Advice if you love/care about an addict but they're not ready for abstinence. This is meeting people where they're at- the most important part of harm reduction
Abstinence is not the only form of recovery. AA/NA doesn’t work for everyone. Sometimes people choose to use instead of meeting other needs, which is valid. Some people use for recreational purposes. Some people use for medicinal purposes. Some people who use have substance abuse disorder. Treatment looks different for everyone. Not everyone needs or wants treatment, for various reasons. The only thing Naloxone enables is breathing. Active use is not shameful. People who use drugs often also deal drugs. People in recovery should not shame active users. Active users deserve love. Active users deserve someone to check in on them, get them safer use supplies, and get them pizza. Active users deserve to be listened to. They deserve better than to have that be the first time anyone ever treated them as human since they began using.
[Image description: One of the "Almond Blossoms" paintings by Vincent van Gogh, with an erasure-poem overlay comprised of a redacted tumblr post. Resulting text reads, "yes. I know what I'm talking about, harm reduction is openminded, patient, and not horrible".]
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yes. I know what I'm talking about, harm reduction is openminded, patient, and not horrible
You know how eagles will lock talons midair and plummet in a death spiral together till the last possible moment as a mating ritual?
And how Dr. Lilla Watson said “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
Well if u wanna join talons with me and have 25$ to donate to a cause of your choice (charity, non profit, w.e.), you should fill out this form with your shippin info (it also explains more) and ill also donate + send u a print >3
Drug users still deserve the same respect and dignity no matter where they are in life. In recovery or not. Sober or not.
It isn't just "do a bunch of drugs and then stop". Abstinence isn't always the goal and it shouldn't have to be. What should be the goal is harm reduction and safety first. Testing drugs, having someone to use safely with, carrying narcan, getting on meds to help with withdrawals. We shouldn't be thinking "sober = good" or "not sober = bad". We shouldn't shame people into sobriety. We should allow people their own autonomy to do what they want with their bodies.
i love harm reduction and i love people who use drugs and i love this community and i love the care we show to each other and the way we look out for each other
If you have friends or loved ones on opiates or even if you don’t and just care about addicts in general, please carry narcan!!! Preferably on your person as well as in your car if that applies. You can get narcan along with fentanyl test strips (to test your/ your loved ones’ pills if needed) online for free. I HIGHLY recommend doing this asap, especially if you’re somebody who is actively taking these substances or somebody close to someone who is.
As I said, it is important for even people who aren’t on these substances to carry narcan just in case. It’s free and could save lives, there is simply no reason not to.
idk if anyone was wanting an update, but if you remember from my old account, I talked about how my boyfriend and I came to an agreement that I can $h but with certain restrictions to work towards harm reduction.
it's still going really well! I've gotten my $h sessions down to about once a month, were much happier in our relationship because I don't have anymore secrets or things we can't talk about, and I'm doing a lot better than I normally would when I used to be actively $hing.
for me, $h has always been a pretty private thing, when I first had my big relapse in December, I had a whole panic attack because he saw me bl33d while changing bandages. now that it's not as private, and I have to ask him if it's okay if I do it, it's taken a lot of urges away because it's not as "special" to me if that makes sense. I also have started to $h less in times of crisis because I can talk to him about urges instead of just doing it and hiding it and getting in that dreaded shame cycle. there's no more shame in it. I also have minimized my urges during disagreements and such, because it's a lot harder to $h if you have to ask out loud in the middle of an argument if you can cvt. it helps me curb those BPD self-destruction for attention issues and helps me face how genuinely toxic that is to do.
obviously there are new issues I have to deal with using this method of harm reduction. counting down days until I feel like I can do it again, trying to minimize my sessions and not make them hours long, trying to minimize damage to avoid needing medical treatment.
but all in all, this has been really helpful for me. if anyone has any questions to how we did this more specifically, I'm always open to it.
I'll have been $hing for 16 years in December, and I never thought I wouldn't feel any shame in it. and now I don't. and it's a nice feeling.
here's a photo of my cats first birthday, and first time eating sashimi
Saying that cannabis isn’t a drug further stigmatizes drug use. Cannabis is a drug, and that’s okay. When you say it’s just a plant or it’s just medicine, while both those statements are true, it is harmful in many ways. People who use drugs are not bad. Drugs are not bad. Stop stigmatizing drug use and start encouraging safe drug use.
Why am I having so much trouble finding naloxone? I’m working on building a harm reduction network in my neighborhood and I was able to find a way to get inexpensive pipes, test strips, and other supplies, but I cannot find any affordable way to get enough Naloxone to distribute.
this is for all u ed mfs with bowel problems + constipation (listen to me srsly, i was constipated for nearly 2 months once- i know how it feels)
BUY FLAX SEED RIGHT FUCKING NOW.
u can put that shit in oatmeal, sandwhiches, cereal, baked goods, tea, whatever. you will shit. it isnt painful at ALL, and ur gonna shit in a few hours after uv eaten like, a teaspoon.
"oh but my metabolism is fucked up" yeah so? mine is atrocious i fast for a week and eat a burger and fast again and it Still Works.
go buy flax seed. rn.
please never take a handful of lax again- i know personally i never will. its just not worth the pain and havoc i was wreaking on my body.