I am not perfect by any means.
Unlike some people who want to paint a pretty picture of their life online, I'm human like everyone else.
I have recently decided to make a few changes in my own life and end a few stupid addictions that were holding me back.
The major addiction I wanted to end was relying on benzo drugs for anxiety and relaxation, and while I was at it I figured I might as well quit a couple other vices at the same time.
PLEASE, DON'T EVER GET HOOKED ON ANXIETY MEDICATION!
I don't care how stressed out you think you are, look into other outlets for stress relief and relaxation besides prescription pills for stress and anxiety!
Think about any sort of addictions in your own life and work on ending them and empowering yourself with your own mind!
Sometimes the recipe for results lies within our own minds.
It's one thing to use something and not become dependent on it, it's another thing to rely on something all the time.
TRAIN HARD -JD
My ex was addicted to Klonopin. For many years I just thought she was an alcoholic. She was in the hospital for falls at least a couple times a year. Finally I divorce her and she goes to rehab for alcohol, is forced to detox Klonopin and bam she literally can drink like any other normal person. She’ll have a few drinks here and there and can actually stop. Whereas before once she started she drank until she passed out. And she drank from sunup to sundown every single day. Turns out she wasn’t an alcoholic without Klonopin. She doesn’t even have to go to any group meetings. She just stays off the benzos. From what she says the withdrawals from Benzos make Heroin withdrawals look like a picnic. Withdrawal from benzos will literally kill you if your’re not supervised and given other drugs to counter the withdrawals. Just read Stevie Nicks comparison of her herion addiction and withdrawal vs her Benzo addiction.
Thanks for reading/listening. It’s funny you mention that because without the benzos it’s easy to kick all other habits. I think they lead to caving in easier on other habits. Like I said in the podcast, the drug becomes the nature of problem, not what it was intended to help with. I’ll never touch the stuff again!!!
Thanks for sharing JD. It’s hard to admit there is a problem and it takes monumental strength, mentally and physically, to kick addiction. Your story resonated with me as I had a similar experience. My story is addiction to opioids. To make a long story short, my body has a lot of things wrong with it and I was in a lot of pain, but the pain killers turned from a tool to a crutch. Studies are finding that any morphine derivitive pain killers suppress testosterone and the fentanyl derivitives suppress estrogen and I’m a living example. I used pain killers (oxycodone) for so long that I was at 86ng/dl of Test. Opioids did the same thing as gear does to the boys. Needless to say, I am on TRT now and the opioids messed my digestive system up to the point where I have to eat 95% clean or I get really sick. TRT…eating clean…Bodybuilding Lifestyle!!!!! 11 months ago, I quit the opioids cold turkey and plunged head first into bodybuilding. There was a poster I saw that said “You’re already in pain, you may as well get something from it.” I have no aspirations of being on the cover of a Muscle & Fitness magazine, but I’m in a contest with myself to turn myself into the best I can be. At 44 years, I’m in the best shape of my life. I went from 38% bodyfat to 14% bodyfat and gained 20 lbs of muscle doing it in 11 months. I have no doubts that the Test helped, but combined with a clean diet and a newfound addiction to a healthy lifestyle I feel the best I have ever felt. I am the same with the pain killers as you are with the Xanax, if they are around I will take them, so I ensure they aren’t around. The key is to “Know Thyself” and make intelligent adjustments to your life to make it easier to deal with your vices. Yes I hurt. My left knee has torn cartilage and I’ve had 3 bulged disks and a fractured vertebrae for which I will never try to max a squat. I have scar tissue in my foot so bad from multiple foot surgeries that it hurts to do calf raises, but I push through that pain. My goal is to make my body as strong as possible so I can endure old age with as much comfort as I can.
When trying to make heads or tails of my life and dealing with TRT issues and pain killers was when I found this site. I even overdosed on pain killers and wouldn’t be here if my son hadn’t saved my life with CPR. You have taught me more about how to deal with Test, life, and how to live the bodybuilding lifestyle than anything I’ve found on the Internet, which is why I keep coming back here. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again; thank you for helping me. You have been a monumental influence in helping me get my life back in check. Some people may want you to focus on just the gear, but there is so much more to life than just gear, muscle, and a ripped body. You have to find balance to find happiness. I’m happy to say, the only “drugs” I am on right now is testosterone and a small dose of anastrozole (I’m a high converter).
I appreciate you taking the time to write this. Keep kicking ass man! -JD
Kratom was a big help for me… It won’t work for everyone but for the ones that it does its great
JD , Thank you very much for sharing this!
Thanx for reading -JD