[MBTI General] Substance abuse

[Billy]

She already said he abuses pot, xanax, and drinks to black out. He's got such a problem that he's homeless. Also, his belief that he can "play the system" indicates to me that he might also have a personality disorder on top of bipolar disorder.

Or he might just be a typical drug dealer. "playing the system" is something I have heard from a number of them.

 

[Thalassa]

Or he might just be a typical drug dealer. "playing the system" is something I have heard from a number of them.

Well, which is criminal behavior, and is a bigger problem than bipolar disorder alone.

Bipolar disorder by itself doesn't make people drug dealers and criminals and want to play the system. Even people with bipolar disorder and substance abuse problems don't always exhibit antisocial, narcissistic, or criminal behavior.

 

[KDude]

Well, xanax is also a highly addictive substance and if he's combining them with pot and alcohol he could easily kill himself.

Also, I've actually seen someone behave outright psychotic on xanax...while it puts some people to sleep, for other people it lowers their inhibitions and they can become destructive at large doses.

Pills are nothing to laugh at. My sister started on pills, then became a cocaine addict. She was so messed up by the time we had to intervene that she looked like a cancer patient, was throwing cell phones in the river, leaving complete care of her children to my mother, stealing their welfare benefits for her own use, and the first time we attempted to have her committed she walked out of the emergency room. Good times. It tore up by entire family.

All of that can start with pills...I've also witnessed people on pills alone whose behavior is monstrously destructive by itself.

i've been in rehab myself. if i didn't laugh, i'd cry. if i offended, i apologize.

that said, i never got into xanax when i was using other things. i took it a few times in later years when i felt like i was having anxiety attacks. it felt like weed, relaxtion wise. the scary thing is that i got used to them for a little while, and when i pulled off - just that small amount created a dependency on it. on the first night off, it was seriously uncomfortable. not sure why i'm mentioning it, but i heard longtime users apparently go through hell getting off that stuff. some have died from that too.

 

[MoneyTick]

Are you saying that the type of drug one is addicted to, indicates the root psychological problem? Really?

NO sir/madam, it indicates the EXISTANCE of a psychological problem, and that also encompasses an inability to cope with peer pressure. When people have a problem or are in an epic stance in their lives, they turn toillicit drugs in pursuit of seeking a safe harbor from their troubles - or - they could just want to have a fun time.

Irrespectively, there are correlations (not certain concrete indicators) between the type of drug and the mental state desired to relinquish some sort of mental distress or external pressure.

You probably wouldn't find the largest proportion of people who are enduring a divorce smoking a blunt with their friends, but rather, seeking an escape via consumption of alcohol.

Marijuana, on the other hand, is primarily used recreationally and occasional use of marijuana may not necessarily indicate that the person is overwhelmed with mental despair.

Schedule II controlled substances primarily constitute the lesser of the "recreational" drugs.

The more illicit Schedule I controlled substances and abuse thereof, may indicate that the person is enduring an exorbitant degree of mental crisis or giving in to external pressures without discretion or control.

 

[Walking Tourist]

MoneyTick makes a good point. Many times, people who are using drugs have undiagnosed mental illness (bipolar, depression, etc.) and are self-medicating. Unfortunately, that's not a very good way to cope because the dosage in illegal drugs can be somewhat random since, just by the fact that they are illegal, these drugs are not inspected by anyone. Also, there can be a wide variety of toxic substances that are used in the manufacture of the drugs. I'm thinking especially of methamphetemines, which are basically poison.

 

[mmhmm]

can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped -- short of
committing them. against their will. then that opens a whole
other can of worms.

sometimes the person that is going through substance abuse
just needs to go through it... hit rock bottom... to want to get
help. anything in the middle can just fuel it.

to kick my habits i just had to go at it alone. and then i slowly
picked and chose who i wanted a helping hand from.

the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

[MoneyTick]

sometimes the person that is going through substance abuse
just needs to go through it... hit rock bottom... to want to get
help. anything in the middle can just fuel it.

How do you measure success? By how far you've bounced after you've hit rock bottom.

Now get out there and win.