VN Ren'Py One Day at a Time [Ch. 18c] [Zoey Raven]

[Zoey Raven]

Committing suicide is at the very least caused by a disease since it's against the very nature of our being to terminate our own existence. The argument could also be made that suicide in itself is a disease or comorbid condition as the literal definition of disease is "any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism".

Likewise most if not all forms of drug abuse has a disease as its root cause. Feeling abandoned/socially disconnected/devastated for an extended period of time(Moderate to severe depression), PTSD, Schizo/Borderline/Bipolar/Dependent PD's to name a few, seem to be the most common causes for serious abuse.
Also very strong evidence that conscious & unconscious self-medication of eg. MAO-Serotonin-Dopamine imbalances like ADHD, Borderline and Bipolar is frequent, especially for 'milder' cases of abuse.






I'm be open for debate on whether an action driven by an unconscious mechanism failing to perform its normal functions in the person's brain and from that leading to an intangible, ever-present and perceptible void in the conscious mind which can't be filled by that person's reachable day-to-day stimuli, constitutes a conscious and active choice or not.

Personally I view at least the serious cases of drug abuse as the physical equivalent of being set ablaze with no one around to help, deciding to throw yourself in the nearest reachable liquid only to realize that liquid was searing hot cooking oil which is now slowly eating away your outer shell and stripping you of your identity.
Even if you manage to crawl your way out of it you're still only a fragment of your former self. Rebuilding what was lost requires immense effort on top of having to deal with what is most likely a serious physical and life-long mental addiction, and chances are you still haven't gotten help for the underlying reasons that lead to the drug abuse it in the first place.


You call it choice, I call it failure as a society.

PS: My apologies Zoey Raven for detracting from the well-made game you've pieced together. I won't derail the thread any further.

I agree with ALMOST everything you say and very often there are co-morbid conditions. As far as the last bit. I 've been sober 12 years, they've been the best 12 years of my life. Along with the twelve steps I have gone to therapy and I did struggle with depression, but that's not what makes me an addict. There is not only a genetic component to it, but it's also something that happens with people who have the disease when then ingest any form of drug (alcohol included). Our bodies just don't react the same way as a normal person. 1 is too many and 100 is not enough. I can't fully explain it to someone who is not an addict. What I can say is a full recovery, not to be cliche (One Day at a Time) is possible. I'll always be a drug addict and alcoholic, but they no longer run my life, in fact I rarely think about drugs or alcohol anymore. This is because I do the things on a daily basis to make that so. If I were to stop doing that, sure I would go back to using. I believe there is hope for ANYONE who is a true addict. Why? Because I myself and countless others I've helped in recovery have done a complete 180 with our lives. I've watched people recover and re-join the human race. Some people need outside help due to mental illness but as the book says "Many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest". It's not a death sentence if you want to get help, and the people who do truly get and want help lead prosperous lives. So I can agree with almost everything you say but not the last part.

 

[Zoey Raven]

Committing suicide is at the very least caused by a disease since it's against the very nature of our being to terminate our own existence. The argument could also be made that suicide in itself is a disease or comorbid condition as the literal definition of disease is "any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism".

Likewise most if not all forms of drug abuse has a disease as its root cause. Feeling abandoned/socially disconnected/devastated for an extended period of time(Moderate to severe depression), PTSD, Schizo/Borderline/Bipolar/Dependent PD's to name a few, seem to be the most common causes for serious abuse.
Also very strong evidence that conscious & unconscious self-medication of eg. MAO-Serotonin-Dopamine imbalances like ADHD, Borderline and Bipolar is frequent, especially for 'milder' cases of abuse.






I'm open for debate on whether an action driven by an unconscious mechanism failing to perform its normal functions in the person's brain and from that leading to an intangible, ever-present and perceptible void in the conscious mind which can't be filled by that person's reachable day-to-day stimuli, constitutes a conscious and active choice or not.

Personally I view at least the serious cases of drug abuse as the physical equivalent of being set ablaze with no one around to help, deciding to throw yourself in the nearest reachable liquid only to realize that liquid was searing hot cooking oil which is now slowly eating away your outer shell and stripping you of your identity.
Even if you manage to crawl your way out of it you're still only a fragment of your former self. Rebuilding what was lost requires immense effort on top of having to deal with what is most likely a serious physical and life-long mental addiction, and chances are you still haven't gotten help for the underlying reasons that lead to the drug abuse it in the first place.


You call it choice, I call it failure as a society.



But it isn't about what is normal and fixing what is abnormal/deviating. Rather about what is harmful and detrimental to that person's well-being, and helping them find constructive ways of coping with it.




PS: My apologies Zoey Raven for detracting from the well-made game you've pieced together. Promise to not derail the thread any further.

You're fine, read my response to what you wrote it was heartfelt and I honestly appreciate you writing what you did. Part of me doing this game is to show people there is another way, if there is someone out there who plays it and maybe thinks they might have a problem. So I'm fine with this kind of discussion.

 

[Deleted member 2093814]

Excellent VN. The writing is spot on and the characters are great.
I really hope we can "save" them as it progresses, because there`s that feeling of dread that it`s only a matter of time before it all goes to shit and tragedy strikes.
The light hearted banter only barely disguises what lies beneath the surface of their miserable existence. Cannot wait for future updates!

Very different from the usual types on here.

 

[Alex5280]

Here is the walkthrough for my game, by well, who else, me!

Edit: Updated to Ch. 2c (Changed the description of corruption points to read correctly.

You can find this and all my other content here:

You must be registered to see the links

Or you can:

You must be registered to see the links

I'm not seeing the link to the walkthrough is it missing?

 

[Zoey Raven]

I'm not seeing the link to the walkthrough is it missing?

Shouldn't be. Let me look.

 

[Zoey Raven]

I'm not seeing the link to the walkthrough is it missing?

It's there now, I posted a minor correction and for some reason it didn't save last time, but it's there now!

 

[Alex5280]

It's there now, I posted a minor correction and for some reason it didn't save last time, but it's there now!

Great! Thank you! Love the game by the way!

 

[UncleFredo]

Speaking as someone who lived with an active alcoholic for 12 years and a sober one for another 15, I can say that your portrayal of addictive behavior is spot on. One day she simply decided she was done and went to AA that night. Never drank again. She said she didn't miss it. She also stopped smoking and maintained that it proved much harder not to smoke than not to drink.

Excellent writing. Excellent renders and production values. Congratulations on your sobriety. You are providing a lot of truth to a vast audience that has little context to understand the reality of addition, and doing so in a way that avoids preaching.

 

[rodneyeatme]

So, what did Lydia get picked up for that Barb helped her out of?

And what's up with Barb being all coy? Lydia would have slipped up eventually.

 

[Zoey Raven]

So, what did Lydia get picked up for that Barb helped her out of?

And what's up with Barb being all coy? Lydia would have slipped up eventually.

Lydia got jumped.

 

[rodneyeatme]

Lydia got jumped.

I remember that but the details are hazy. Just re-read and she did tell MC about Barb.

Honestly, I was hoping for junkie drama.

 

[twiztid]

I absolutely love this update, the dialog and storytelling got even better. I am glad to see Barb take more form in this update, along with a nice little plot twistt.

 

[unknown78]

I am seriously loving the story.

I have a few friends who have used and several who have been lost to it. Everything you're putting into this matches up with everything I've heard and seen, so it's obvious that you're coming at this from experience. Kudos to you for breaking free. I wish more of those I know could have done that. I'm devouring every minute of this, and I really look forward to the payoffs for the decision points.

Major props for The Crow reference in this chapter, btw.

 

[myuhinny]

Lydia will never be your sister opens up the script file and changes her name to sister. Pretty good story so far I think I'm more interested in Audrey.

 

[Paapi]

Good game

 

[Big.Joe]

Great game, I just started playing it.
As someone who battled addiction, I find this game describing addiction very accurate.
P.S. I always thought Zoey Raven was a woman. But I seem to have been mistaken

 

[Zoey Raven]

Great game, I just started playing it.
As someone who battled addiction, I find this game describing addiction very accurate.
P.S. I always thought Zoey Raven was a woman. But I seem to have been mistaken

He's a man, I promise.

 

[Zoey Raven]

Android version not working. Problem only for me ??

I've not head any mentions of that at all. You mean the download link is not working?

 

[Paapi]

Jeevant. Can u make a port ??
(Port from op not working for me)

 

[Paapi]

I've not head any mentions of that at all. You mean the download link is not working?

Nah. Nah. I downloaded it. App not working.