Well i meant, is one still a bulimic even if they no longer purge (kind of like how a drug addict is always a drug addict in a figurative sense, regardless of active use).
Not necessarily, I don't identify as a drug addict, and I don't like applying that term to myself. I have a substance use disorder, many of them in long term remission, only two are still what could be termed problematic.
I won't ever be able to take substances in a way that isn't detrimental to my health, but I know plenty of people who have had serious and now moderate their use of alcohol or weed, and barely partake. One of my support workers fits that category. His 'Xanax' (pressed pills) use was so bad that he ended up in hospital when trying to withdraw, and was doing CWE with codeine, eating packets of ibuprofen plus like me, all that shit. Now he barely drinks and casually smokes weed.
I used to have a life threatening addiction. Now I use on irregular incidents when triggered by something, and I may not use drugs again for weeks if not months.
My issue isn't the drugs, the drugs are a vehicle to self harm, for me.
I understand that the term has value for others, but personally I think once I've reached a point where these are no longer issues for me, I probably won't apply the labels to myself and I'll just move on, while maintaining a realistic and vigilant outlook on my life after replacing them with more adaptive coping mechanisms, because that's what mine are.
So while I'm sure in 2016-2017 people who knew me would have called me a drug addict, they certainly wouldn't now. Especially not now that the reasons behind my use have become very clear. Everyone is different. Personally, I wouldn't want to keep the label, I feel like it would continue to remind me of my past. The reason I sucked at daily dosing for suboxone was having a daily reminder and the addict label for me has similar impact.