Your Day

**Exo** · 12-05-2016, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucem Ferre

I wasn't meaning to be dick. It's just that Ki has been a whiny pussy, we all have **** we are going through, he's constantly whining. So no, having emotions doesn't make you the pussy. It's how you portray them.

You're still being a dick.

Paedantic Basterd · 12-05-2016, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucem Ferre

I wasn't meaning to be dick. It's just that Ki has been a whiny pussy, we all have **** we are going through, he's constantly whining. So no, having emotions doesn't make you the pussy. It's how you portray them.

God forbid he deals with things differently than you do.

Blank. · 12-05-2016, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exo

False. You may know some unique cases but every single person I know who has used heroin has taken advantage of the kindness of others and I've know a lot of heroin users.

Anecdotal. When most people try to help addicts they actually push them further away. People commonly tell them how they're screwing up their lives. That's not what they need to hear. Addicts need to hear that they have someone they can talk to and confide in.

The Batlord · 12-05-2016, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1blankmind

Not true. Most addicts are disenfranchised individuals who feel disconnected from society. They use the drugs as an escape. By simply lending a little compassion can help.

I've been good friends with an addict. He was a cluster**** of a human being, and if being friends with him taught me something it's that it honestly normalizes their situation so that being a drug addict no longer feels so terrible, cause hey, this guy is sticking by me. Or at least that's how I perceived it.

And to be perfectly honest I think compassion for an addict who isn't seeking out help on their own might very well have the opposite effect, as now that you're making explicit to them that their behavior is NOT normal, and in fact is pitiable, it will only widen the gulf between them and non-addict society. If you were having money troubles and I just walked up to you and handed you a hundred dollars unsolicited for you to pay your rent, would it make you feel better or worse?

**Exo** · 12-05-2016, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1blankmind

Anecdotal. When most people try to help addicts they actually push them further away. People commonly tell them how they're screwing up their lives. That's not what they need to hear. Addicts need to hear that they have someone they can talk to and confide in.

Lol. Dude. I'm sorry. But you have no idea what you're talking about. Take solace that you don't. I'd love to be ignorant in this subject.

Blank. · 12-05-2016, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I've been good friends with an addict. He was a cluster**** of a human being, and if being friends with him taught me something it's that it honestly normalizes their situation so that being a drug addict no longer feels so terrible, cause hey, this guy is sticking by me. Or at least that's how I perceived it.

And to be perfectly honest I think compassion for an addict who isn't seeking out help on their own might very well have the opposite effect, as now that you're making explicit to them that their behavior is NOT normal, and in fact is pitiable, it will only widen the gulf between them and non-addict society. If you were having money troubles and I just walked up to you and handed you a hundred dollars unsolicited for you to pay your rent, would it make you feel better or worse?

You are right about doing that to someone who hasn't realized they have a problem. But most addicts can't be helped til they have that realization.

The Batlord · 12-05-2016, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exo

Lol. Dude. I'm sorry. But you have no idea what you're talking about. Take solace that you don't. I'd love to be ignorant in this subject.

My experience wasn't as intense as Exo's, but I think we both found that addiction literally makes someone into a worse person. They become closed off by their addiction, which makes them insular and self-centered, and combined with their growing need for drugs this makes them eager to jump at any opportunity to use someone else to get them, which is now much easier since they really only care about themselves at this point.

Paedantic Basterd · 12-05-2016, 04:17 PM

Addiction is a process that is far more complicated than this discussion can allow for. I whole-heartedly advocate for harm reduction as an approach, but there are definitely elements of personal responsibility and personal safety that affect the success of the solution. You can't change people for them. Nobody but you will put you first.

But addiction is a pathological misappropriation of the brain's prioritization circuits and socially, we make it very hard for people to seek, obtain, and maintain the help they need. The current strategies fail because they're not tailored to the individual's needs in most cases, and if they aren't, that person is not going to stick with the plan.

**Exo** · 12-05-2016, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1blankmind

You are right about doing that to someone who hasn't realized they have a problem. But most addicts can't be helped til they have that realization.

Addicts can only help themselves. You can "help" lean them towards a self realization and progressive action towards sobriety but until they are ready to accept their problem and accept their life, nobody can help them.

The Batlord · 12-05-2016, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1blankmind

You are right about doing that to someone who hasn't realized they have a problem. But most addicts can't be helped til they have that realization.

Does LiL particularly sound like someone who's had an epiphany and is trying to get her life back together?

12-05-2016, 04:17 PM	#41068 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	Addiction is a process that is far more complicated than this discussion can allow for. I whole-heartedly advocate for harm reduction as an approach, but there are definitely elements of personal responsibility and personal safety that affect the success of the solution. You can't change people for them. Nobody but you will put you first. But addiction is a pathological misappropriation of the brain's prioritization circuits and socially, we make it very hard for people to seek, obtain, and maintain the help they need. The current strategies fail because they're not tailored to the individual's needs in most cases, and if they aren't, that person is not going to stick with the plan.