Self Medication

Post Reply New Topic

I'm curious as to those of us who are in the generation too old to have been diagnosed early and struggling with diagnosis issues now: what ways have you found to self-medicate so that you can cope with situations?

Myself? Total caffeine addict. Has to be in the form of a coke or Dr. Pepper, though. Other caffeines tend to give me roaring migraines. I notice that when I'm stressed I crave extremely sugary sweets as well.

Of course, then there are the tics....chewing on straws, etc. My SO thinks I actually eat them, so perhaps I'm self-medding with plastic as well. So, I was curious what other things people use as self-medding.

i always kinda lock up:) so i just go guiet and sit in floor etc. but if i get distractet in certain way i can get meltdown

Prescription anti-depressants. accepting my limitations and avoiding situations that challenge them, and sleeping.

Alcohol. I wrote an entry last night that was unfortunately eaten by an SQL error which in part concerned this (mostly not, though). It seems to cut down on the sensory stuff I have going on, I unconsciously analyse less of what I'm seeing, and it totally cuts down on the sensory issues I have because of that. Interestingly, this realisation has made me think that I've been overusing alcohol - I've been leaning on alcohol because I used to socialise in bars. Now I don't, so the sensory issues I regularly encounter are less. I'd just assumed it was required to help me deal with people, but instead it seems it was more to do with an atmosphere I rarely find myself in, now.
Overall, there are a few things which cut down on stress and help me relax. I'd actually include sex within that bracket. While it's not strictly a drug, it does seem to have somewhat of the same effect, and the rush of endorphins an orgasm causes is similar to the effect of many illicit drugs people consume.

I drink a lot of caffeine, but that's more to do with the fact that I don't sleep enough.

if I don't drink lots of caffene (Mt Dew), and chew gum, I stim on other stuff like crazy, I can barely speak, and I cannot possibly concentrate.

If I can't stimulate my mind, I have to shut it down.

So, anything that does that.
Basically, alcohol or anything that sedates me.

Coca-cola and chocolate. Go to the movies. Get addicted to sitcoms. Watch cartoons. Find sympathetic music. Learn odd bits of information to make the job easier. Learn to cut wood joints. Read science fiction, westerns, detective novels. Grab some fast food for lunch and eat it by the river, watching the water go by.

Been there, done that. Alcohol, narcotics, anything else. Now just caffeine, but I don't consider that "self-medicating," or a drug in the same way I do the others.

Alcohol.

I have only just managed to stop myself believing I have to be drunk to write. I used to have to sit with a packet of cigarettes on one side of me and a bottle of vodka on the other, so I could numb myself. I feel like I want to pace around most of the time so it just helped me sit still and be productive.

I still use alcohol when going out for the same things everybody else has said - reduces sensory overload, makes me calmer about socialising. I've also taken E and coke and speed. I thank the lord that at this time I was too flat out broke to buy my own, god only knows what would have become of me had I the finances for a proper habit.

Thinking about this has made me feel more open to the idea of taking what my doc has to offer me, since if it works it could have all the effects I wanted from alcohol without making me pass out or sleep with people who in retrospect turn out to be complete w*kers.

I completely understand the sex thing mentioned further up, I swear blind that regular sex does calm me. I think it can be addictive in the sense that it gives you a reason to stay in a relationship thats not working, or is even toxic or abusive.

Sleep deprivation and massive amounts of caffeine. Being mentally exhausted, but physically wired, somehow strikes a balance for me.

I too would like to know how sex works as a means to self med. It's full of so much extreme sensory over stimulation for me. It makes me feel like crying most of the time. It's so difficult to let anyone get close enough to me to do that! It is completely overwhelming at times.

I guess I have been guilty of using alcohol as well. I remember well the feeling of numb....how comforting to be in a state where everything that used to bother you, suddenly ceases!

Marijuana and plenty of it, unfortunately :-I

I take a prescription antidepressant and sometimes fish oil, and sometimes B6, all for depression. Sometimes I have to deprive myself of sleep and look into the sun and light bulbs as well.