how to give up addictions

[I.D.10-t]

@Wanderer

But rather, I discovered that, for me least, it meant having the willpower not to put myself in those situations…rather than going to bars, etc, where I normally liked to smoke, I just removed myself from those kinds of activities for a while. It helped a lot.

Cranberry might have going to college as an advantage to quitting.

I find that many of my habits change when I move from one environment to another. Your new friends support your changes because they associate you with certain traits and do not offer a cigarette if they think of you as a non-smoker.

[susnfx]

@Redwolf

I didn’t even tell people I was quitting (other than my husband and daughter, who kind of had to know)…in order to succeed, I needed to have “permission” to fail, and other people won’t give you that.

I’ve read before that this is a good tip about any bad habit you’re trying to change. I believe I was reading tips about dieting or something. If you slip, you need to have it be between you and yourself, and not have the guilt that comes with feeling other people know you’ve slipped.

Susan

[Wanderer]

@I.D.10-t

Cranberry might have going to college as an advantage to quitting.

I find that many of my habits change when I move from one environment to another. Your new friends support your changes because they associate you with certain traits and do not offer a cigarette if they think of you as a non-smoker.

That definitely helps too.. I quit smokin the same week I started a new job, so that I could take advantage of not having a “smoke break” habit at the new job. Every little thing…

I’ve been free now for 5 years, so I guess it worked, though I wouldn’t call myself one of those rabid anti-smokers

[Lambchop]

@Cranberry

I do have other rather unhealthy dependencies on things such as caffeine, the Internet, . . . I know a few people here have given up various addictions, and I’m wondering how you did it?

Caffeine is fairly easy to give up, Cran. I’m not sure that I would give it the honor of even calling it an addiction, because it is absolutely not in the same class as alcohol, tobacco, and some drugs. Calling it a dependency or addiction gives it more credit than it deserves, and also serves as a stumbling block in giving it up. “I’m addicted to caffeine. I’ll never be able to get off it, because you know what addictions are like.” “Well, I drank a cup of coffee today, but what do you expect from a person addicted to caffeine.”

One method is to simply never consume any again. You’ll probably have a stupendous headache for a few days, but it’ll go away.

The possibly better method is to begin mixing your beverages so that they have increasingly larger proportions of decaf. Start small and work your way up–9/10 regular coffee, 1/10 decaf. After several days of that, go to 8/10 regular, 2/10 decaf. Etc., etc.. You won’t have a headache this way, you’ll still be drinking your usual beverage, and everything will seem normal. You’ll be able to become disused to the caffeine quite easily.

[Redwolf]

@susnfx

@Redwolf

I didn’t even tell people I was quitting (other than my husband and daughter, who kind of had to know)…in order to succeed, I needed to have “permission” to fail, and other people won’t give you that.

I’ve read before that this is a good tip about any bad habit you’re trying to change. I believe I was reading tips about dieting or something. If you slip, you need to have it be between you and yourself, and not have the guilt that comes with feeling other people know you’ve slipped.

Susan

I think it’s a great idea, but you’d be surprised how much of the “stop smoking” literature advises people to tell others they’ve quit as an incentive to keep them from “falling off the wagon”…or to join a “stop smoking group” or some other form of “peer pressure therapy.” I just find that to be way too much pressure, and of course, the more stress there, is, the harder it is to keep going.

Another thing I did (and still do) is never let myself say “never again.” I can’t deal, emotionally, with that kind of hard-line attitude (I don’t even say it about meat, and I’ve been a vegetarian for 17 years!). I don’t even refer to myself as a “non-smoker” (having had way too many negative encounters with the breed when I was a smoker…why do people think that being jerks will help others overcome addictions?) or even an “ex-smoker.” I just don’t use that kind of language. I will say, if asked, that I’m not smoking currently and, if pressed, will say that I haven’t smoked for two years, but frankly, if people congratulate me (unless they’re fellow smokers), I tell 'em to feck off…I don’t want their “approval” because it’s too much pressure, and typically they have no idea what I went through to get here anyway.

Redwolf