Long term effects of meth (5 years)

First post here. <br><br>Long time lurker, first time poster.<br><br>Long story short. <br><br>I used to be a meth head. About 5 years clean. I got sober and turned my life around. <br><br>Now I question the validity of that meme about how you only have 5 years of meth use before it ruins your brain permanently. <br><br>I was a meth head from 2015 to 2019. Slept on it, woke up on it, bathed in it. I sold it, and bought it, I struggled with it, and got clean.<br><br>I held onto it for so long. I had it in my possession for almost 5 years. By Aug 2019, I wanted nothing to do with it, and now today, its been 4 years since I last touched it. <br><br>I'm not a scientist, but what I feel like is that when you quit using meth, and start focusing on real life, your brain slowly gets better and better. I've been extremely fortunate, I found a positive job I love, I found a positive relationship, and I've been focusing on my mental health as well as my physical health. I feel stronger than I did when I was younger, I have more willpower to make decisions that are better for myself. I've made changes that have improved my life, whereas when I was using meth, I was completely unorganized and unmotivated. <br><br>I'm not gonna lie, there are days when I crave it, but I never gave in. Sometimes when I would leave the house to go to work, my brain would start telling me I don't need to go, and I would stop at a friends house who was selling it, and it would be so tempting to just go wild, especially when they would hand me a line to help me get ready for work and then expect me to pay them for it. And sometimes, I would give in, and I would spend that weeks check on a day of partying. I'd spend all night in the car, but during the day I would usually go to work. <br><br>Sometimes I felt like I just didn't need it anymore and so I'd just stop for a week or 2. I'd get tired of it and go to a party and get drunk and that'd be fun. But I always went back to meth because it was so powerful and it'd last me for the whole night, no need to stop for drinks. <br><br>And so I was constantly battling the desire to get it, and I constantly battled the desire to use it, and when I finally ran into the idea of being sober, I realized that I can get clean, and I won't have to go through that whole desire, possession, use cycle, and I felt a huge sigh of relief. Because I didn't know it, but I was tired of meth. <br><br>I still have moments when I get cravings. But those moments are much less frequent. I'm not craving it as much anymore. I found joy in my life. <br><br>I feel like the 5 years of meth ruining your brain is a lie and that the brain is much more resilient than that. I do feel like my brain has changed, but I don't feel like I'm ruined. <br><br>I still have a hard time making decisions, but I can get better at it, I just need to practice, and I have. I still get worried about things that aren't real, but I am much better at remembering reality. <br><br>I feel like if you know how to set boundaries and make good decisions, you can be completely fine after 5 years. <br><br>I didn't do everything right, I should have gone to rehab. I want to encourage everyone who's struggling to just get the help. And if you're reading these, you might not need it, but you can always try it, just go to an open AA meeting, or get therapy. <br><br>This is the first time I've been open about it, so it feels good to be able to express my feelings in a safe place with out people judging me. <br><br>Thanks for reading this, I hope it helps. I hope that people struggling feel inspired to quit and focus on getting their lives back in order. And if you have any questions about things I didn't mention in this post, just let me know. <br><br>TL;DR: Meth addict for 5 years, got clean, my brain is fine.