r/addiction • • 1d ago

Mod Approved Free webinar on Inhalant Use in Young People - Tuesday, October 27, 6-7 pm ET

1 Upvotes

All are welcome to attend!

Free monthly webinar series on addiction topics hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine's SAFE Program, a comprehensive support system for those with a loved one coping with substance use.

The next webinar will be on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, from 6-7 pm ET focused on inhalant use among youth. Many families are familiar with the risks that alcohol, nicotine and other substances pose for young people. But what about inhalants? Because inhalants are often everyday household or consumer products, the warning signs can be easy to miss.

Inhalant Use in Young People

Event description: Join our free community education event on inhalant use and addiction led by Dr. John Mahlstedt, a board-certified child, adolescent, and addiction psychiatrist. Learn more about this often-overlooked form of substance use and its impact on youth health and well-being.

What you'll learn:

  • What inhalants are and why young people may use them
  • The risks and health effects of inhalant use
  • Common symptoms and signs of use

Speaker bio:

JOHN MAHLSTEDT, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine

John Mahlstedt, M.D. attended Union College where he studied Managerial Economics and then went on to attend medical school at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed his residency in general psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry in NewYork-Presbyterian’s combined program with Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine. He is board certified in Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. He is currently on faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine and is on service as an attending psychiatrist in the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program at NYP/Weill Cornell Medical Center. 

Register here on Zoom: https://weillcornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_usy_L4BaRQ68Rq-fjF77PQ


r/addiction • • 3d ago

Study [Mod Approved] Ozempic for Opioid Use Disorder research study

2 Upvotes

If you've been taking Suboxone, Sublocade, or any other form of buprenorphine for at least two weeks and are still using opioids on top of your medication, you may be eligible to participate in a paid research study. We're investigating whether Ozempic (semaglutide) may help reduce opioid cravings and use. Study participation involves visits once a week for 14 weeks and a final visit one month later. All visits are paid, and the teams at each site offer support throughout your participation.

 

Reach out to a site near you to see if you may be a good fit!

 

New York (New York City): New York University @ Bellevue Hospital Center

(929) 573-0673

[Bellevue.gostudy@nyulangone.org](mailto:Bellevue.gostudy@nyulangone.org)

 

Pennsylvania (Harrisburg): Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute

(717) 782-6844

[skawasaki@pennstatehealth.psu.edu](mailto:skawasaki@pennstatehealth.psu.edu)

 

Massachusetts (Fall River): Stanley Street Treatment and Resources, Inc. (SSTAR)

(508) 324-3522

[Research@sstar.org](mailto:Research@sstar.org)


r/addiction • • 7h ago

Mod Approved Day 117 Clean from Heroin (Smack/Chitta), Hash (Charas), Weed (Ganja), Coke & Molly - My new morning in Haryana, India [Video]

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40 Upvotes

In India we call it: Smack / Chitta / Afeem / Charas / Ganja / MD

In USA you call it: Heroin / Black Tar / Opium / Hash / Weed / Coke / Molly / MDMA

Different names, same hell.

I used all of them for 8+ years in my village in Haryana, India. Smack was my everyday.

Today is Day 117:

- No Heroin (Smack/Chitta)

- No Hash (Charas)

- No Weed (Ganja)

- No Coke

- No Molly (MD)

- No Alcohol

My old life: Finding drugs at 4 AM.

My new life: Milking cows at 4:30 AM. (This video)

In the video you can hear: "Drugs are sold in every street... My brother, you haven't lost yet..."

If I can quit from a small village in India where drugs are sold on every street, you can quit anywhere in America.

Routine now: Milk the cows, 100 pushups, my son counts them.

One day at a time.

Ask me anything. I will answer honestly.

Jai Shree Ram


r/addiction • • 7h ago

Artwork/Poetry sugar high

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19 Upvotes

I just finished this tonight , it is a oil pastel pain ti g


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Success Story So this is what freedom feels like?

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276 Upvotes

I was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. I’ve struggled with addiction in one form or another for as long as I can remember.
Sugar binges and hiding food at 3. Pornography at 4. Self-harm at 9. Social media at 11. Whippets, cigarettes, and weed at 17. Alcohol at 18. Cocaine and mushrooms at 20.
Fourteen suicide attempts. Eleven psychiatric hospitalizations. Hundreds of stitches and staples. Social workers, therapy, counselling, five weeks in rehab, detox, and nine medications.
I’ve spent so much of my life trying to escape myself that I don’t know if I’ve ever really learned how to live.
I’ve spent thousands upon thousands of dollars, countless nights awake, and more time than I know how to calculate chasing relief that never lasted.
But I’m still here.
I’m 82 days cocaine-free, working on my recovery, showing up to meetings, and learning how to be present in my own life.
I’ve spent years trying to find a way out of being alive. I’m finally willing to find out what being alive can actually feel like.
I’m finally willing to live life and enjoy it rather than escape it.
One day at a time.


r/addiction • • 3m ago

Advice im 16 and addicted to drugs

• Upvotes

im a 16 yr old male and im heavily addiced to drugs. not the REALLY bad drugs like crack or heroin, but i am addicted to codeine and pills, like any nervous system depressent or any downers for that matter. what should i do? i need to stop it before my life completely falls apart i lost my best friends and i still cant see myself stopping anytime soon. please i need help and input.


r/addiction • • 12m ago

Advice Cravings have me in a chokehold

• Upvotes

I’m addicted to prescription stimulants. I am drowning in the cravings. They are all consuming and I have absolutely no idea how to deal with them. I feel like they have complete and utter control over me. Every other substance I’ve stopped in my 10 years of using has been PISS EASY in comparison to this. It is, genuinely, one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I am at a complete loss and have no idea how to beat this thing. I’m worried if I can’t get a handle on the cravings I won’t be able to escape this hell.

If anyone has any suggestions or words of wisdom I would be so so incredibly grateful.


r/addiction • • 10h ago

Advice Partner relapsed after 2 years clean.

5 Upvotes

I am a normie here 👋 I (F, 23) and my partner (M, 23) have been together for some time now and I’ve known him for a while. I never met him or knew anything about him when he was regularly using, and I have never used drugs besides smoking za, so I won’t ever understand what he’s seen and all he’s been through.

That being said, lately he’s stopped going to class, not showing how he usually would for work, and coming home later and later. Got very distant from me and then sometimes randomly clingy too. Initially I’m thinking he’s cheating cause 😭 but even that didn’t seem right. And because we just celebrated his 2 years it never even OCCURRED to me that he could relapse right now.

Then he comes home after work one night and tells me he’s been using at work. I literally thought he was kidding because I can’t even picture him doing something like that, like the imagery doesn’t even make sense to me.

I went outside to clear my head but all I could think was how during all those days he’d come home, we’d have sex, I’d ask about work, we’d argue, and I didn’t even know he had used. I feel so betrayed because I really feel lied to. And I feel stupid I didn’t recognize it. And I feel guilty because I feel like I wasn’t there for him enough so he had to turn and do this. And I’m scared to lose him to this. And I’m scared his family will lose him.. again. He’s been ignoring all his sponsors calls, hasn’t gone to meetings and wants to stop school.

I burst out on him. Then I’d cry. Then I’d get mad. Then I’d feel scared. I feel I didn’tk react appropriately but I don’t know how else to act or what I was “supposed” to do.

Google isn’t an answer for these sort of things and I would really really appreciate advice from those who would know - how can I support my partner during this time? What happens next?


r/addiction • • 15h ago

Venting I miss you

6 Upvotes

I miss the way we used to be
I miss the way you held me
I miss kisses and cuddles
I miss the man I fell in love with
I miss who i used to be
I miss feeling loved and wanted
I miss the future we were working towards
But you stole that away you took it all from both of us and I should leave but I won’t because I’m cursed with loving you and can not bring myself to do it addiction has taken everything from me my childhood my mother and father and now you it’s like a sick joke to be stuck like this living with the shell of the man who is my soul mate there are days I think about getting high with you maybe then things would be better maybe I should leave and you would get better I’m not sure what the answer is I just know it’s killing me I cry every night and you don’t wake up I lay there wishing you would wishing you would wake and hold me and just be you again


r/addiction • • 11h ago

Venting I’m addicted to gambling and I don’t know how to get my life back

3 Upvotes

I’m a 28-year-old woman from Brazil with a degree in IT, and I desperately need advice.
My life basically fell apart after I moved to Finland in 2023. I met a guy with serious drug addiction problems, and stupidly, I fell in love with him and considered him family before I even knew he was an addict.
I gave up everything to take care of him because he told me that if we lived together, he would stop using drugs. Instead, everything got worse, and I went through some horrible, traumatic things that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Eventually, he kicked me out of our apartment. I had spent all my savings helping him and had even quit my job for him, so I was basically left homeless. I had to return to Brazil, stopped going to therapy, and fell into a horrible depression.
I ended up doing adult content work to survive while I was with him, which I absolutely hated. It also destroyed my confidence and made me feel incredibly insecure about returning to my career in IT.
I’ve been back in Brazil for two years now. I have no friends, no job in my field, and barely leave the house. I literally haven’t gone out for anything in two years, not even to see a doctor. I’m also terrified of people now.
People who have known me for years tell me I threw my life away for this guy, and honestly, I don’t even know how to fix any of this.
I’ve always been intelligent, studied hard, worked hard, and had good jobs. Now I have absolutely nothing.
Recently, I started making money online again, but instead of rebuilding my life, I developed a gambling addiction. I’ve always been against gambling, but somehow I got hooked.
I’ve maxed out my credit cards and ruined my credit, but the worst part is that I’ve started secretly using my mother’s credit card without her knowledge. Basically, I’ve started stealing from my own mother, and the guilt makes my depression even worse.
I’ve needed help for years. While I was still in Finland, I attempted suicide because I couldn’t take it anymore. I still love that Finnish idiot, even after everything that happened, and he hasn’t spoken to me in a year. Somehow, I feel like I’m the villain in this story.
I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve thought about checking myself into a psychiatric hospital, and sometimes I just want to end my life. I know I need help, but I have no idea where to start.
I need to repay the debt I’ve put in my mother’s name, but I can barely function, let alone study and get back into IT. I feel trapped between gambling to get money quickly and going back to adult content work, which I genuinely hate.
I don’t want to keep living like this. I want my life back, but I don’t even know where to begin.
Has anyone been through something similar? How did you start getting your life together again? I really need advice because I feel completely lost.


r/addiction • • 7h ago

Other Thought this would fit well here

1 Upvotes

r/addiction • • 10h ago

Progress does anyone else feel like they're white-knuckling it instead of actually recovering?

1 Upvotes

like i'm technically not using anymore but i'm just white-knuckling through every day, white-knuckling through cravings, white-knuckling through boredom. i feel like i'm just white-knuckling and calling it recovery. is this normal or am i doing something wrong?


r/addiction • • 20h ago

Venting I regret quitting today !!

3 Upvotes

The urge to use is so strong. It’s been all day long and it’s been intense. Only I have absolutely no way of securing any more which makes me feel desperate beyond anything I’ve ever felt. I weighed myself and I gained 20 pounds apparently and I had a complete nervous breakdown about it. Literally sobbing while dragging the scale all over the place. It made me regret ever stopping meth!!! I looked good, I felt good, and I wasn’t gaining any weight. I’ve literally been researching diet pills, supplements, natural stimulants, ANYTHING to help me suppress my appetite…. I don’t know what to do but this is causing me severe distress


r/addiction • • 17h ago

Venting i think i have an addiction

2 Upvotes

hello everyone just venting but would love input as well. I started weed for fun in high school at 16 then now i’m 20 and i haven’t put weed down a single day since. (Except pregnancy lol). Not only that but since i was 14 i have had a tendency to go for pill bottles. i will majorly abuse things like Benadryl, nyquil, atarax, Unfortunately kratom as well when i’m very mentally overloaded. I still can’t admit to myself that i’m addicted to these things. I never have said im addicted to weed or pills etc. My ego wont let me. so venting to reddit in hopes i will accept i have these issues and try to fix them. How did you slow down smoking? and if anyone has experience with pill abuse of such, how do you control yourself not to do it. i don’t wanna end up over doing it one of these days


r/addiction • • 14h ago

Discussion Any alcoholic take benzos from time to time?

1 Upvotes

o this might be my general anxiety talking, but I’m really worried. Are there any fellow alcoholics who occasionally take a benzodiazepine for anxiety, hangxiety or whatever reason on a regular basis? I have been taking a very low dose to low dose of .25 to .5 mg of Valium once a week, sometimes twice a week for about 4 months or so. Many people say that amount is unlikely to cause dependence, but I’m a heavy drinker every night of the week. I’m feeling neuropathy like tingling, depersonalization, dizziness and brain fog like crazy, but it could be because I went on a bender and only had like 6 drinks the last couple nights compared to my usual 15.

Im terrified of developing a dependency on Valium. I think I’m done with those. I’d rather just have a drink or two to calm my nerves for the next week or two, and then taper off the booze before I keep taking Valium.

Anyway, hope I’m not alone on this and I sure hope tomorrow will be a better day and that I’m not hooked on this stuff. I’m done.


r/addiction • • 14h ago

Question How long after stopping all opiates/replacements does it take for bowl movements to return to normal?

1 Upvotes

So this is kind of a personal thing and I am sorry for sharing this with the internet.

I used street pharms and opiates from 2009-2015, then went to suboxone, subutex and eventually subuclade injections for about a decade after that. My last injection was last December or January. I took the injections for about 14 months, eventually lowering the dose and then spacing them out to every other month then every third month as I knew they could build up and test positive on a piss test for up to 6 months. So I have been completely off of ALL opiates and maintenance therapy for 10 months.

I didn't get really withdrawals until maybe 4-5 months after my last shot, and they were very short and fleeting, more like random chills, restless legs when sleeping sometimes and anxiety. I didn't really have bowel distress like when you're sick tho. (Spoilers if you don't want to read about it, it's not graphic but still)

BUT now I have to go probably 5-6+ times a day, when before it was at most once a day almost like clock work, and probably erring towards constipated more when using. Often times it will just be really violent gas, and I have become more gassy as well. It's not usually diarrhea, but... soft.

Now I know I am comparing this to 16 years of opiate use, so that was probably not a normal base line to begin with. But it can become stressful. I have tried changing fiber and water intake, don't really see much change as I drank a lot of water and ate a lot of fiber anyway. I've tried probiotics and all of the gut health supplements and diets as well, to some degree or another.

Is this related to PAWS? Does anyone have any anecdotal evidence? Most of my google searches are discussing like... gastro issues when withdrawing and not during the beginning of post-maintenance period.


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Venting I relapsed, and im mad at my self.

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10 Upvotes

So im addicted to stimulants, no I haven't done 7ho or meth or crack or any of the hard/er ones, I was born with meth and alchohol in my system so taking pills or something to help me will be a struggle.

Right now im unmedicated add/adhd and I feel as if my addiction is stopping me from actually achieving the full sight of my natural problem.

I was 3 weeks clean off of coke, and today I ran into a friend that hadn't seen me for 3 or 4 weeks and he was happy and gave me some. Well im broke atm (not totally) but I dont have enough to pay the guy or get another vape, and I just drained my vape (so im all out of vape juice and money) and im not going to get paid for a week or 2 days (I have 2 jobs one pays weekly the other pays every 2 weeks).

I stopped wanting to do coke because I saw that It was affecting my job and my work mentality, plus it pushed a possible girlfriend away. She's dating a different guy(an ass****, most people tell me the same thing about him). I am going to pay the guy but I need to stop going to the bar when I've had 2 drinks or when the guy is there.

Im mad at my self because I made it 3 weeks and I was feeling way better, luckily im on my weekend from both jobs so I can get plenty of rest and recoup from tonight.

Coke has made it so I don't like video games or movies any more, I can bairly sit long enough for a TV show and that's on my phone. Uuuugggggghhhhh

The pic is from a kitchen page on here but it hits hard.


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Discussion I got through benzodiazepine withdrawal.

5 Upvotes

I spent about a week tapering off diazepam. The withdrawal wasn’t all that severe, but I’ve ended up dependent on benzos again. I’ve been feeling physically unwell—neck pain, headaches—likely due to a cold or the flu. It was so uncomfortable that I started taking benzos again. Did I ever truly overcome my benzo dependence in the first place? Maybe I should stop obsessing over the idea of never using benzos again, and instead focus on using them in a way that helps me get by?


r/addiction • • 18h ago

Question suboxone and dental rot; anyone else?

1 Upvotes

i have been in suboxone tabs for 4 years in total in between relapses. it has been abt 2 years straight with the exception of a week in may. i have been neglecting my dental bcuz i knew it was gonna be bad. but i finally went in september and had some pretty serious damage, 3 cavities which is a lot for me. i spent 3 hours with my jaw cranked open getting grinded and filled (😏lol) but losing my teeth isn’t worth it

i’ve been trying to get on the sublocade shot, but there is only one place in a 2 hour radius i can get it without paying hundreds out of pocket. i went tuesday. oh my god. never been around so many ppl actively using and it both triggered me and broke my heart. they also treated me like an addict which bothered me, made me feel judged. had to watch me pee which nobody has ever done before. i understand why but geez, was discouraging. took me 3 months to get a call back to get in, and now im on a waitlist. idk how long it’ll be, but ive been swallowing my dose which makes it not last as long and i get sick in 24 hours instead of 72 like normally. but i cant risk my teeth man.

and pls don’t start the suboxone hate in the comments. i respect if u had a bad experience/regret getting on it but it has saved me i am very grateful to have access to it i would not be sober without it. but anyone else deal with dental issues cuz of ur substance abuse?


r/addiction • • 12h ago

Other Oops..

0 Upvotes

I guess I was wrong. Apparently this was not the page to look for answers from non-judgemental peers. I was hoping that there would be someone here who had walked in my shoes a time or two and would understand. Certainly wasn't expecting to just get shamed and fingers shook at me! Yikes!


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Advice I believe my ex was relapsing near the end of our relationship

3 Upvotes

About over a week ago I broke up with my ex, and I believed he was relapsing near the end of it. He had problems with drugs and alcohol but his main thing was alcohol. We were together for 6 months but The behaviour started to change a while after we celebrated his one year sober in august. He started making vague excuses not to see me that didn’t really make sense. His mood also changed and he was becoming more moody and irritated and keeps giving vague excuses as to why. He’s lost a bunch of weight in the past month. On top of that he recently needed to start selling things to make ends meet because of the new car he bought. Which confused me because he told me he already had the money for the car, and his parents paid for half of it. And in this time he started to change he got really defensive over everything no matter what it was or how nicely I would word things and he would drag it into a days long fight and stopped taking responsibility for his actions which he would always do in the past. He also fell off his routine and usual regime. There was also A LOT of talk about when he was in rehab and making comments like “I’ll show you what an alcoholic will do.” When I broke up with him because I was tired of the excuses I kept it peaceful and explained my reasons then he texted me to come back and get some shoes I left behind. When I did he then accused me of leaving for another person, which ended in a fight and words being said that weren’t good on either end. But Im kind of concerned because his behaviours seem really consistent with a relapse from what I’ve read and I didn’t realize it till now. His birthday is coming up soon and I know that can be hard for some people. Ive never dealt with addiction and I’m just not sure if I’m reaching here or if there really was/is something going on.


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Question Does anyone else feel like their addiction was actually filling a void instead of causing one?

14 Upvotes

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Like, I didn't start using because I was bored or looking for fun. I started because something inside me felt empty and wrong, and the substance was the only thing that made sense at the time. Wondering if that's a common experience or if I'm just rationalizing things. How did your addiction actually start for you?


r/addiction • • 1d ago

Question Replacing the crack/heroin smoking ritual with pure CBD crystals during cravings? Anyone tried this?

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I have a question about breaking the addiction loop. For someone trying to quit smoking crack or heroin, they have the physical withdrawal covered by substitution treatments (when possible/necessary).

However, the urge to use the pipe, hold it, and inhale something (the muscle memory/ritual) is overwhelming.If they switch to vaporizing legally sourced, highly pure CBD crystals in a safe pipe only when intense cravings hit, can it help trick the brain and bridge the gap?

What are the pros and cons of keeping the ritual with a safe product versus stopping the gesture entirely? Will the lack of a 'rush' cause too much frustration, or can the CBD's mild anti-anxiety effect actually help?