Posted by Racer on November 27, 2007, at 7:59:09
In reply to Was your depression/anxiety/OCD casued by ......, posted by oldschool305 on November 27, 2007, at 2:42:45
In a lot of cases, that early drug use is actually an attempt at self-medication, because of disorders lurking under the surface. I know I drank too much in my teens, and took my share of drugs -- and several other peoples' shares, if you come right down to it. But I suffered an anxiety disorder from early childhood -- that's in retrospect, it wasn't actually diagnosed until I was 40 -- and depression from the beginning of adolescence. If those disorders had been addressed effectively, I suspect I wouldn't have played with drugs or alcohol nearly as much.
As for what you're experiencing, I also agree with Pstrait that correlation does not equal causation -- it's quite possible that the difficulties you're having now have nothing to do with the drugs. That's not to say that I don't understand regretting drug use -- I regret mine, for many reasons, and I do think it has had a lasting effect on my brain function. I don't think I'm nearly as smart as I was before starting to play with drugs. On the other hand, I'm middle aged, so maybe it's normal aging -- and anyway, I don't own a Way Back Machine, and there aren't any spectacled dogs around, so I guess I'm stuck with what is. Regrets, at this point, don't do me any good, but do have the potential to do damage, so I try to save mine for where they're a little more benign. I really regret waking up at 3:45 this morning, for instance...
Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:797256
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071125/msgs/797277.html