Meth: a Ticking Timebomb Gone Viral

Confrontation...Good or Bad?

There are positives and negatives to any choices that we make. When I am using meth, contrary to popular belief, I am not as likely to be involved in a confrontation. The reasons are...I couldn't be bothered...I lack the confidence to be assertive, and the time spent arguing could be better spent using more meth. In many ways, I am easier for others to get along with whilst I am using.

There was an advertising campaign here in Australia that portrayed the average meth user as a violent and crazy person who must not be trusted and is likely to lash out in a rage...and the simple truth is that we are not all like this. One night a few years ago, I developed an infection at an injection site...Cellulitis. I knew by the heat and the red and swollen skin on my arm that I had to get myself to the hospital as soon as possible because this condition can quickly turn from an infection into something much worse...septicemia.

When I arrived at the hospital reception desk, I described the problem and was honest about my drug use. I saw an immediate change in the nurse's demeanour, and so, I tried to convey that I was no threat to any staff...that in fact, I had the utmost respect for the job they do. Unfortunately, this did nothing to reassure them and I was told to go await my name to be called.

I admit that I had not slept in a few days and was extremely tired. I saw a gurney over to one side of the waiting area that looked like a good place for me to lay down and close my eyes until I was called. Soon after this, a security guard approached me and told me I couldn't lay down there, and I had to return to the seating area, which was by this time crowded, and there were no longer any seats available. When I pointed this out, the guy shrugged his shoulders and left. I then laid back down and closed my eyes. Not long after this, I was approached by a nurse who asked me why I was on the gurney. I explained that I wasn't feeling well (which was true) and I felt like I was being treated differently because I was a meth user.

At that point, she left. I fully expected multiple security guards to come and sort out the druggo dickhead on the gurney issue, but to my surprise, I was taken straight into the treatment area and left in a curtained cubicle...much to my relief. As I again closed my eyes, hoping I wouldn't lose my arm by way of amputation, I was attended by a nurse. I smiled and did what she asked and was on my best behaviour. I was calm, in the hope that I would relieve her nerves, but, the entire time she was silent. Not once did she smile or attempt conversation. I eventually had to help her find a usable vein because they were mostly collapsed and not easy to find.

I spent two days on an IV drip as they pumped me full of antibiotics...not something I am proud of, but I said I would be honest on this blog, and this is the truth of what happened. Now that I have no meth in my system, I am becoming less fearful of confrontation, and there are those who must face this new fearless attitude.

Many see confrontation as a bad thing, I am not one of those people. In fact, I see it as a good thing, but only if it is done assertively and not in a way that takes advantage with one person's strength and another's weakness or fear. Being passive will never bring a fair outcome, and the same can be said with being aggressive. And all too often, these two opposites collide in a display of anger/rage that no one should ever have to see or endure...passive/aggressive behaviour.

If we could all learn the skills required, and the desire for compromise...gaining the confidence to ask for what we need, along with a willingness to find a solution that meets both parties' needs, wouldn't the world be a much better place to live?