jail, drugs and alcohol

This may sound like a really stupid thing to post on this forum, but I consider myself a pretty decent powerlifter, so I want advice from people who are into the same things that I am so here it goes. I have been training for about 8 years now, with the last two very succesful. I am 23 years old, 5’10" 235 pounds and about 16% bodyfat. My deadlift is up to 495 and that is the lft I have been focusing on. Anyway I have struggled for the past couple of years with drugs and alcohol and it has definitely hinded my training, not to mention other aspects of my life. For the past two months I did not drink or do any coke (i dont smoke which helps a little) but this Sunday I let it all go to shit. I got off of work (I’m a bartender go figure) went to the bar and threw back about 10 beers and about 10 shots of Jeagermeister. Then someone came to the bar with some coke and Idid abunch of that. To make a long story short I was at someones house acting like a jackass starting fights (of course I have no memory of this) then they booted me out. I guess I caused havoc outside because nxt ting I know I’m waking up on a cold cocrete floor in…You guessed it, Jail. So I didnt eat anything there, If youve ever been to jail you know why. And I sat their for about 16 hours. Today I went to the gym for the first time since then, and my strength is shot to hell. The only thing I can eat is protein shakes and fish oil caps. For some reason I have no appetite. You people probably think I am a complete loser but I am really depressed right now and I need some advice. Go ahead and flame me up just be honest. Thanks for any replies.

I think if you was saying it was cool,and everyone that didn’t do it wasn’t cool,then everyone would think you’re a shithead.But I think you realize there’s more to life than getting high.I don’t think anyone here will think you’re a complete loser,you sound like someone that needs a little help.Fuck bro,you’re 23.I tell you,find someone that can help you,someone you look up to,you do HAVE to give up coke though,it 's useless shit.Interact on this thread,lots are probably willing to help

Horace, first thing you need to do is quit bartending. Your setting yourself up to fail because of the environment your in. By doing this you’ll be able to possibly avoid those individuals who can supply coke, and you’ll be less inclined to drink. If it’s really bad, check yourself into a rehab for 6 months. If none of this works, perhaps this story will. A guy I went to school with who was into coke, acid and alcohol threw a party one night. He ingested a ton of crap and was acting like a real jackass. Well, smartass thought it would be fun to run around with daddy’s shotgun and scare people by pointing it at people and yelling “blam! your dead”. Well the jackass pointed it at one of his buddies, pulled the trigger, yelled blam! His buddies head exploded like a mellon. All jackass could do was laugh hysterically because he was so fucking high on crap. Jackass is now in jail for the majority of his life. I heard recentl he had a mental breakdown in jail, so he’ll probably be put in a straightjacket in a padded room.
Think of that next time you overindulge.
Good luck!

Get into some kind of support group. Most people just don’t have what it takes to put vices of this caliber down alone. Also, consider quitting your job; all that booze has got to be tempting. The most important thing is to want (and I mean REALLY want) to be done with this stuff. If you don’t, then you won’t quit.

I don’t think you need to be flamed–seems you’re doing that quite fine on your own. I also think you will be alright. It’s obvious you realize your mistake and hopefully that will be enough to keep you from making it again. “Smart people don’t make the same mistake twice”. If you feel that you might slip in that direction again, try befriending some of the people in your gym who have adapted the lifestyle you want to maintain. There is power in number, and perhaps they will help keep you out of compromising situations. At 23 you should be past the “idiot” stage where you are incapable of controlling your actions, and I think you know this now. Enjoy a beer or two, stay off the drugs, and know when to stop. If you don’t think you can, stay away from the bars and other sources of temptation. As for your strength, if you work hard it will come back sooner than you think. Good luck!

Go to Narcotics Anonymous meeting. They can help you, if you let them. I think you’re on the right track.

If you look at the thread on pot, You will see that some people on this board have no sympathy for those that make mistakes. They would have you believe you are scum, and a moron.


Dont listen to all the criticism. You messed up, but you can get back on track with hard work. It is actually psychologically helpful to blame someone though, I learned this in a college psych class. If you impose too much negative feeling on yourself, you will be less able to overcome the obstacles you are facing.

It’s not a matter of simpathy for those who fucked up, at least on this thread, did they tell you about addiction in your psych class? Addictive personalities? Not all people are the same, some cant control themselves when it comes to drugs. I am one of them. My life was hell untill i quit all mood altering drugs. Theres no half measures on this.

You may be right about addiction. But Im saying some people think theyre so Goddamn smart. Like they never made any mistakes. Instead of saying “Oh sorry about your luck” they say “YOU F@#$ing moron!”.


Also, just because someone goes crazy and abuses drugs one weekend, doesnt neccesarily mean they have addiction problems. Could be he was feeling self-destructive/trying to escape from reality.

You obviously need to abstain from all drugs and alcohol. Most people can not do it by themselves. The one’s who do it by sheer willpower are usually not too happy with themselves. Get some professional help and go to AA and NA if you really want to quit and be happy with sobriety. Good luck.

I’d attribute your lack of appetite to the depression. I think that you know you need to help yourself, and with that you should be on the road to recovery. I am not one of those people who has no sympathy for those who drink and use drugs; I still drink, and smoke occasinally. Coke is bad news…I did it once a few months ago, and my focus in the gym and in class was fucked for a couple days, but I’m sure you know this already. Please don’t be so hard on yourself, i think that you will find the resolve to shake any monkeys you have on your back. Best of luck. SRD

damn, dude. That is not a good thing… As far as your training, as far as I understand it is easier to regain lost strength and mass than build it in the first place. so i think you are fine in that respect. But, coke is one of the most addictive substances know to man, so you have a hard road ahead. Post here, i will always reply if you need reassurance, as I am sure others will. I am grateful for help and understanding from others, so I try to give it as much as possible. I can only make uneducated suggestions as to the path to follow, but i would suggest perhaps a psychology forum with therapists, perhaps. I know a couple have the usual regulars on hand, and some even run boards. that may be a better place to start your search. and, if you would like, my sister is a psychologist, and i could email her and request a possible list of action that would be good to take. but, more than one qualified opinion is always a good thing. thats where the psych forum would come in. you could also do a search of possible therapists in your area, and groups, cuz there is indeed strength in numbers, as mentioned earlier. I wish you good luck on your journey.

Ok, point taken. But when someon3e says that “Anyway I have struggled for the past couple of years with drugs and alcohol…” he probably has a problem, most important he has the guts to admit it and this is step number one, without it nothing will get done.

I mantain my sugestion, go to AA or NA, whatever seems better to you. Try bouth. You can find a meeting near you by doing a search on the internet. Good luck, you can do it.

DAMN!!! I ruined my cover. Shit!! LOL

It sounds to me like you made a mistake and realize that you made a mistake. Okay, that happens to everyone. You sound like a smart guy, and you’ve gotten some good advice from the Forum, so you know what to do. Now you need to apply a little “Nike attitude” to your problem: Just do it.

Thank you all for your replies. I really didnt expect this many. So now it is Wednesday, 3 days after this fiasco. I feel a little better (I got laid last night that helped me out a litte) the appetite is slowly improving, my workout today was sub par. I have lost a bit of weight, but I have accepted the fact that I should be back to normal in a few days if I bust my ass. As far as the substance abuse, I would like to hear from anyone who has been through quitting drinking on their own. I will use AA as a last resort. I cant help but think I can get over this without making a lifelong commitment to sobriety. One interesting point I need make is that I never in my life have done coke unless I was piss drunk in the first place. I dont mean like just a regular couple of beers drunk, I mean slurring, and stumbling drunk. I honestly have no desire to do that shit any other time. The last time I quit drinking for that 2 months I used weightlifting as my reason to not drink. I know about the studies that show alcohol reducing test levels and that was enough to make me stop for a while. I eventually started going out once a week and having no more than 3 pints of either Guinness or any type of Hefeweizen (I really love that shit) THEN, one thing led to another and I was going out 3 times a week doing shots and whatnot, then came my big night in prison. Funny thing is up until that night the drinking really wasnt affecting my training or diet, with the exception of the extra carbs from the beer and I was doing this for about three weeks. Anywho this forum is keeping me busy for now, and I cant even thank you people enough for this. I will keep in touch.

I did coke once…I did not like that shit at all. The strange thing is that even though I did not care for it, I found myself wanting more. It’s a very strange substance. Anyway, if you found yourself in jail you can’t handle your shit so don’t bother. I get really aggravated when people can’t handle their shit. If you need a good buzz smoke some weed. If nothing else it will tame erratic behaviour. It is typically far less bad for you than most other substances too.

Hey man, dont worry about the strength coming back, it will. I powerlift too and I know how it feels to lose ground. Couple weeks ago I hit a PR of 370 in the bench after my speed sets. Needless to say I was on cloud nine. But guess what happened the next week, I was doing max effort on declines and pulled/strained my pec. I couldnt do regular bench for a week. I was upset, and I know how ya feel about the losing strength. But my strength is coming back and now I know I shouldnt do declines anymore:) As far as the drugs and such, I think the other posters gave some good responses. And I dont care how much I get flamed or bashed for saying this last bit, but give prayer a try, you might be suprised at what happens. Ill keep you in my prayers man. Later.

You asked about quitting drinking on your own. I drank too much for a lot of years. Quantity wasn’t much, I’m a lightweight female, but aspects of my habit indicated a problem. I really wanted that first drink, and couldn’t pass it up even when I had decided to try. A day without drinking was a rare thing. Now I’m mostly down to a couple glasses of wine a week, which is still more than I’d like. I’m working on it. A couple things came together to help me cut way back. The surface reason was a desire to lower my body fat. Didn’t seem to make much difference there, but after a few months I noticed my poundages in the gym were going up much faster than before. I think the underlying reason I was able to cut back was the psychotherapy I’ve been going through. I think key to quitting is feeling good about yourself. It also helps to have goals you are personally motivated to achieve. I do not recommend switching to another drug like pot or even some of the legal ones Doug Kalmer wrote about recently. What’s so bad about AA? I went to a meeting once and thought they were really good. You don’t have to be at rock bottom to get motivation from them.

WOW!! Great candor!! You are definitely not a loser!!

You need to get into some sort of rehab or 12-step program if you aren’t already. But the fact that you are asking us makes it sound like you aren’t. You need a way to surround yourself with people struggling successfully with the same things. Probably every cell in your body is screaming “NO!!!” to this, and to do so will only reinforce the idea to yourself that you are a loser, but the worst, most loser-like thing you can do right now is fight this by yourself because you will almost certainly go further down. It sounds like this latest tumble is evidence of exactly that. Please save yourself some years (and maybe your death) by getting help NOW. This first step is probably the hardest because it does seem like a defeat an admission of loserhood. It isn’t, but it sure feels like it. I’ll be praying for you.