Hi there you have taken the first step by recognising that you have a problem and want to get help and support to enable you to turn your life around. My daughter has used cocaine for 11 years and recently hit rock bottom :-( I'm sorry but that is what you have to experience, risk losing your family, home, career, partner etc, get sick of being sick and tired and have the strength and motivation to stop. You can do this my daughter is 38 days clean today and she has done it because she realised she had to, she turns to us her family for support and moved back home with us for a while. You have to walk away from all your friends who 'use' and find something to replace this, find a hobby, and only hang around with people who are clean; good luck and life can become healthier, happier and good again :-) x

I got clean thru Narcotics Anonymous. It is a simple-not religious-program. Here is how its explained:

NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for
whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering
addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. This
is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. There is
only one requirement for membership, the desire to stop using.
We suggest that you keep an open mind and give yourself a
break. Our program is a set of principles written so simply that
we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing
about them is that they work.
There are no strings attached to NA. We are not affiliated
with any other organizations. We have no initiation fees or
dues, no pledges to sign, no promises to make to anyone.
We are not connected with any political, religious, or law
enforcement groups, and are under no surveillance at any
time. Anyone may join us regardless of age, race, sexual
identity, creed, religion, or lack of religion.
We are not interested in what or how much you used or who
your connections were, what you have done in the past, how
much or how little you have, but only in what you want to do
about your problem and how we can help. The newcomer is
the most important person at any meeting, because we can
only keep what we have by giving it away. We have learned
from our group experience that those who keep coming to our meetings regularly stay clean.

I got clean only because of Narcotics Anonymous I tried every way possible until I found NA. I have been clean almost 2 years. Longest I have ever been in my life

Thank you for both of those posts- very helpful.

for me it took me a while to accept that i was an addict and that addiction to drugs was an illness which meant i had no control once i put that first drug in to my system it sets off an allergic reaction and i cant stop - i thought that was a cop out but after doing alot of painful research and drugs bringing me to my knees i started to believe what others were saying about addiction being an illness and that i needed something greater than just me to stop using and find some peace in my life. Now it is very much about staying stopped and living life which isnt such a chore anymore, i can actually be happy today and i can be sad too but it doesnt have to mean the world is ending. For me i have learnt from AA and NA that addiction is a spiritual illness and i need a spiritual solution for this illness.

My interpretation of spiritualism is not religious but about growth, change, honesty, openmindeness, willingness and love.

hope that helps

Thanks Its a very hard issue for me cause I never had an addiction and I never thought I would be a crack user in my life. I really wish I would have been serious about getting help at the beginning. I would always tell myself I'll never get addicted and I'll be fine. At first I would smoke and I could go days even a few weeks without using. Now its like I wanna get clean but its just very hard.

I am in love with a man who's on "dope". I have cried more times than not trying to encourage him until I put him out my home. My mind,eyes,heart are still hurting from loving him but feeling like he is more in love with the drug than me.

I can only tell you: Only you can change your situation, until "you" want to get well and start caring about "yourself" nobody can help you nor feel the need.