For me its about willpower and a very healthy support system. Therapy for addiction is a huge help. get it if you can.
Ive been an addict since I can remember. When I was a senior in high school, I was majorly addicted to freebase cocaine. I was already heavy into other drugs, LSD, Crytal, Pot and cigarettes, But smoking cocaine nearly killed me. At age 18 I was 79 lbs, homeless and near death and was still trying to finish HS. I remember sitting at my dealers house on the couch( I also lived there briefly in the cellar with my boyfriend and a skunk), and all these dudes came out of one of the rooms with all kinds of firepower waiting for some brigade to come. They were high and paranoid and I knew if I moved, I was dead. I had an epihany, I was going to die if I didnt makes serious changes. I did. I ended up on the streets for a couple of months while still trying to graduate, And I did it becasue I had to. The other drugs went out the window too, except nicotine. I managed again to quit smoking, cold turkey, when I was 28. WILLPOWER and the desire to live. As you can see in both cases, it is the desire to live that helped me put the pipe down so to speak.
As I grow older I still find I have addictions I need to deal with, gambling was one once and food always will be. Im an addict. Plain and Simple. But with help, support and a will to live a better life, you can be a "semi-retired" addict like me
