A recent study has shown medical pot not shown to be effective in treating things like anxiety, depression or PTSD. The study looked at 54 studies from 1980 to 2025. Also not as effective as thought on other issues.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/medical-cannabis-isnt-an-effective-treatment-for-anxiety-depression-or-ptsd/

The study noted that medical pot hasn't been studied the way traditional or current drugs in use. The studies used tended to have small groups of 100 or less patients .It noted the state by state legalization laws in the US makes studying medical pot more difficult.

Keep in mind this is medical pot they're talking about so it's being prescribed one would assume it would work like a existing drug on the market. It could be patient or doctor desperation trying to treat something where more traditional drugs did not work.

The pro pot lobby at times try to make it seem like a miracle drug when it's not. It probably could/should be 'a' treatment option but the patient should know it hasn't been vetted for medical use the way other drugs have. There are probably some lying or false claims made by patients to get their pot use legalized and easier to get with a medical/pot card as well.

Anytime someone tries to rationalize or justify their pot use just cite some of the more recent studies on pot and it's effects or lack there of.

It's not worth ]]>�
My body can't take endless abuse. Vaping and the occasional cigarette are bad enough. My heart is probably affected by regular pseudoephedrine overdoses.

Sure it suppresses my appetite and it was great for weight loss in the beginning. But it wears off and I binge these days. It's not the secret to weight loss. And maybe I should get down to a healthy BMI by, you know, making healthy decisions?

It is NOT a study aid. Like a handful of times recently it's helped me be hyper productive. But not since the first semester.

There's a good chance I'll have dreamless sleep tonight. That's nice. I love a good dreamless sleep. I only ever get it after taking pseudoephedrine earlier that day.

It is the safest OTC I could be abusing. But I need to stop turning to substance abuse to feel good.

Today is 27 days off alcohol. But I've tainted my alcohol recovery. And maybe giving into AV for other stuff means I'm not really growing and makes me more likely to drink again.

I forgot about this little trick that I invented on my own, not saying others hadn't come upon it long before I did, but I will claim it, even though I don't hold the patent. I forgot about it, because I haven't needed it for years.

This one came out of a recognition that I was engaging too much of my time in self pity in my recovery (and before). To be blunt, I was spending too much time on the pity pot, which I did not enjoy, but couldn't seem to shake once it started. What I decided to do was allow myself a certain amount of time to wallow in my self pity. It could be for 10 minutes, and hour or hours, or even a day. Usually, I would decide on a number of minutes or hours, but I don't think a specific time was the critical part. I would just give myself license to wallow to my heart's content and even push myself to go as deep as possible.

Once I would do that, I don't recall ever having to use up the time I allotted. It would just pass, not even for reasons I understood. I speculate that it was something I needed to do, or maybe going so deep allowed me to embrace the stupidity of the pity pot and put it into a different perspective. As counterintuitive as it seemed, it actually worked.

Maybe that will help someone else, if in fact anyone else has ever found themselves in need of that. I think it would work for other negative thoughts as well, but during that part of my recovery, self pity was a big one getting in the way of a joyful sobriety. If I applied it in other situations, it was at an unconscious level, because I don't remember using it for other things.

Any one else have a trick they would like to share? They don't have to be as embarrassing as that one. Some tricks are just common sense which we hadn't seen the sense in before we used them.

Hi]]>����
Note that I]]>������
Ironically, we met at a bar late Sept 2025. She invited me to her apt almost immediately and I was not aware she was blackout drunk until later]]>��
In the first few weeks of talking on the phone, I realized she liked to ]]>�����
However, the late night heavy drinking continued. I]]>������
Everything clicked together that she was abusing alcohol more than just ]]>������
So two blackouts (brown outs as she calls them) in about two 2 months. Not just that but using it to cope with her mom]]>�
I was disappointed and ready to leave. But I wanted to give her a chance since I liked her so much.

During the Christmas holidays at a hotel, I told her how uncomfortable I felt about her drinking to the point of having brownouts. She dismissed it as I expected.

We hung out more later during the holidays, and the day before new years eve, she got so drunk with her friends at a bar she didn]]>�
The weekend after new years]]>��
]]>����
She almost immediately responded in a gentle, respectful tone:

]]>��
3 weeks later towards end of January, I ended it between us.

1 week before I ended it, she offered me to join her and her friends for a celebration in a foreign country to do lines of coke. She knows I don]]>��
And then she blew up my phone after I ended it ]]>����
Two months later, I think I]]>�������
I do wish her well and wishes she would stop hurting herself. And maybe I]]>�� ]]> Friends and Family of Alcoholics lostkid https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/friends-family-alcoholics/470290-dating-experience-seeking-esh.html https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/newcomers-recovery/470288-6-months-keep-going.html Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:39:47 GMT

Today marks 6 months for me without alc. :celebrate
It has not been easy and required a good deal of self-work..
And I'm back on stabilizing psych medication (small dose).. It was good to not have it for a month, but realize I need it so I'm back on it, that's ok
One major thing is: gradually finding/being myself more again, without as much of the unstable/moody/drunken/hungover/suffering/loony alc-personality I developed in isolation
I'm more mentally healthy now and improving
I will continue to not drink and just ride onward

Thanks to all the nice helpful folks on SR :biggthump

]]> Newcomers to Recovery Makrellen https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/newcomers-recovery/470288-6-months-keep-going.html https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/newcomers-recovery/470287-my-experience-using-ai-sobriety-benefits-risks.html Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:37:02 GMT Here�s a forum-ready post you can use on SoberRecovery�clear, grounded, and respectful of tone: *A Word of Caution About Using AI (ChatGPT) in Recovery* I want to take a minute to share something...

Here]]>�� A Word of Caution About Using AI (ChatGPT) in Recovery

I want to take a minute to share something from my own experience using AI]]>��
First off, I]]>�resource. It can help you organize your thoughts, challenge negative self-talk, learn about addiction science, and even give you a different perspective when you]]>�
But here]]>��
AI is a tool ]]>�

That distinction matters more than it might seem at first.

⚠️ The Risks (from real use)

• Echo chamber effect
  AI often reflects the way you phrase things. If you]]>�
• False sense of being ]]>��
  It can feel like deep connection]]>���
• Over-reliance / isolation
  The biggest danger: choosing AI over real people. Recovery doesn]]>�
• Authority without responsibility
  AI can sound confident even when it]]>���
• No accountability
  An AI won]]>��

✅ Where AI can help (if used responsibly)

• Learning about addiction, relapse cycles, and brain chemistry
  
• Reframing negative thinking patterns
  
• Journaling prompts and self-reflection
  
• Practicing how to communicate difficult feelings
  
• Getting unstuck mentally before reaching out to someone real
  

Think of it like a search engine with a brain]]>�

🧭 Better Uses That Support Real Recovery

Use AI to:

• Prepare for a conversation with your sponsor
  
• Clarify what you]]>�
• Challenge your own thinking]]>�

Then bring that into:

• This forum
  
• Your sponsor
  
• Meetings
  
• Real-world relationships
  

📚 Resources to Stay Grounded

• Alcoholics Anonymous ]]>�
• SMART Recovery ]]>�
• The Biology of Desire ]]>�
• Research areas like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and neuroplasticity for evidence-based approaches
  

🙏 A Thank You

I also want to thank Dee, the Administrator here at SoberRecovery, for his patience and willingness to raise concerns about this topic. He made an important point: AI should never replace human support]]>�

That]]>�

Bottom Line

AI can help you think.

But it can]]>�

And in recovery, that human connection isn]]>��� I Zencat use ChatGPT to help organize and tighten up this post. The experiences, opinions, and warnings are mine.

I don]]>�� not computer programs or algorithms.

@Dee74 :thanks

]]> Newcomers to Recovery Zencat https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/newcomers-recovery/470287-my-experience-using-ai-sobriety-benefits-risks.html