Hello to all you warriors! I’ve just joined and I can already see how amazing you all are! The struggle is real, but we fight on. I’ve been addicted to cocaine since I was about 18and I’m nearing 42. I’m not a daily user but it is my coping mechanism and I go through periods of high usage,usually when I’m struggling with life and just want to get wasted. But I’ve seriously had a gutsful of it. I’m writing this after randomly getting drunk from 3pm yesterday afternoon (Sunday) then spending money I can’t afford to waste. I’ve barely had any sleep because my neighbour crashed on my sofa and woke me after 3hrs sleep and so I got up and carried on sniffing from breakfast till I’d run out. I don’t very often have bad comedowns with negative thoughts but today I am feeling like I’m just a waster. I’m so pissed off with myself. I’ve done this a lot recently because I’ve been going through more stress and trauma related stuff and I know I’m spiralling. I also know that this is temporary and I will pull myself together and not sniff for months. I’m good at doing that. But I just feel that I’ve had enough of it being my comfort blanket. I just don’t want to keep going through these phases. I’m not well physically, have a lot of health problems and I’m not getting any younger. I understand why I do it and forgive myself but I just don’t wanna be this person anymore. I would absolutely love to be at a point where if I was around it I’d be able to say no and get off on the fact that I can say no. I see from reading some of the posts that many of you are regular users and so you share the number of days you’ve been sober. Amazing achievements for all of you who are trying, but I’m hoping some of you might be able to offer me any advice or tips for type of addition? Like I say, I can go month’s without it but end up bingeing when I’m struggling. It’s easy for me to tell myself I haven’t got a problem because I’m not a daily user but I’m an addict all the same. Look forward to chatting with you. Thanks for reading 
Hi there!! Welcome to the forum!! My DOC was also cocaine and crack cocaine. Similar to urself, i could a little while without (usually bcuz I was broke) but as soon as something triggered me, I was off to the races. Intense emotion was a huge trigger for me to use. I realized quite some time ago that I didnt have any healthy coping skills.
When I first entered recovery (this time around), i had to start experimenting with what worked for me. Things such as this forum, journalling, meditation, grounding techniques, exercise, self care, 12 step meetings, distractions like cleaning or a hobby, recovery literature, being proactive about dealing with stressors as they came up (not when I was sooo overwhelmed that I didnt know how to handle it, which triggered me to use) etc.
When the urge to use popped up, I would go thru my list of skills and do them one after another until the craving passed 
Hey there ,
I’m on day 3 of being clean and sober i relapsed after 12days clean .
Coke is a hard habit to kick my using was and always after I started drinking they went hand in hand for me .
I have realised there are definitely people and places I just cannot be around and I’m ok with that if it means i get a better life. I learned the hard way.
I don’t have much advice as I am just starting out myself but I’m glad you’re here that’s a massive step in the right direction and takes a lot of courage so I’m really proud of you 
Other than that , trying to identify your triggers is a big one , journaling helps me I’ve just started that , this group is amazing and extremely supportive . I check in every day with the groups and try to share my not just my sober days but also passions and interests with likeminded people here it’s nice to feel seen for more than just an addict .
Take it one day , hour , moment at a time !
Big welcome from me .
First of all, welcome! It’s awesome that you’re here and want to do something different. My drug of choice is alcohol, but I too was a binger. I could go days or weeks, or sometimes do dry months, but when I drank, I DrANk.
It sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of what triggers you to use. Is there a behavior that you can insert right after the trigger but right before the using? For me, I decided that if I had a strong craving and was about to go to the liquor store, I had to come on here and read for 10 minutes first. If I wanted to get a drink after that I could, but I had to read here–and the act of doing that helped interrupt the cycle. I never got a drink after those 10 minutes.
The #1 benefit of the last 5 months of sobriety has been hating myself less. I was so disappointed and disgusted with my drinking, with my behavior, with my inability to stop…and now I wake up in the morning without my first feeling being shame. It’s worth the effort.
You can absolutely do this, and everyone here knows how hard it is and wants you to succeed. Reach out if you need anything! 
Hello and thank you all for sharing and the tips and advice you’ve offered. Definitely a few things I can and will try. It feels really good to have found a place where I can share and turn to in confidentiality and without judgement. Hopefully this is the start of regaining some inner strength. I gave up weed at Christmas and haven’t looked back. I tried giving up smoking tobacco through the nhs in January and when things got tough through February I faltered. I’ve tried doing it again but got the script and just didn’t start because I was leaning back in to coke and knew I’d want to smoke. I tend to drink whilst sniffing too! Drink fags and coke all together. Maybe I’ve been trying to do too much at once. I don’t know. But it would be good to give them all up. I hate smoking more than I hate coke! I think my first step is to try and do the ‘coming on here for 10mins’ idea, to get through that initial craving. It’s definitely a good place to gain encouragement through other people’s stories.
Hearing you guys welcome me and tell me you are proud of me actually made me cry. Something in that that shifted my headspace and I thank you deeply.
Hope you’re having a good day 