Narcissism & Substance Abuse

Normal? wrote:Hi Chucky
Still I can't deny I hope that one day he will realise that pushing people away is not the answer to his problems. He may be in control of everything when he is on his own - but he is still on his own!

He will definately realise that some day, but not while the same tings are being repeated again and again. What I mean is, things have to change. When he starts whining to you that he's not good enough for you, respond to him differently. I'm thinking about just, like, walking away from him or smething. He has to see that he's not going to get away with treating you like this, and that if he does, he will ls you.

...effectively, look upon him as a big kid!

Thanks again Chucky!

No problem... Just one more question before the others start replying: Do you know if he was actually spoilt by his parents? To me, it sounds a certainty. It's 00:36 here in Ireland now - Goodnight.

Kevin

Very high correlation, seen it in studies in papers.

I am a case of such.

I very much enjoy my benzo's, Z-drug hypnotics and opiates. And can't forget alcohol.

I have anxiety (and i use benzo's for theraputic and recreational) and I have found the two cures.

Feel the supply to the max or benzo it up. Both work well.

Supply feels better, not as good as the morphine i've synthesized myself .

Anxiety?... ...the best cure for that is to go to your doctor I was given an anti-depressant to 'cure' my anxiety, and it worked a bit too. In response to your partner's history, I now feel a tad bit sorry for him because of his parents' split-up. I mean, he could not choose his childhood, but he certainly can choose his future (and current life). Make sure he knows this.

Normal? wrote:That's an interesting question Chucky as yes he was 'spoiled' in a way but it was all twisted. His parents separated when he was young and his Dad was a Grade One Narcissist - he just absented himself from the situation (then turned up and made a fuss every now again inbetween girlfriends). His Mum and her family treated him (I think) more like an object to be shown off than a person. By the time he was a teenager he was getting expelled from school, fighting and dabbling in drugs. His Mum moved away with her new family and I think that is really when the hard-core drug used began.

Notmyusual name - does opiate use help with the anxiety - I know that this is the common experience of Heroin. It takes all your cares away (including any you may have for other people!) and I suppose all your responsibilities? But what happens when it wears off (or when you decide to stop)? Do all of those cares and anxieties come back ten-fold? Or can you still ignore them? My ex is on a Methadone Maintenance programme so I think that is still keeping some of feelings at bay - and that's the way he likes it!

Opiate use has been the oldest use of anti-anxiety medication for years. Approx. 4 or 5 thousand years actually. It lats longer then the narcotic does.

Yes - I also feel sorry for him too. The rational part of my brain understands completely why he behaves as he does - who can blame him.

My mother (diagnosed NPD) was both an addict and an alcoholic. She used recreational drugs off and on all her life, as it suited her lifestyle and she enjoyed the feelings associated with the various drugs she enjoyed. She was certainly no derelict. Her image wasn't tarnished by drug use; it was actually enhanced as drug usage was well tolerated in the her circles.
She used opiates as she got older, and became addicted eventually to hydrocodone. She had some physical pain which she used to get her Rx, but her usage wasn't about the pain. It was about the euphoria. Opiates make you feel very very good when you start using, so good that you forget the kinds of things that you're trying to forget. That's the draw. I'm sure it was the draw for your exboyfriend (glad he's an ex). Later, the addiction sets in and the pull is not so much the euphoria but rather the physical need in order to avoid the physical pain your body starts screaming about when the drug is withdrawn.

Your ex may be narcissistic or not. But for sure he's a drug addict. He may have stopped using but he certainly isn't recovered. He did nothing to recover. He's a dry-addict which just means that he's not using but all the 'stuff' that drew him to use in the first place is still all there. Most addicts ARE narcissistic in a way, with traits. That's because drug addicts are selfish; it's all about them and their needs. When you're addicted, how could it be otherwise? And taking the drug away doesn't change that until a person starts addressing the reasons why they used until they were addicted in the first place.

I know something about this.. yep, I do.

Normal? wrote:Yes - I also feel sorry for him too. The rational part of my brain understands completely why he behaves as he does - who can blame him. I tried very, very hard to help him and I excused a lot of his behaviour because of it - things I wouldn't have put up with had it been some one else. I thought he might learn to consider other people's feelings - or in fact have feelings of his own eventually. But he didn't - it is easier for him to only think about himself and he feels safer in that place.

I knew that opiates alleviate stress (they are in fact better at this than they are at pain relief:- what they really do is quell the anxiety about the pain - as much as they quell the pain itself). What I'd like to know though UserName is what happens when the effects of the drug wear off? Does the anxiety resurface or is it gone (I assume the former)? Is it thus more difficult to deal with? Does Methadone have the same effect? Thanks.

I will be trying this out as a formal experiment using morphine, but i have only used occationally, and it lasts for weeks at end.

400 mg of codeine (sadly killed by the gram of caffeine) will keep me straight for a week or so.
I will experiment using morphine on a weekly basis or so.


And it doesn't quell the anxiety about the pain, it quells all anxiety, sure i have back pain, but thats not what my anxiety is about, infact it is the other way around. I will do a journal search on the research behind opiates as a anti-anxiety medication (too bad doctors don't use that way instead of benzo's, benzo's are harder then heroin, which is the strongest opiate in a way if you don't count designer drugs and such.).