Overcoming a drug addiction is going to be the fight of your life.  But this is much easier than trying to beat a fatal disease like cancer, etc.  Much like any fatal disease, drug addiction is a SURE KILLER, but it can be cured!

       Unlike the 12 step program which gets the horse before the cart, the STOP Program starts out with teaching you how to STOP, and then adding the 12 steps after you are sure and steady in you new walk.  You will wear your boxing Gloves at all times because the addiction can torment you in your dreams.  This fight is an ongoing battle.

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       I know you’ve heard those words a thousand times.  “JUST STOP”.  Your reply was probably,  “It’s not that easy!”  My words to you today are the same, STOP.  Even though it is not that easy, STOP, is what you will eventually have to do if you want to start a new life, free of drugs.  This is so simple until you will have to go to school, just to NOT UNDERSTAND IT.

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                 How I STOPED

        I don’t consider myself an expert on drug counselling or rehabilitation,   but I’ve been down that drug-road over twenty five years ago and I can only tell my story.

 

      I went through a battle with crack cocaine addiction, and I won!   I know about the monster in the closet and the one that hides under the bed. 

 

      I know how it feels to be alone in your addiction, even in a room filled with other drug addicts who can't wait until the meeting is over so they can get high again.  

 

     I know the fear the night can bring.   I know the fear and dread the thought of relapse brings to you on a daily basis.  If you want to STOP the madness, you will have to STOP.  Only you can stop it.

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       No matter how many rehabs you go to, the end result will be to as simple as, STOP.  When you decide to STOP, something else begins to take the place of what you have stopped.  It's like a trade off or a replacement of energy. 

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      When you STOP, START replaces the thing you STOPPED.  You will START to regain the POWER that you gave to drugs and alcohol.  You will START to put the old destructive behaviors in the past and STOP having the pity parties with your AA buddies.  You will START to proclaim that you are no longer a drug addict and say that you WERE a drug addict.

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        One of the tools I used to help me overcome my addiction was SELF EXAMINATION.  When I took an inventory of myself, I had to be truthful and go to my soul and ask for permission to examine and purge myself.  I was the only one who could do this.  There were many things I didn’t like about myself. 

      I kept a private journal to record  the things I discovered about myself.  Regardless of how many enemies I had acquired on my journey, I found myself to be my worst enemy. 

                 Whenever I got into a situation that I knew would lead me back into my addiction, I would take the exit that my God or my Higher Power had provided for me.  In all of our temptation, there is ALWAYS an escape for us.  We must be willing to take it.  The question is, “DO YOU REALLY WANT TO ESCAPE?” 

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        When I got to the point where the road ended and I was at the bottom, I began to look for  God.  The Spirit of God was always there and I didn't have to look hard or wait  long.  I prayed even when I was high and on my knees feigning for crumbs of crack on the floor.  God’s answer was a small and gentle whisper.  I wasn’t surprised at what the answer was, “JUST STOP, I’ll give you the strength you need to do it.” 

 

      This was too simple.  I suppose I wanted to get a long list of other things I needed to do, like bring back the wicked witch’s broom or add 5 more steps to the 12 that I had already done.  But, all I had to do was STOP.  I finally promised myself that I would STOP.  I had broken this promise so many times before.  I had to learn how to STOP.

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       Smoking alone helped in my recovery.  It started when I bought a $50 rock and a new pipe.  After I took the first hit, I let the pipe cool down.  Instead of taking another hit, I put  the pipe in an old socks and smashed it on the bathroom floor with a hammer.   I wasn’t strong enough to flush the remainder of crack down the toilet, so I got a beer can and smoked the rest of the dope on it.  I choked on the cigarette ashes on the can.  That was an awful experience. 

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       The next day, I bought crack again and broke the pipe after the first hit, but this time I flushed the dope down the toilet instead of using a beer can. Every time I bought dope, I did this.  Drastic behaviors require drastic means.

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        After three months of breaking pipes and flushing dope, I began to lose my desire for crack.   There would be many more drastic measures before I stopped.  It’s a lot like weaning a baby from its bottle.  Many mothers have thrown the baby’s bottle in the trash in the day time, only to give in, go and buy another bottle as night falls, just to make the baby STOP crying.

 

             The FEAR of RELAPSE

 

       After being clean for three years, I was still afraid of RELAPSING.   Writing in a private diary was the tool that helped me get through of RELAPSE.  This FEAR is guaranteed to come.

      You will have to learn to hate the drugs and the way it makes you feel.  It’s like eating something you used to like and you hate it now.  I used to love to eat chitterlings, but when I realized what I was eating , no matter how many types of washings, and how much hot sauce I put on it, the chitterlings was still going to be a plate of shit.   I stopped eating it, and now, I don’t like it. In time, the fear of relapse left, only because I realized I didn’t like crack any more. 

      The habit, whatever it is, has to become like the chitterlings.  It has to stink!

       There is always a back door for us to escape our fears and addictions.

        Send me an email if you have any questions on STOPPING.  Remember, before you can write the e-mail, God already has the answer you need! 

 In case you've forgotten, YOU are the God that will save YOU!