Delayed post from me - came back here to see if anyone had mentioned TSM and they hadn't so I'll do my infomercial thing.
I would highly encourage you look into The Sinclair Method. It's based on the work of Dr Roy Eskapa and a book called The Cure for Alcoholism.
I struggled with alcohol for all of my adult life. Trying every thing possible to moderate or stop - AA, hypnosis, strange chinese herbs, counselling until I was blue in the face but The Sinclair Method worked like magic. For years now I have been entirely indifferent to alchohol and and my life is so much better for it.
The Sinclair Method also changed my life. It seemed like I had tried every single thing possible, AA, hypnosis, strange chinese herbs. The Sinclair Method seemed too good to be true, but I can't believe how well it worked. I am not completely indifferent to alcohol. It seems strange to think that this same head of mine used to crave it so.
Lockdown has really shown up how my 7 year old struggles with his maths work set by school. I've gone back to basics with him and have been drilling him on simple numeracy until he can do it effortlessly using some flash cards I bought and some iPad apps (DoodleMaths, DoodleTables - can't recommend them enough).
Since then he has sailed through all of the new parts we're learning. I really expected it to be much harder than this, but it seems like not fully understanding some basic concepts and having confidence with basic numbers makes all the difference for really understanding the why of all the concepts that are build on top.
In about 6 weeks of me spending around 30 mins to an hour each weekday he has gone from refusing to look at a maths problem to being confident with it.
If you're one of those for whom AA didn't work I would encourage you to look at the The Sinclair Method. It has changed many lives for the better (including mine).
I got HPD from a fairly large dose of 4FA once. I had persisting light sparkles pretty much exactly like the first image in the article.
I researched online and discovered the term HPPD but information was extremely sparse then. I see there's a fair amount more now which is encouraging.
From the advice I found I got myself some Lion's Mane supplement, meditated and exercised a few times a week. A few weeks later I just kind of forgot about it and noticed one day that the HPPD had disappeared.
The effect wasn't hugely detrimental on a practical level, but it was very strange coming to terms with the fact that this may well be a permanent change.
Came to the comments to look for this post. I completed TSM myself not so long ago. It has been nothing short of life changing. Seemed too good to be true, but really doesn't seem like there's a catch.
If you need help with the alcohol I can't recommend The Sinclair Method enough. Absolutely life changing for myself and many others. https://reddit.com/r/alcoholism_medication
Also note when researching - many people prescribe naltrexone to be taken every day along with abstinence, and infact when taken this way it's shown to be no better than a placebo. When taken as per The Sinclair Method it has been shown to be over 85% effective.
Interestingly, many prescribe naltrexone along with abstinence, and say the drug should be taken every day. In clinical trials when taken this way it is shown to be no better than a placebo, but in trials when taken as per The Sinclair Method (ie, pill only taken an hour before drinking) it is shown to be far more effective. Here's some links to some studied - http://www.c3foundationeurope.org/clinical-trial-evidence/
People undergoing The Sinclair Method often find there are two parts to their addiction - the chemical part, and the habitual part. Sometimes once the chemical part is extinguished they also have the habitual part to stop.
The article mentions naltrexone. Dr Eskapa's research of using naltrexone led to The Sinclair Method. His book is called The Cure For Alcoholism. He has made it available for free download here, https://www.dropbox.com/s/60fs7gmvbyzs1kk/Cure%20for%20Alcoh... (please do support him and buy the book if it is of use to you and you have the means)
The Sinclair Method shows that for many people alcoholism is simple chemistry and the addiction can be "unlearned" by taking naltrexone (a cheap patent free drug) an hour before drinking.
Hah. Oddly enough this tallies with my experience - about 5 years ago I ended up buying a box of modafinil and took them periodically before work. Someone asked me about what I thought of them and I reflected that I wasn't sure if it helped my work or not but that it meant I could beat my phone Chess app on a harder difficult setting than usual when I played on the way to work.
I would highly encourage you look into The Sinclair Method. It's based on the work of Dr Roy Eskapa and a book called The Cure for Alcoholism.
I struggled with alcohol for all of my adult life. Trying every thing possible to moderate or stop - AA, hypnosis, strange chinese herbs, counselling until I was blue in the face but The Sinclair Method worked like magic. For years now I have been entirely indifferent to alchohol and and my life is so much better for it.
There's a subreddit with lots of info and support if you're interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/Alcoholism_Medication/
All the best.