8 ms·

Remove the offending substance and see how long or to what extent you would go to get it back.

hprotagonist 5y ago
the fortitude saving throw T-break is a good idea, once in a while.
grvdrm 5y ago
It's interesting to try it this way. Did it in the past with alcohol because I was curious how long it take to eliminate the urge (regardless of strength) to drink. Got through two months without any drinks and I'm not sure that the urge ever really went away. But I got used to tamping it down.
- freedom2099 5y ago
  I really can’t relate… I drink but I never feel the “urge” to drink… I can simply stop and alcohol doesn’t even cross my mind for weeks.
  - exdsq 5y ago
    That’s good! That is how a healthy relationship with alcohol should be.
  - grvdrm 5y ago
    That's interesting. I've suspected it was two things: 1. Some chemical addiction - hard to understand but may contribute to the "urge" 2. Some component of taste - in other words, I like the taste of bourbon. I don't really care to be drunk but it obviously happens sometimes. But the goal is not to be drunk but instead to enjoy the taste of bourbon. I'm sure that desire manifests itself chemically in the body as well. Yet, I think of them as different pathways to the outcome. So day to day, what I feel like I'm fighting is the desire to taste something I really enjoy, rather than the desire to be drunk, if that distinction makes sense.
    - freedom2099 5y ago
      I do understand the need to taste something you really enjoy… but that is what every meal is for (I always try to eat nice things… eating should be a happy moment!)
  - mythrwy 5y ago
    Exactly the same. I can take alcohol or leave it. With no social pressure, on my own I very seldom buy alcohol or keep it around. I don't think about it. I don't want for it, on occasion I'll have a few drinks and once in a great while a few too many drinks but it's not something I really care about one way or the other. I've seen many people not like this. Alcohol is a central part of their life even if they aren't "drunks". I think it must be a biological/chemical?
EA 5y ago
It took me almost 2 years to fully give up sodas and sugary drinks. I grew up on it. I learned a lot about my willpower.
- exdsq 5y ago
  I wish you’d use that same strength to cut your addiction to micro transactions in video games … ;)
- brimble 5y ago
  Club soda got me off them (this is before fizzy water became a trendy drink). Turns out my craving was mostly for the carbonation bite, not the sugar. Seltzer water didn't work. The missing minerals make it taste super weird to my palate. Had to be club soda (or sparkling mineral water, but that was too expensive for me to have often at the time).
carlmr 5y ago
One of the most common addictions now is cellphone addiction. But especially since the pandemic it's hard to do anything without a cell phone. You need your QR codes everywhere for testing or showing you're tested, show your vaccinations, check in to restaurants, etc.
- simlevesque 5y ago
  > You need your QR codes everywhere for testing or showing you're tested, show your vaccinations You can do all of that without a phone.
  - gpas 5y ago
    You are right. Print the qr and put in your wallet like any elderly person I know does.
  - krageon 5y ago
    Not here. It is technically possible to use a printed version, but they're not actually accepted anywhere. No phone means no access.
    - vaylian 5y ago
      Odd. Is it because the people who do the access control (think that they) have to follow strict procedures, or why isn't a printout accepted?
      - krageon 5y ago
        There's a lot of fraud with the printed/pdf variants, so they are not accepted anymore. How an app prevents such things, I have no idea.
  - benjaminwootton 5y ago
    Fortunately have never had to show a test or a vaccine pass on a phone. Boy am I glad I’ve been living in England these last few years if that’s becoming normalised!
specproc 5y ago
With alcohol, its not so much about the urge to drink when you stop, but how bad your withdrawal symptoms are. I pretty much gave up in my mid thirties when I stopped for two weeks to deal with some life admin and found myself in withdrawal. I've had a few spells off the wagon since, but now realise something is properly broken in me. Even small amounts of alcohol trigger hideous hangovers and anxiety. The only counter is to drink again. Careful with the booze, kids. The danger is real.
- IAmGraydon 5y ago
  Were you drinking all day every day? I have a glass or two of bourbon most nights and can do a week break with no sign of withdrawal. Alcohol is definitely very addictive, but you do have to go pretty hard to get withdrawals.
  - specproc 5y ago
    Every hannover hangover is withdrawal, there's just a scale of severity. I was drinking daily. Two to three on a quiet day, regularly scaling up to the point its it's difficult to count. I wasn't he heaviest drinker I knew.
    - IAmGraydon 5y ago
      No, a hangover is not a withdrawal. You have your facts wrong.
- exdsq 5y ago
  100%. Hangxiety is the worst. I’m 27 and quit last August. I feel so much better for it. Binge drinking culture can really damage you!
- oigursh 5y ago
  Had a night out with friends recently after a year off. Didn't start to feel right until 4 days later. Not. Worth. It.
1970-01-01 5y ago
This isn't a good test because addiction is a dynamic situation. One can not simply remove the offending substance from their life for X days and confirm they are not addicted. Persistent and compulsive is key to understanding how it works.
openknot 5y ago
There are important caveats: sudden withdrawal from alcohol (high doses, long-term use), benzodiazepines (benzos), and methadone can cause death [0]. [0] https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/all-about-addiction/201001/alcohol-benzos-and-opiates-withdrawal-might-kill-you https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/all-about-addiction/...

the fortitude saving throw T-break is a good idea, once in a while.

It's interesting to try it this way. Did it in the past with alcohol because I was curious how long it take to eliminate the urge (regardless of strength) to drink. Got through two months without any drinks and I'm not sure that the urge ever really went away. But I got used to tamping it down.

freedom2099 5y ago
I really can’t relate… I drink but I never feel the “urge” to drink… I can simply stop and alcohol doesn’t even cross my mind for weeks.
- exdsq 5y ago
  That’s good! That is how a healthy relationship with alcohol should be.
- grvdrm 5y ago
  That's interesting. I've suspected it was two things: 1. Some chemical addiction - hard to understand but may contribute to the "urge" 2. Some component of taste - in other words, I like the taste of bourbon. I don't really care to be drunk but it obviously happens sometimes. But the goal is not to be drunk but instead to enjoy the taste of bourbon. I'm sure that desire manifests itself chemically in the body as well. Yet, I think of them as different pathways to the outcome. So day to day, what I feel like I'm fighting is the desire to taste something I really enjoy, rather than the desire to be drunk, if that distinction makes sense.
  - freedom2099 5y ago
    I do understand the need to taste something you really enjoy… but that is what every meal is for (I always try to eat nice things… eating should be a happy moment!)
- mythrwy 5y ago
  Exactly the same. I can take alcohol or leave it. With no social pressure, on my own I very seldom buy alcohol or keep it around. I don't think about it. I don't want for it, on occasion I'll have a few drinks and once in a great while a few too many drinks but it's not something I really care about one way or the other. I've seen many people not like this. Alcohol is a central part of their life even if they aren't "drunks". I think it must be a biological/chemical?

EA 5y ago

It took me almost 2 years to fully give up sodas and sugary drinks. I grew up on it. I learned a lot about my willpower.

exdsq 5y ago
I wish you’d use that same strength to cut your addiction to micro transactions in video games … ;)
brimble 5y ago
Club soda got me off them (this is before fizzy water became a trendy drink). Turns out my craving was mostly for the carbonation bite, not the sugar. Seltzer water didn't work. The missing minerals make it taste super weird to my palate. Had to be club soda (or sparkling mineral water, but that was too expensive for me to have often at the time).

carlmr 5y ago

One of the most common addictions now is cellphone addiction. But especially since the pandemic it's hard to do anything without a cell phone. You need your QR codes everywhere for testing or showing you're tested, show your vaccinations, check in to restaurants, etc.

simlevesque 5y ago
> You need your QR codes everywhere for testing or showing you're tested, show your vaccinations You can do all of that without a phone.
- gpas 5y ago
  You are right. Print the qr and put in your wallet like any elderly person I know does.
- krageon 5y ago
  Not here. It is technically possible to use a printed version, but they're not actually accepted anywhere. No phone means no access.
  - vaylian 5y ago
    Odd. Is it because the people who do the access control (think that they) have to follow strict procedures, or why isn't a printout accepted?
    - krageon 5y ago
      There's a lot of fraud with the printed/pdf variants, so they are not accepted anymore. How an app prevents such things, I have no idea.
- benjaminwootton 5y ago
  Fortunately have never had to show a test or a vaccine pass on a phone. Boy am I glad I’ve been living in England these last few years if that’s becoming normalised!

specproc 5y ago

With alcohol, its not so much about the urge to drink when you stop, but how bad your withdrawal symptoms are. I pretty much gave up in my mid thirties when I stopped for two weeks to deal with some life admin and found myself in withdrawal. I've had a few spells off the wagon since, but now realise something is properly broken in me. Even small amounts of alcohol trigger hideous hangovers and anxiety. The only counter is to drink again. Careful with the booze, kids. The danger is real.

IAmGraydon 5y ago
Were you drinking all day every day? I have a glass or two of bourbon most nights and can do a week break with no sign of withdrawal. Alcohol is definitely very addictive, but you do have to go pretty hard to get withdrawals.
- specproc 5y ago
  Every hannover hangover is withdrawal, there's just a scale of severity. I was drinking daily. Two to three on a quiet day, regularly scaling up to the point its it's difficult to count. I wasn't he heaviest drinker I knew.
  - IAmGraydon 5y ago
    No, a hangover is not a withdrawal. You have your facts wrong.
exdsq 5y ago
100%. Hangxiety is the worst. I’m 27 and quit last August. I feel so much better for it. Binge drinking culture can really damage you!
oigursh 5y ago
Had a night out with friends recently after a year off. Didn't start to feel right until 4 days later. Not. Worth. It.

1970-01-01 5y ago

This isn't a good test because addiction is a dynamic situation. One can not simply remove the offending substance from their life for X days and confirm they are not addicted. Persistent and compulsive is key to understanding how it works.

openknot 5y ago

There are important caveats: sudden withdrawal from alcohol (high doses, long-term use), benzodiazepines (benzos), and methadone can cause death [0]. [0] https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/all-about-addiction/201001/alcohol-benzos-and-opiates-withdrawal-might-kill-you https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/all-about-addiction/...