Entitled. Narcissistic. Childish. They want what they want right now- nope, tomorrow’s too far away. Their problems are yours (or anyone’s but theirs) to fix, and they become pathetic 4 year olds if you don’t see it that way. They will lie like a rug and believe everything they say, at least at that moment. They can justify or rationalize ANYthing. They’re always special. Everyone needs to accommodate their special needs. Whatever happened to them is not their fault. In fact, there is often malignant intent- the system. Or that bitch. Or those assholes. Oh, yeah -their actions don’t have consequences. Things that might LOOK like logical consequences are really bad luck. Or someone’s out to get ‘em. They told you they were unique, didn’t they? You just don’t understand. No one understands. If don’t agree with me, you must hate you. Fine. I don’t need you. I’ll stay inside here. In this little closet. And then you’ll be sorry. Fuck you, anyway. I don’t need your shit. You don’t know how bad I have it. It’s not your fault that you don’t understand. It’s just that you’ve had such an easy life, with your regular job and paycheck, and no psycho exes or kids. What do you know about the REAL world?

Jesus. And those are the ones who’ve been in recovery 20 years.

And somehow these are the people with whom I surround myself.

Sorry. I needed to rant and have no one else to rant to.

Thanks.

Give me a fucking cigarette.

At least you're not stuck in the hell that is their heads.

Wow. Doesn't sound like recovery was very recovering.

Most respectfully, I don't LIKE being an addict, but I know full well what I'm doing and what my situation is. The only person you can change or control is yourself. Good luck.

I think you could have entitled this post, "I am so sick of people!" and it would have rung just as true.

Hugh Janus, on paper you're right, but in day to day contact, some how all dramas are more dramatic and all using of friends and relatives more blatant and shameless when dealing with these guys, and it becomes obvious that they are an order apart.

And I'm not sure I should have said addict. "Junkies and speed freaks" would have been more accurate. I don't have the same problems with alcoholics. Or smokers :)

What by the grace of god said.

I know full well how horrendous dealing with addicts can be (and even alcoholics do a nice number in this department). But it's also clear that the rest of us are experiencing only a fraction of the torture that they're inflicting on themselves.

Sounds like somebody's driving you nutty. Do you ever go to Al-Anon or any similar program? That can help.

The addict I called my cousin Tommy is dead. His life sucked, and he didn't know how to handle it, and he's dead now. It never dawned on him that everyone gets a bum deal. He just saw a step down and assumed it was a staircase, went way down to the bottom, put a gun in his mouth, and agreed with all the people who were sick of him.

He was better off when he was alive, and so was I.

He just saw a step down and assumed it was a staircase

Wow, that's worth remembering. That's one of the big errors in thinking that puts people in a world of hurt. Thank you.

Yes. You're all right. It was a momentary lapse into irrationality. I have a more perspective now that I've had a night's sleep etc. Thanks for letting me vent.

I just wrapped up a would-be romance with a recovering addict.

Entitled. Narcissistic. Childish. They want what they want right now- nope, tomorrow’s too far away.

That seemed, at least in this case, to be about right. I know for a fact, of course, that not all recovering addicts are anything like that. In this situation, however, he would drone on-and-on about himself, then finally pop a question vaguely directed at me. But I've got a lot of compassion for him: I don't think he should date outside of NA, especially those who use basic-type things in moderation. So, I wish him luck and that's that. I know that it's a hard, lonely road... I just can't be the dependency which replaces the chemicals.

Good luck (and good compassion) small_ruminant.

thanks, moonbird. In my case it's family.

Although I've sort of given up on dating because I end up drawn to these same personality types. I'm disgusted with myself.

I never thought about being the dependency replacing the chemicals. I can sure see the drama being the replacement chemicals.