Decided to quit hard drugs like coke and mdma on 7 nov 2025 but after quitting i just replaced those with lighter drugs like ritalin and weed.
Today on 10 jan 2026 i had enough and decided to quit even lighter drugs.
But what should I replace them with not to relapse, we all know how addiction never really goes away and only way to battle it is to replace it with a new less harmful addiction, like sport or something like that.
So my question is that, what helped you to quit your harmful addiction and with what did you replace it with?
I replaced the time using working on eating healthy and working out. I found a sober community in person and online so i didnt feel alone. I filled idle time with meetings
Maybe your right, i should start going to the gym and caring more about my health and body
I actually tried to get sober few weeks ago but I relapsed cuz I realised that i dont have anything other to do except to smoke weed or do ritalin lines at my room but now i really wanna quit cuz i just feel so trapped, nothing that used to make me happy makes me happy anymore
Glad youâre here, and Iâm glad you decided to put down not just the hard stuff but the lighter stuff as well. I think itâs hard for our addicted minds to tell the difference, so good on you for cutting them all out!
My replacements were reading, art, and exercise! Video games as well but I struggle with investing too much time with that one, so itâs back up if I canât find something else to fill the time, not a primary!
Please reach out if you need more support! A lot of people here who are willing to listen and share their experiences with addiction and getting/staying sober!
Meetings and networking , sports.. especially skateboarding , walking and biking, taking pride in my job ( working hard), writing and journaling, this community, gardening, music production, watching movies, Learning new subjects and reading books
I see, so basically enjoying simple things in life. Im not really keen on book reading, do you think i should try to start with that and if yes then do you have any good book recommendations ahahhaha
Meetings meetings and more meetings. Listening all day to recovery and how other people get on in normal life terms. Eating regular and exercise and working a job for routine . Watching a series. Going for walks, learn a hobby ; painting, crochet, Lego building! Helping out in community?âŚ. What would you like to do?
Those are all pretty good suggestions but tbh im not really sure what to do, i would like to get myself a girlfriend, like a real one not just some girl i do drugs with, but like a actual relationship
Hey, youâre gonna be alright if you stay clean and sober, one day at a time. I just got through 26 hours from a relapse where I had 315 days . I just did 13 hours of online meetings https://www.nana247.org/ today because Iâm not sure either but I am sure I want to stay clean and sober. I like to have people talking in the background in my house so I feel I am not alone so meetings in the early days and other things come naturally into life I guess, when the mind is more together and focused you are not alone
Sharing their life experience of recovery; strength and hope and life stuff that they struggle with and life stuff that they get through without needing to use. There are many meetings all over the world. That link is just one and itâs 24/7 addicts helping addicts stay clean
Plenty! Iâm a big fan of science fiction and fantasy so I have quite a long list of this genre:
The Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy, Hyperionâď¸, Game of Thrones, The Graveyard Book, Brave New World, Childhoods End, Lost Gods, Duneâď¸, Midnight Mass, Jurassic Park, Leviathan Wakesâď¸, Eragon, The Standâď¸, Bladerunner, Neverwhere, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, The Hunger Games, Red Rising, Horus Risingâď¸
As for non science fiction and fantasy:
The Kite Runnerâď¸, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, How to Be an Antiracistâď¸, White Fragility, The Hate U Give, Becoming, Perfect Victims
I put a next to some of my personal favorites which Iâve read multiple times! Hopefully if science fiction and fantasy isnât your vibe someone else can suggest other books from alternate genres!
This is a link to a thread on TS for people who like to read and suggest books, maybe have a look there as well!
In the beginning and even for a while you might not feel motivated or it might be easier to just sit around and think or watch tv and it was and sometimes still is like that for me.. but what I have learned is sometimes I have to push myself to get up and go do something or go out side.. could be something as simple as going for a walk and once I start gaining momentum then It becomes normal and fun. staying busy is really important. There is so many hobbies I forgot about in my addiction or things I stopped caring about. Almost everything got pushed to the side in my addiction. Thanks for your post.. its good to talk about this topic..
As far as books just pick a subject you would like to learn about and go online and compare reviews and read samples.. Thatâs another thing that might take time to be normal and easy but itâs like everything takes practice and the more you read the more it will be fun and like watching tv. As far as fiction there is so many good books.. i like a lot of John Grisham novels which is like law and criminal mystery and Carl Hiaseen .. Carl is from florida and lives there so almost all of his books take place in Florida and have crazy and relatable characters.. itâs like modern mystery novels. I also like a lot of the classics like mark twain, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus.. I donât even know if those are classics lol but they are to me
John Grisham- The firm
John Grisham- The street lawyer
Carl Hiaseen - Stormy weather
Carl Hiaseen- bad monkey
Contemporary research places great emphasis on the resources (social, human, cultural, and community capital) necessary for recovery: beyond clinical intervention, stable housing, relational support, employment, and a sense of belonging increase the chances of maintaining sobriety in the long term.
already great input you got.
i want to remind that in the first year sober no big changes should be made and no new romantic relationships should be engaged. because you have to learn to navigate life sober, thatâs more rhan enough to put and focus your energy.
I understand that you are looking for connection. It`s what we all need.
But I am with @erntedank: You need to focus on yourself and your own healing. Committing to a romantic relationship in the early stages of sobriety is not helpful.
You may wonder why, because you have the desire for a healhty relationship and there seems nothing wrong with it?
Wanting connection and a healthy relationship isnât wrong at all. Itâs human. The tricky part is timing, not intention.
In early sobriety, a lot is happening under the surface. Your brain and emotions are still recalibrating, and many of the coping skills that alcohol used to âhandleâ feelings arenât fully in place yet. A romantic relationship can easily become a substitute regulatorâsomething that soothes, distracts, validates, or stabilizes you before youâve learned to do those things for yourself.
Hereâs why that can be risky:
Emotions are amplified. Early sobriety often comes with mood swings, vulnerability, and intense feelings. Relationships naturally bring emotional highs and lows, which can feel overwhelming and destabilizing.
Old patterns sneak back in. Many people unconsciously recreate dynamics tied to people-pleasing, dependency, avoidance, or fear of abandonmentâpatterns that also fed the addiction.
Focus gets pulled outward. Healing asks for inward attention: learning boundaries, tolerating discomfort, building routines, and figuring out who you are without substances. A relationship can unintentionally take center stage.
Pressure and expectations. Even healthy relationships involve compromise, emotional labor, and conflict. Thatâs a lot to manage when your primary job is staying sober.
The paradox is this: Taking time to focus on yourself now actually increases your chances of having the healthy relationship you want later. Youâre building emotional stability, self-trust, and clarity about what you needânot just what you crave in moments of loneliness.
So itâs not ânever,â and itâs not a moral judgment. Itâs more like letting a broken ankle heal before training for a marathon. Youâre not giving up connectionâyouâre making sure itâs real, mutual, and sustainable when it happens.
And the desire you feel? Thatâs a good sign. It means you care about connection. The work now is learning how to be connected to yourself first. And before reaching out towards romantic love, build yourself a sober community and connect with the people there. It can be online, like here, and I am happy to welcome you And in addition you build your real life contacts, too.
you are not alone 
next to some of my personal favorites which Iâve read multiple times! Hopefully if science fiction and fantasy isnât your vibe someone else can suggest other books from alternate genres!
And in addition you build your real life contacts, too.