quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Some say addictions are choices. Others say there is a point at which the choice is gone. Then there is rock bottom where one seizes his choice back. I have a recovering alcoholic friend who says the definition of rock bottom is that moment when your circumstances decay faster than your ability to lower your standards. Habits are hard to break. Addictions are even harder.

One of my most innocuous habits was nail biting. I did it my entire childhood. My fingers were always bloody and sore. Nothing my parents did would stop me. One day I decided to carry fingernail clippers in my pocket. I quit cold turkey. To this day 45 years later there is always a clipper within reach.

Another addiction I suffered was nasal spray. I didn't know it when I started, but that stuff is evil. Use it more than three days in a row and you get rebound congestion that can only be resolved quickly by more and more nasal spray. By the time I realized I was hooked, I was using a bottle every three days. When we went somewhere, I had to be sure I had my spray. I had bottles stashed everywhere. I am embarrassed to say I was physically addicted for years. Years! I read online that prolonged use of nasal spray would result in necrosis of the tissue requiring removal and disfigurement! I finally decided that I would quit over the Christmas/New Years holidays one year because it would not matter if I couldn't sleep for having to mouth breathe. I read up on what I could expect for the rebound cycle to ease. It would be 7 days.

Finally the moment came when my nasal passages closed and I didn't spray. When I say closed, I mean vault tight. It was miserable to swallow, eat, drink, sleep, talk, cough, sneeze. I was struck at how much we rely on open nasal passages. Misery did not move my resolve. That night I did not sleep. I quickly learned how dry the mouth gets as a mouth breather. So I drank water. Big mistake. Don't drink. Sip. Don't swallow. Rinse. I tried to sleep with a humidifier aimed directly at my mouth the next night. No go. No sleep.

By now the misery index was as high as it had ever been. No sleep for two nights and three days made me irritable. I sequestered myself. Sometime during the third night I slept, but not for long as I woke up with leather mouth. Still a mouth breather. My nasal passages still freakin' slammed shut. I skipped all family Christmas parties. Sorry DF is not feeling well. Night four I desperately used Breathe right strips and double doses of menthol lozenges. No go. But I did sleep. Leather mouth in a couple of hours. So bad my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. Day five.......a break in the vault. Just a crack, but it was a glorious crack. Still a mouth breather, I could swallow with some comfort. I slept that whole night. Leather mouth in the morning but with even more open nasal passages. Was like I had a bad cold. Finally on day seven my passages were about 50% and I could breath with my mouth closed albeit labored. Day nine I could breathe 100% with ease. I had broken the bond and was free. I will never go back there again.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I have a recovering alcoholic friend who says the definition of rock bottom is that moment when your circumstances decay faster than your ability to lower your standards.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I think it is useful to describe what we had to do to quit our addictions. I think it helps others who may be reading with the same difficulty/struggle. One thing I noticed with people who succeed in their battle against addiction is they have moved beyond shame or embarrassment.