Soon after high school, I had a very close friend that used meth regularly and hid it from everyone. She was smoking meth on a daily basis at one point and I would have never guessed it. Somehow, my friend managed to hide it from our circle of friends. I believe when it got to the point where we would have recognized the signs, she had isolated herself from us and was smoking all the time. I am very surprised by the profile of a meth user but she fit the profile. When I visualize meth, I see someone with no education, no money, and a dysfunctional past. My friend was not what I pictured since she was a middle class, high school graduate who worked as a nanny and had college educated parents. Although her risk was increased since her mother had abused drugs at one time and her parents divorced when she was very young.
This friend just stopped one day and admitted to me that she had been doing it, which I had heard that she was doing "speed or something" from an acquaintance but I did not really believe it was that bad. About a week ago, she finally told me how deep she was into the drug and how she hid it from everyone including me. I was surprised because, up until that day, I hadn't realized how severe her problem had been and how much strength it took her to just quit cold turkey. The only sign I could look back and say that she had was oily skin. I even remember the acquaintance talking about her oily skin and hair. The main sign of a meth user I thought was meth mouth, which she probably did not do it long enough to get I guess (or was just lucky).
Of course she is very successful now with a husband and a great job. She told me that she hasn't done any drugs in 8 years and would never touch the stuff again. I find it weird that she was able to hide it so well and was able to just quit one day. After all the research on meth I have done, I believe that she is a very rare case.
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Your friend should feel blessed that she was able to totally recover from her addiction. I have heard and read that once you are addicted to a substance, there is a good chance that you will have tendencies to crave that drug even though you have recovered. Fortunately for her, she not only knows better, but is not tempted at all from cravings. I find it odd as well that she covered it up so well. Usually, Meth users can be seen a mile away.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how our impressions of what a drug addict looks or acts like is not always true. And you prove this with the story about your friend. I remember meeting this one girl who I thought did not do any sort of drugs because she exuded a clean, girl-next-door, persona. But one night at a party, I saw her smoking cigarettes and marijuana and drinking uncontrollably which dispelled my initial perception of her.
ReplyDeleteCynthia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your experiences and thoughts on this issue. Meth is "the drug of the masses" right now. It is everywhere, at all socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, and ages. The fact that your friend could hide her problem is not uncommon. Many addicts are able to somehow function until their addiction consumes them and they hit "bottom."
I think the biggest lie addicts tell themselves is that they don't have a problem. Having lived with family members who are/have been addicts, I can also attest that a person very rarely just recovers on his/her own. I'm not saying it is not possible, just very rare. Usually, an addict is addicted because that is his/her way of coping from some sort of stressor. If the stressor does not exist, perhaps the addiction will subside; however, the individual's coping skills have to improve as well as their perceived self efficacy. Perhaps your friend was able to overcome the addiction because she found something (love?) that strengthened her ability to reflect on her choices and stop her behavior. I have never met anyone who is a meth addict quit "cold-turkey" so perhaps she is a rare case study?
I am always uplifted when I hear stories about overcoming addiction, so thank you for sharing this bright note on the coat-tails of viewing the Invervention clip!
Dr. E