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I am not a smoker, but I recently read through Allan Carr's "Easy Way to Quit Smoking Without Willpower" book. (There is a similar book out there called the Eas

by jawns 3y ago

I am not a smoker, but I recently read through Allan Carr's "Easy Way to Quit Smoking Without Willpower" book. (There is a similar book out there called the Easy Peasy Way to Quit Porn, for those who are struggling with that.) The tl;dr is that it's much harder to quit an addiction with the mindset, "This thing is great, but I'm going to deprive myself of it." Instead, you need to realize that you've been deceived and maybe even brainwashed into thinking that this vice has any redeeming value. Lots of people who've never become addicted are walking around enjoying life without it. So you kind of have to do your own reverse brainwashing to get your brain back to that state. I used these techniques to break a bad habit. Every time my mind so much as wanders in that direction, I have a mini speech I give myself. "Boy, I am so glad that I have escaped the slavery of that dopamine cycle, where I wasn't getting joy from the habit itself, but just satisfying the craving of the addiction. I'm in such a better place now." In the moment, I might not always fully believe the words I'm saying, but it does help.

mhalle 3y ago
This American Life had an episode that challenges the premise of this book: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/806/transcript https://www.thisamericanlife.org/806/transcript
joshghent 3y ago
Completely agree! Ultra processed people by Chris Van Tullekan is similar for eating unhealthily.
hinkley 3y ago
Additionally people crowd out a bad habit instead of abstaining from it. Give yourself less time to be bad. Do something instead to sublimate some of that energy.
wruza 3y ago
If your automatic firewall is too hard, there are ways to bypass it and eventually punch a hole. E.g. instead of “I’m much better without it” (obviously wrong, you’re suffering) you can carry the thought “I like to think that I’ll become happier without it”. There’s no obvious contradiction, so it can incorporate and create a tunnel where there was a thick wall. Learned that from my therapist.
clwg 3y ago
I was a smoker for over 20 years, then I switched to Juul - I was content. Nicotine is by far my favorite drug. I could smell again, and my stamina and breathing were noticeably improved. When they started to ban the stronger vapes, my options were to go back to cigarettes, suffer withdrawal from a less potent nicotine concentration, buy one of those contraptions and start a hobby, or quit entirely. I quit entirely, and it sucked. Luckily, there was a pandemic going on, so I could contain the 'blast radius', but it was very much a self-hate process to get through it - hating myself for smoking in the first place as a teenager, hating that I was controlled by something like that, and hating that I didn't have agency over my own cravings, and just hating because Nicotine withdrawal sucks. I don't think I could have done it with a positive attitude and inner strength. I still miss nicotine, and if they brought back the stronger Juul's, I'd probably start again.
PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
> Instead, you need to realize that you've been deceived and maybe even brainwashed into thinking that this vice has any redeeming value. This has been 50% of my approach to trying to (almost entirely) give up drinking. I realized that (a) I rarely, if ever, get the happy buzz any more (b) it doesn't get me the sex that it once did (c) it doesn't actually assist with being emotionally open with my wife the way it once did (d) it contributes to weight gain (e) it probably has other negative health effects (f) it costs quite a bit of money. All that's left of the positives is that I really, really enjoy the actual taste of the wines I love. The other 50% was being told I had high blood pressure, and realizing the alcohol can play a role in that too.
- broscillator 3y ago
  I want to congratulate you for taking that decision.
em-bee 3y ago
when i was young i avoided watching to much tv or spending to much time on the computer when i realized that i was just wasting my time without getting much benefit out of it. that led to focusing on doing more useful things on the computer, and structuring my tv habits to only watch stuff i really wanted to see.
slibhb 3y ago
> I used these techniques to break a bad habit. Every time my mind so much as wanders in that direction, I have a mini speech I give myself. "Boy, I am so glad that I have escaped the slavery of that dopamine cycle, where I wasn't getting joy from the habit itself, but just satisfying the craving of the addiction. I'm in such a better place now." Sounds a lot like will power.

by jawns 3y ago

mhalle 3y ago

This American Life had an episode that challenges the premise of this book: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/806/transcript https://www.thisamericanlife.org/806/transcript

joshghent 3y ago

Completely agree! Ultra processed people by Chris Van Tullekan is similar for eating unhealthily.

hinkley 3y ago

Additionally people crowd out a bad habit instead of abstaining from it. Give yourself less time to be bad. Do something instead to sublimate some of that energy.

wruza 3y ago

If your automatic firewall is too hard, there are ways to bypass it and eventually punch a hole. E.g. instead of “I’m much better without it” (obviously wrong, you’re suffering) you can carry the thought “I like to think that I’ll become happier without it”. There’s no obvious contradiction, so it can incorporate and create a tunnel where there was a thick wall. Learned that from my therapist.

clwg 3y ago

I was a smoker for over 20 years, then I switched to Juul - I was content. Nicotine is by far my favorite drug. I could smell again, and my stamina and breathing were noticeably improved. When they started to ban the stronger vapes, my options were to go back to cigarettes, suffer withdrawal from a less potent nicotine concentration, buy one of those contraptions and start a hobby, or quit entirely. I quit entirely, and it sucked. Luckily, there was a pandemic going on, so I could contain the 'blast radius', but it was very much a self-hate process to get through it - hating myself for smoking in the first place as a teenager, hating that I was controlled by something like that, and hating that I didn't have agency over my own cravings, and just hating because Nicotine withdrawal sucks. I don't think I could have done it with a positive attitude and inner strength. I still miss nicotine, and if they brought back the stronger Juul's, I'd probably start again.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago

> Instead, you need to realize that you've been deceived and maybe even brainwashed into thinking that this vice has any redeeming value. This has been 50% of my approach to trying to (almost entirely) give up drinking. I realized that (a) I rarely, if ever, get the happy buzz any more (b) it doesn't get me the sex that it once did (c) it doesn't actually assist with being emotionally open with my wife the way it once did (d) it contributes to weight gain (e) it probably has other negative health effects (f) it costs quite a bit of money. All that's left of the positives is that I really, really enjoy the actual taste of the wines I love. The other 50% was being told I had high blood pressure, and realizing the alcohol can play a role in that too.

broscillator 3y ago
I want to congratulate you for taking that decision.

em-bee 3y ago

when i was young i avoided watching to much tv or spending to much time on the computer when i realized that i was just wasting my time without getting much benefit out of it. that led to focusing on doing more useful things on the computer, and structuring my tv habits to only watch stuff i really wanted to see.

slibhb 3y ago

> I used these techniques to break a bad habit. Every time my mind so much as wanders in that direction, I have a mini speech I give myself. "Boy, I am so glad that I have escaped the slavery of that dopamine cycle, where I wasn't getting joy from the habit itself, but just satisfying the craving of the addiction. I'm in such a better place now." Sounds a lot like will power.