Appreciate input from everyone. For those that say "a therapist will do more good" a naive version of myslef probably would have said that a long time ago but after having a lot more experience with addiction (both myself and patients) as an adult I would say its probably the least likely to benefit people on its own. It does have a place but I am someone (and I probably should have put this in my first post) that has been historically very driven, have excelled in many areas of life, and am already engaged in those sorts of solutions.
I have logged hundreds of hours of meditation in the last year. I have seen professionals. I regularly spend time in mindfulness and observation of both myself and my actions. I am in medical school. I "know" the "right" things to do to "beat" addiction. Obviously, however, there's a lot more to it though.
Some of it is behavioral, as someone mentioned - actually dropping out HRT is probably the best way address that particular aspect along with some augmenting psychotherapy.
Some is neurochemical. This is multifaceted in my instance and far more complicated than I care to really dive into here but a small piece of that is exemplified in the phrase "neurons that fire together wire together" - same with unfiring and unwiring. Ibogaine, as incredible as it is, doesn't cure addiction. Dropping testosterone doesn't cure addiction. However, my goal, just as the idea behind ibogaine in general, is to give a period of reprieve and rest from the cycle, albeit a physiologically forced rest period. One that can be used to unwire behaviors, begin new behaviors, and seen as a time to create new neural connections, find new ways to occupy time, create new habits, etc.
I have logged hundreds of hours of meditation in the last year. I have seen professionals. I regularly spend time in mindfulness and observation of both myself and my actions. I am in medical school. I "know" the "right" things to do to "beat" addiction. Obviously, however, there's a lot more to it though.
Some of it is behavioral, as someone mentioned - actually dropping out HRT is probably the best way address that particular aspect along with some augmenting psychotherapy.
Some is neurochemical. This is multifaceted in my instance and far more complicated than I care to really dive into here but a small piece of that is exemplified in the phrase "neurons that fire together wire together" - same with unfiring and unwiring. Ibogaine, as incredible as it is, doesn't cure addiction. Dropping testosterone doesn't cure addiction. However, my goal, just as the idea behind ibogaine in general, is to give a period of reprieve and rest from the cycle, albeit a physiologically forced rest period. One that can be used to unwire behaviors, begin new behaviors, and seen as a time to create new neural connections, find new ways to occupy time, create new habits, etc.