDED! 💪
I don't know you, but I love you and I'm beyond proud of you!
@@cnacks4835 How you doing now?
As a user, I will say that a lot of what he states is true but I disagree with a few key points. I believe the stigma around meth, and all drug users is skewed. I truly feel that users have a deep hurt they're trying to numb and addressing the root of the problem through therapy would help a lot. I was 18 when meth was forced upon me. Yes I began sporadically using which turned into many days awake followed by the crash and my life spiraled downward. I was never paranoid or had psychosis or the picking thing. But I also got my life together while using. I used meth to keep me awake studying for medical exams and working 14 days straight 14 hour shifts at the hospital during the pandemic. I was responsible for letting my life go and I was responsible for turning my life around despite the drugs I was using. I in no way am condoning drug use and I wish I had never done meth but I believe that the person still makes the choices and is responsible for the life they live and we need to stop blaming or pushing responsibility on drugs.
I started using speed back in the early 80s... .I've had bits of clean time & didn't use while pregnant.
Right now I have since Feb 16 this year. These later years I can't get a year clean. This time I got to church now sometimes have a an alcoholic beverage. Been to 12 treatment centers in my lifetime...I've completed like 4 of those. I've always been hirable even held a same job for more than 7 yrs. I have a bone density issue that I contribute to the drug use. Several arm fractures ...like 9 iin total. I haven't IV used in a long time like a year and a hal I'm hopeful this time. I won't give up a beverage or a hit of weed once in a while. I prefer the small local church I got to vs 12 step meetings. Not every person who does speed is a tweaker. You'd be surprised who does it that you don't know. I lived in a posh area central coast in CA. I didn't steal and known for my honesty. Just saying
6 years clean. Cold turkey. Anyone struggling keep fighting it's possible. 💫
I am so happy that this documentary is on you tube
I am sitting here with my family and I am hoping that this will show that I am not such a bad guy and that I am going to be a addict for the rest of my life but I’m very much going to do everything that I can to do and become more of the person that is the result of the research program
Don't gotta be the rest of your life.. blink and cure your brain
People like this don't and never will get it. You ought to have to be addicted to something at least once in order to be able to give talks on the topic of addiction
true
@ Navonod on NLH Totally disagree. You just have to watch someone you love destroy their life with an addiction. It's a real death and grieving that one goes through seeing their loved one turning into a person unrecognizable. Watching them abuse themselves and those who love them. It's a destruction of the worst kind. If you've been an addict, then recognize that someone like this may have been through a much worse pain in watching someone slowly killing themselves right before their own eyes. Because, it is a slow and painful death. And this more than gives them every right to not only give a talk about it, but try to do something about it, too.
@@travelingmntngal7963 Theres a difference in watching someone u love go thru it verses going threw it yourself. No way someone thats never been there n done it could ever know wat one feels being in that addiction.
@Marketing Lions Same with Depression. Saying I'm depressed today to a person who has Deep Depression. NO Where Near the Same Thing. And theadvice they give to the Chronic Depressed like "Just Think Positive" Is INSULTING. They Just Don't and Can't get IT.
Someone once tried relating to my drug addiction by sayin they get it cuz they were addicted to caffeine.
I appreciate the video and to be honest it is true about the forced happiness from meth being different from just nature happiness. But this video does not explain to meth addicts about what happens 30 years down the road from constant using. Never in my lifetime would I have thought I would lose the person I was and become what I have turned into now. I act like I'm a child still and have become so uncomfortable around people. When sober I don't want to leave my house or even answer my phone. And when I'm high I become depressed and basically want to be dead. which is so ridiculous. This isn't crying this is who I am and pray that someone down the road reads this and say's I don't want to be this person
I want you to quit and be an inspiration to others, because she too just wants to be that good, bad example. Your life isn't over and it doesn't have to be comfortable.
Hi Derek. I know we don't know one another but it's weighing on my heart to tell you that you were not put here to just be an addict and the things that you've endured throughout your life are not entirely your fault. You have a choice to be whoever you want to be but no one can change your life but you. If you were to choose to make the necessary changes in your life to be the best version of you that you can be you have the potential to change and effect lives for the better. YOU have to want it bad enough and YOU have to understand that YOU are responsible for your happiness. Stop sacrificing YOUR happiness for someone else's and go get the life that you are capable of having! I'm sending you lots of love and good vibes my friend. From one addict to another, you can do this ♥️‼️
@@jessicadavis6517 ♥️
Recovery from addiction is a long road. It must come from sustained effort, strong principles, and support. I commend this man for helping his community.
Celebrating 4 years today
9:00 .. missed a whole rabbit hole in the dopamine reward system and it's much more interesting and complex than old mate's explanation. Natural vs Unnatural is a very misleading term and that is why in my opinion anything that follows (i.e) is built on false foundational principles.
There are recreational meth users. There are also highly functioning daily users. It would probably shock you to know how many people surrounding and interacting with you every day. I disagree with much of what this man says, but I've heard the same things said by many, many people in conversations, documentaries, books, articles, studies, etc. I think the biggest mistake is treating drug users as universal, and prescribing a "one size fits all" solution to an extremely diverse issue. People want to feel differently than their situations allow them to feel being sober. The most common denominator that drug addicts share as the reason for continued use is pain. Meth has a lot of different effects that make it attractive: confidence, energy, focus, relaxed inhibitions. There is a sense of inclusiveness and belonging, but he's horribly off track in his ideas about meth users protecting each other. The stigma and misunderstanding and lies everyone has heard make meth use a secretive thing. You can't stick your neck out and risk exposure. But even more than that is the fact that meth users know "the rules", and when you follow them you don't get caught. It's not apathy, but understanding that will keep them from unifying or protecting one another. I applaud him for trying, but he has no real understanding of the issue, like most people in the "treatment" industry.
I use and I am a recreational user use don't abuse on a session try to eat and get sleep carry zoplicone don't over do it
Nope everyone is going to die
No man, meth heads are seriously easy to spot. Same as smack heads and alcoholics. No such thing as a high functioning class a drug addict. You'd have to be high on class a drugs to think nobody notices.
@@weareallbeingwatched4602 Oh really?
Then please explain how they're easy to spot?
Recreational meth users NOT, if your using meth that will only last for a while. I have 5.5 years sober. Been there.
The only thing I'm 100% on is it's a lonely existence. I am loving and accepting of anyone but the paranoia is overwhelming. I think my family tried to kill me. I've turned my demons to this phone now. I'm emotionally unstable. I just want to go play in my head but my body doesn't want to cooperate. The system uses our demons to distract us from becoming what we're supposed to be. It's a war on our collective consciousness. Genetically, we are 99.9% the same person but programmed to hate ourself.
I think I see your point and I agree. We're being led like sheep just so things like Google and the Government can have control of the flock. I get stuck in the recesses of my mind too, who wouldn't?
Why would you want do it then, is not even enjoyable
namaste, fellow fiends. this is my favorite comment. i am for this. the collective consciousness. release all past guilt trauma pain all wounds forgive ourselves and forgive others . mastery of love is key.
You guys need to get off meth and all other synthetic drugs and stick to mushrooms or anything else that's grows directly out of the ground.
this thread is based
That was some fairytale shit right there! Skiing doesn't compare to shooting up a half gram of glass. And he mentioned nothing about meth and sex. That's just as addicting as the meth itself. But I'm just junkie so what do I know?
100% that is real. Today its the only draw that tries to grab me anymore. 20 months clean f a 24 year addiction.
@@johnphillipamato dude I smoked meth last week. I thought I was going to stop but now I know I won't.
@@DanielDaniel-xt3jh man its not worth it trust me in the end you'll regret it.
@@jaobyeden4143 I can't stay clean. It's impossible
Getting clean is possible, you have to be done 100% all or nothing.
I think society views addicts as criminal when they should be viewed as someone that needs help . Anyone who uses on a daily basis is either suffering from untreated mental illness or trying to self medicate some trauma they’ve experience in their life .
We do recover ❤️
NA helps create a community too.
Iv been sober since dec 19 2022 . I absolutely loved this Ted talk . Will send to a friend and I hope they get the help they need :(
His options for natural joyous experience are kinda weak and totally incomparable to a meth high. Especially in cases of disfunctional families. Social and economic structures are the root cause of addiction and until there are conditions that foster and support positive and meaningful relationships more than there are conditions that foster and support separation and stress, there will be addiction. Addiction is a conditioned response to being overworked and emotionally stressed.
but... he IS providing positive and meaningful social and economic structures. That's the point. And sure, you could choose to view a natural joyous experience as weak compared to a meth high, but every time you get a meth high, you grow progressively weaker and dependent, whereas every time you have a natural joyous experience, you grow progressively stronger and more resilient. I get your point tho'. When you're frozen in survival mode, long-term thinking is a luxury. IOW, what's the point of climbing an iceberg that's mostly underwater, unless you're drowning to begin with? My best advice is: Let Christ be your anchor, die to that self, be reborn, and calm the waters.
I don't think they elevate to "root cause" but I certainly appreciate the point you're making and totally recognize the important role it plays. To this day when you look at the population of people who have recovered from profound addiction you find overwhelmingly that they are white men - in other words, the one's society (of white men) valued enough to give help. I know, you're saying to yourself "but you're a white male. How was rehab, asshole?" Yeah, I'm a white male but I'm also a faggot. I'm lucky to be going into drug court next month. That's how it was.
+Chris Mecham, what is your source? Correlation is not causation -- when you break down the demographics for those who have an addiction in the first place (who then go on to recover), women (except late teens/early 20s) drink less, and less frequently than men. Both poor and rich drink less than lower/middle, which also corresponds to education levels, and whites drink more than anyone except Native Americans. And on an on. There are hundreds of ways to slice the demographic pie. It might not be an issue of who is valued enough to be offered help, but who designs the recovery model. A similar issue pervades pharmacology - as test subjects are overwhelmingly young males 18-25, many other groups experience serious side effects from approved drugs, the ironic result of avoiding testing bias by clueless white men wearing lab coats. So, it's not so much a matter of ranking end-value, but one of a-priori stupidity in experimental design. Regarding alcoholism, the metabolic differences between men and women alone are significant enough to warrant tailoring recovery models to biological gender. For example, the way women metabolize alcohol heavily increases our risk of developing liver disease, not to mention considerations of FAS and FASD. Meanwhile, insurance companies can be counted on to bean-count, and are moving toward limiting coverage for rehab, so recovery options will target the biggest bang for their buck, meaning, why target retirees, or the homeless, or Asians, when they make up a much smaller proportion of chronic heavy drinkers? When it comes right down to it, environmental issues *influence* the course of addiction, but alcohol use disorder is, in fact, a heritable, neurobiological, medical, disease. I also strongly suspect it has a spiritual component as well, but then again, clueless white men wearing white collars can do as much damage as their more doggedly rational brethren if they're not careful.
or using artificially raises itself to the level of a survival tool. You get the right trifecta of genetics, culture, community and exposure and the idea that you can choose or not choose to pick up becomes an academic exercise because by that point the question is moot.
Exactly.
That man obviously never tried meth
Bet he loves his boogersugar and booze tho
Lol word
I concur with all these comments
He's obviously intelligent then.
you tried it? mr jefferson.
Many who were never on drugs themselves have been hurt badly by others who were
yes it all comes at a price but in the end its not worth it.
It works both ways. Many who are/were on drugs have been hurt badly by the judgment and poor treatment from others who never used and don’t know the despair of trying to get clean/off drugs.
Can we get a Ted talk about that 🤔?
He is right I recovered myself all the same strategies he's talkin about
It’s prescribed to people with ADHD and severe Depression so there are also medical benefits if monitored in low dosage ‘being a major stimulant ‘ Dont abuse it like most people because ephedrine can be deadly raising your Heart Rate
I think you're thinking of Adderall. Desoxyn (prescription methamphetamine) is one of the most restricted drugs that doctors can prescribe. It's not just given out to people with ADHD like candy the same way Adderall is
i searched "what to do if a friend is addicted to meth" this came up and now I can't beleive i watch almost 20 min of this to get to a "kids on their cellphones" anecdote . an almost complete majority of people have never made a definitively truly risky decision for use of a smartphone. Similarly stopping the use of a smartphone "cold turkey" would barely impact a majority of people. conversely, it is only a very small minority of meth users that have not made a definitively truly risky decision for the habit and the thought of stopping use isn't even humorous. i can not think of a single person that has lost a loved one to a cellphone. i don't have enough fingers to count how many i know that have lost them to meth. I am currently losing my best friend and brother. while i suppose this ted talkers pontifications on meth and pleasure correlations make sense on a very basic level, him leaving on a note correlating it to the standard use of phones at the dinner table is daft and tone-deaf.... and as already stated "basic". i do not buy that he would be a successful expert in the field of addiction based on anything he has said here.
As a recovering user, id have to say hes ON with the 'pleasure hijacking' stuff... kinda feel him with the social stuff too..there is abit of stigma amongst users when you say your "clean " now..its just expressed in different ways
It's a much more internal struggle than having simply two groups try to pull you to their side. Its definitely not as straight forward as good and bad.
Truth. I was a monster during my addiction.
September 2022 was 10 years clean. Used from 2010-2012. At the age of 40-42. So grateful to be alive and healthy!
Congratulations that's awesome
I learned nothing from this. I am a Meth user at 57 years old. I live alone with my cat. I sit in front of my laptop all day and I don't often have friends over. Meth helps me to keep my anger in check. And although it is a drug that keeps me up all night, I do not use it if I can't afford it. I know that it would be better if I was not using, but it has opened my eyes to some amazing things that I would not have seen otherwise. What I don't like is how I have been stigmatized into being a "Meth head" by other classes of people. I can still look after myself and I face many challenges daily that I have been able to overcome. I guess I know what I am going to write about next so that people have a better understanding of why a person would choose to continue using Meth. I have my work cut out for me now. Thank you.
It does have potential for positive things but its easy for most to abuse it and become addicted. When u compromise ur character to feed the addiction is approaching meth head status
Use Adderall instead. It doesn't mimic head blows to the brain. Memory cognition decline.
wow for a second I thought I stumbled across an old yt comment my mom posted.
then I saw how recent this was, and genuinely felt sad... she passed in Dec. 2020 at 62 after probably 40+ years of using.
If you have kids, please know how much it will hurt them.
Very few people will get off it the first time they try . For most it requires a series of attempts until the person becomes aware they have no choice if they want something different .
what if you never naturally felt these pleaaures?
❤ ask
Maybe less people would be tempted to try the drug if we just changed the name. My suggestion would be "hopeless agonizing torture" or "the long suffering death" has a nice ring to it yeah?
Excellent talk, I really enjoyed it and learned a lot as I am a former user. I now realize why I use to constantly want to chase the high. Now i can reinforce my sobriety by using your technique to solidify my resolve and help my family who were worse off than i was in addiction.
This man takes buzzwords and has zero f****** idea of the reality of being in the situation are you kidding me? You think he understands you because of those buzzwords? This is so ridiculous it's almost like a dog standing up on stage explaining what it's like to be a cat and if you agree with any of the b******* this man saying you have not come to terms with who you are my friend
Pleasure produced from the use of methamphetamine is the same pleasure produced by other activities, only stronger since more dopamine is released in the brain. The effects of methamphetamine are not a conditioned response to the drug.
Yeah meth feels like true happiness, it doesn't feel fake. That's what makes it addictive
A year and 5 months clean, you summed up the progression perfectly for me this was a beautiful presentation and will aide me in my recovery presentation for a mothers of addicted childrens group coming up so thank you so much!
Yeah women and mothers love the meth and go hard. Is it to have the energy to get things completed for the day ? I’ve never found meth good enough to get addicted to so I’m just curious
🎉🎉
👌DEVIL'S DUST.... ITS POWERFUL AND DESTROYS YOUR LIFE AND ALL THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU 😭
This is true
This video made me cry... and yes being a user is hard to let go and im praying 🙏 to my lord to help me out
I wish the title of this reflected the greater message. I thought it was just about meth and meth treatment, but the overarching message is so much wider. Thank you.
While I get that an addict can best relate to addiction, in his defense I also believe there is value in what those who aren't necessarily addicts bring to the table. As an addict I know how to be an addict. What I don't know is how to live this life without addiction. Those who aren't addicts who are trying to help addicts to live without addiction - they probably have a way better grip on that then I do...
Well I believe you make a good point I do not believe this makes a good front on anybody who's going through it because all it does is make you feel less than even more than most of us already do so I don't need any more judgment from the peanut gallery in a suit especially considering but I'm quite sure even in my f****** most meth out Haze my IQ level is way higher than somebody that just repeats s*** that they already heard and does not think for themselves like every administration we've seen both sides left or right the whole world is full of ridiculous f****** repetitive automatons. So unless you can give me a response with an original thought and not something that you're repeating that you've heard please keep your f****** idiocy to yourself
You can recieve help from both types. It depends on whether or not you have an open mind or if your false ego says you know better.
Seriously.. If you never got spun, lifted, zooted, or zoinked, then you have no room to speak of the roller coaster that is crystal.
I absolutely love the way he broke this down. It makes perfect sense if you pay attention to the entire lecture.
This program would completely change my life you have no idea.... All I want is a sober group of people to spend time with... I've been so lonely and I isolate myself from people that I know care about me because I don't want them to see the person I've become due to addiction.... I would give anything to be a part of that program. It would save my life..
One day at a time congratulations you got this
This is a great intelligent person in his field:he does care about the whole picture of this addiction,he doesn’t speak ill of his patients as if there less than or a helpless cause.this program needs to be initiated everywhere
Dude... to the guy here , .. Thank u so much ... I realize all this, and been thru it all .. but there is so much reward and pleasure I've had jacked, that I didn't realize . Til now.. but thank u. U've changed not only my perspective and life, but my entire family... That will get to enjoy me again..and see me enjoying enjoyment again. Thank you. Thank you ... Thank you
You forgot to add the HUGE fact of weight loss because of meth. It is an extreme component to women addicted to the drug. No woman living in this world can tolerate the automatic weight gain without the drug. It is a sad fact that women feel they need to maintain a certain figure to be desirable. There are alot more variables excluded in your talk. Will power goes both ways in this situation, quit meth gain weight, eat less and work out, gain weight. I know it is a cause of lack of will power, but, it remains a true reason why women choose this route. Thank you for your talk and love for people.
the professionals dont forget to eat.
wow. It is very sad to me that a woman would exchange her face and her skin all over her body, not to mention changes in bone structure and loss of her hair to lose some weight. Good God, people. What are they thinking? I agree with the notion that meth addiction, like any addiction is simply a neurotic attempt to manage psychological suffering. I believe the way to BEGIN helping any addict would be to offer them validation of their feelings and a path to sobriety that involves a lot of love and hand-holding. Addiction is probably the most difficult personal struggle a person can have, except, perhaps, the process of death for some.
its good your trying to help but its obvious to anyone who has done meth that u have no idea what your talking about
I'm sorry you have no idea what he's talking about.
ScottT00B I'm 6 minutes in and he's pretty dead on 100% accurate thus far
I went through this, so he makes total sense
Renee Brutvan cos he does meth
That's the truth, how on earth did he get chosen to represent meth user's. 2 thumbs down.
The point that is missed is that in order to try it in the first place one must already be not able to find joy in what you listed. This was originally and still serves the same function of prescription drugs used for mental illnesses. People don't like to be miserable.
good point
Good point but everyone is different.
Some just try out of boredom or peer pressure.
I’m salivating over the speaker. No bell needed.
That's funny
Pleasure to meth is not a conditioned response... doesn't make sense, it's not like the bell, it's not learned, you give someone some meth and tell em its sugar and they're still gonna feel a hell of a lot of pleasure
Nick Yazdani the reason it's called hijacking pleasure is because the pleasure isn't felt first use. Usually it's heavy anxiety or paranoia surrounding the high. Eventually meth hijacks pleasure and the user learns to appreciate it, thus becoming addicted.
i beg to differ, the first time i used meth was phenomenally pleasurable
I concur with Nick on this one, you're crazy if you think that you don't feel pleasure the first time.
Nick Yazdani I disagree the couple times I did it, I didn't feel anything, I was just more focused and awake, but I wasn't high like weed, heroin, or alcohol, there wasn't a brain feeling you know what I mean haha. Meth is definitely not what I would consider pleasurable.
+Mandolin Ash whattttt...are you on crack lol, u obviously got some bunk shit or take adderall a lot or something. First time I smoked only like 1 shitty hit, wasn't much euphoria just focused and energy. But when i actually smoked it for real the first time it was the best high in my entire life. Incredible! Which scared me because I knew I loved that feeling. Felt like I was in heaven. but I know how easily I could get addicted. But honestly it's a good thing u didn't get the good high, because once you do you're gonna wanna chase that feeling
I am now 4 months clean ...its hard to deal with the pain I feel now that i couldnt work through 2 years
But I cant even explain all if the beautiful experiences that I have begun to have since Ive quit ...now I am struggling with My exes addiction. i can't seem to get him to see the beauty around us because he thinks that the drugs make him powerful and sufficient.
Ive left him with everything I own just to live ..finally.
@Saraii How are you doing now?
@@kristyhoward6897 thank you so much for checking up it is rare that anybody cares enough to do so! I definitely relapsed but God has a way of using consequence make you stand up and try again. If you were to say I was to start over I would be 3 weeks clean now but I love the fact that at this point I know that I have influence others that I don't have to go back. The process is a little rough but I am learning to appreciate around me without that substance ..and I am becoming wiser about my choice in freinds.
Because for a lot of people life sucks. And there is no way out.
I hope you can stay clean. I have two brothers who are heavy users. I am currently caring for one of my brother's baby because he was using. I hope you can find joy in simple activities.
I love his connection of drug addiction to everyday addictions to things like smartphones and facebook. I think its a very real and relevant comparison. Really broke down addiction to its most basic parts
It's not even close to a real or relevant comparison. an almost complete majority of people have never made a definitively truly risky decision for use of a smartphone or facebook. Similarly stopping the use of a smartphone or facebook "cold turkey" would barely impact a majority of people. conversely, it is only a very small minority of meth users that have not made a definitively truly risky decision for the habit and the thought of stopping use isn't even humorous. i can not think of a single person that has lost a loved one to a phone or facebook. i don't have enough fingers to count how many i know that have lost them to meth. I am currently losing my best friend and brother. while i suppose this ted talkers pontifications on meth and pleasure correlations make sense on a very basic level, him leaving on a note correlating it to the standard use of phones at the dinner table is daft and tone-deaf.... and as you said "basic". i do not buy that he would be a successful expert in the field of addiction based on anything he has said here.
In the beginning of use, meth gives people energy, it takes aches and pains away from the body and helps a person to be more social. Then once it is being used daily it becomes the reason for lack of energy, the reason why your body has aches and pains due to dehydration etc., and ultimately causes you to not be as sociable. I think like most chemicals put into the body, it causes the body and brain to not produce the natural chemicals that give us pleasure or energy. Leading to mental and physical dependency of the drug. Retrain the thought process of the brain (not an easy feat) and then the use or thought that meth is needed by an addict can begin to be overcome. The biggest problem with a person becoming drug free starts with their want to stop. If a person doesn't want to stop, there is no treatment or rehab program that will help them. You have to truly want to rid yourself of the drug. I think when the drug stimulates pleasure for that person even when the bad outweighs the good, it makes it hard for the person to truly want to stop. Taking the drug is much easier than the work it takes to not want to take the drug.
Everyone I know who uses meth always ends up losing everything
thats not a bad thing. whats ment to be in there life will return when there clean
I seen spirit world's on meth .. that you have no idea
Me also...but it's not that I tripping..I feel I can communicate with them...need to explore more..
You saw demons bro
Idiots! Thats simply your meth made imagination. Go ahead, explore your life away!
Lol when the shadow people come out i know its time to sleep. Always starts on the 3rd night up lol every time
@@HappinessOrDeath True- I'm on my 3rd night. Since early afternoon done nothing-chilled. All evening sitting here looking at my full pipe on table- wanting, but see if I can resist. So Far-So Good. But man, I want to continue.
Just remember, nobody has ever credited their success to meth/drugs. Lol. You got this. You want to be a part of life. Meth ain't that great. If you're struggling you need to get treated for depression. Someone that loves themselves wouldn't do that to their body or life. Love yourself
I needed to hear this so much
Drugs are good
Does anybody have any information about the effects of psychedelics (like LSD, psilocybin, and DMT) on recovering meth addicts? It would seem like a psychedelic experience might be incredibly helpful for someone recovering from such an addiction.
williamofdallas I would say in the case of meth probably not a good idea, the risk of a bad trip would be pretty high in a good percent of users (due to mind state) and in the case of DMT most people smoke it in a meth pipe so that could be a trigger for them to want to use, also I know quite a few meth heads who used LSD and other psyches and it never had a beneficial effect for them, if anything it made them a bit worse, this probably has something to do with the way meth affects people's brain chemistry.
Bad trips are often the most beneficial. Anyhow, I know very well that psilocybin works well for treating alcohol, tobacco, and other addictions, but I have very little knowledge on the subject of meth. I would look into Ibogaine treatments for addiction. Ibogaine is a natural psychedelic commonly used to treat heroin addiction, and I don't see why it wouldn't work for meth addiction. It has also helped many people quit alcohol and cocaine., and is even known to eliminate withdrawal symptoms. The trip is usually unpleasant, as you are typically faced with dark parts of your subconscious mind, but that's what makes it so therapeutic.
Side note: Meth pipes are not the most common method of vaporizing N-N,DMT. People often use it with cannabis, or what is known as a "dmt machine" which is a homemade pipe designed for vaporizing DMT.
***** I feel like DMT machine would be the way to go, as from what I hear, cannabis tends to interfere with breaking through on a DMT trip.
I've never heard that. I've found the best method is a concentrate pen; You just put the dmt on the coil, close it, and hold the button as you inhale, and It quickly vaporizes it quite effectively.
I've been wondering if that would work. That's really convenient. I'd much prefer that to changa. Have you tried mixing it in with vape juice? That would be even more convenient, just throw it into a blu or a vuse.
The use patterns described was spot on. Spot on.
Completely agree and wish I could partake in his study
3144780114 brother from another mother
It's not too surprising that a moment in the trees, laying fresh tracks in the backcounty, with the sun glistening through the branches of the trees, was one of the things that made me realize that the natural high is the best one
RULivingYou ? Your totally right man. Especially when your knowledge of nature gives you a purpose in being there with her. Foraging edibles, hunting, fishing, learning botany and animal behaviors....most city folk have no idea what they are missing, and all they know is a monotonous job with no real life purpose.
RULivingYou ? Your totally right man. Especially when your knowledge of nature gives you a purpose in being there with her. Foraging edibles, hunting, fishing, learning botany and animal behaviors....most city folk have no idea what they are missing, and all they know is a monotonous job with no real life purpose.
I'm clean for a month now after addicted to it for nearly 2 years,I had very bad anxiety and paranoia,I see people spying after me,same car passing by me to spy me,I was working to distract myself from meth but the I was mentally sick I felt like everybody at my workplace trying to get me sacked,all this feels very very real sadly it could lead to suicide if you're not mentally strong....
This is what im going through
i was a closet user.. i was part of the community, worked hard and well known UNTIL i admittted it! once. i asked a what i thought was a best friend i needed help.. I was tossed under the buss and talked about... the worst thing i ever did was admit it.. i dont know if it was because i fooled them for so many years and embarrassed them or if the "status quo" is that judgmental and backstabbers..ill never do it again . as much as i want to quit, im afraid to even ever mention it again. I can say im 1 year sober and see how much different im treated.. its pathetic. i do understand what hes saying.. i used to LOVE to garden.. over time i lost that desire.
The best thing you can do is admit it, friend… water on wax paper, the judgement will come but it will also go. Being honest with others is the same as being honest with yourself. Peace to you.
@@gwendolynns agree and imo the worst thing was picking it up the first time 😢
Hard road but to overcome is a strong human
cigarette smoking hijacks your ability to experience pleasure too
i have been smoking a pack a day for 32 years
and i can't experience any pleasure with anything in life
unless i am smoking cigarettes
and it pisses me off
Jeff Fuehr: Check out my reply on another post above- LASER THERAPY! Seriosly worked for me- 3 half our sessions-3 days- Walked away and 10 yrs later- Still Not even tempted. A week after had friends over- they were going to go outside away from mefor a smoke- I said no prob.- Stay. I didn't know if I might be tempted. Sat right beside best friend- Not even tempted. As it is today. Seriously- check it out.
@@dgbdgb3833 laser therapy for quitting smoking ? Please explain ...
People in chat tried meth one time - "i know more about every meth user in the world than anyone else"
Yeah apparently meth gives users a sense of superiority vs. "fake confidence" as they like to label it. 😂🤷♀️ Everyone has their own opinion based on their own experience I suppose.
You are villifing meth. Meth user's are not all the same. Most work, have family, eat and sleep. Not every meth user is outside of society. You don't know enough to give a talk on meth, I'm sorry to say. Sincerely Candy Tuck
Its killing you whether you see it or not
....the agenda was intitially to control
And thats what it because, no matter whether you may be a functional user or not.
I agree ur on the right track to understanding the Meth Addict or stimulant addictive personality. I regret to say I’ve been an addict for over 25 years and it has taken its total cognitively, physically and well the list goes on. Until they develop some kind of pill that can balance ur endocrine and Lympic systems so that u can feel ur memories and cognitively be conscious during a conversation it will only temporarily work. Mind or matter is great for a dry out time but impulsivity and endocrine imbalances added too shame and guilt for not being the person expected. Recipe for failure again again. Too live we need the dry out times but the percentage will always be low in the long term
I can't put it down. I know I will never be sober so I don't try to trick myself that I will be.
We do not have to be slaves to the drug yes recovery is hard yes recovery takes a lot of work yes recovery involves change but it is possible! There is no magic wand that will heal us (no pill) but if we want to be better and are willing to do the work we can recover and on the long term! Stay grounded don’t forget your rock bottom practice acceptance show gratitude be humble do the next right thing and be honest ( not with just with others but with yourself especially) shame and guilt keeps us sick we don’t have to continue to suffer
I haven't done meth because I know I would get addicted
you arent missing anything the come down is not worth it.
Yes, im addict. I used to do it to get high but now it's just to get by. I need it to be able to get up at 2:00 am to be to work at 4am. I sleep and I eat. It's so hard. I would love to go to treatment. It's just so expensive. I'm getting older, my kids ( well they are grown) know nothing. I worry and have worried about quitting for many years. But I'm so scared. I just need help.
Stay strong.. 💪 it's possible.. 6 years clean. Cold turkey. Find your triggers .. Good luck 😊
@@jodeesisk819 thank you for your message...I will...
Truth
You can do it but you don’t have to make ur own choices
Powerful start to the presentation nice visuals and examples of how meth takes over one's life (e.g. woman having baby with no joy). However, he got weak towards the end. I was with him up to 12:00 when he started talking about "forced pleasure," versus "natural pleasure!" That's where it seemed like he didn't know what he's talking about or lacked true experience working with people on meth.
What they don't talk about is how Meth use leads to MS.
The choice is up to the user
ive literally salivated over meth...Im so glad to be clean
Soo helpful. Threw it all away after this. Thank you. 😬 here goes
you are not yet ready trust me :)
@@JunkofGold I must be. I’m sober now
I'm happy for you! I subscribed to your channel
@@MissUnderstoodasAlways I emailed you
@@JunkofGold ok
Xanx was my favorite. Meth was good but I knew better and grinding my jaws togethe sucked. I had to bust all my addictions. I needed to fill good without drugs. I just wanted to see if I could stop. Xanax was really hard to stop for me 5- 10 bars a day for 5 years. I cold turkeyed them was he'll for 2 weeks. I'm finally happy.
raw one good work!!!
@@RM-fo9qh Thank you. Addiction was one of the hardest things I've ever had to deal with. I've dealt with it in many ways. I'm never going back.. I have found myself.😊
How did you function...I took one and slept two days
This sounds like a talk for all the people who are on all the pharmaceuticals, that companies provide
Exactly
The exalted judges! Surely they are separate.
Misery loves miserable company