Answer
In both the long and the short term, you'll have a life. Not just being alive, but a real life that is worth living, full of joy, pain, relationships, hope, energy. Being in recovery is a process that may continue for the rest of your days - one day at a time.

There may never be a time where you can say "I am no longer an addict" — because when you start to lose your respect for addiction and its power to grip you once again, that is when you may start to use drugs again.

Certain drugs can cause long-term damage to body organs, including the brain; that depends on what you were taking, how much and for how long. In some cases, such as Ecstacy, we don't yet know what the long-term effects will be, though some have suggested that E use may be linked to recurrent and virtually untreatable depression later in life.

In the short term, many drugs cause physical withdrawal syndromes. Symptoms vary but often include shaking, sweating, intense anxiety, nausea, pain, and sometimes frightening hallucinations like things crawling on your skin.

It's hectic, and you should not try to withdraw from a serious drug or alcohol habit without medical supervision. It is dangerous, number one; and number two, it is a way of setting yourself up for failure. The voice that tells you to "go it alone" is the voice of addiction, not of recovery.

Whatever damage there may be, however tough the withdrawal process, you can be sure that life without the drugs is going to be richer and more meaningful than the life you have as an addict.

The first step is to be honest with yourself and other people: maybe you want to stop using drugs, but at the same time you want to go on using them. Facing that confusion in yourself and starting where you really are makes it possible to progress to the next step.

And recovery is always about "progress, not perfection".

You'll need help, especially from people who have "been there" themselves: contact your nearest drug treatment or counselling centre, or Narcotics Anonymous. If there's no NA in your area, try AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) who should be able to point you in the right direction.