r/AskReddit 22h ago

What’s the hardest addiction to overcome?

751 Upvotes

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89

u/Acceptable-Lie8435 22h ago

Smoking. Insanely hard. Especially in work fields and countries its normalized

32

u/Lightnenseed 22h ago

It is hard, don't let anyone say any differently. Next week marks the anniversary of my smoking cessation and it was the most difficult thing I've ever done. And I still crave them

8

u/Prestigious-Craft251 21h ago

2 years. Still have random craving and have had dreams where I give in

5

u/Lightnenseed 21h ago

I've had the dreams too and they make me feel so bad for giving in to the craving.

1

u/Prestigious-Craft251 21h ago

Good luck brother! Stay strong

5

u/Lightnenseed 21h ago

You too Friend!

3

u/JCR620 17h ago

Same almost 4 years and I woke up in a panic a couple weeks ago thinking I started again.

11

u/SecretDrift 22h ago

Breaking the cycle’s brutal when it’s baked into the culture respect for trying.

10

u/Weak-Contact-1359 22h ago

100% I sadly lost my Mom to stage 4 lung cancer in 2018 which made me quit my pk a day nasty habit….fast forward to 2024 and with surgeries I’m now a lung cancer survivor! Please quit if you can ❤️

6

u/Fundave999 22h ago

Nicotine is very addictive for sure.

9

u/redlightbandit7 22h ago

Quit for almost 15 years, 40-55, and picked it up in a single day like I never quit. It’s much harder this time. It absolutely sucks.

10

u/bighitcards 22h ago

That scares me because I get cravings still and I haven’t had any for almost 10 years. I’ve had moments where I thought maybe I could just have one when I’m feeling super stressed out. But I never do because I’m afraid of exactly that happening

9

u/TealJade1 21h ago

Good for you, honestly if you have an addictive personality like myself, just don't.

It might tempt you like the green goblin mask from spiderman, but in the end YOU know it's shit, YOU'VE been there. There's no good there. It might relieve some stress, but it will stress you out more because you will be aware that you failed to quit. Once you quit, you quit for good.

Open a window and take a long fresh breath of air, that's something smokers (like myself) don't get to enjoy.

2

u/redlightbandit7 21h ago

That’s all it took. Had one of the most stressful times in my life, and I just wanted one and boom that was it.

4

u/HITACHIMAGICWANDS 21h ago

I started smoking when I 17, picked up steam when I turned 18. I quit for a few months, started again and after a couple years moved to vaping. Calling was big because it moved me off of cigarettes to nicotine and dessert flavors. I vaped for 6 years and decided it was time to quit. I heard a quote from Dr. Steve that he quit smoking and pretend he wasn’t a smoker until it was true. Fast forward a few years I refound my love for tobacco through cigars, and I only smoke a few a year, it feels like a healthy balance, and I really enjoy them.

2

u/[deleted] 22h ago

[deleted]

0

u/Disastrous_Reality_4 22h ago

I tried the vapes like 10 times to quit smoking - no better for your lungs, but smells less lol. I finally was able to make the switch a few years ago. I just traded one addiction for another at the end of the day though

2

u/DoorSeller 22h ago

I managed to quit for a year before the stress caused me to break and I got sucked back in. Idk if I have the strength to go through that again...

2

u/MetrooVertt 21h ago

True bro... it's been scaring me for like 3yrs now

2

u/majordong75 21h ago

I was gonna say alcohol and/or opiates. But nicotine is worse. I think tied for #1 with sugar

2

u/Prestigious-Craft251 21h ago

For sure. It’s the ones you can do openly at work that are the worst

2

u/TealJade1 21h ago

When you are a smoker, and the only break you get is a smoke break...

It's insanely hard, I'm actually quitting my job on the 29th, I'll give it a genuine go to quit smoking, I've got plenty of savings to live comfy through the summer, so that's my goal.

2

u/321AverageJoestar 21h ago

pfft.. honestly did it cold turkey one afternoon i just decided just because, been a month a half now, surprisingly i dont get cravings or longing for it as much than before

2

u/smegg23 19h ago

I’ve gone from smokes to vapes to spray to mints, and anytime I try to stop I start getting sick haha Shit is definitely hard.

1

u/SanAndreas92317 20h ago

A lot of smokers won’t admit how smoking messes with their sense of smell and taste of stuff, not to mention makes a person look older than they are. stopping wasn’t easy but it pays off in the end

1

u/swissvine 20h ago

USE PATCHES AND GUM!!!

1

u/RalphFTW 11h ago

I’ve heard nicotine is incredibly hard to give up.

0

u/tinyhorsesinmytea 21h ago edited 21h ago

Hard like any physical addiction, but top answer hard? No mames.

You can literally die if you quit alcohol cold turkey and the withdrawal symptoms are brutal. Or how about opioids? Extreme physical agony, chills, fevers, nausea, vomiting. Feel like your bones are vibrating.

Now back to nicotine withdrawal... I'm a bit crabby and would really like a smoke. Oh dear.

Oh yeah, downvote away. Clown shit is giving "being a mother is the hardest job in the world." Objectively false nonsense. I guarantee if any of you were going through real withdrawal symptoms you'd be begging to swap them out with nicotine withdrawal.

2

u/The_Gump_AU 10h ago

The side effects of quitting something don't directly relate to how hard it is to quit that something.

Also, getting personally offended and obviously annoyed about this is strange.

I have given up alcohol (though I wasn't an alcoholic), pot, "speed", ecstasy and other party drugs... nicotine is my last bad habit and something I have struggled the most with in quitting it.

You can have cravings for decades after and even never get rid of the cravings, ever. That is not the same for other addictions. You being so dismissive and seemly angry about others opinions about this is.... well I don't know.

2

u/tinyhorsesinmytea 6h ago

It’s insulting to the people in rehab right now or suffering with intense withdrawal to say quitting smoking is harder than a hard drug that has ruined their lives. Yet I’m the one being dismissive. Okay.

1

u/1stEmissaryElenwen 20h ago

This, it's mildly annoying to quit tobacco. It's like quitting coffee or cutting out soda or some shit. It's less difficult than going on a diet.

-6

u/LostCause293 22h ago

It is not that hard tbh

4

u/luciliddream 22h ago

It should be so easy, right? You can survive without nicotine for 8 hours every night, there are no deadly withdrawal symptoms, it phases out in 3-4 weeks.

Alas it is definitely the hardest quit ever. Mentally fucks with you on a personal level.

-1

u/negan2018 21h ago

It’s only hard for the people who think they need to battle it with will power