Gay men and meth

Meth Abuse is Rampant In general, gay men report higher levels of drug and alcohol addiction than their straight counterparts.

The effects of the drug on the brain and body keep getting exponentially more damaging, and between the physical addiction and the subsequent loss of impulse control, it can be extremely difficult to get out of the cycle of using. Here’s a look at 7 alarming facts concerning meth use in the gay community.

Long-term effects of feeling this way about ourselves include depression and anxiety. There are recovery groups around, including step groups, that can provide even more structure and tools for living life in a different way. The lost inhibitions induced by the drug are in such contradiction to the lifetime of suppression that most gay men have to adopt, that the appeal is magnetic.

Meth has long been associated with gay men. Ultimately, recovery will require a brave step towards giving up something that once worked for you, but now no longer works and always leads to the same dark, anxiety filled place.

Seeing a queer affirming therapist can also be an important step. When I look back on it all now, I realize it was just going to be a matter of time. The clubs felt like a new family had embraced me, and with that I would pretty much try anything that was put in front of me.

Addiction is often larger than us. Coming from a tumultuous, repressed, and traumatizing family life, suddenly being in an accepting space with other gay men who encouraged me to be free, feel good, and not hide my sexual feelings was like a dream come true.

In therapy you can come up with a plan to intercept addictive behaviors, and learn to cope with difficult emotions more effectively. Find hope and a path to healing from meth addiction.

What Is It About :

Over the last 15 years, crystal meth has grown into a particularly destructive force in the gay community. While I had been drinking, smoking pot, and dabbling in psychedelics and other drugs since high school, I discovered meth when in college through the gay club scene.

The miracle of crystal meth, of course. After coming from the other end of the spectrum, not being allowed to develop naturally and express my true self and sexuality, being in this space felt so good and so free that I never wanted it to end. Being in this environment was a high in-and-of-itself, but when combined with the substances that were going around ecstasy, GHB, meth, ketamineI was truly flying for what felt like the first time.

Schedule Your Free 15 min. We offer compassionate, professional support for gay men on their journey to recovery. So when something can come along and literally strip away those feelings of shame, sadness, not feeling good enough, repression, isolation, etc.

The days and days of being up and not sleeping, and the intense dopamine release during that time, make the come-down one of the worst one can experience. One of the first steps you can take towards recovery is to get help from another person. You may even realize you need more accountability than just therapy alone.

At first it helped me keep the party going, keep the sex hot, keep the mood up, but something began to shift the more I did it.

A West Hollywood Therapist : Gay men were over four times more likely than straight men to have used meth in the past year

If we could simply stop on our own, we would. As a recovered meth addict, and a therapist specializing in addiction and recovery, I have seen countless times how this drug can take people down to the depths. Statistics on crystal meth use and addiction in the gay community are worrisome.

Find treatment options and get on the path to recovery today. The world became grey, muted, and not pleasurable when I was off it. It allowed my friends and I to keep dancing all night long, followed by having sex in a way that made up for all the years of stifled longing and buried desires.

Jake is a therapist at the Gay Therapy Center.