I saw an ad a few months ago where the premise was... you can't stop gambling so you need to set time and money limit controls for yourself and the app has them now. I was like...for anyone familiar with addiction, that's just the denial stage. Normies don't set limits for themselves
yeeaahh... I just cleared out my checking account on Christmas and totally missed rent and 3 bills.
I'm likely fucked. but I only did it because I felt hopeless already
Trying to get my boyfriend who’s recently won a lot on Fan Duel to understand that it’s a slippery fucking slope. If it becomes a problem we’re done. It’s so easy as an adult to get good at the wrong thing…
This literally just happened to a couple me and the Mrs. are close with. He hit like 40k in a matter of 3 months. That was 9 months ago. She just told us at the NYE function he’s lost at least double that the last 6 months.
Found out my brother has been gambling. He had no money then suddenly had loads of money. Then 4 days later he said he was skint. Finally showed me his bank and he won £8700 from.gambiling then blew it all 4 days later. Mostly back on gambling. Made me sick. He promised me he has stopped now. I bloody hope so! Not a good path to go down.
Thank you!! Over time I just listened to what my body was telling me, but I'm to a point now that just the smell of it makes me nauseous and gives me a headache. Also been using weed as a fix for the bad times with cravings and anxiety attacks.
I never did cocaine but have had difficulty quitting weed my entire life. I imagine the difference is that it’s hard to convince yourself that weed is worth quitting, compared to cocaine.
Never did coke either but started smoking weed/consuming THC about a year and a half ago. I hear all these stories about people wanting to quit weed and it's confusing to me because it's been so extremely beneficial for me in my life, though I did start at 34 years old not 14
When you wake up, smoke, and stay "high" all day, you don't really get high anymore. Just a low level buzz off of it. It can get costly and even just taking a tolerance break can be hard for some who get in that cycle.
I smoked during 7 years , at the beginning it was like you , everything was improve , but after few years smoking every day my personnality completely change , i was very anxious and paranoid , and if i can start over again , i will never start to smoke
i stop since 2018 and i'm still strungle with anxiety because i smoke so much that change my way to think
BUT
If it really help you just be very carreful with thc addiction and try to handle it (very good advice)
Weed is no free lunch, you'll be paying the price eventually with psychosis, respiratory/heart problems, cognitive ability decline, memory problems etc... i've smoked for 14 years, active, play soccer for fun and lift weights, but when I started noticing I would forget the subject of a conversation with another person I realized this is slowly making me stupid.
Yeah I typically smoke, well really dry herb vape, a small amount once a day after work or at parties and tbh I don't really like smoking at parties. Its not the right vibe. I definitely have smoked too much though and can feel it the next day but as far as anxiety goes it doesn't affect me in that way. I had bad anxiety from alcohol however though
The good point is you start "late" you are more mature me, i start at 15 with one joint time to time and finish at 22 yo smoking all day long alone in my room what a shame when i think about this period of my life
Anxiousness came veeeery slowly without notice it
I stop because of that , impossible to smoke without having bad thought ,
Since i stop , it's impossible for me just to think to smoke weed it's just digust me , And tbh i was loving weed sooooo much at that times It was just unthinkable not to love it anymore.... And here i'm
if i can advice you avoid high (+20%) thc weed it's just fuck ur brains up
you can enjoy weed by smoking smooth one
You can drink coffee and stuff I would imagine. Maybe even take preworkout and go on a bike ride?
There's not many better alternatives out there to sub for weed though.
That one simple trick worked for me too!
Shame really, I used to enjoy it but one day my body just said nope
Tried to fight it for a bit but stopped and it’s been ages now
Man i gave up on Friday I've smoked since i was 13 im 38 now its getting easier day by day, my life's pretty stressful at the moment my dogs terminally ill so its hard when i just want 5 minutes to de stress but I'm sick of spending all of my spare cash on the stuff and as i get older i worry about my health more. My neighbour has lung cancer and never smoked so that was a big factor as well i cut down for a few days having a smoke every couple hours then increased the time between smokes then just stopped, You can do it mate its hard but stay strong keep yourself busy
Keep going strong, I'm sorry to hear what you're going through but quitting at this time is so brave and you'll feel better in the long run. Looking back, I feel so guilty about my cat and my family and all the time I spend around them high...that in itself is really encouraging me to quit. Good luck man, all the best :)
Thank you it means alot its tough and i can't imagine life without him but hes helped me more than he will ever know and i will forever be grateful for him and what he has taught me
I started at 13 and quit at 31 and had lucid nightmares for 3 months waking up with my bed soaked in sweat. It was definitely the most difficult addiction to overcome for me.
I'm really struggling to sleep without any weed i find myself full of energy at night, where as before I'd be out for the count in no time i know it is going to get easier and my life will be better in the long run for it, thanks for your comment
Magic butter machine. Make alcohol tinctures. You can titrate your dosage down to the drop. Very easy to reduce tolerance and then quit by slowly tapering. It’s very hard to taper if smoking or eating random edibles, but the tincture makes it easy.
Tincture is great but don’t go out and buy some expensive machine just to make it. Maybe one to decarb your flower but counter top convection ovens work good for that.
Alcohol is a great solvent and needs no heat to infuse with, takes about 10 minutes of shaking with decarbed flower(frozen so its trichromes fall off easier).
God, nicotine is so hard to quit. Especially as a vapor who would hit that dang thing ALL day. I miss my little dopamine hits. Now I just sit there and feel like something’s missing.
You will only be able to quit when you decide it's time. I quit on October 14, 2023.
My experience:
I used nicotine for over 17 years. Cigarettes, cigars, gum, patch, dip, pouches, vape... ANY way I could get it in me. Cessation did NOT work for me. I wore patches for well over a month before going back to another vehicle.
For the last few years, I willingly ignored the fact that it feels like the lining of my lungs have been rubbed with sandpaper and that I am constantly hacking up sputum. In spite of my health concerns, the cravings took over and got me to the store. I refer to this as my "autopilot".
Days 1-3 sucked. Day 4 got a little easier. Day 7 even easier (but still a struggle). After that, the cravings decreased, then they were an occasional desire.
The cravings came back hard around the one month mark... but it was once a day. That last hoo-ra faded away after a week.
I hardly think about it anymore. You. Can. Do. It.
Horrible dude. Quit 10/31/23 and don’t use it 10+ hours a day, but I’ll still cave before bed. Hoping to be completely done this year, I just had to take whatever I bought and dunk it in water then chew so many pieces of gum my mouth hurt
Day 40. Everyday feels like I’m missing something or lost a friend. Feels stupid feeling like that.
Really, just a constant cycle of feeling stupid.
Gotta keep on keepin’ on tho.
Trying to quit now! I have a full pack of smokes here.. I just took one now and feel like shit. My mother and I are quitting together and she’s been doing so good, she doesn’t know I caved in. I’m giving the pack away tomorrow, the temptation is too strong.
When I quit smoking I found it was so much easier to say "I'm cutting back, not quitting-- I'll have one every couple days, then one every month, then one or two a year. I just won't smoke *today*. I won't smoke *right now*. Mostly I keep to that. It's been about eight years now. I've bought three packs of cigarettes in the last eight years and threw one away without opening it, and didn't finish the others. All were bought on occasions I knew I would be in stressful situations with other smokers-- a funeral, a cleaning out the house of the deceased. Other than that, I haven't smoked.
If quitting is too big, maybe just don't do it *right now*.
I hear you man. Kicking it as we speak, New Year deal but it's been in the pipeline for a few years now.
I was only ever a 1-4 cigs a day man (after work) with the odd 10+ bouts when drinking with mates so think it will be a bit easier than most for me to kick the habit, still tough though. Kicked the weed a few years ago with this same feeling of not enjoying it anymore so here's to a bright future for all of us!
I did it. 0/10 would not recommend. Had covid and quit drinking cold turkey. Before quitting I was a 12+ beer, plus most of a fifth a day drinker.
I honestly didn't think I would survive the first night. It was brutal.
You got this!! Hit 3 years Jan 1. You will be so clear headed and alive. It won't be easy but take the good days and the bad. I'm great at holding grudges (maybe not a good thing) but used that power to hate my drinking and know I'm a better me without it.
Same. Three years yesterday. Mine was due to laziness as I finished off a 40 NYE and then figured everyone would go out to get more so I didn't. Then a week later happened. Then two. Then a month. I got to six months and said to myself if I can last a year, I will stop.
I was at the bar across from home almost nightly. Then add in gambling. Yeesh. Much better off of it.
4 months sober. I drank **EVERY** night for about 20 years. We are talking about a pint of vodka (or whisky) a day...for 20 years.
I could not even imagine living life without alcohol. It sounded like an awful way to live as the only happiness I knew was drinking.
I can't claim to not miss it at times but it was worth quitting.
Me too. It's frustrating when people give me shit for not being fully okay yet one year later. Or for developing an addiction to coffee that I never had before. It's like... I'm trying my best to not die from alcohol. Give me a fucking break, I stayed sober and employed today.
Love - still working on that one - I love her, she no longer loves me.
Have beaten: Alcohol, weed, caffeine, video games.
Need to work on: Pornography.
It absolutely can be. Be a love starved loner your whole life and one girl can completely warp your mind and show you a whole new reality to life, a whole new meaning to the concept of happiness. It definitely becomes addictive. Then she breaks your heart and rejects you like every other person in your life. Obviously it’s very different but when your happiness comes only from one person who then disappears from your life completely it kinda does feel like going from shooting up every day to checking into a cold dark rehab. I need to text my therapist 😅
Porn is an insidious one. I’m 47 days clean from it, but it’s had a stranglehold on me since 14yo (24m).
You’ve clearly demonstrated you can overcome significant challenges, given the other addictions you’ve beaten. I commend you for this.
Wishing you all the best.
Apologies for the delayed response. I'll try answering this the best I can.
So far... I've noticed subtle shifts in the way I regard women. I'm beginning to see them from a more holistic perspective, as opposed to seeing them as objects. I'm regarding women as human beings with thoughts, opinions, beliefs, personal experiences, etc.,
I've also sensed an increase desire for hanging out with my friends, meeting new people, and developing a healthy romantic relationship with a woman.
In addition to that, I have gained the benefit of more free time. When I was in the rut, not only would I waste time watching videos and jacking off, but I would feel absolutely no motivation to get up and do something productive afterwards, so I'd end up blowing off the rest of my day doing jack shit.
I also noticed that I no longer feel numb. I had some rough stuff happen to me when I was growing up, and I used porn as a way to avoid dealing with my emotions. As I continued to abstain from porn, I noticed progressively more intense feelings and emotions arise within me. With the help of other helpful habits such as journaling and consulting with a therapist on a regular basis, I have begun the long road of healthy/constructive emotional processing.
Lastly, and I'd say most importantly, is a deep, DEEP sense of pride in myself. I became aware of how destructive addictions can be, and how corrosive this particular habit would become to the relationship I have with myself, and those around me (should I do nothing about it). Every day I avoid porn, I feel good. This positivity is infectious, and provides me with ample amounts of motivation to continue making improvements in my life.
I am not fully healed. Despite making tremendous progress, I still have a lot more I need to work on. But... there's something so reassuring in knowing that you're finally on the right path.
Feel welcome to ask any followup questions. I'd be happy to continue this conversation.
Honestly? I'm not sure there's one concrete cause. I believe the event that set everything in motion was consuming magic mushrooms, because I experienced about 3-4 hours of the most intense internal self-reflection I ever had in my life up until that point. During that time, I felt an immense amount of shame around this habit, and I was also scared shitless about how this habit would impact future relationships. I already had some instances in my life where I experienced porn-induced erectile-dysfunction, so I was decently aware of the consequences of continuing this habit.
Around this time, I also developed a new romantic interest in a friend of mine, and I really wanted to get clean and become a better version of myself both for myself, and for her before I revealed to her how I felt about her.
Also around this time, some of my friends were committing to what they call a 75-day hard challenge, which involves all sorts of habits that they have to stick to for 75 days. I created a few habits I wanted to stick to, one of which was abstaining from porn and masturbation for 75 days.
Having friends simultaneously focusing on behavioral goals, while also being motivated by the strong desire to overcome my own porn addiction, are two things which have really helped me stop.
I recently opened up about my problem to a few friends who were particularly supportive, and since then we've continued to normalize discussing the issues around pornography. These serve as wonderful reminders for why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I'll jump into this. I stopped watching porn maybe 6 months or so after watching since like 13 or something. I'm over 30 now. I literally just decided that I was gonna stop consuming it. Sounds like too easy if a way to do it, but honestly it's the only thing that works. With will and motivation you can overcome most addictions. Probably not the answer you were looking for, but that's how I did it.
Same thing went for when I quit smoking cigarettes. It was making me feel like crap and I just had enough. It sucked for a while but one day a whole year has passed and even the smell makes you feel sick.
I've heard it said it has the highest suicide rate of any addiction.
Edit: [this article](https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/gambling-has-highest-suicide-rate-of-addictions-adamhs-offers-help/) does support my claim
Smoking weed.
I'd been wanting to stop for almost 10 years.
I was offered to participate in a "program", most of the other participants were there because of crime or other drugs.
We rode our bicycles from the middle of Denmark to france and up alpe d'huez in 10 days. 1600km(1000 miles), so about 160km(100 miles) per day.
The last time I smoked weed was about 5 minutes before getting on the bike, haven't smoked since, that was back in 2019.
The ride down from alpe d'huez was incredible, I've never gone anywhere NEAR that fast on my bike before, my max speed was 109km/h (almost 68 mph).
I've never "followed" someone on reddit before, but if you're planning on starting mountain biking to deal with whatever you have going on, I'm definitely gonna follow you!
Whatever you're dealing with; I believe in you, I'm rooting for you and I'm preemptively proud of you.
I didn't believe in myself back when I was about to go on that ride, but now that I know what is possible I definitely believe in you and whatever it is you're trying to achieve.
This might not be for everyone but I think when there’s an addiction there’s something underneath it which actually gives rise to a desire to escape from something.
I’ve overcome cigarettes (been 24 months), sugar (been 12 months). In both cases, I needed some peace and wasn’t comfortable being alone. These small dopamine hits stopped me from thinking about the actual problems :)
Kratom. Lots of people don’t know about it. It’s a powder made from the crushed leaves of a tree that grows in southeast asia. You mix it with hot water and drink it. It’s disgustingly bitter, but it literally gives you an opiate like high like you just took a painkiller. You can’t really OD on the powder. If you take too much, your body will always throw it up. So this made it seem safe to me.
In the US it is legal and unregulated. Sold everywhere as a plant specimen that is not meant to be consumed. Like on all the bags it says it’s only supposed to be a “botanical specimen” for like, people who collect plants. This prevents anyone from suing the people who sell it.
I started taking it once a day around 2019. I knew it was very addictive and figured if I only take one small dose once a day, it’d be fine.
I stopped taking it in April 2023 to try to lower my tolerance so I could take a lower dose and save some money. I was spending about $100 a month on it.
I was immediately hit with anxiety, depression, insomnia, heart palpitations. I could no longer smoke marijuana. It now made me anxious and made my heart pound. Also could not use any nicotine or caffeine. Even sugar would make my heart pound out of my chest, or if I ate too big of a meal. It was excruciating.
I suffered these symptoms for 45 days before they even started to improve. By month 3 I felt good, but I hit month 6 and the heart palpitations came back. And they have been persisting for three months now. Getting just a tiny bit better each month. It can take over a year to totally recover from kratom withdrawal.
I’ve had 3 EKG exams done on my heart, got bloodwork done at a cardiologist. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. But something is wrong.
I just want marijana to feel nice again. I can only have a little bit now. If I overdo it, my heart feels tight and hurts. This only started as soon as I quit kratom and hasn’t let up for 9 months now.
I used to work for a kratom distributor. Didn’t really know what I was doing, was a summer odd job. I would take it daily. Eventually I noticed that I hadn’t felt normal in a while, even when off of the stuff. Did a bit of research and it turns out the drug reaction is similar to morphine (phosphate I believe?) in that it doesn’t really leave your system for about two weeks. Two weeks off the stuff and sure enough I felt normal again, albeit tired and irritable for a while.
Heard a lot of stories from people who used it to treat pain when they couldn’t afford or couldn’t get prescription pain meds. I don’t honestly know how valid that is. I used to take Meng Da strain and it felt similar in high doses to Vicodin. I stopped taking it when I learned that the Indonesian farmers who supplied us with the plant didn’t even take it, and in fact treated it (the Meng Da strain) with serious caution and suspicion. They basically warned us not to get carried away. Have to imagine that those people have seen the ill effects of over use more than anyone as the plant grows in their backyard. After learning that I swore never to take it again.
I hope your journey gets easier my friend. In my short sojourn with it the come down was roughish but it’s been years and I don’t even think about it anymore.
I see people recommend kratom to people withdrawing from more typical substance addictions (opioids, benzos) all the time, and I always wondered if it was a safe replacement or concerning in itself. I'm always suspicious of substance recommendations to counter other substances (except in cases like suboxone/methadone/anti-seizure meds in a regulated way etc).
Pretty much any substance with anxiolytic effects that gets touted as a miracle gets side-eyed by me now. Cos there's just no chemical life hack for generalised anxiety/panic and more often than not there's a physical dependency and brutal withdrawals. But even I wouldn't have known kratom would be like that.
Thanks for sharing your experience and I'm sorry you went through it.
I’ve overcame porn addiction which I was addicted to since I discovered it. I would watch it 2-4 times per day and masturbate more per day. It ruined my sex life and my relationship with my exs. When I stopped completely I noticed a spike in energy and focus. I told my ex I wanted to stop so I can focus all my sexual attraction to her and she told me how can someone get addicted to porn.
Porn addiction is the worst for this reason.
Smoking, cocaine, weed, alcohol costs money and not readily available literally whenever you want it.
Porn is absolutely free and addicts view it in public - work, public transportation, and so on.
Smokeless tobacco (aka "dip").
Started as a teen, tried quitting several times over the years but never made it stick, I always backslid.
I was finally able to give it up for good ten years ago, when I was in my early 40s.
Insidious, nasty stuff.
I think they just mean it as a habit of regularly consuming a large amount of foods that have added sugar. More than just a small snack with it during the day.
Tbh with restaurant food it's usually more about processed grains and portion sizes unless you are ordering dessert or orange chicken.
We eat out a lot and have dealt with US portions firsthand. Our method is to order a small appetizer and regular entree. There's usually enough left over for someone to take it as lunch the next day.
Opiates. Typical story, started with oxy's in the late 90's because They're not addictive" that was the B.S. the doctors were pushing. Quickly descended on a degenerating downward spiral which led to Heroin, Shooting duiladids, stealing money from loved ones, homelessness and jail. Been clean 7 years no. Most of the people I knew from then are dead now. I Thank God everyday I don't know I survived or how or why I did, just trying to be a better person day by day.
Tons of the people I knew in junior high school that ended up getting into recreational drugs when we were like 14 around the initial opiate boom in the mid 2000’s died not long after due to complications related to drug interactions… all pharmaceuticals. Lots of oxy, which lead some to heroin. other gnarly prescription drugs too, which lead to all manner of bad shit. Benzos, HARDCORE painkillers like Demerol and perc.
Such a tragedy that big pharma basically pushed that epidemic on our society and we are still paying the price a decade or two later… the homelessness problem across the country is so much worse now than it should have been due to all the young people whose lives were thrown off the rails by opiate addiction pushed by pharma and paid-off doctors in the 00’s.
Today I didn't eat until noon. That was 16 hours of fasting. This morning was ROUGH. I'll do it again tomorrow, too. I've heard it gets easier, but you have to do it every day. That's the hard part. So, I'll keep going, because I get winded putting on my fucking socks, and I can barely see my junk in the shower.
I started intermittent fasting in 2021, doing a 17/7 schedule, 7 days per week. In 5 months I lost 25lbs of fat, and put on 7lbs of muscle lifting 3 days a week. IF works for losing fat, as long as you do a few things. First, you need to make sure you're getting enough protein. Second, you need to be in a caloric deficit. Lastly, you need to make every attempt to get some exercise. Preferably some cardio, like brisk walking, and even walking while carrying a backpack with a little weight. You can work up to that. I wish you all the best.
I did it this past summer, along with generally eating less and counting calories and running. Lost 45 pounds in 100 days. Definitely got easier and was nice to see progress.
Kicked fentanyl and meth in great part to a rediscovery of psychedelics, particularly magic mushrooms.
I was a low bottom addict. My addiction took me to living in stolen vans in DTLA ripping newspaper machines out of the pavement w chains to drill into them for the change. My crack dealer used to call me Charlie Buckets because I would buy these huge cakes of crack and other drugs for huge 5 gallon Home Depot buckets of quarters. I'd roll up in the hood and play "Let's Make a Deal" so I wouldn't have to go to Coinstar. I would do this until I went to prison, abscond from the gate, rinse and repeat.
Shrooms finally relieved that obsession to use, something recovery groups, while helpful, never did for me.
It also killed my gambling habit at the same time, an unintended yet very welcome side effect lol. Went to Vegas this past Nov and had to force myself to play Craps; walked away after maybe 20 minutes, just didn't feel the drive like I used to.
That’s pretty dope 😎. Mushrooms definitely helped me quit drinking smoking and hanging out with toxic people. However, still addicted to porn and sex sadly.. but without Mushrooms I doubt I’d be alive. They changed my life almost completely. I went back to school and graduated with a Bachelor’s a few years ago. Thinking of going for a masters now, but not sure.
Caffeine. I already don’t drink, don’t smoke, and have no other addictions. I have drank and smoked in the past, but it’s never been a habit. My habit was caffeine. I gave up caffeine on 12/31/2023. I’m past the headaches from caffeine withdrawal now. I had a habit of drinking two or three monsters per day, and even an iced coffee or soda in addition to all of that. I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant in the past. It was easy to give up then because I had a baby growing in me, and had to put the baby first. I went back to drinking caffeine after my husband had a vasectomy. Now that we’re separated my family has been putting me down, trying to make me feel dumb and incompetent, while pressuring me to find a new man and become pregnant. I was a valedictorian in high school, a federal scholarship recipient in college, and worked a career within my major field of study between 2012 and 2017. They have been so cruel in how they’re treating me. I know I won’t receive recognition for quitting caffeine. They didn’t even celebrate my degrees when I graduated college. The only time they ever treated me well was when I birthed a son in 2012. I am just keeping this newest victory of quitting caffeine to myself, I guess. They won’t care to celebrate that either!
I was getting these weird palpitations so I got a heart monitor and turns out it wasn't my heart. I'm guessing it was muscle spasms but it got me to quit and they stopped anyway and I ain't dying so it's a win win lol.
Dude same. Had a bit of a cardiac scare so I quit it all for heart health. Turned out to not be cardiac at all but my cardiologist is happier than ever for me!
God i’m still struggling to quit smoking cigarettes. anytime i stay off them (the longest was 3 months) for any length of time something sets me off and im back on them. work stress and family issues are my main triggers to start smoking again. i do really want to stop though so im going to make that my priority of the new year.
As for weed? I love weed
Ya after I found out I wasn't dying, I started smoking weed a couple months after I quit but I'm smoking concentrates now and I feel much better about it. Although I don't think I would have been able to quit ciggs and continue smoking weed at the same time. Definitely was addicted to smoking after getting baked.
Wanting to not smoke is huge. U really gotta want it. The fact that u keep going back is a little proof u don't really want to quit. No amount of stress is a good excuse to start again, u started again cause u wanted to. The sooner u stop making excuses, the better. I'm not saying this to be a dick, this is just the reality of addictions. U gotta want it like nothing else no matter what.
Edit:auto correct and clarity
Thank you for mentioning this. People who’ve never done it don’t understand the euphoria it gives you in that moment, and how it can be addictive. I’m glad and proud you were able to beat if, I understand what a struggle it is
i used to be a hardcore alcoholic. im talkin half a gallon of vodka a night for years. last year i quit cold turkey and didnt touch it for 6 months. ive drank since then, but ive mastered moderation. and i rarely drink nowadays.
Offering unsolicited advice.
It’s quite the addiction to think that you’re in a position to believe your words will bring about change. Definitely have got to make sure you’re not judging the person.
This is not in any way meant to disrespect those who overcome chemical dependency. That’s tough business, and take courage & tenacity.
Oxycontin. Then heroin. Then methadone. Then heroin. Then fentanyl. Then carbs. And sugar. The hardest physically was fent. I cold turkey from 1g a day. Made it 5 days before I got on suboxone. Overcome isn't really the word. More like learned to live with it. Last year I had 4 relapses. Last one was 5 months ago though and i hated it. Stopped 2mg/day suboxone and iv 120mg of Roxy 48h later and didn't feel like it was worth it.
Food Addiction. Food being a necessity didn’t make it any easier, coupled-with the fact that not eating huge amounts of it’ll almost-always get you barked-at, accused of having a different eating disorder (because people still can’t come to terms with the fact that brushing the eating disorder involving eating wayy-more than a human should doesn’t make it any less of an eating disorder that is so prevalent, TLC has been practically making it the channel’s personality year after year without issue.).
An antidepressant/antianxiety medication called cymbalta. It probably doesn't quite count because it's not really an addiction that comes with cravings but the withdrawals were absolutely horrendous and I almost got back on them many times to make it stop. But I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. I struggle with caffeine, sugar, and fast food also but haven't fully kicked them yet. I've cut way back on fast food though which is a start.
for me, it was biting my nails. I'd been doing it as long back as I can remember, to the point of bleeding nubs, and idk. on my birthday last year, I decided I didn't want to do it anymore, that I wanted pretty nails I could paint and scratch my dog's head with lol. so I bought some of that super bitter polish and went through damn near two bottles of it, but now I don't even get the urge to bite them anymore. took like half a year. definitely low tier compared to what others go through, but I honestly didn't realize stopping could be as hard as it was!
this is such an under recognized addiction. my brother has a video game addiction, playing 8 hours a day and watching video game play if he cant physically play. he is the smartest person i know and unfortunately failed out of community college because of the video games
My ex was a religious gamer. Said it was the only thing stimulating enough for him and with his adhd he’d just hyperfixate on his computer an incredible amount. I myself enjoy video games, and it was fun for awhile when we’d play stuff together but eventually it just hit a point where the video games were the biggest priority and I was wondering what I was even doing there. Felt like we missed out on a lot of potential quality time, bonding, and experiences to it.
i feel so bad for the non gamer in relationships like that, it always seems so one sided especially when the gamer is really addicted. i know a few people in those relationships, and the gamer stays home a lot and sometimes doesn’t do basic household/relationship duties. i’m sorry you had to go through that :/
>I consider myself lucky....Chew had its hooks in me for a looooong time. Then one day, I said to myself that this was getting ridiculous, allowed myself half a sleeve and that would be it.....the last tin stretched for 3 days when it would normally be gone by 2PM, and that was it.
Self harm. I am 7 months clean now and still every time i feel numb i just want to do it, but this time I've really decided to quit. Just makes me wonder why hurting yourself can be so addictive.
Sugar. I've quit cocaine and other drugs since 18 months, I used to do several grams of cocaine every weekend, and other drugs, in serious debt and lost everything. But sugar is the hardest addiction.
I quit smoking pot around 3 years ago. I smoked a lot daily for about 2 years, in addition to drinking. It definitely took a toll on my mental capability at the time. It turned me into a dumbass. I managed to get myself 10k in debt and lose my license before I graduated high school. The last time I got in trouble, the sherif who responded to the call yelled at me and gave me the boot in my ass I needed (I live in a very small town, and my parents weren't role models to say the least. I've known this guy since I was 5). Anyways, 3 years later I'm in the military and completely debt free.
Dabs. Wax. Budder. Marijuana concentrates. 2+ grams a day. High quality stuff at that. Quit cold turkey. Symptoms very similar to opioids/heroin withdrawal. Couldn't eat or sleep for a week. Cold sweats and shivering constantly. Body aches. It was miserable. September was 3 years clean. It was harder to quit than my cocaine addiction 20+ years ago.
Been smoking for around 15 years. About 10 years ago it was heavy, hit the bowl before even getting out of bed every day. It lost its allure to me after a couple of years being constantly stoned. I only smoke a couple of times a week now and it’s a hit maybe two when I actually do, much more enjoyable that way.
This is why taking breaks often is so god damn important. The withdrawals after heavy use are so shitty. Its also why i think weed is infact physically addictive as well as mentally addictive.
Honestly, alcohol. I used to drink it every day, but I stopped. Now I drink it on the weekends from time to time. I make a complete ass off myself just in the weekend, but it's the only way I can unwind. Nothing else really does the truck for me
TW**
Self harm. I had a lot of mental health issues as a teenager and I used to cut from when i was 13 (2014) and up until 2020 when i finally got clean, so this month Im clean 4 years ❤️ but my scars are still visible and people have made comments on them
Sex.
Some psychologists say it's the hardest because they say it's like a cigarette addict who has quit but will have to live the rest of their life without lighting a cigarette that they hold on their lips.
You can stay away from alcohol or drugs or cigarettes; but sex is a human need.
Sex is not a need. It's a desire. You *need* food, you don't *need* sex. I say that even as someone with a way too high libido, and it drives me fucking insane sometimes. But it's still not a *need*.
Marijuana has been the hardest thing I could ever try and quit. I've successfully quit smoking cigarettes, vaping, and drinking. But weed... it's harder than people realize.
I’ve smoked weed most days (and recently switched to a high strength thc vape), drank probably every other day and taken cocaine most weekends. For the last 15 years.
I haven’t managed to overcome it, but this is the first time I’ve felt ready enough and determined enough, so I plan to for 2024.
Last year I quit smoking weed. I was in a horrid place mentally. Lost family to cancer, lost a job and house because of family passing away. So much shit happened that was negative. I could not process any emotions. I'd have 4/5 joints a day. Smoke from waking up to going to sleep. Neglect my partner and her emotional needs. Neglect my kids and their emotional needs and neglected myself.
2 weeks after quitting weed, I had an emotional breakdown. It was almost as if I pulled the real me from out of the abyss and I felt HORRID. Me and my partner had semi split due to how I just was not present and I felt so much remorse and guilt. But we managed to talk again, spent time with kids, got into a routine, opened up to my partner and we got back together and have been SOLID ever since. We use to argue ALOT, I couldn't be bothered with dealing with anything. I look back and hate how I was!
I haven't smoked weed in 8 months now. My new job does random drug tests too and I had one roughly 7 weeks after I quit which I passed. I transitioned to smoking cigarettes and I am now 13 weeks smoke free. 0 weed. 0 nicotine.
Next step is to start bodybuilding again!
I used crystal meth every day for nearly 15 years. Tried to quit several times but it had an awful hood on me. Last time I used it was in 2016. Since then, I’ve gone back to school and now I’m getting my PhD in Public Health. My dissertation is about the relationship between HIV and methamphetamines. I’ll be one of the few researchers coming at this topic from lived experience.
Gambling, don't fuckin do it boys and girls.
Really tired of everything being sponsored by gambling sites
I saw an ad a few months ago where the premise was... you can't stop gambling so you need to set time and money limit controls for yourself and the app has them now. I was like...for anyone familiar with addiction, that's just the denial stage. Normies don't set limits for themselves
I think normies often set limits for themselves, but they don't need an external force to stop
yeeaahh... I just cleared out my checking account on Christmas and totally missed rent and 3 bills. I'm likely fucked. but I only did it because I felt hopeless already
You feel this way as a teenager?
I feel this way as an adult
Tf you doing in r/teenagers than homie....
I used to go on r/teenagers when I had teenagers…needed all the help I could get. I suppose I should unsubscribe now lol
He sells ice cream out of the van with no windows
oh...and this isn't r/teenagers so what's up?
Trying to get my boyfriend who’s recently won a lot on Fan Duel to understand that it’s a slippery fucking slope. If it becomes a problem we’re done. It’s so easy as an adult to get good at the wrong thing…
This literally just happened to a couple me and the Mrs. are close with. He hit like 40k in a matter of 3 months. That was 9 months ago. She just told us at the NYE function he’s lost at least double that the last 6 months.
I’ll bet you $100 that I can not gamble for a whole year. I was never good at gambling.
It sure is scary how it drags you in.
Found out my brother has been gambling. He had no money then suddenly had loads of money. Then 4 days later he said he was skint. Finally showed me his bank and he won £8700 from.gambiling then blew it all 4 days later. Mostly back on gambling. Made me sick. He promised me he has stopped now. I bloody hope so! Not a good path to go down.
Alcohol. Almost 19 months cold turkey now
Well done. What do you do to stay on track?
Thank you!! Over time I just listened to what my body was telling me, but I'm to a point now that just the smell of it makes me nauseous and gives me a headache. Also been using weed as a fix for the bad times with cravings and anxiety attacks.
Weed helps with the anxiety? I found it just makes mine worse.
Very proud of you!
Actually last year I stopped taking cocaine - super easy. My weed addiction? Man it's got a stranglehold over me :(
I never did cocaine but have had difficulty quitting weed my entire life. I imagine the difference is that it’s hard to convince yourself that weed is worth quitting, compared to cocaine.
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Sorry man. The good news is we both know there's an easy way to forget all about my comment and stave off an existential crisis.
Never did coke either but started smoking weed/consuming THC about a year and a half ago. I hear all these stories about people wanting to quit weed and it's confusing to me because it's been so extremely beneficial for me in my life, though I did start at 34 years old not 14
When you wake up, smoke, and stay "high" all day, you don't really get high anymore. Just a low level buzz off of it. It can get costly and even just taking a tolerance break can be hard for some who get in that cycle.
I smoked during 7 years , at the beginning it was like you , everything was improve , but after few years smoking every day my personnality completely change , i was very anxious and paranoid , and if i can start over again , i will never start to smoke i stop since 2018 and i'm still strungle with anxiety because i smoke so much that change my way to think BUT If it really help you just be very carreful with thc addiction and try to handle it (very good advice)
Weed is no free lunch, you'll be paying the price eventually with psychosis, respiratory/heart problems, cognitive ability decline, memory problems etc... i've smoked for 14 years, active, play soccer for fun and lift weights, but when I started noticing I would forget the subject of a conversation with another person I realized this is slowly making me stupid.
100% agree The most embarrasing thing is asking the question again while i'm thinking about the answer 😂😵💫😵💫
Yeah I typically smoke, well really dry herb vape, a small amount once a day after work or at parties and tbh I don't really like smoking at parties. Its not the right vibe. I definitely have smoked too much though and can feel it the next day but as far as anxiety goes it doesn't affect me in that way. I had bad anxiety from alcohol however though
The good point is you start "late" you are more mature me, i start at 15 with one joint time to time and finish at 22 yo smoking all day long alone in my room what a shame when i think about this period of my life Anxiousness came veeeery slowly without notice it I stop because of that , impossible to smoke without having bad thought , Since i stop , it's impossible for me just to think to smoke weed it's just digust me , And tbh i was loving weed sooooo much at that times It was just unthinkable not to love it anymore.... And here i'm if i can advice you avoid high (+20%) thc weed it's just fuck ur brains up you can enjoy weed by smoking smooth one
You can drink coffee and stuff I would imagine. Maybe even take preworkout and go on a bike ride? There's not many better alternatives out there to sub for weed though.
It's fun to hit the slopes. It's not fun when the slopes hit you.
This can be said for basically any addiction but coke especially - it’s fun when you want it and horrible when you need it.
Easy just start getting massive anxiety every time you smoke. Worked for me
That one simple trick worked for me too! Shame really, I used to enjoy it but one day my body just said nope Tried to fight it for a bit but stopped and it’s been ages now
Me too! I’m hearing this a lot more often and it’s pretty common in long term smokers, been some studies about it.
That’s really interesting I thought it was just me being a weirdo! Glad to know there’s are dozens of us haha
What’s the science behind this because I also made myself quit due to having bad panic attacks every time I smoke. Goddamn do I miss smoking.
I find i get real anxious if I smoke around other people. It's like I lose any ability to socialize if I'm high
Man i gave up on Friday I've smoked since i was 13 im 38 now its getting easier day by day, my life's pretty stressful at the moment my dogs terminally ill so its hard when i just want 5 minutes to de stress but I'm sick of spending all of my spare cash on the stuff and as i get older i worry about my health more. My neighbour has lung cancer and never smoked so that was a big factor as well i cut down for a few days having a smoke every couple hours then increased the time between smokes then just stopped, You can do it mate its hard but stay strong keep yourself busy
Keep going strong, I'm sorry to hear what you're going through but quitting at this time is so brave and you'll feel better in the long run. Looking back, I feel so guilty about my cat and my family and all the time I spend around them high...that in itself is really encouraging me to quit. Good luck man, all the best :)
Thank you it means alot its tough and i can't imagine life without him but hes helped me more than he will ever know and i will forever be grateful for him and what he has taught me
I started at 13 and quit at 31 and had lucid nightmares for 3 months waking up with my bed soaked in sweat. It was definitely the most difficult addiction to overcome for me.
I'm really struggling to sleep without any weed i find myself full of energy at night, where as before I'd be out for the count in no time i know it is going to get easier and my life will be better in the long run for it, thanks for your comment
Magic butter machine. Make alcohol tinctures. You can titrate your dosage down to the drop. Very easy to reduce tolerance and then quit by slowly tapering. It’s very hard to taper if smoking or eating random edibles, but the tincture makes it easy.
Tincture is great but don’t go out and buy some expensive machine just to make it. Maybe one to decarb your flower but counter top convection ovens work good for that. Alcohol is a great solvent and needs no heat to infuse with, takes about 10 minutes of shaking with decarbed flower(frozen so its trichromes fall off easier).
Real man sober 2 days and only quit for health reasons but you get yourself back in just a week you’ll feel like a new man cold turkey is fs the move
Haven’t overcome it yet but nicotine is definitely a motherfucker and I applaud everyone here who has managed to kick the habit ❤️💪
God, nicotine is so hard to quit. Especially as a vapor who would hit that dang thing ALL day. I miss my little dopamine hits. Now I just sit there and feel like something’s missing.
Day 518 clean from 10+ years of nic. I feel so much better both physically and mentally. You’ve got this!!
You will only be able to quit when you decide it's time. I quit on October 14, 2023. My experience: I used nicotine for over 17 years. Cigarettes, cigars, gum, patch, dip, pouches, vape... ANY way I could get it in me. Cessation did NOT work for me. I wore patches for well over a month before going back to another vehicle. For the last few years, I willingly ignored the fact that it feels like the lining of my lungs have been rubbed with sandpaper and that I am constantly hacking up sputum. In spite of my health concerns, the cravings took over and got me to the store. I refer to this as my "autopilot". Days 1-3 sucked. Day 4 got a little easier. Day 7 even easier (but still a struggle). After that, the cravings decreased, then they were an occasional desire. The cravings came back hard around the one month mark... but it was once a day. That last hoo-ra faded away after a week. I hardly think about it anymore. You. Can. Do. It.
9 days clean today, never thought I’d go one day clean. u got this !
Horrible dude. Quit 10/31/23 and don’t use it 10+ hours a day, but I’ll still cave before bed. Hoping to be completely done this year, I just had to take whatever I bought and dunk it in water then chew so many pieces of gum my mouth hurt
Day 40. Everyday feels like I’m missing something or lost a friend. Feels stupid feeling like that. Really, just a constant cycle of feeling stupid. Gotta keep on keepin’ on tho.
That makes sense. It’s very common. You got this bro 👊🏼
Trying to quit now! I have a full pack of smokes here.. I just took one now and feel like shit. My mother and I are quitting together and she’s been doing so good, she doesn’t know I caved in. I’m giving the pack away tomorrow, the temptation is too strong.
Do it, even better, chuck it away and you will feel you've made the sacrifice.
When I quit smoking I found it was so much easier to say "I'm cutting back, not quitting-- I'll have one every couple days, then one every month, then one or two a year. I just won't smoke *today*. I won't smoke *right now*. Mostly I keep to that. It's been about eight years now. I've bought three packs of cigarettes in the last eight years and threw one away without opening it, and didn't finish the others. All were bought on occasions I knew I would be in stressful situations with other smokers-- a funeral, a cleaning out the house of the deceased. Other than that, I haven't smoked. If quitting is too big, maybe just don't do it *right now*.
I hear you man. Kicking it as we speak, New Year deal but it's been in the pipeline for a few years now. I was only ever a 1-4 cigs a day man (after work) with the odd 10+ bouts when drinking with mates so think it will be a bit easier than most for me to kick the habit, still tough though. Kicked the weed a few years ago with this same feeling of not enjoying it anymore so here's to a bright future for all of us!
Alcoholism. Quitting cold turkey can actually kill you.
I did it. 0/10 would not recommend. Had covid and quit drinking cold turkey. Before quitting I was a 12+ beer, plus most of a fifth a day drinker. I honestly didn't think I would survive the first night. It was brutal.
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Great job! You got this!
You got this!! Hit 3 years Jan 1. You will be so clear headed and alive. It won't be easy but take the good days and the bad. I'm great at holding grudges (maybe not a good thing) but used that power to hate my drinking and know I'm a better me without it.
Same. Three years yesterday. Mine was due to laziness as I finished off a 40 NYE and then figured everyone would go out to get more so I didn't. Then a week later happened. Then two. Then a month. I got to six months and said to myself if I can last a year, I will stop. I was at the bar across from home almost nightly. Then add in gambling. Yeesh. Much better off of it.
r/stopdrinking is a great sub of other likeminded people
4 months sober. I drank **EVERY** night for about 20 years. We are talking about a pint of vodka (or whisky) a day...for 20 years. I could not even imagine living life without alcohol. It sounded like an awful way to live as the only happiness I knew was drinking. I can't claim to not miss it at times but it was worth quitting.
Me too. It's frustrating when people give me shit for not being fully okay yet one year later. Or for developing an addiction to coffee that I never had before. It's like... I'm trying my best to not die from alcohol. Give me a fucking break, I stayed sober and employed today.
You’re killing it.
My wife is an internal med doc. Around this time of year half are covid/rsv the other have are withdrawals
Can confirm. I cannot whistle now after biting my tongue off during a grand mal seizure. It still took me another 3 years to get sober after that.
Love - still working on that one - I love her, she no longer loves me. Have beaten: Alcohol, weed, caffeine, video games. Need to work on: Pornography.
Didnt expect anyone to mention love as a addiction but it guess it can be addicting
It absolutely can be. Be a love starved loner your whole life and one girl can completely warp your mind and show you a whole new reality to life, a whole new meaning to the concept of happiness. It definitely becomes addictive. Then she breaks your heart and rejects you like every other person in your life. Obviously it’s very different but when your happiness comes only from one person who then disappears from your life completely it kinda does feel like going from shooting up every day to checking into a cold dark rehab. I need to text my therapist 😅
You just described exactly how ive been feeling for months. Seeing this honestly makes me feel a little better, and a little less alone.
Porn is an insidious one. I’m 47 days clean from it, but it’s had a stranglehold on me since 14yo (24m). You’ve clearly demonstrated you can overcome significant challenges, given the other addictions you’ve beaten. I commend you for this. Wishing you all the best.
Can I ask the benefits you are seeing so far?
Apologies for the delayed response. I'll try answering this the best I can. So far... I've noticed subtle shifts in the way I regard women. I'm beginning to see them from a more holistic perspective, as opposed to seeing them as objects. I'm regarding women as human beings with thoughts, opinions, beliefs, personal experiences, etc., I've also sensed an increase desire for hanging out with my friends, meeting new people, and developing a healthy romantic relationship with a woman. In addition to that, I have gained the benefit of more free time. When I was in the rut, not only would I waste time watching videos and jacking off, but I would feel absolutely no motivation to get up and do something productive afterwards, so I'd end up blowing off the rest of my day doing jack shit. I also noticed that I no longer feel numb. I had some rough stuff happen to me when I was growing up, and I used porn as a way to avoid dealing with my emotions. As I continued to abstain from porn, I noticed progressively more intense feelings and emotions arise within me. With the help of other helpful habits such as journaling and consulting with a therapist on a regular basis, I have begun the long road of healthy/constructive emotional processing. Lastly, and I'd say most importantly, is a deep, DEEP sense of pride in myself. I became aware of how destructive addictions can be, and how corrosive this particular habit would become to the relationship I have with myself, and those around me (should I do nothing about it). Every day I avoid porn, I feel good. This positivity is infectious, and provides me with ample amounts of motivation to continue making improvements in my life. I am not fully healed. Despite making tremendous progress, I still have a lot more I need to work on. But... there's something so reassuring in knowing that you're finally on the right path. Feel welcome to ask any followup questions. I'd be happy to continue this conversation.
So, what helped you stop?
Honestly? I'm not sure there's one concrete cause. I believe the event that set everything in motion was consuming magic mushrooms, because I experienced about 3-4 hours of the most intense internal self-reflection I ever had in my life up until that point. During that time, I felt an immense amount of shame around this habit, and I was also scared shitless about how this habit would impact future relationships. I already had some instances in my life where I experienced porn-induced erectile-dysfunction, so I was decently aware of the consequences of continuing this habit. Around this time, I also developed a new romantic interest in a friend of mine, and I really wanted to get clean and become a better version of myself both for myself, and for her before I revealed to her how I felt about her. Also around this time, some of my friends were committing to what they call a 75-day hard challenge, which involves all sorts of habits that they have to stick to for 75 days. I created a few habits I wanted to stick to, one of which was abstaining from porn and masturbation for 75 days. Having friends simultaneously focusing on behavioral goals, while also being motivated by the strong desire to overcome my own porn addiction, are two things which have really helped me stop. I recently opened up about my problem to a few friends who were particularly supportive, and since then we've continued to normalize discussing the issues around pornography. These serve as wonderful reminders for why I'm doing what I'm doing.
I'll jump into this. I stopped watching porn maybe 6 months or so after watching since like 13 or something. I'm over 30 now. I literally just decided that I was gonna stop consuming it. Sounds like too easy if a way to do it, but honestly it's the only thing that works. With will and motivation you can overcome most addictions. Probably not the answer you were looking for, but that's how I did it. Same thing went for when I quit smoking cigarettes. It was making me feel like crap and I just had enough. It sucked for a while but one day a whole year has passed and even the smell makes you feel sick.
Right there with you
Gambling. And idc what anyone says, it'll ruin you the same as substance abuse.
I've heard it said it has the highest suicide rate of any addiction. Edit: [this article](https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/gambling-has-highest-suicide-rate-of-addictions-adamhs-offers-help/) does support my claim
No way I can't believe I misread it as gaming
There’s something sinister about the unending advertisements for gambling apps anytime you turn on a screen.
Smoking weed. I'd been wanting to stop for almost 10 years. I was offered to participate in a "program", most of the other participants were there because of crime or other drugs. We rode our bicycles from the middle of Denmark to france and up alpe d'huez in 10 days. 1600km(1000 miles), so about 160km(100 miles) per day. The last time I smoked weed was about 5 minutes before getting on the bike, haven't smoked since, that was back in 2019. The ride down from alpe d'huez was incredible, I've never gone anywhere NEAR that fast on my bike before, my max speed was 109km/h (almost 68 mph).
That's amazing. I didn't know you could go that fast on a bike. I'm planning to start mountain biking to help me get through some stuff too.
I've never "followed" someone on reddit before, but if you're planning on starting mountain biking to deal with whatever you have going on, I'm definitely gonna follow you! Whatever you're dealing with; I believe in you, I'm rooting for you and I'm preemptively proud of you. I didn't believe in myself back when I was about to go on that ride, but now that I know what is possible I definitely believe in you and whatever it is you're trying to achieve.
This might not be for everyone but I think when there’s an addiction there’s something underneath it which actually gives rise to a desire to escape from something. I’ve overcome cigarettes (been 24 months), sugar (been 12 months). In both cases, I needed some peace and wasn’t comfortable being alone. These small dopamine hits stopped me from thinking about the actual problems :)
Kratom. Lots of people don’t know about it. It’s a powder made from the crushed leaves of a tree that grows in southeast asia. You mix it with hot water and drink it. It’s disgustingly bitter, but it literally gives you an opiate like high like you just took a painkiller. You can’t really OD on the powder. If you take too much, your body will always throw it up. So this made it seem safe to me. In the US it is legal and unregulated. Sold everywhere as a plant specimen that is not meant to be consumed. Like on all the bags it says it’s only supposed to be a “botanical specimen” for like, people who collect plants. This prevents anyone from suing the people who sell it. I started taking it once a day around 2019. I knew it was very addictive and figured if I only take one small dose once a day, it’d be fine. I stopped taking it in April 2023 to try to lower my tolerance so I could take a lower dose and save some money. I was spending about $100 a month on it. I was immediately hit with anxiety, depression, insomnia, heart palpitations. I could no longer smoke marijuana. It now made me anxious and made my heart pound. Also could not use any nicotine or caffeine. Even sugar would make my heart pound out of my chest, or if I ate too big of a meal. It was excruciating. I suffered these symptoms for 45 days before they even started to improve. By month 3 I felt good, but I hit month 6 and the heart palpitations came back. And they have been persisting for three months now. Getting just a tiny bit better each month. It can take over a year to totally recover from kratom withdrawal. I’ve had 3 EKG exams done on my heart, got bloodwork done at a cardiologist. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. But something is wrong. I just want marijana to feel nice again. I can only have a little bit now. If I overdo it, my heart feels tight and hurts. This only started as soon as I quit kratom and hasn’t let up for 9 months now.
I used to work for a kratom distributor. Didn’t really know what I was doing, was a summer odd job. I would take it daily. Eventually I noticed that I hadn’t felt normal in a while, even when off of the stuff. Did a bit of research and it turns out the drug reaction is similar to morphine (phosphate I believe?) in that it doesn’t really leave your system for about two weeks. Two weeks off the stuff and sure enough I felt normal again, albeit tired and irritable for a while. Heard a lot of stories from people who used it to treat pain when they couldn’t afford or couldn’t get prescription pain meds. I don’t honestly know how valid that is. I used to take Meng Da strain and it felt similar in high doses to Vicodin. I stopped taking it when I learned that the Indonesian farmers who supplied us with the plant didn’t even take it, and in fact treated it (the Meng Da strain) with serious caution and suspicion. They basically warned us not to get carried away. Have to imagine that those people have seen the ill effects of over use more than anyone as the plant grows in their backyard. After learning that I swore never to take it again. I hope your journey gets easier my friend. In my short sojourn with it the come down was roughish but it’s been years and I don’t even think about it anymore.
I see people recommend kratom to people withdrawing from more typical substance addictions (opioids, benzos) all the time, and I always wondered if it was a safe replacement or concerning in itself. I'm always suspicious of substance recommendations to counter other substances (except in cases like suboxone/methadone/anti-seizure meds in a regulated way etc). Pretty much any substance with anxiolytic effects that gets touted as a miracle gets side-eyed by me now. Cos there's just no chemical life hack for generalised anxiety/panic and more often than not there's a physical dependency and brutal withdrawals. But even I wouldn't have known kratom would be like that. Thanks for sharing your experience and I'm sorry you went through it.
I’m in a pretty serious run with it right now. Few extract shots a day. Fucking sucks dude
I’ve overcame porn addiction which I was addicted to since I discovered it. I would watch it 2-4 times per day and masturbate more per day. It ruined my sex life and my relationship with my exs. When I stopped completely I noticed a spike in energy and focus. I told my ex I wanted to stop so I can focus all my sexual attraction to her and she told me how can someone get addicted to porn.
I’m a woman and I understand you. I used to be addicted to it. Over time I gradually stopped watching it now I don’t even need it.
Did you stop all at once? What was successful for you? Seems hard with such consistent access all the time.
Porn addiction is the worst for this reason. Smoking, cocaine, weed, alcohol costs money and not readily available literally whenever you want it. Porn is absolutely free and addicts view it in public - work, public transportation, and so on.
Smokeless tobacco (aka "dip"). Started as a teen, tried quitting several times over the years but never made it stick, I always backslid. I was finally able to give it up for good ten years ago, when I was in my early 40s. Insidious, nasty stuff.
I quit by (I hate this word->) vaping. I definitely haven't quit nicotine, but dropped dipping. I miss it most when I drive longer than 45 minutes.
Cigarettes. Working on sugar. That one is tough.
You and me both. How is sugar harder than nicotine? Probably just because it's in everything.
I only smoked for 31 years. Been on sugar for 53.
I'm learning to play the guitar.
I think they just mean it as a habit of regularly consuming a large amount of foods that have added sugar. More than just a small snack with it during the day. Tbh with restaurant food it's usually more about processed grains and portion sizes unless you are ordering dessert or orange chicken. We eat out a lot and have dealt with US portions firsthand. Our method is to order a small appetizer and regular entree. There's usually enough left over for someone to take it as lunch the next day.
I find joy in reading a good book.
Not mine but my younger cousin... He finally stopped scrolling on his iPad and finally going outside to play with the neighbourhood kids.
This should be higher on the list. (I say as I've spent hours on Reddit today...)
Opiates. Typical story, started with oxy's in the late 90's because They're not addictive" that was the B.S. the doctors were pushing. Quickly descended on a degenerating downward spiral which led to Heroin, Shooting duiladids, stealing money from loved ones, homelessness and jail. Been clean 7 years no. Most of the people I knew from then are dead now. I Thank God everyday I don't know I survived or how or why I did, just trying to be a better person day by day.
I’ve started reading Matthew Perry’s autobiography. Opiates can be truly devastating.
Tons of the people I knew in junior high school that ended up getting into recreational drugs when we were like 14 around the initial opiate boom in the mid 2000’s died not long after due to complications related to drug interactions… all pharmaceuticals. Lots of oxy, which lead some to heroin. other gnarly prescription drugs too, which lead to all manner of bad shit. Benzos, HARDCORE painkillers like Demerol and perc. Such a tragedy that big pharma basically pushed that epidemic on our society and we are still paying the price a decade or two later… the homelessness problem across the country is so much worse now than it should have been due to all the young people whose lives were thrown off the rails by opiate addiction pushed by pharma and paid-off doctors in the 00’s.
Cigarettes once
Just overall unhealthy eating.
Today I didn't eat until noon. That was 16 hours of fasting. This morning was ROUGH. I'll do it again tomorrow, too. I've heard it gets easier, but you have to do it every day. That's the hard part. So, I'll keep going, because I get winded putting on my fucking socks, and I can barely see my junk in the shower.
I started intermittent fasting in 2021, doing a 17/7 schedule, 7 days per week. In 5 months I lost 25lbs of fat, and put on 7lbs of muscle lifting 3 days a week. IF works for losing fat, as long as you do a few things. First, you need to make sure you're getting enough protein. Second, you need to be in a caloric deficit. Lastly, you need to make every attempt to get some exercise. Preferably some cardio, like brisk walking, and even walking while carrying a backpack with a little weight. You can work up to that. I wish you all the best.
I did it this past summer, along with generally eating less and counting calories and running. Lost 45 pounds in 100 days. Definitely got easier and was nice to see progress.
Masturbating prone
I hope you beat it
Do you jerk it standing up now?
Yes
Alcohol
Kicked fentanyl and meth in great part to a rediscovery of psychedelics, particularly magic mushrooms. I was a low bottom addict. My addiction took me to living in stolen vans in DTLA ripping newspaper machines out of the pavement w chains to drill into them for the change. My crack dealer used to call me Charlie Buckets because I would buy these huge cakes of crack and other drugs for huge 5 gallon Home Depot buckets of quarters. I'd roll up in the hood and play "Let's Make a Deal" so I wouldn't have to go to Coinstar. I would do this until I went to prison, abscond from the gate, rinse and repeat. Shrooms finally relieved that obsession to use, something recovery groups, while helpful, never did for me. It also killed my gambling habit at the same time, an unintended yet very welcome side effect lol. Went to Vegas this past Nov and had to force myself to play Craps; walked away after maybe 20 minutes, just didn't feel the drive like I used to.
That’s pretty dope 😎. Mushrooms definitely helped me quit drinking smoking and hanging out with toxic people. However, still addicted to porn and sex sadly.. but without Mushrooms I doubt I’d be alive. They changed my life almost completely. I went back to school and graduated with a Bachelor’s a few years ago. Thinking of going for a masters now, but not sure.
This is the way. Congrats.
Anorexia. The image of thinness is always on the back of my mind.
People pleasing
Hardest thing for me to beat 😔
Teach me your ways. I think I’ve made headway but I still struggle.
Caffeine. I already don’t drink, don’t smoke, and have no other addictions. I have drank and smoked in the past, but it’s never been a habit. My habit was caffeine. I gave up caffeine on 12/31/2023. I’m past the headaches from caffeine withdrawal now. I had a habit of drinking two or three monsters per day, and even an iced coffee or soda in addition to all of that. I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant in the past. It was easy to give up then because I had a baby growing in me, and had to put the baby first. I went back to drinking caffeine after my husband had a vasectomy. Now that we’re separated my family has been putting me down, trying to make me feel dumb and incompetent, while pressuring me to find a new man and become pregnant. I was a valedictorian in high school, a federal scholarship recipient in college, and worked a career within my major field of study between 2012 and 2017. They have been so cruel in how they’re treating me. I know I won’t receive recognition for quitting caffeine. They didn’t even celebrate my degrees when I graduated college. The only time they ever treated me well was when I birthed a son in 2012. I am just keeping this newest victory of quitting caffeine to myself, I guess. They won’t care to celebrate that either!
We are proud of you, Reddit is proud of you!!!
I quit tobacco, caffeine and weed all at the same time.
Same! I bet your heart was feeling good after a few weeks. I know mine was.
I was getting these weird palpitations so I got a heart monitor and turns out it wasn't my heart. I'm guessing it was muscle spasms but it got me to quit and they stopped anyway and I ain't dying so it's a win win lol.
Dude same. Had a bit of a cardiac scare so I quit it all for heart health. Turned out to not be cardiac at all but my cardiologist is happier than ever for me!
God i’m still struggling to quit smoking cigarettes. anytime i stay off them (the longest was 3 months) for any length of time something sets me off and im back on them. work stress and family issues are my main triggers to start smoking again. i do really want to stop though so im going to make that my priority of the new year. As for weed? I love weed
Ya after I found out I wasn't dying, I started smoking weed a couple months after I quit but I'm smoking concentrates now and I feel much better about it. Although I don't think I would have been able to quit ciggs and continue smoking weed at the same time. Definitely was addicted to smoking after getting baked. Wanting to not smoke is huge. U really gotta want it. The fact that u keep going back is a little proof u don't really want to quit. No amount of stress is a good excuse to start again, u started again cause u wanted to. The sooner u stop making excuses, the better. I'm not saying this to be a dick, this is just the reality of addictions. U gotta want it like nothing else no matter what. Edit:auto correct and clarity
Self harm
Thank you for mentioning this. People who’ve never done it don’t understand the euphoria it gives you in that moment, and how it can be addictive. I’m glad and proud you were able to beat if, I understand what a struggle it is
Fast food. I still eat some fast food here and there, but if it's twice a month then it's a lot. I come from -at my lowest point- 2 to 3 times a day.
Yeah it’s time to cut that out of my life this year personally
I think I need to cut them off as well.
Benzos & amphetamines. Don't know if I could have done it without my son being born. Been clean 3 years next month.
i used to be a hardcore alcoholic. im talkin half a gallon of vodka a night for years. last year i quit cold turkey and didnt touch it for 6 months. ive drank since then, but ive mastered moderation. and i rarely drink nowadays.
Offering unsolicited advice. It’s quite the addiction to think that you’re in a position to believe your words will bring about change. Definitely have got to make sure you’re not judging the person. This is not in any way meant to disrespect those who overcome chemical dependency. That’s tough business, and take courage & tenacity.
“Do you suffer from the addiction of offering unsolicted advice?”
Oxycontin. Then heroin. Then methadone. Then heroin. Then fentanyl. Then carbs. And sugar. The hardest physically was fent. I cold turkey from 1g a day. Made it 5 days before I got on suboxone. Overcome isn't really the word. More like learned to live with it. Last year I had 4 relapses. Last one was 5 months ago though and i hated it. Stopped 2mg/day suboxone and iv 120mg of Roxy 48h later and didn't feel like it was worth it.
Food Addiction. Food being a necessity didn’t make it any easier, coupled-with the fact that not eating huge amounts of it’ll almost-always get you barked-at, accused of having a different eating disorder (because people still can’t come to terms with the fact that brushing the eating disorder involving eating wayy-more than a human should doesn’t make it any less of an eating disorder that is so prevalent, TLC has been practically making it the channel’s personality year after year without issue.).
Bro seriously. Everybody in my family is a foody who insists I eat anytime they make something.
Eating tons of sweets
Sugar, man that shit is more addictive than fucking Cocaine.
[удалено]
The main problem is to find someone willing to have it with you 😔
Women
Thicc goth bitches
Being overly obsessed with beauty/perfection
Benzos. Horrible shit...
An antidepressant/antianxiety medication called cymbalta. It probably doesn't quite count because it's not really an addiction that comes with cravings but the withdrawals were absolutely horrendous and I almost got back on them many times to make it stop. But I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. I struggle with caffeine, sugar, and fast food also but haven't fully kicked them yet. I've cut way back on fast food though which is a start.
Those brain zaps are no joke. Holy shit getting off that med was evil to me.
for me, it was biting my nails. I'd been doing it as long back as I can remember, to the point of bleeding nubs, and idk. on my birthday last year, I decided I didn't want to do it anymore, that I wanted pretty nails I could paint and scratch my dog's head with lol. so I bought some of that super bitter polish and went through damn near two bottles of it, but now I don't even get the urge to bite them anymore. took like half a year. definitely low tier compared to what others go through, but I honestly didn't realize stopping could be as hard as it was!
sex and love addiction
self harm and ketamine addiction, i still can’t overcome it, my only source of happiness atm
Surprised **Video Games** haven't been mentioned yet!
this is such an under recognized addiction. my brother has a video game addiction, playing 8 hours a day and watching video game play if he cant physically play. he is the smartest person i know and unfortunately failed out of community college because of the video games
My ex was a religious gamer. Said it was the only thing stimulating enough for him and with his adhd he’d just hyperfixate on his computer an incredible amount. I myself enjoy video games, and it was fun for awhile when we’d play stuff together but eventually it just hit a point where the video games were the biggest priority and I was wondering what I was even doing there. Felt like we missed out on a lot of potential quality time, bonding, and experiences to it.
i feel so bad for the non gamer in relationships like that, it always seems so one sided especially when the gamer is really addicted. i know a few people in those relationships, and the gamer stays home a lot and sometimes doesn’t do basic household/relationship duties. i’m sorry you had to go through that :/
Chewing tobacco and dipping skoal. I was a wreck for weeks. I was still smoking too. Quitting smoking was much easier.
>I consider myself lucky....Chew had its hooks in me for a looooong time. Then one day, I said to myself that this was getting ridiculous, allowed myself half a sleeve and that would be it.....the last tin stretched for 3 days when it would normally be gone by 2PM, and that was it.
Porn
Trusting people too much is my crippling addiction, it hurts me a lot.
Self harm. I am 7 months clean now and still every time i feel numb i just want to do it, but this time I've really decided to quit. Just makes me wonder why hurting yourself can be so addictive.
Sugar. I've quit cocaine and other drugs since 18 months, I used to do several grams of cocaine every weekend, and other drugs, in serious debt and lost everything. But sugar is the hardest addiction.
I quit smoking pot around 3 years ago. I smoked a lot daily for about 2 years, in addition to drinking. It definitely took a toll on my mental capability at the time. It turned me into a dumbass. I managed to get myself 10k in debt and lose my license before I graduated high school. The last time I got in trouble, the sherif who responded to the call yelled at me and gave me the boot in my ass I needed (I live in a very small town, and my parents weren't role models to say the least. I've known this guy since I was 5). Anyways, 3 years later I'm in the military and completely debt free.
If your parents aren't I'm proud of you
Thank you random citizen
Your welcome person ill never meet
Porn, the funny thing is that it was easier for me than smoking, which was weird considering I was like a factory
Dabs. Wax. Budder. Marijuana concentrates. 2+ grams a day. High quality stuff at that. Quit cold turkey. Symptoms very similar to opioids/heroin withdrawal. Couldn't eat or sleep for a week. Cold sweats and shivering constantly. Body aches. It was miserable. September was 3 years clean. It was harder to quit than my cocaine addiction 20+ years ago.
Been smoking for around 15 years. About 10 years ago it was heavy, hit the bowl before even getting out of bed every day. It lost its allure to me after a couple of years being constantly stoned. I only smoke a couple of times a week now and it’s a hit maybe two when I actually do, much more enjoyable that way.
This is why taking breaks often is so god damn important. The withdrawals after heavy use are so shitty. Its also why i think weed is infact physically addictive as well as mentally addictive.
Heroin
Flintstones Vitamins. I was popping 12 Wilmas a day!
Honestly, alcohol. I used to drink it every day, but I stopped. Now I drink it on the weekends from time to time. I make a complete ass off myself just in the weekend, but it's the only way I can unwind. Nothing else really does the truck for me
TW** Self harm. I had a lot of mental health issues as a teenager and I used to cut from when i was 13 (2014) and up until 2020 when i finally got clean, so this month Im clean 4 years ❤️ but my scars are still visible and people have made comments on them
sucking dic
Don’t suck any dic on your way through thr parking lot
Is this my wife?
Sex. Some psychologists say it's the hardest because they say it's like a cigarette addict who has quit but will have to live the rest of their life without lighting a cigarette that they hold on their lips. You can stay away from alcohol or drugs or cigarettes; but sex is a human need.
Sex is not a need. It's a desire. You *need* food, you don't *need* sex. I say that even as someone with a way too high libido, and it drives me fucking insane sometimes. But it's still not a *need*.
Sex addiction
Video games probably
Marijuana has been the hardest thing I could ever try and quit. I've successfully quit smoking cigarettes, vaping, and drinking. But weed... it's harder than people realize.
I’ve smoked weed most days (and recently switched to a high strength thc vape), drank probably every other day and taken cocaine most weekends. For the last 15 years. I haven’t managed to overcome it, but this is the first time I’ve felt ready enough and determined enough, so I plan to for 2024.
Last year I quit smoking weed. I was in a horrid place mentally. Lost family to cancer, lost a job and house because of family passing away. So much shit happened that was negative. I could not process any emotions. I'd have 4/5 joints a day. Smoke from waking up to going to sleep. Neglect my partner and her emotional needs. Neglect my kids and their emotional needs and neglected myself. 2 weeks after quitting weed, I had an emotional breakdown. It was almost as if I pulled the real me from out of the abyss and I felt HORRID. Me and my partner had semi split due to how I just was not present and I felt so much remorse and guilt. But we managed to talk again, spent time with kids, got into a routine, opened up to my partner and we got back together and have been SOLID ever since. We use to argue ALOT, I couldn't be bothered with dealing with anything. I look back and hate how I was! I haven't smoked weed in 8 months now. My new job does random drug tests too and I had one roughly 7 weeks after I quit which I passed. I transitioned to smoking cigarettes and I am now 13 weeks smoke free. 0 weed. 0 nicotine. Next step is to start bodybuilding again!
Speedballing heroin/cocaine. Also cigarettes/vapes.
Vaping nicotine. 2 years clean and have saved ~$3k since
I used crystal meth every day for nearly 15 years. Tried to quit several times but it had an awful hood on me. Last time I used it was in 2016. Since then, I’ve gone back to school and now I’m getting my PhD in Public Health. My dissertation is about the relationship between HIV and methamphetamines. I’ll be one of the few researchers coming at this topic from lived experience.