My boyfriend relapsed on crack and violated his parole and is currently in prison. I started dating him not knowing he was in recovery so when he relapsed imagine my surprise! Anyway, the more we speak about his addiction the more it becomes crystal clear that he is not only addicted to crack but to the lifestyle that accompanies it. He is ashamed to admit it but he enjoys the excitement that goes along with finding ways to get money to get the crack. After he sells everything he has he resorts to petty crime...shoplifting and hustling. The crack addiction I understand as I worked at a drug rehab but I never really encountered the "lifestyle" addiction. Anyone have experience with this?

Yes the lifestyle can be one that you can get so "accustomed" too , it 's the thrill of coping, hustling, making money, etc........ then there is an ugly side also ...... your loss of values too keep the "high" up......
most people who get into "recovery" find now they are bored.. it's adjusting to the slow lane after running fast for soooo long and learning how to live a WHOLE new life.....
Just encourage your boyfriend to live in recovery.... (meetings etc)>

Good luck

Donna

That is so true!!

I do find that with my X he is so use to that life style I wonder sometimes will he ever learn to live a regular real life...

He onced told me, my life was boring............

I will take boring anytime....

It is so hard, but yes it is part of it, its like they get triggered by the hustle of finding the money for the next fix.....
It becomes as much of an addiction as the drug....

Just know that you cant save him.. I am sure you do know that...
Sometimes we want to but just cant....

Blessings
Tina

It's not only a lifestyle but a subculture unto it's own. There are usually no jobs, no bills to pay, no home upkeep, no time schedule. I know my ex (20+ year crack addict) enjoyed the lifestyle. He would get just as high off of the scamming, conning, stealing, as he did off the drug itself. The drug plays the role of masking out responsibility and conscience. Until the desire of this lifestyle is broken, the addiction will continue.

Shelby is so right...the lifestyle is also a hard habit to break! When all you have ever known is living from pillar to post, run here, run there to get more, up all night, drag through the day at work ( if they work) and back to the same all over again..no real place to call home...usually sharing a dwelling with other users..absolutely all conscience and responsibility is forgotten. The only thought is how to and when and where can they get more and more of the drug... time is not even a factor in their lives...just moment to moment... The best way for survival is to remove themselves from all places, people and things that had anything to do with that lifestyle...I wish you the best!!!!!

i never connected the two but you're right. i happened to be at the same club one night as my husband's stepson who is involved with people who are into crack and alcohol. boy, was it ever a night of drama. then i realized that it was like that when my hubby was out doing all that. i almost got swept up into it because of the excitement of it all. then i remembered that my goal in life was just to have peace. my hubby says he looks forward to being a "bore". peace and quiet, what a wonderful thing to look forward to.

Never really thought of it, but I guess your right it is a lifestyle. At first I had no idea people lived like that, I was from the suburbs. Then a few years later I was downtown living that way myself.

Yep i completely believe people can be addicted to the way of life while not activelu using.I know a couple of people who have been clean,one for 4 years and one for over 10 and they still have the drug addict mentality,the behaviour,lifestyle etc.

I know from working in the field for many years that being addicted to the lifestyle is just as hard to overcome as the addiction to the drug. That rush of going to cop, being on the street with no responsibility, the partying and nonstop "danger" aspect is really hard to give up. The lifestyle has caused alot of my cleints to relapse.

I was never (only by the grace of God) addicted to a "hard" drug, but sometimes I still sorta miss 'partying'- having no obligations to speak of, just hangin out and talking endlessly...about everything and, ultimately, nothing.

In a sense addicts have a lot of the same qualities and are in fact 'risk takers'. There is a whole psychology behind 'risk takers' behaviour. Drunk/high on their own adrenalin rush. They create situations that give them that rush and they cant deal with life without it. So its not just the drug they have to escape but the adrenalin pumping lifestyle. FranG Im sure you have seen that and I guess that is what you are saying.
There is a really good article about that here: Risk (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19941101-000027.html)



I know from working in the field for many years that being addicted to the lifestyle is just as hard to overcome as the addiction to the drug. That rush of going to cop, being on the street with no responsibility, the partying and nonstop "danger" aspect is really hard to give up. The lifestyle has caused alot of my cleints to relapse.