Deconversion by fire

[Caecilian]

So there you have it, a nice horror story you can freely use to scare the shit out of your kids haha. Fortunately I recovered good (I was a rational Junkie) except for a few thousand neurons. My only crime: Genocide of my own neurons.

As a side note: when I was addicted, when I though in getting out I was rushed by the feeling "I cant imagine life without heroin" and I ear alot from Theists "I cant Imagine life without God". I'm pushed to throw an analogy between religion and addiction.

Yeah, I agree with you. Unlike you, I've never been religious; like you I've done plenty of drugs (but not for twenty-odd years), including a period of coke addiction. And I think that theres a real similarity between drug addiction and religion.

In both cases, the individual addict/ theist is giving up their autonomy, and creating a false simplified reality for themselves.

The addict's life becomes centred on the drug- all of your friends are druggies, and when you see them you take drugs, make plans for getting drugs, talk about drug experiences etc; to a large degree drugs replace real people and drug-taking replaces human relationships.

The fervent religionist's life becomes centred around god; their relationship with god becomes more important than their human relationships; they cut themselves off from non-believers, and interact exclusively with their fellow god addicts, talking about god, praying to god etc. I've not experienced it myself, but I sure have seen it happen.

I don't know about you, but when I hear some born-again weirdo saying that JESUS saved him from the horrors of drug abuse, and that he is WASHED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB and BORN AGAIN, I generally think 'you fucked up, pal- you should've stuck with the pharmaceuticals'.

Ime drugs can send you crazy, but usually don't. At my worst, I was edgy and slightly paranoid, but still rational. Religion is crazy, and religionists are irrational and deluded. And personally, I'd rather waste a great deal of money on something that exists, and end up with some damage to my nasal tissues, than be irrational and deluded.