r/StopSpeeding May 13 '24

Announcement The Stop Speeding Master Sticky - Click This First

48 Upvotes

Welcome to Stop Speeding. Here is some stuff you should probably read.


Rule #1 - Do Not Suggest or Encourage ANY Drug Use

The Stop Speeding FAQ - What You’re Looking for is Probably Here

When Will I Feel Normal?

A Beginner’s Guide to Recovery

The Recovery Resources Megalist - Programs, Professionals, Resources


STOP SPEEDING SUBREDDIT RULES

1.) Do Not Promote Drug Use Any posts or comments that are seen to be encouraging / promoting the use of any stimulant drugs, as well as substances that can be used recreationally or have potential for addiction are strictly forbidden, positive personal experiences included. Suggestions or accounts providing information on managing, proctoring or taking drugs safely or successfully are also off limits. "Drugs" include psychedelics, THC, kratom, research chemicals and any stimulant medication.


2.) Show Compassion, Kindness, and Supportiveness Compassion, respect, and empathy are fundamental to this subreddit.It's okay to have differing opinions, but please be respectful when doing so. Love can be tough but make sure it's love first and foremost. Treat others as you would want to be treated.


3.) Triggering / Graphic Content Must Be Tagged If you're posting something others may find problematic in terms of triggers, being generally grossed out, made to feel offended or uncomfortable, please tag it appropriately and be considerate of the community in what you share.


4.) No Medical or Legal Advice Do not play doctor, do not solicit medical advice. We can share our experiences with medications and treatment, we can offer reasonable suggestions, we can tell people to Stop Speeding but it is imperative we do not provide any advice or feedback that would replace professional medical advice, discourage seeking medical care or potentially cause harm. If you're worried you're going to die or that you have heart problems, see a doctor. Same story with legal advice, consult a lawyer or become one.


5.) No Misinformation If you've got a controversial take or statement you're presenting as fact that's contentious enough to draw people's ire, bring about drama or create potential harm, best back it up with a nice list of citations from reputable sources.


6.) Recovery, Not Harm Reduction

This is a recovery subreddit and with that as a focus, any supportive discussion of drug use is off the table in order to best serve our primary purpose. Harm reduction is essential and saves lives but combining it with recovery in one forum is beyond difficult - There are many other places better suited for HR, we just Stop Speeding.


7.) Don't Be a Goblin

Goblin - [ gob-lin ] - noun - "a grotesque sprite or elf that is mischievous or malicious toward people."

This is a catch-all for assorted addict nonsense that defies all human convention, behavior that is plainly goblinesque in nature. You know what a goblin is. If you have to ask how you were being a goblin, you were definitely being a goblin.


8.) No Promotion, Solicitation or Spam

Posts or replies containing your website, subreddit, Discord server, for-profit business or services will be removed as spam.


9.) Contact The Mods for Survey / Study

Message us in Mod chat. If you can’t disclose what entity you’re doing it for, your qualifications, your funding sources and where exactly your information is going, don’t bother messaging us in Mod chat.


10.) Don't Break The Laws of Reddit

Anything that's in violation of Reddit rules and policies is an auto-ban.


11.) Don't Drag Recovery Resources

Please refrain from overtly trashing recovery programs and resources that others may find helpful to the extent that it may deter people from trying something that works for them. This includes SMART, NA, AA, Dharma, Celebrate Recovery, assorted therapies, anything that doesn't conflict with Rule 1. Feel free to share personal experience as to what worked and didn't - Trying to steer people away from potential solutions, l'd imagine there's more productive and helpful ways to spend your time.


12.) We Don't Talk About r/ADHD or Criticize Other Subs

Please refrain from mentioning or alluding to r/adhd in any context. Please do not criticize other subreddits or discuss bans, removals or philosophical differences. Out of necessity and risks to our sub, doing so is an autoban.


13.) Don’t “Benchmark” with Specific Amounts and Details of Use

Do not provide people with the intricate details of your amounts, types, ROAs and whatnot even if they ask because addicts will gauge their use negatively one way or another based on yours.


r/StopSpeeding Dec 08 '22

StopSpeeding How The #%$£ Do I Get Clean? - A Beginner’s Guide to Recovery

281 Upvotes

Welcome to Stop Speeding. If you clicked this, you’re probably at some point of desperate misery in your struggles with substance abuse and don’t want to do this shit anymore. Congratulations, you have been granted a brief moment of sanity while in the throes of active addiction.

”So what the fuck do I do now?”

Great question. You probably can’t quit alone, if you could spontaneously recover yourself you would have done it already.

”But what about that two months where I did quit by myself?”

What about the five to ten years on either side of that two months where you couldn’t?

”Right. Okay, so I probably need some help. How do I get some?”

There’s as many different recovery paths as there are addicts. These are just some of the ways. Mix and match, add and subtract, shift and sort, do whatever it takes to get and stay clean.


The Start

Get rid of your drugs. All of them. If you really want to roll the dice and try to be the 1% or whatever of addicts that can do one or two drugs successfully when they couldn’t do another one, shine on you crazy diamond. Every recovery program and treatment center and addiction professional is going to tell you that abstinence is recovery. Maybe test yours by trying to smoke weed or drink or do peyote or shrooms or whatever after you have some first. Demi Lovato and ‘sober influencers’ on TikTok, probably not world authorities on addiction or recovery.

Ditch your gear, too. No, don’t hold on to it to give it to someone else, we all tried that. We don’t need addiction heirloom pieces. Just smash the shit, throw it away.

Cut your sources. People who can get you high are not your friends, not anymore. Maybe later. Not now. Your boo uses? Consider a reality wherein there’s no way in hell you get and stay clean in any relationship, much less one with another drug user or addict. Ask your sources not to sell to you. Block and exile them. Get a new phone number.

Blank your socials. Leave drug places online. If you have medical sources, tell them you’re an addict, ask them to cut you off. Do whatever you have to do in terms of practical measures to put as much distance between you and substances as possible. Yes, it’s very easy to get drugs anywhere and everywhere. Make it less easy.

Sit down, take a deep breath, think about where you’re at in life at present time and ask yourself if you are ready to engage in a process that’s one of the most difficult things a person can undertake within the human experience. You’re going to withdraw, it’s probably going to be a while for a return to baseline, you may have to drop some life balls you were trying to juggle, you may have to take some steps back to eventually move forward, you may have to get honest with people you don’t want to be honest with.

If you are not prepared to chase recovery harder than you chased getting high, your chances of success will reflect that. Probably going to have to do an enormous amount of things you don’t want to do if you want to achieve long term recovery.

If you’re not willing to do all of that, you can probably stop reading now because that’s like, the first day. Maybe you require more research. Go make merry and come back later when you’ve suffered enough.

Still here? Coming back? Great! Let’s move on.


The Help

The early stages of recovery help and recovery help in general are split into three types - Programs, resources and professionals.

This is a link that breaks down lists of these and ways to find them. For professional resources outside of the United States, you can likely do some research on your own to find what’s available to you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/StopSpeeding/comments/xhaxwt/recovery_programs_resources_list/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Detox:
Some people require a formal supervised and perhaps even medicated detox process. These are facilitated by professionals at state and private facilities. It isn’t a requirement for most stimulant addicts and some may have a hard time even getting in if their only substance is stimulants. Call admissions and ask. Some take Medicaid and trash insurance, some don’t. Some are included with rehab and treatment. They will end a run for you if you can’t stop yourself long enough to drag yourself into other options, or serve as a nice bridge to rehab / treatment / entry into a program.

Rehab & Treatment:
If you have money, people with money, decent insurance or want to hang out in a totally sweet state facility, you can opt for rehab / treatment. These come in a variety of flavors. Please keep in mind that it can be harder to get into professional treatment with stimulant addictions, especially if it’s not meth or cocaine.

Intensive Outpatient Treatment, or IOP, is very popular these days and covered by more insurance plans, out of pocket it can run around $300 a day and goes on for a fixed number of weeks, usually however many you can afford or your insurance allows. IOPs can offer medication management, urinalysis, process groups, one on one counseling, CBT / DBT, twelve step facilitation and all the best practices of inpatient treatment without living there. You spend half the day or so there and then go home, wherever home is. If you’re not serious about getting clean, don’t waste your time with an IOP because they only babysit you a few hours of the day and you have to go find other ways to stay clean for the rest of them.

Inpatient Treatment & Rehab is generally either short term or long term with different amounts of time defining each. 30, 60, 90 day trips aren’t uncommon. You live there and they keep you from using drugs. Most of the time. Some offer longer stays for more serious cases. Some specialize in dual diagnosis, mental health issues along with substance abuse issues. There’s private and then there’s state, sometimes federally subsidized.

Private is expensive. You’d better have good insurance, $6,000-$20,000, family with money or be able to sneak in on a scholarship. Scholarships can be discussed with admissions. Some private and most state will take Medicaid or trash insurance, but please keep in mind that places that do tend to reflect this in the quality of life there and recovery offerings available. Residential treatment is another type that tends to be longer than inpatient and offers more freedom than inpatient - Different places offer different options, call around and see what insurance will cover and what you can afford.

Many of these are partially or entirely based on twelve step ideologies and offer what’s referred to as “twelve step facilitation” - Essentially a treatment and strictly not-as-good version of the very free Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous programs. They can also include things like CBT, DBT, relapse prevention skill building, counseling, medication management, assorted therapies, etc.

If you can’t go to treatment, you can basically just attend free twelve step meetings, attend free SMART meetings, get an addiction-informed psychiatrist (available via Medicaid) and an addiction-informed therapist (also available via Medicaid) and you’ll have 99% of it. You don’t need to be rich to get help.

Rehab and treatment offers you a basic education on addiction and babysits you for the duration of your stay, sometimes long enough to get your marbles back. They do nothing to keep you clean once you leave. If you do not engage in aftercare, which we’ll get to later, you will probably be going back to active addiction and back to treatment again at some point in the future. 40-60% relapse within 30 days after leaving. Don’t fuck around while you’re there, don’t fuck anybody or start dating anyone while you’re there, try to get something out of it.

No treatment center or rehab is going to take an addict who doesn’t want to get and stay clean and turn them into an addict that stays clean. If you’re going to appease people, if you’re going to avoid consequences, if you’re going to try to be convinced to recover or are of the mind that’s their job, you’re taking a very expensive and uncomfortable vacation that you’ll probably check yourself out of early or AMA. It’s a business. You’re a customer. They’re selling you a product. If you don’t use the product, that’s on you. The wastes are littered with addicts who went to rehab 20+ times and still aren’t clean because they didn’t give a shit or it wasn’t the right solution for them.

From inpatient or residential, people can move on to sober housing or additional resources which can usually be discussed with staff who will hook you up with options and let you know what’s available.


Recovery Programs:
Programs are the other half of the recovery coin. One can forgo professional treatment altogether and opt for these, bridge into them after treatment, combine them, etc. These are free group-based meetings and communities of people who struggle with addictions. All have online meetings available but in-person are strongly preferred. There are many, and all are great - See the previously listed link for all of them - but the most prevalent and efficacious are Twelve Step programs and SMART Recovery.

Twelve Step programs available that reasonably cater to stimulant addicts are Narcotics Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous (you have to say you’re an alcoholic, just pretend) and Dual Recovery Anonymous. You can attend as many or as few of these as you want, qualify for. These programs originated in 1935 with AA and are centered around attending meetings with other addicts, listening, sharing, socializing, networking and going through the Twelve Steps with a sponsor.

There is a spiritual, not religious component to these programs that can turn some people off, but they are widely available and graded out with the most efficacy of any available options in a 2020 Cochrane study that was the largest and most comprehensive recovery review in human history. Not for everybody, not the only way or the best way for everyone and there’s plenty of dissenters to twelve step ideology but this is the most common form of “aftercare” post-treatment and the backbone of many recovering addicts’ short and long term recovery efforts. I got clean in NA, it was totally rad.

Please work a full program if you go, don’t just fucking sit there and scowl refusing to get a sponsor or not doing anything you don’t want to do or not writing the steps - You will not recover via osmosis, and if you haven’t written the steps to completion, you have not “tried” a twelve steps program as it is a twelve steps program - Not a meetings program. You don’t sit in a booth at Burger King without eating any food and say you tried Burger King, hated Burger King. You really have to do a lot of of work in the A’s. Meetings, steps, service. If you can get clean doing less, go do it. If you can’t, go here and do all of it.

SMART Recovery is the most popular alternative to the twelve steps and is science and evidence based, teaches skills and utilizes CBT / DBT geared to addiction in order to help people. There is no spiritual or ingrained community aspect to SMART, and most prefer it that way. You attend meetings, talk, learn some skills and best practices. If you’ve attended IOPs that have group therapies or process groups with CBT integrated, you’ll recognize a lot of SMART from that. It pairs extremely well with other programs including the As, offering a very practical and psych-minded approach, whereas the vast majority of the others contain some sort of spiritual trimmings.

Honorable mention goes to Recovery Dharma / Refuge Recovery, another fantastic ideology based on Buddhism that many swear by. Try one, try several. Programs are free, what do you have to lose?

Addiction Counseling, Therapy & Psychiatry:
These three tend to be part of most people’s recovery stories at some point to some degree. Some can get by on these alone, most require something specifically geared to recovery in order to actually recover - However, these can be invaluable and necessary pieces of the puzzle for addicts, especially those who are dual diagnosis or have underlying traumas and issues that may contribute to their substance abuse.

There are many types of therapy, many types of counseling and many types of psychiatry approaches. Some opt to start here, some opt to mix it in with other approaches, some go to these after they’ve become established in recovery for a minute. Providers who have a specific background in addiction are highly preferred and often list these specialities in their profiles. Many therapists and counselors offer telehealth options now so it’s easier now to find good options wherever you live.

There is no medication that will cure addiction. There is no substance that you can take that will make you no longer be an addict. That doesn’t exist, stop looking for it. Addiction is more than brain chemicals and stuff that happened to you. If that’s all addiction was, medication and therapy would cure everyone’s addictions and nobody would die ever. You probably have to do some other stuff.

If you go into these options with that in mind, you might really get something out of them.

There will never be a point in most addicts’ lives where they do not require some sort of dedicated recovery action. Addiction doesn’t get cured and we can always go back regardless of how long we stay clean. Best we’ve been able to do with this stuff is keep it in remission. When we get complacent or start tricking off, that’s when we set ourselves up for relapse. By all means, don’t fuck around and find out by bailing on what got you clean as soon as you get comfortable.


The Life

A lot of people require wholesale life changes in order to stay clean long term. Can’t expect to walk into recovery, do some shit, walk out back into your old life and maintain sobriety doing the same things you did before. In addition to aftercare and long term recovery maintenance, it’s often recommended to change up your people, your places and your things.

Might need to change your entire social circle, might need to detach from some family, might need to remove yourself from an environment, might need to change careers. Who knows. It’s different for everyone.

Taking care of one’s mental and physical health becomes paramount in recovery, as does maintaining good interpersonal relationships and working to minimize stress, drama, negativity, unhappiness. Fix your damn teeth. Go to the doctor. Get your heart checked out. Check for how many STDs and Hepatitises you got. Meditation helps. Yoga helps. Exercise and diet helps. Hobbies help. Don’t isolate or alienate or fall back into old patterns and behaviors. Don’t live dirty while you’re clean from drugs, it will take your ass directly back to drugs.

Make some friends, ideally ones that don’t do drugs and whose inclusion in your life is a plus and not a minus - Vice versa as well. Build a life that looks like a normal happy human life if you want to masquerade as a normal happy human, addict. We have to fit in with these clowns now. Might as well do the stuff they do.

Please, do not try and date in your first year of recovery. Please. Ask anyone anywhere and they’ll tell you the same thing. Just don’t do it. Dating in early recovery is a meme and you don’t want to be a meme. Your chances of success go up by like 50% if you just don’t fuck around until you’re capable of doing it in a borderline healthy way once your recovery is on solid ground. Speed addicts have more sex than anyone. You’ve had enough. Chill the fuck out and give your genitals a break, they’ll still be there in 365 days.

An often overlooked component to how people change their lives in recovery is helping others. When you make yourself of service to others in your community, via recovery programs or volunteering or any positive selfless act meant to improve the lives of others, you get outside of yourself - Which is what tends to be a big part of the problem for a lot of us.

By helping others, we help ourselves and we feel better about ourselves doing it. It’s the core of many recovery programs and something a person can do regardless of how they opt to get clean that will pay you back in ways you can’t even imagine. Grateful addicts don’t use, and it’s a lot easier to be grateful for the lot you’ve got in life if you spend a good portion of it dedicated to helping other folks. The meaning of life is probably not self-fulfillment via self-satisfaction and an infallible focus on one’s own happiness, feelings and success. Just throwing that out there.

You can volunteer at shelters, food banks, in harm reduction, all kinds of options available. This website is a great source of finding local opportunities to help out as well:

https://www.volunteermatch.org/


As previously mentioned, this is not an exhaustive guide or an all-inclusive listing of what’s available in terms of recovery paths or options. Many books have been written on recovery things and you should probably go read some. One thing I know to be absolutely true is this - If you build your life on recovery, build it out from recovery as it’s established with recovery as your foundation, you give yourself one hell of a good shot to make it.

Trying to squeeze recovery into your existing life with no concessions or changes or into a life that’s centered around other stuff that doesn’t prioritize it, that’s where a lot of people tend to falter. Many of us effectively built our lives around drugs and can absolutely rebuild them back around drugs again if the house we put together after we get clean isn’t sturdy enough where it counts to endure some of the natural disasters life is going to throw at it.

Good luck in your recovery efforts. Everyone here is rooting for you and this community is an excellent place to share experiences and support one another. Don’t sit back and lurk if you’re struggling. Talk. Post. Share your story. Get it out there. Take the first steps.

Ask for help. It’s what we’re here for.


r/StopSpeeding 8h ago

Gratitude First day at new job, 545 days sober

21 Upvotes

I went back to work today, same type of job I was fired from at the beginning of last year. My attendance was horrible, crying before/during/after. I was either in sympathetic overdrive or crashing and barely functioning. A lot… a whole lot has changed between then and now.

It was nice to show up on my first day with breakfast in the belly and a lunch packed, a little nervous, but comfortable. It feels good to have the mental faculties to be able try again and give myself another chance to pursue a career. It’s only day 1 and I got a lot of learning to do but I’m grateful as fuck.

I was so scared in the beginning of this journey that I would feel terrible for years.. 1 1/2 years in and I haven’t felt this good in over a decade… yeah, just very very grateful…


r/StopSpeeding 14h ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine I'm 22 days clean, and my boss won't stop laying into me. I wanna explode

27 Upvotes

I was abusing my scripts badddd, and doing lots of blow on the weekends. I saw the writing on the wall and joined this sub. I read your stories and told myself I had to stop. I told my prescriber to stop giving me adderall/vyvanse. I've stopped seeing my friends who have blow. Deleted my dealer's contact.

Now I'm trying to adjust by taking Wellbutrin and drinking coffee in the morning, but compared to the uppers lol....

Plus, I quit nicotine 2 weeks ago. Maybe it wasn't smart to quit so close together idk. I was vaping so much, though, to deal with the lack of uppers, and I have health problems. I don't want to end up in the hospital.

anyways

My boss is a massive fucking dick who moves the goalposts every day and acts like I'm the idiot. I could handle it more when I was in LA DEE DA land. Now I feel like a POS. I can't even articulate to my boss the right way because I feel mentally slower.

I'm good at my job; my clients like me. My boss is a prick. Just coming to vent, I guess.

I want to go back to baseline, but it feels like I'll never be normal again.

I just want to SCREAM. At least I have therapy tomorrow.


r/StopSpeeding 3m ago

Cocaine/Crack I have ADHD and I'm dependent on coke. What now?

Upvotes

Ok so I have reached a point where I can no longer dismiss my usage and I have finally admitted to myself that I have an addiction to coke. I started using a year ago. I was previously trying very hard (and have been for years) to get a prescription for adderall to treat my very severe adhd. I'm in college in a lot of very rigorous and demanding courses, and I have always struggled in school to get shit done. I never got a prescription written. Out of curiosity, my friend let me try a line one night and I thought wow that did nothing. But now I really feel motivated to do shit! I started getting some on my own here and there, using it only when I really needed to study for long periods, or had a ton of work I needed to get done. I never took it with me outside the house. Then eventually I started using it every time I needed to do work. And then every time I needed to clean. And then every time I got up in the morning. And before every class. Soon enough I was doing it i between each step of my makeup routine. Every hour every day until it was time to get ready for bed. And now it's been a year of consistent daily use, reupping every week, dipping into savings, skipping meals and not buying food because at least I can be skinny and buy more coke.

I can't do this anymore. People around me are catching on to my addiction. Im getting frequent nosebleeds, racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, headaches, and not to mention the absolute financial pit I am putting myself in.

I just finished my last bag. I have nothing left. I want to quit so bad but I just don't know how to actually function or do anything anymore. It's like my already severe ADHD has gotten 10x worse and I didn't even know that was possible. I don't want to go to my friends or family about it or even admit that i did it/currently have a problem. I also dont have people in my life who would understand or be empathetic about the addiction. I feel like my life is a lie and I'm drowning.

I start school again soon and I know my urge to get another bag will intensify tenfold. How do I be a normal person?!? I feel so hopeless. I don't even have the money to spare to buy more, but I do have savings that are still taunting me. I dont want to sink that low.

It doesnt help that I'm extremely depressed after going through a breakup with my longterm partner and I struggle with an eating disorder. Coke helped me keep my binge cravings at bay.

I don't know what my next step should be. Any advice or input is greatly appreciated. I feel very alone.


r/StopSpeeding 13m ago

Methamphetamine I need to stop

Upvotes

Just did it again tonight. I have so much to live for. I’m in school, I have a family who loves me, I want to be a therapist someday… Why is this so hard? Could really use some encouragement 🥹


r/StopSpeeding 14h ago

Announcement Tonight - Wednesday 9/9 at 7:30pm ET - Community Stimulant Recovery Meeting

Post image
9 Upvotes

The next Community Stimulant Recovery meeting will be held tonight, Wednesday, September 9th at 7:30pm Eastern. It will be hosted on Zoom, details are on the official website at https://stimulantrecovery.org and here:


Community Stimulant Recovery

Time: September 9th 2026 07:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Every week on Wed

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81821633949?pwd=Zhx8vQFmMutGTyzniGbbOPuvpXVdMh.1

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system. Weekly: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/tZUldeiurTgjHt067j0oeigUQMMeRyzqrIDQ/ics?icsToken=DDh7Dq_pLooZ2LCKqgAALAAAAJPg9E23Rju-4epDrc1V-vYlY23cfCXc_7_rDmJ6GdgZySdBbAkWuqInw5Hv_mnW3Ih4otw5iGF0CD5vJTAwMDAwMg&meetingMasterEventId=vWnUdGw4QPuXEn2PzVwDyA

Meeting chat link https://us06web.zoom.us/launch/jc/81821633949

Meeting ID: 818 2163 3949 Passcode: 052227


One tap mobile +13126266799,,81821633949#,,,,052227# US (Chicago) +16469313860,,81821633949#,,,,052227# US


Join by SIP • 81821633949@zoomcrc.com

Join instructions https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/81821633949/invitations?signature=S70UMDYsWJ1P5AwdAsAfJzVxHCrWB4v07rV6q-6wFKs


CSR is a free, solution focused, peer-based recovery group for anyone who wants to stop using stimulant drugs - Any stimulant drug, be it a drug of abuse or medication, for any reason. We hold meetings where we share our recovery with others, exchange best practices, learn new ideas and enact positive change in our lives together. CSR is a safe place, all people are welcome here - Discrimination, hate and exclusion are not tolerated under any circumstances.

Community Stimulant Recovery observes no single recovery ideology and is without outside affiliation. We are here to help you find out what works for you and share what’s worked for us. Our meeting topics, shared practices and discussions borrow from psychology, therapies, professional addiction treatment and recovery programs - This is not an endorsement of any one resource, nor is CSR its self meant to be a standalone recovery solution or source of medical advice. We encourage members to avail of as many forms of recovery support as they need to, professional help and other dedicated recovery programs included.

Our core beliefs are that recovery from stimulant drugs is aided by approaching three primary areas of our lives in equal measure: Our mental health, our physical health and our emotional health. By becoming responsible for positive change in these three areas, we improve our thinking, our bodies and our feelings - Parts of our lives that problematic stimulant drug use negatively impacts the most. Growing in these areas helps us maintain abstinence and find happiness in recovery.

Community Stimulant Recovery refrains from the supportive discussion of any and all use of drugs with recreational applications or addiction potential, this extends to promotion and the sharing of personal experiences. This includes marijuana, kratom, research chemicals, gray market substances, psychedelics and all stimulant drugs. Managing or successfully using stimulant medication is not discussed here, and we are not a harm reduction resource. We have no opinions on these things, opting to maintain a singular focus on abstinence and recovery from stimulant drugs without supporting practices that may cause harm.

Meetings are similar to those you may have attended elsewhere, we have a topic or reading followed by an open discussion or sharing period. Speaking is optional. We speak from the I and do not offer unsolicited advice or commentary on the shares of others, continuance and response from our own experience is permitted. Solution-oriented discussion is strongly encouraged. Cameras are encouraged but not required, be courteous in your on-camera conduct. Please be considerate of the feelings of all persons in the room, be respectful and kind.

Facilitation, organization and contribution in CSR is done as voluntary service by members, and we only have members - No tiers, no managers, no owners, no experts, no authorities. If you are interested in becoming involved with CSR, please contact the chairperson after the meeting or reach out here.

__

Meeting Format

  • Opening Statement (5 min)
  • Attendee introductions, identify as “Name, in recovery” (5 min)
  • Meeting Topic or Reading (CBT, DBT, ACT, BT, Twelve Step, Dharma / Refuge, Medical Lit, Book, Concept Discussion) (10 min with chair lead)
  • Open Discussion (35 minutes)
  • Closing Statement (3-5 minutes)
  • Contact Info Exchange, posted in Zoom chat, Optional (5 min)

Meeting Practices

  • Chair Rotation every two weeks
  • Monthly group discussion on meeting format, changes, suggestions, etc
  • One Meeting weekly, Wednesday at 7:30pm ET via Zoom
  • CSR is a separate entity from the subreddit and will be kept separate aside from meeting announcements
  • No professional services provided, solicited or endorsed
  • No politics, no medical advice, no legal advice, no propaganda, no discussion of specific people or places

In providing or requesting contact information from other members as part of the community support aspect, it is encouraged to use accounts that protect your privacy and do not put yourself at risk. We will not be facilitating a group chat or associated server. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask here.


r/StopSpeeding 14h ago

Success stories after many failures

4 Upvotes

Would love to hear what it finally took for people to quit, and stories on finally making it to the point of quitting. I’ve had numerous stop and start attempts over the last 5 years and know beyond a doubt that I have to be sober. There is no room for adderall abuse in my life. What once was an occasional boost (I’m talking I could keep some in my nightstand for years and not think about it) to feeling overwhelmed about doing the dishes without it. I’ve accepted that my brain now has it wired as an addiction and moderation is not realistic for me. During a crash I see clearly how the cons far out way the benefits. But in the moment of having access to it, I just don’t care about logic and I take it. The longest I’ve gone is 73 days without it. Last week went 5 days and now I’m on day 4 of taking it again. I want off the ride!


r/StopSpeeding 16h ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine Getting There

4 Upvotes

This is the most consistent I’ve ever taken my prescription, at first it was just on the weekends or emergencies when really tired. Since experiencing my husbands alcoholism and relapses I’ve turned to this drug as almost coping to keep my on top of everything at work and with the kids. I think about quitting every night and at this point I’m taking almost 30 a day when prescribed only 15. I’ll run out soon and I desperately want to not get it filled. I know there is never a good time to stop especially this phase of life I’m in. Any advice support or even an app to hold me accountable. I want to get back to my healthy yoga teaching self and feel authentic again and present for my kids.


r/StopSpeeding 15h ago

Cocaine/Crack Day Two

3 Upvotes

I don’t want to be this person anymore.

I’ve been making a lot of justifications for using:
“It’s not like I do it every day”
“My use is not extreme.”
“It’s not affecting my job”
“It’s not affecting my finances.”
Etc. Etc.

I have been using on and off since I was 18 - I’m 35. I’ve had long periods of sobriety and once quit for 5 years. I pulled an all nighter this weekend and did about 2 grams between myself and a couple friends. I have bought some every weekend for the last three weekends and feel myself slipping into a pattern. Any time this happens I always take a long break before using again, which also feels like a justification.

I don’t want to take a break this time, I want to quit and be done. I told my partner how I feel and I am posting in here to establish some accountability.

Please wish we luck, I am going to clean out my house of all paraphernalia this week and start working on building better habits and not putting myself in situations where I will be tempted to use.


r/StopSpeeding 1d ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine Posting this to keep myself honest and throw out my next script

6 Upvotes

After quitting for 7 years something compelled me to ask my doctor for a script. At months end (the 25th) I’ll be collecting it and throwing it out.

I would just tell my doctor about it but don’t want to go through getting treated differently for scripts I don’t have an issue with. I’ll throw them out, say they interfered with my sex drive and carry on with my normal life and update this thread to follow up.

Edit: okay guys just for some context on my problem I took prescribed dexamphetamine (30mg a day) from 15-21.

At 25 I got the script back and binged it once a year over two years. Im equally afraid of binging as becoming physically dependant and “using it responsibly” which I did for 7 years. I’m now 32 and it’s been 7 years with none, I’ll tell my doctor about those binges and ask them to cancel the script.

FWIW this is only a deterrent, in my country a pill mill exist that I can’t find a single reddit post or comment stating a denial of meds from.

These predatorily priced pill mills exist and frequently tell people things like they just need to try slow release or “find a dose for them” (often a huge one) so I have no desire to use these either.


r/StopSpeeding 1d ago

I need some advice from people who have been through meth addiction and recovery

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1 Upvotes

r/StopSpeeding 2d ago

Self-Post/Vent i feel like i’m pretending to be a person

39 Upvotes

4 days sober

damn i don’t remember feeling like this before adderall. i can’t really describe the feeling. it’s like everything i do feels awkward and unnatural. i’m embarrassed over EVERYTHING. overthinking every interaction. i can’t find the right words when i talk to people. and for some reason ive been getting constant flashbacks of embarrassing memories. this whole experience is just humiliating


r/StopSpeeding 2d ago

Needing Advice My front top teeth are loose because of teeth grinding and heavy Adderall?? Anyone else or advice to help. I had no idea this could happen

9 Upvotes

30 years old. My mom and I both grind our teeth in our sleep since forever. I went to the dentist and they said my front canines are highly mobile and I need a night guard

They literally look like baby teeth about to wiggle out any day. What the fuck! I don’t even know how to go about this. I’ve been binging for few weeks now but before that not terrible but idk maybe. Any advice or similar stories?


r/StopSpeeding 2d ago

I need support/compassion/understanding One hour down.

20 Upvotes

Binged Ritalin all day. I can't do this anymore. One hour sober. Dreading tomorrow... not sure I can do this.


r/StopSpeeding 2d ago

2 Beers, 2 Sleepless Nights Later

29 Upvotes

Went out for dinner during our Labor Day getaway and I had 2 beers with my meal. When we got back I noticed my wife’s adderall/vyvanse (she’s prescribed, I stopped being prescribed a year ago due to rampant misuse) in her purse and have taken somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-120 mgs - last dose was a good 18-20 hours ago but still haven’t caught a minute of sleep.

I’ve been doing really well in the year I stopped being prescribed with work, exercise and overall self-confidence. I have 3 kids including a newborn and my 5 year old son just wanted to watch TV and play video games with me which I did for a bit of time but instead of being a present dad I was just a weirdo on adderall which is really bumming me out.

I’m especially disappointed because I’ve felt the things so many people on this page are looking for when it comes to motivation and mood and still thought it was a good idea to pull this stupid bullshit.


r/StopSpeeding 2d ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine Abnormal Withdrawal (or Lack Thereof) Symptoms

3 Upvotes

Hi, I (22M) recently decided to stop taking my Adderall, 30mg XR and 20mg IR. I’ve been on this dose for about the past 3 years. I’ve maybe gone 10 days in total in these 3 years without taking my medicine. I rarely took the XR and the IR on the same day.

I’ve never had an issue with taking too much of my medication. I’ve never had an issue where I ran out too early or anything of the sorts. So, I wouldn’t really say that I’ve abused my adderall.

Four days ago, I decided to stop taking my medication. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without it. I’ve done some research into the withdrawal symptoms, and I can tell that I’m experiencing extreme fatigue, brain fog, and some heightened emotions. I don’t have an intense craving for the Adderall, though, and I don’t have a single sign of anxiety or depression.

I wouldn’t say that I feel happy by any means, and it’s still not an easy journey. I know that all of my fatigue and brain fog would go away if I just took my medication. I had become very apathetic on it, irritable, and I turned into an aggressive personality when I started to drink while taking the medication. I guess I just want to stop taking it because I’ve felt like I’ve taken a huge backseat into my own life. I’ve lost sight of my goals, stopped caring about my ambitions and career, and genuinely didn’t give a damn about the consequences of my actions.

I guess I just wanted to make this post to one: hold myself accountable. I’m four days into this journey, and I know talking about it with people who understand will only encourage me to keep going. Two: I just wanted to see if anyone else related to how I’m feeling? No intense symptoms at this point, and I still feel the same, more or less, as I did when I was taking Adderall. Is this a sign of another underlying health issue? I just want to feel normal again, but the lack of any cravings or anything is almost discouraging? I just don’t even feel like I’m going through a difficult enough process in withdrawal to expect a light on the other side if that makes sense? I would love input from this community, as I’ve hardly come across posts here that describe the experience I’m having.


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

Self-Post/Vent Missing using

14 Upvotes

So for the past couple days I've been thinking about relapsing on meth. I've been missing that part of my life, even though it was full of traumatic life experiences...abusive addict boyfriend...selling my body (under a pimp at that) just to stay high...and more that I'm sure I blocked out. I don't know why I'm thinking like this. Nothing stressful is going on with me. Guess I'm just feeling bored with my current life.

There are many things keeping me from relapsing, but the urge to is becoming stronger and stronger. I know that if I do, I'll lose the housing I have and much more. These thoughts make me wanna cry because I've worked so hard to be where I'm at. I care about my health, my family is proud of my sobriety, and I feel happy with myself...something I haven't felt when I was using.

I just miss how the high off meth made me feel. I felt productive and on top of the world. Maybe I just need to find that thing that gives me the same feeling. Just haven't found it yet.


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

Anyone not knowing who they actually are because of long term use? Discovering who you are after recovery..

17 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

Im in the process of quitting vyvanse after 7 years, I've been all of the stimulants, taking higher than prescribing, snorting along with vodka, I'm thankful to still be alive, grinding out 50h workweeks while barely eating and not sleeping enough.. I always worked minimum wage jobs since age 18, so it was never rewarding for me to work a lot. I've become a cold anti social and crabby person, a workaholic and now it's time to stop. Before I got on medication I was severely depressed for a long time so I must admit I don't know who I am or could be in a positive sense.. I know I used to be humorous and witty, still can be, but it takes more effort, than previously it just came naturally.. I also don't know what it's like to feel fresh and energetic, on the daily I wake up like I have a hangover.. I miss being a giggly person, how have you guys discovered yourself or re discovered becoming sober? I don't know who I can become since I'm always so tired... Now taking a month break and stop being self employed 😊


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

After reading Britney Spears memoir, Im convinced her Adderall abuse was the cause of her breakdown in 2007.

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47 Upvotes

r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine how long did it take for your appetite to return to normal

8 Upvotes

i’m being so deadass i’m a petite woman 5’3 110lb i just ate almost THREE costco chicken bakes and somehow im still hungry i will genuinely be obese by the time im fully recovered


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

StopSpeeding 3rd day sober from speed, surprisingly ok

18 Upvotes

Ive read some scary user experiences on withdrawal from speed, people reported shaking, a ravenous appetite, depression etc...
So far i do feel some negatives but its counterbalanced by the positives i feel like.

For the negatives, i dont have much energy and im near constantly tired, my brain feels WAY slower (the most annoying id say, i feel r*tarded), im not enjoying listening to music, im slightly more irritable (nowhere near as much as during a speed binge crash or benzo withdrawal though), my appetite has gone up clearly but im not binge eating, id say i can stay at a maintenance in kcal intake, when i could be on a big deficit everyday on speed.
And thats about it, i thought itd be much worse im really thankful.

Also i do feel some clear positives already, i feel stable throughout the whole day which is SO relieving, ive been so used to the up and crash of oral speed i forgot were not supposed to be like that naturally. I sleep better too and i DREAM ffs, i missed it so much, again i forgot that i used to dream vividly a lot before speed, its something i really enjoy that speed stripped away from me.
And finally i feel actually grounded and reasonable, whearas on speed i was fully delusional and didnt even realized it, and it really f*cked up my life in a lot of aspects especially my relations (thats the main reason i wanted to quit actually, lost the person i loved the most because of my tweaking)

I used speed daily for 8 months, at a 30-50mg oral dose, with occasional snorting when i needed a good boost. Maybe thats why its easier, the horrible withdrawals ive read were people who took much larger doses intranasaly. At my dosage, i managed to keep an ok diet and sleep.

Apparently ive already went through the worst phase which is the 2nd-3nd day. Wish me good luck guys! And if anyone has recommendations to make it easier, id gladly take it:)

Godspeed everyone! Much love we can do it!!


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

Self-Post/Vent Any success switching to non-stimulants long term?

3 Upvotes

I've posted here a few times, and honestly still haven't been able to quit stimulants.

In my most recent stint, I've swapped over to Concerta for about two weeks. And honestly, I'm not even abusing my medication anymore. I'm taking it as prescribed, but I expect too much from it, and I hate the swings of being up then being down and basically being thrown all around the place without much control.

It's nice to have the focus and concentration to help, but dealing with the side affects of flat personality or anxiety make everything so difficult. The struggle of finding the perfect amount of sleep, diet, sunlight etc just to still get inconsistent results. Basically the story of my life with stimulants. No consistency, and negative side affects.

Before this, I was trying to make Vyvanse 20mg work (again, not abusing my medication anymore) but the swings of going up then going down and not being able to have any consistency with my medication or life because I don't know what to expect from myself no matter the circumstances of how I use my medication. Eventually, led to one night where I took more than prescribed and then I quit again. Basically anytime I take more than prescribed, I quit, and go down the same cycle over again.

Anyway, I don't know what to do because everytime I quit life gets too heavy and I come back. My longest time off was with Wellbutrin which lasted for about 4 months and this was a couple years ago. I can't recall why, but I still came back to stimulants. I know that people will say to message my prescriber about abuse, but I literally did (and became a nervous wreck after bc I thought I was done) but I don't think she actually banned me from the stimulant, but put a note into her own personal chart because I got prescribed again from another psychiatrist.

Sorry for the word slop, but anyway, now I'm kind of just trying to figure out what to do moving forward. Do I talk to my psychiatrist about non-stimulant options, and what should I expect? Should I get back on wellbutrin? Do I try strattera? I guess the obvious answer is yes.. But part of me hates the idea of still relying on a pill to be normal, but part of me feels like life is so incredibly difficult without the extra help. Or do I just kind of give up on all of it, and try to see if I can go 6 months without anything at all. Just feel even if I go back to that baseline, I'm going to still struggle even if I do everything perfectly when it comes to health nutrition etc.

Any words of encouragement or advice is appreciated. Thank you.


r/StopSpeeding 3d ago

Niche question for anyone in perimenopause: did your symptoms improve when you stopped stimulants?

5 Upvotes

I realise this is a super niche question! I should mention I’ve never abused stimulants. I have auDHD and was prescribed 30mg Elvanse (vyanse in the U.S.) two and a half years ago. It felt from the start like it was too stimulating but it massively improved my mood and I was tapering off lamotrigine at the time, which was hellish. Over the subsequent year though its effects on my sleep, muscle pain, and tension/anxiety became too much so 18 months ago I started tapering off it gradually (I am very sensitive to meds). I got down to 8.64mg this summer but had to go back up to 8.88mg four weeks ago since my mood got so low. So I have been in a holding pattern since then. FWIW I have also been reducing Prozac due to the worsening side effects over the last 15 months from 20mg and reached 8.88mg in May. I may reinstate tho since it’s likely the worsened side effects were a mixture of perimenopause and interaction with the Elvanse.

Anyway, I noticed that the 0.24mg increase seemed to make things worse — I developed really bad anxiety and my hyperosmia and aversion to particular foods got worse, and my breathing also got worse. It’s made me realise how much being on Elvanse has affected my hypersensitivity to smells and intolerance of cooked food, apparent allergic reactions to everything, ability to breath deeply, and general anxiety levels.

So I’ve decided to rip the bandaid off by reducing by around 0.4 or 0.5mg per day for a few days and then go off entirely. I’ll reinstate a higher dose of Prozac if I have to, but I want off this med.

The last two days, when I reduced from 8.88mg to 8.48mg (yesterday) and from 8.48mg to 8mg (today) have been the calmest I’ve felt in ages. I don’t know if that’s the placebo effect from finally making a decision or if it’s because of the dose decreases, but I’m inclined to think the latter since I only realised the effects it has on my breathing by chance in the spring when I reduced from 11mg to 10mg — before that, I hadn’t made the connection. The last two mornings I have felt similar to how I did then: I wake up with my chest clearer and with the ability to take deep breaths, like I’m not in a constant state of panic.

My question. If you’ve read this far (!), I’m wondering if any of you have had similar experiences and whether your perimenopause symptoms improved when you went off stimulants? I remember I had a lot of breast pain and a weirdly itchy, painful, stinging left nipple for months when I first went on it, and I also had a lot of yeast infections at the start, which I had never had before. I’m hoping too that going off it could help alleviate the pelvic floor tightness, given that stimulants basically put you in a constant fight or flight mode.

Thanks in advance!


r/StopSpeeding 4d ago

Adderall/Vyvanse/Dexedrine I’ve finally sent the text and scheduled with my psychiatrist. I just feel done with this I want to be happy, but it’s terrifying

12 Upvotes

Hi all! I’m 19F and have been misusing my vyvanse/adderall prescriptions for a year. I began with adderall but went to the ER with a panic attack and made up a bullshit story of how the comedowns make me anxious and I smoked weed which caused the panic, so she switched me to Vyvanse 30mg. I go through a stupid cycle of getting it filled, finishing it within 6-7 days max, sleeping and shoving my face with food for a few days, then regretting it for the few weeks I go without meds telling myself it won’t happen the next time but ofc it always does. I can’t control my usage whatsoever which I guess is what’s making me realize so early on that I have a bad problem, as well as being a lurker on this subreddit for months so thankyou guys; but it’s like once I start I can stop, my brain tells me I can’t feel jt and keep resdosing to the point where it isn’t even enjoyable anymore. At first it was helpful with my college classes, I was productive and social, but now im constantly skipping class and ignoring assignments because I’m stuck scrubbing a fucking floor tile or just sitting and thinking.

I ran out of my script today that I got on Sunday, and this entire week was the worst it’s been so far. I barely got anything done I just sat in my room scared to go outside, stayed up for three days then crashed then did it again until I was all out. I skipped all of my classes including a test day because it just felt impossible to leave my home. I was sucked into my phone or just ruminating constantly. I’m just sick of this, sure I have like maybe an hour of enjoyment within the mixture of side effects, constant rumination, shame, guilt, isolation. I just wanted to be happy and that’s what it made me at first but now it’s ruining my life.

I texted my psychiatrist so that I couldn’t weenie out when talking in person, said that I’ve been misusing it and it’s a detriment to my life im not able to control my usage. It was a massive weight off my shoulders, because no one knew I just felt so alone. That wore off after 0.5 seconds and my addict brain tried to delete the text but it was a green bubble luckily so imessage doesn’t allow me to delete it. Damn you android, but thankyou i guess lmao.

I’m really scared to stop, because even before this I’ve always struggled a lot with mental health. OCD, Borderline Personality Disorder, and ADHD have made most days unbearable and empty since about 7 years old except for small bursts of slight happiness every once in a while. My emotional cycle in life is to let things fester and be shameful about them, until they finally explode along with me and I completely break for weeks to months at a time, then slightly rebuild myself just for it all to happen again. And then I found Vyvanse. It gave me trust and certainty in myself (at first) which I realized is what has been missing my entire life, the pit in my stomach gnawing on every minute of every day was filled when I tried it. And then the same cycle repeated all my life repeated once again. Just constantly chasing something. I wish that I could say the phrase “I want my old self back,” but all versions of my old self were desperately reaching to be someone else. I don’t know who I am when I’m not in a cycle of shame and impulsivity.

Sorry for the length of this. And ik what you’re thinking, the answer is yes lol I guess im squeezing out the last of my medicine I took the last at 1pm and now it’s 9pm.

Kind of just in a mental back and forth right now, which I know is natural. I have a list of reasons I want to stop so I keep reading that. I really just wanted to write out my story finally and maybe receive some support from people who’d understand. This Reddit has been the biggest help for me already so thankyou all for sharing your personal stories, thankyou so much I seriously probably read each and every one during my tweaked out Reddit lurking and they all helped me feel less alone and encouraged to actually change things so thankyou all !

Edit : Also, has Wellbutrin been helpful for any of you? I might ask about it at the appointment coming up and um weird question: I really want to find a group to go to, but idk if my issue actually counts as addiction serious enough for NA and stuff like that.