About Guinevere

I started writing about addiction in August 2008 on the public forum Opiate Detox Recovery. The day before, I’d gone into home-detox from high doses of a painkiller prescribed for two neurological disorders. Here’s my first post… a letter from an over-fearful, over-functioning Super Woman In Her Own Mind, in active detox and denial.

Even while detoxing, I didn’t believe I could get off drugs. I certainly didn’t believe I was an addict… the term “addict” simply didn’t fit with how I thought of myself: a consultant, a professional with two degrees and a track record of success.

After all, an addict is somebody who smokes crack in a derelict house, or who shoots smack under a bridge, right? Sometimes. Growing numbers of addicts buy their drugs in drug stores. About 6.2 million Americans abuse prescription drugs, more than the number of people abusing heroin, cocaine, crack, pot, Ecstasy and inhalants combined. Add to that the numbers of people addicted to alcohol, nicotine, and junk food, and addicts are a lot more common than people think.

The legal substances are just as life-threatening as the illegal ones. Maybe more so, because they seem so non-threatening. Eat too much junk food and the risks of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes skyrocket. Nicotine addiction leads to lung cancer, the most common cancer both in terms of incidence and mortality among both women and men—far more common than breast cancer, and more preventable.

Though I couldn’t admit I was an addict, I somehow knew I had to quit to save my life. One thing I’d learned about addiction is that it’s fatal. A number of people in my family, including both my parents, have died of the consequences of addiction—to street drugs and legal drugs, plus alcohol, and nicotine, and relationships with dealers gone bad.

So I kept on detoxing. By putting the process in the hands of a capable doctor, I was opiate-free within two months. During those weeks I admitted to myself that I’d used painkillers not just for my physical pain, but also to manipulate my energy levels, my sleep cycles, and my feelings about my life. And that in doing so, I’d lost control of my use.

The awesome thing is, by quitting drugs, I gained back my strength, and my painful neurological conditions have improved. I have many friends on the internet and in 3D life who have done the same.

I write about how I stay sober in my ongoing thread on Opiate Detox Recovery’s “Freedom from Hell” forum. For more great links and resources, please see my links—and please make your own suggestions.

Guinevere Gets Sober is not a place where anyone can get medical advice. Please see a physician or other qualified medical practitioner if you want medical advice. … I’m not an expert. I got sober in 2008, had a brief relapse in January 2010, and have been sober since 3 January 2010. I write from the place of “beginner’s mind”—where my experience of getting sober is still fresh and I’m still learning a great deal—and I’m very glad to be alive at all. … What I can share is the strength and hope gained from experience and continued seeking for answers.

I hope others will share, too. It’s difficult to face up to addiction. Many people are turning to the internet for support and education. I want this blog to be a place where people who think they might have “a problem” can come for current news and research about addiction and recovery, as well as reviews of books and media about addiction, recovery, and practices that support recovery.