ChemSex : testimony

Indeed, the desired effects are enjoyable, but let’s not forget the other, less enviable side effects of these products… They include: dilated pupils, sweating, tremors, accelerated heart rate, anxiety, bad trip (panic, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations…), risk of overdose and death, just to name a few… And in the long term: fatigue, liver and kidney damage, isolation, lies, sick leave, difficulties at work, desocialisation, irritability, depression… You are aware of what is going on, you learn to live with it, or on the contrary you let yourself go…

In the end, do you really know where you stand with your drug consumption? Is it still a “pleasure,” or is it rather a “need,” or even an “automatism”? Have you noticed a change in your social, friendly and professional relationships? Has your mood dropped, or your health? Maybe it’s time to take stock!

Allowing you to take stock makes it possible to acknowledge whether you feel trapped in your drug consumption. If it’s still a pleasure, think about the best way to keep it up, and reason to keep it under control. On the other hand, if it has become a burden, if comedowns have become a source of anxiety or depression… it is time to act.

It is also important to acknowledge intimately that you have a drug problem. No longer lie to yourself, be lucid and realise that perhaps your consumption hides a certain unhappiness underneath. Make a list of the “positive” and “negative” sides of your consumption and see on which side the balance tilts. If the “negative” (depression, budget…) or missed opportunities (family, friends…) exceed the “positive” (sexual heat…), then it is certainly necessary to rethink everything all over again.

Volunteers, discussion groups, health professionals, addiction doctors, sex therapists, psychologists… Everyone can find the right person to listen and help, depending on their own stage of addiction and “suffering.” Exchanging and weighing experiences with other consumers can also help. Talking really is the bulk of what you should do.

Whether you consume every weekend, or more or less frequently, the question necessarily arises of “controlling” your consumption. If it’s too much, maybe it’s time to set limits. Order fewer products, set quantity or time limits during parties, note all your intakes to be aware of your consumption, or no longer do it at home… Through reasoning, discipline, this is how you will manage to cut down.

Finally – and this is certainly the hardest part, but also the best part is to talk to your family and friends about it. Revealing your drug problem means exposing yourself to accusations and judgements from family and friends – which no one is really prepared for. But after the shock and the misunderstandings, there will grow a desire to help and support you in this ordeal. Not everyone is capable of it or will feel the need, but it is a huge relief.

ChemSex is certainly about pleasure, but you can end up losing yourself. Take stock regularly, talk, acknowledge that you are not alone… That is how you won’t become enslaved to drugs and you will become master of yourself, of your sexuality, and of your life again.