Meet Kevin L
For many of us, like Kevin, finding our place in life and in a community can be a difficult and unsettling process. What if we don’t fit in with this group or the other? What if we aren’t desired the way we’d like to be, or are in relationships that aren’t working?
“I think part of me wanted to keep all of those feelings and those thoughts away and because of that I’ve distanced myself from some of my friends. Because if I knew I had to face them and if they knew what was going on, then I would have to deal with those feelings.”
Partying can offer an escape from some of those feelings, for a time.
“It was a very intimate, powerful kind of connection. But it was very much just an illusion, and it was a way for us to feel good about our relationship. And that illusion is something that I’m subconsciously still chasing.”
When the comedown hits, though, and the feelings come back, reaching out for help can be an even bigger struggle.
“This isolation is self-inflicted—because of shame, a fear of judgement, even just the images that come to mind when you think about a meth user is not appealing at all. It’s very easy to internalize that. And it’s just another motivation to not reach out.”
All Stories
Meet Kevin L
For many of us, like Kevin, finding our place in life and in a community can be a difficult and unsettling process. What if we don’t fit in with this group or the other? What if we aren’t desired the way we’d like to be, or are in relationships that aren’t working?
Meet Pete
Loneliness and connection can define our experiences of drug use. In many ways, Pete’s experience of being isolated and hopeless drove his drug use for a long time. But connecting with others can change everything.
Meet Dylan
What does it mean to have your earliest experiences shaped by daily drug use? For Dylan, that was 15 years of growing up and exploring himself—through friendships, sex, and intimacy—while high.
Meet Mike
Mikes gives us a different understanding of harm reduction: a paradigm shift from celebrating counting the number of days sober to understanding how you can manage your use and achieve the rest of the goals in your life.
Meet Matt
Matt shares the unexpected reality of the diverse social classes of queer men who party. But where are the resources for them, when they don’t fit the drug user stereotypes?
Meet Colin
Colin opens our eyes to some of the barriers that keep people from reaching out for help.
Meet Tim
When the desire for intense sex starts to spiral out of control, who is there to help bring things back down? Tim shares his worry for the guys who party who start to lose everything.
Meet Kevin D
For Kevin, like many other guys, this feeling is at the heart of partying. But what happens when life’s challenges get in the way?
Meet Shazad
Shazad shares how he navigates and negotiates partying, sex, work, and boundaries, and how he balances the good times he has on it with taking breaks from it.
Meet Jordan
Jordan takes us through their experiences with opening up to others about their crystal meth use.
Meet Guy
Guy dives into the complex reasons behind partying and the impacts that you sometimes have to deal with because of it.
