Breaking Addiction

[October Knight]

Have you ever had to break an addiction? It doesn't have to be a serious one, but anything that held a grip on your life that you successfully broke free of. It could be a bad habit or a drug, or even destructive behavior.

I am wondering because I am currently trying to get off the caffeine and its tough! I have become to dependent on having it in the mornings to the point where I can't function without it, I don't like that. Even though its just coffee, I still hate the feeling like something has control over me.

Anyways.

What was your addiction?

What methods did you use to break it?

 

[Lunatic AI]

Yes. I found it really helpful to swap out the addictive practice with something else. When I was trying to get off coffee I first switched to caffinated tea, that way I didn't have to suffer the caffine withdrawls. Then I started trying different teas till I found a less caffinated one I liked and switched to that, then a non caffinated one and switched to that, usually doing the switch at month intervals.

 

[xmelesiox]

The two hardest addictions for me to break were coffee and cigarettes. I'm back to both! But coffee isn't a morning thing anymore.

The best tactic for breaking the morning coffee habit is to find something else that wakes you up first thing. Get something to eat and take a shower worked for me. The second process to this is find an alternate caffiene source to use late morning wether it be tea or soda. If you don't, you're going to find the caffiene headache to be a serious pain in your side.

Nicotine, oh lovely vile nicotine. Using chantix was cheating, but it worked. The last time I quit was all about breaking the oral fixation. I bought these large mint flavor tooth picks that were great. Also, candy cigarettes worked wonderful as well.

I'll spare you the details of the narcotic addiction breaking. But i'm 2 years sober if anybody does need advice.

 

[October Knight]

@TZS - Yea, I am trying to ween myself off with tea in the mornings.

@ xmelesiox - Yea dude. I smoke too. I have quit a few times the longest was for about a year. Coffee is my #1 goal right now, as petty as that sounds, lmao. I am just sick of drinking 3 cups (At least) in the morning just to get to "Normal".

 

[xmelesiox]

Well for me, eating really helped because I don't ever feel like coffee after I eat. But if I drink coffee first, I don't eat for a while.

If you drink your coffee with sugar and creamer, stop. The bitter taste might drive you away.

 

[October Knight]

^^^ Yea, that is a good idea, might try drinking it black.

 

[Fel of the Eternal Forest]

Considering that I've never really ever craved weed, I can't call that a conquered addiction. I've often quit smoking cigarettes for a few days at a time, but I haven't gotten over the three day hump. ever.

 

[Hydronine]

I was addicted to a couple things:

I was a horrid drinker (Started when I was twelve) and it was reinforced when shit hit the fan two years later. I would grab ANYTHING with a wee bit of alcohol and drink it. I needed it. I wanted it in me. I wanted to stop thinking. I kept trying to stop. It was horrid and it was awfully hard. I finally just found that it was driving away the people I loved, and also it was getting me into bad situations. I still drink, but I've recovered enough where I can control it. Regardless, though, I have "Babysitting" when I drink. Someone's always with me. Just in case. I still love my scotch though. Mmmmm....

Dermatillamania: Basically a nervous habit of picking at imperfections in the skin when stressed. Had it even when I was ittybitty. I finally stopped this year. It's a long, involved story, I'll save you the details and say that if you ever have this, it's a BITCH to stop.

I was also addicted to Guarana when I was up in Ohio last year. That's the shit that people put in energy drinks. It was my version of coffee. I literally was so rattled every time I tried to quit it. The way my friends helped me stop, was a binge drank it for a day and had a MASSIVE crash. Since then, I have never even wanted to look at the shit.

 

[Cosmic Orion]

I was once addicted to cheesesticks.

It went beyond snacks.

Had to go cold turkey.

But every once in a while I still have one I admit.

With months inbetween.

 

[Ampoule]

I was once addicted to love.

It was horrible...You FEEL horrible!

Your lights are on, but you're not home...

Your mind is not your own.

Your heart sweats, your body shakes

Another kiss is what it takes

You can't sleep, you can't eat

There's no doubt, you're in deep

Your throat is tight, you can't breathe

Another kiss is all you need.

You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love.


...but then I just decided to tell my mom about it...but then she got scared and said I was moving in with my aunt and uncle in Bel-Air. I got mad though and packed my stuff, opened the door, got on the floor & everybody walk the dinosaur.

 

[Arsenal XA4]

Coffee. I got into it hard when my work center decided upon a Port and Starboard watch bill for Duty VLS.

Twenty four hours on, twenty four hours off.

As coffee left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I started to crash hard two thirds of the way through I switched over to green tea, which worked oh so much better.

And no, green tea didn't become my new addiction.

 

[October Knight]

^^^ Yea, I have switched to tea as well, but it seems like I am going through it like I was the coffee.. The only good thing is I don't feel as wired when i drink tea, so I crave it less in the mornings.

 

[marius]

i still smoke alot and still love my whiskey, but the hardest thing for my to break was narcotics. never hit the hard stuff but the psychological addition to the shrooms, acid and PCP-laced weed was a trip and a half (lol). was a pot head for 6 years did shrooms and 'cid for about that long so it was pretty well in-grained in my system. stopped cold turkey Jan 3 2009 right before i enlisted and haven't turned back though let me tell you weed still smells delicious and every time oe of my boys offers me a hit of something the temptation is out of this friggin world.

@xmelesiox: congrats on the two years, going on a year and 10 months in october.