Matt: What’s up everybody? This is Matt.
Greg: And this is Greg.
Matt: This is Project Unbroken, and we’re answering a question today. We had somebody write in, Joe M., and he says, “Hey guys. I am on Suboxone right now, I’ve been down to two milligrams for about the last six months, but I am scared to get off. Any advice?”
Greg: I know I was in that spot, and I think what it really comes down to is, you probably just don’t want to be uncomfortable. The next step is coming down and just being uncomfortable a little bit. You got to get used to that, because even if you get off Methadone successfully, if you still have the mindset where you’re uncomfortable being uncomfortable, going through a little bit of pain, you’re not going to make it very far, because that’s life. Pain’s going to come up, there’s going to be uncomfortable situations, and you got to learn how to deal with it. Just start now is my advice. Come down slow and start dealing with a little bit of pain in your life.
Matt: I mean, when you’re down to two milligrams a day of Suboxone, honestly, that’s the path I took to weening myself off. I don’t think I was on two milligrams for quite six months. But at this point it’s mostly placebo. It definitely helps, but to Greg’s point, you’re probably just nervous about being uncomfortable. That’s something you’re going to have to get used to, because again, part of the reason I think that everybody abuses any substance at all, is to deal with being uncomfortable, mentally, or physically, or whatever it is. That’s why we’re using what we’re using. You have to be able to learn how to manage that without any crutches, and just learn how to de-stress, how to handle whatever thoughts are going through your mind, making you uncomfortable. Learn how to talk to yourself in a way to calm yourself down, and not immediately go to a substance for relief.
Greg: You don’t have to fling yourself into that situation. Come down to one milligram, and just deal with that little bit of pain that you might experience. And you may not, you may be totally fine there. But, just do it slowly. Deal with a little bit of pain, get used to it, and then move to the next step. Maybe move to a milligram, to a half a milligram. Then when you get off, maybe that’s going to be the toughest part, but that’s going to prepare you for life. When you get through your Suboxone, your maintenance program, you’re going to have other pains in life come up. You got to learn to deal with it. My advice is, start dealing with it now. You’ve been on there for six months. Come down, deal with any type of pain that comes, and keep moving in that direction, and just realize that you have to deal with life. If you want to get sober, and you want to be happy, you have to start realizing you’ve got to deal with pain in your life a little bit here and there.
Matt: Yeah, 100%. To piggyback off of what Greg’s saying, getting through this is going to turn you basically into a superhero with dealing with being uncomfortable later down the road. Now, Greg and I are both successful business owners, and we are constantly putting fires out, dealing with situations that suck, they’re high stress situations. It doesn’t phase us. Nothing is going to be that big of a deal after you know how to deal with stress and dealing with being uncomfortable. Everything from here on out is going to be a breeze, so just look forward to that and you’ll be fine.
Greg: What’s cool actually is, since I’ve … I came off Methadone myself, not Suboxone, but since I came out of my addiction and got off Methadone, I actually enjoy pain in some ways now. I do really hard crossfit workouts in Matt’s gym. I enjoy suffering because I know it’s going to better me. I do jiu-jitsu. I tap some people out, but I get tapped out a lot by some of my better friends, and it really pushes me. I got people beating my ass and I kind of enjoy it, because it’s bettering me. I think once you start experiencing pain, you realize that it’s not that bad. You can actually get to a point where you can not only deal with it, but almost let it better you in ways you can’t imagine.
Matt: Yeah, we’re forage through the fire. 100%. It’s going to be huge for you down the road, just stick with it.
Greg: All right. Cool.
Matt: Thanks for watching guys. We look forward talking to you soon.
Greg: See y’all.
