Substance Abuse & Addiction: What Can Help? A journey...

Hey friends--Here's my KZbin version--I'd love it if you'd consider subscribing to my Patreon account ( / destinysmusings . I talk about things there, too--It's a little more intimate. And, every sign-up supports my nonprofit Prairie Classical | Music is the Best Medicine.

[@Sumac44]

I love you’re trying to destigmatize mental illness. This is my life goal because it’s so painfully exhausting hiding in the shadows, walking on eggshells to avoid making others uncomfortable, feeling like a leper. You’re doing wonderful work!

[@DestinysMusings]

Thank you for this comment! It also makes my day :) "Painfully exhausting hiding in the shadows." YES! No wonder I was so tired for so many years, haha!

[@jonathanwingmusic]

Thanks for this! I am sorry to hear that about your parents. I lost my dad a few years ago to a different kind of drug, an eating addiction that eventually shut down his liver and heart. While not exactly the same, I can understand what it's like to see a family member slowly kill themselves with a substance. I myself struggled from my 20s-early 30s with alcohol abuse as a way to cope with my anxiety and depression - what started as a harmless time spent partying with friends eventually took me down a dark path where I found I needed it every day to just calm my nerves; it was really scary and I remember getting to a crossroads where I felt hopeless, but realizing I needed to do something before it would become too late. I'm almost 5 years sober now and I don't miss it one bit. With all the extra money and free time saved from not drinking I started learning cello - an instrument I always wanted to learn but never made the time when I was younger. I have no lofty goals other than to enjoy the process. It's been really therapeutic and meditative to feel the vibrations against my body from this instrument which is connected to me, and to also give myself something productive to work toward which is simply so satisfying and rewarding - so much better than getting drunk. I still struggle with anxiety and depression here and there but my coping skills are a lot better now that I have replaced them with something positive. Music is love, music is healing! 🎻❤‍🩹 This too is a topic which is obviously very close to me and I have nothing but love and sympathy for those who struggle with substance abuse and depression - whatever shape it takes. I look forward to your Wellness Wednesdays series - I think it's awesome and important to have these discussions and use music to heal hearts and minds as it has the power to do. Thank you!

[@DestinysMusings]

Thanks for your kind comment and for sharing your story, too. Good for you for doing better! That's so wonderful. Also, super cool that you're diving into cello. I love that. Do you feel like the music has helped you the most with depression?

[@jonathanwingmusic]

@@DestinysMusings Thank you! Indeed, I have played music my entire life - piano and drums mostly (from a more rock/pop background) - but learning a traditional string instrument and studying classical has been a totally different experience, but I love it because the challenges have also provided great joy and satisfaction when I overcome them. But in any case, music has always been there for me and now that I don't abuse any substances, when I feel at my lowest, just grabbing the cello, or any instrument really, is a way to quiet my mind, meditate on the nature of sound. Sometimes I will just do slow open bows with my eyes closed, even that has a way of making my anxieties melt away and still my mind. I've also been learning to sing, I am not that great but feeling the vibration in my chest while singing along to songs I love has been a surprising type of therapy and connection to something deeper than ourselves. Anyway long way of saying that yes - music has helped me more than anything else in this world, and I always want to share that with others too! ❤‍🩹

[@DestinysMusings]

@@jonathanwingmusic so that is super wonderful! OMG, if ONLY I get could my students to practice slow bows on open strings! lol. This is really wonderful to hear. I'd love to hear more about your journey if you're willing to share!

[@jonathanwingmusic]

@@DestinysMusings haha it's funny you say that about the open bows, not sure if it's something that has come with age having played music my entire life - but nowadays I really like slow and simple practice methods, which is a crazy contrast to years ago. Growing up playing piano, it was all about trying to rip out crazy fast scales and arpeggios! Virtuosity, speed, and complexity - the faster and crazier the better! I would practice to a metronome but it was always sooo hard to be patient. Now that I'm older, perhaps supposedly "wiser," I actually enjoy playing things more slowly and savoring even the simplest of things. I would say Arvo Pärt's music which I discovered "later" has had a profound impact on me in this regard, since his music is typically very slow and all about savoring simplicity and finding the beauty within that. So on cello, slow open bows for me has been something like a meditating with the sound of a mantra - the long, slow simplicity and repetition of vibration. Maybe that makes me weird lol, but it has really helped a person like me who has historically been very hyperactive and anxious to just slow down, learn to be patient with myself, and enjoyyy the process. ;) Also another thing I forgot to mention is that in the world of rock/pop musicians, I feel like substance use and abuse is fairly common and comes with the territory - drinking before the show to calm your nerves, drinking after the show to come down from the cliff, drinking/smoking in the studio or practice room to relax and "get creative" - it's almost a stereotype, but it's so real that people do it at every show and practice without thinking. It's almost like that community doesn't know how to create without a substance. I would love to change mindsets around the creative process - the idea that we *need* a substance to relax and create is B.S. - maybe it can help in moderation but I truly believe from my own experience that the deepest creativity and insights come from the universe and within ourselves just as we are - and this source is INFINITE if we allow it to be ❤‍🩹 Apologies for rambling ;)

[@DestinysMusings]

@@jonathanwingmusichey I am sorry for the belated reply! KZbin is not great at sharing notifications. I love everything you’ve said here-Lots to ponder and think about re substance abuse and creativity. As far as slow bows go, some of my favorite practice days are those with a metronome seeing just for how many clicks I can draw out the bow! 😆

[@bogse]

I comment somethihing which make make some angry but this is how I see it: 1. Type I diabetes is a decease and if they dont take their insulin they die. 2. Alcohol or any other CNS drug: If "higher power" would make world/people so that no matter what ever you take you cant get drunk/high. What happens? Worse case alcoholics die to withdrawal symptoms so does some drug addicts. Some make suicide since they cant handle life sober. Most people would continue their life sober and would start to get better and better physically and mentally. So how can something be a decease when you do absolutely nothing to it (since nothing gets you drunk/high anymore) you start to feel better and better. Yes all those CNS staff change your brain chemistry and in worst case destroy your brain so that you cant walk anymore etc. then you have a brain decease, Korsakov-Wernicke syndrome etc. But was you alcohol/drug abuse a decease. My answer is if it was a decease it was a mental decease or lack of willpower, lack of controlling your own life which are mental issues/decease. It is physical decease in a sense that in extreme cases you cant just quit cold turkey or you die so alcohol is a drug yo uhave to take or you die (or some replacement life benzos). And of course in pretty bad drug cases its never wise to try to quit cold turkey but possible if you have really strong willpower and pain tolerance etc. People working with alcoholics get angry if I say its not a decease. I say really, did you figure that your yourself or read from a book or what. Yes they look Foccking sick but how come they start to feel better and better (in the long run) when they quit their drug of choice, what kind of sickness is that?? But I say nothing these days since they get so red Im afraid their head explodes with a force creating a black hole and we dont want that.

[@DestinysMusings]

Thanks so much for your comment and point of view! I welcome hearing everyone's opinion! The best thing we can do is talk about it.