Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

If you have had experience with many, then being at to rate

x > y

would be awesome.

Here are some I was thinking
- Drinking
- Smoking
- Gambling
- Abuse
- Drugs
- Cheating
- Video Games
- Etc

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Sex > Masturbation > Porn > Poker > Internet > Chocolate > Candy

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Never used illegal drugs, and I hardly ever drink, so i don't really have a basis forcomparison. But, man, these cigarettes are tough. I've tried just about every quitting aid on the market.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Internet/Computers > everything

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

The worst addictions to break are those that share the end result of metabolic need. These include heroin, alcohol, and (I think barbituates). The common trend is drugs which provide a deep back-brain sedation.

For example, heavy alcoholics develop "brew shakes" or delerium tremens; these symptoms are treated via librium in the detox setting. However, lack of treatement purportedly can result in death.

Nicotine addiction is up there too; I've heard heroin addicts claim that kicking junk is easier than cigarettes. They often laugh when saying this, however.

Metabolic need addictions are more difficult to kick than psychological need addictions. Cocaine, gambling, marijuana, sex, etc. fall into this category. That is not to say that these addictions are easy to kick, but rather to clarify that metabolic need is much more severe than psychological need.

Based on what I've seen it's dope, alcohol, barbituates, nicotine which are the most difficult to kick. I've never understood the crack-using public's affinity to crack, but this is probably the most psychologically addicting substance on the bleeek market.

This is just an anecdotal instance.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Cigarettes, it still seems like a miracle to me that after ten years of heavy smoking and many failed attempts to quit; I finally succeeded in quitting. (more then 20 years a non-smoker and still very happy about that)

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]
Could you tell which addictions you've kicked?

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

MMORPG games(everquest, youch) cigs, alcohol and marijuanna......the last two because of legal troubles and probation(9 months didnt use during trials, then couldnt use because of probation)

and plz dont tell me it doesnt count unless you never pick it up again because i FULLY intend to smoke again when im off probation.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Religion > Prescription downers > Meth > Cigarettes > Alcohol > Caffeine > 2+2 > Weed > Collecting things (audio gear, comic books, sports memorabilia, also encompasses video games like EQ,UO,WoW) > Gambling > Video games > Soap operas (WWE, NFL, MLB)

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]
Could you tell which addictions you've kicked?

[/ QUOTE ]

The weak minded comment is completely false. Many addicts of the threads description are brilliant people in one regard or another. We all know addicts who are very talented in their own way. Often people throw so much of themselves into one area of life that other areas result in troubles or addictions.

On the other hand, so-called "strong minded" people might be accused of being one dimensional, perhaps boring, in their addiction free lives.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I could never say that video games are more addicting than drugs, but seriously.. there are some games out there, like a lot of MMORPGS that are REALLY addicting, like wow and everquest. It might suprise some people just how hooked people can get with their video games

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]
Could you tell which addictions you've kicked?

[/ QUOTE ]

The weak minded comment is completely false. Many addicts of the threads description are brilliant people in one regard or another. We all know addicts who are very talented in their own way. Often people throw so much of themselves into one area of life that other areas result in troubles or addictions.

On the other hand, so-called "strong minded" people might be accused of being one dimensional, perhaps boring, in their addiction free lives.

[/ QUOTE ]

I understand what you are coming from, but honestly it is true: having a strong will can overcome everything. I wrestled my whole life which developed my mentality. My family has acloholism on both sides,and I went to a college known across the country for the ridiculous amounts of booze in the town. It was everywhere, and I joined a frat to so I got on the fast track. I was full blown addicted for quite a while until one day I just said no I can't do this I will end up like my grandpa and die at 38. So now i drink a few drinks (less than 5) once, if that, a week. Now severe, 25 year alcoholics will die if they quit cold turkey but still it does matter how much will power you have more than any drug or aid.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

It is always easier for me to quit something if I have a impartial person to be accountable to, i.e. friend of family, someone I don't necessarily see on a daily basis but talk to about once a week or so. To that end, I think groups really do work wonders, at least for me. I have kicked alcohol (fairly easily) and never was much into drugs, but I am still addicted to nicotine. Porn and sex addiction kind of go hand in hand (no pun intended) but I don't see sex as a bad thing, it is actually healthy when practiced safely, so no concerns there. Poker appeals not to the gamble in me but to the desire to make money, and lots of it, so I don't feel my...obsession?...with poker is necessarily a bad thing, either. I strive to learn all I can, not about how I play, as I feel I may have reached my peak, but to learn more about how my opponents play and adjust to their styles. I think this is one of the main things that will improve your psychological game. Also, I have some strange addiction to spicy food, I don't know what that's about, but no problems there either, and as a bonus it clears my sinuses.

Probably the worst addiction is to nicotine. I must quit those smokes but, as all smokers say: I'll get around to it one of these days. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I'd rate my addictions in difficulty to kick in this order:

Internet poker
I've been heavily addicted for two years. Haven't been able to quit despite

* losing a job
* dropping out of my PhD programme
* having to move back to my parents; having them threaten to disown me; lieing to them constantly.
* losing friends / dignity / self-respect
* messing up my finances

and just being aware that each week I lose all the money I earn, and that poker has expanded to fill the space of all the interests I've lost, and my life sucks. Yet I still get excited when I'm on a winning streak, even though I know I'll play on till I've lost it all, or lose it another day. When I was livng at home my parents made me go to GA each week but that did no good since I didn't want to quit. I know I am a good player a lot of the time; but I also know my tendency to tilt means I'll never hold on to my winnings, and my love of big stakes means I'll always play above my head and never have a bankroll, so I'll always go bust.

I can easily go a week or two without playing a hand of poker, but that's when I'm broke. That doesn't mean I'm not an addict; I'm an addict because I can't go a day when there's money in my bank account without playing.

Internet p0rn
Whoah this is a big one; there's just so much of it out there, and if you know where to look for free. It's definitely held me back from trying to meet and get laid with real girls. I've wasted so much time jacking off online. I've never tried to quit it, though there have been periods - like now - wheere I don't have a computer at home so it's very limited.

With a computer at home, basically I find it hard to go to bed before about 3am on a workday since I'll stay up surfing for p0rn and poker. Weekends I often stay up all night. So not having a computer at home is the best step.

Alcohol
I gave this up for 22 months between 2003 and 2005, for the first six months with AA. The first month was very hard - I had got to a very bad state with alcohol, lots of blackouts, throwing up etc, so going sober I found myself tearful, frightened, scared of social occassions etc. But it got easier and easier; my life got better and better. Not drinking just became normality for me. When I started drinking again (nearly two years ago) I found I no longer had the desire to drink in the way or to the extent I had done in the past. Alcohol hasn't been a problem for me since; I don't drink much at all. I'm sure this is because poker took its place.

Cigarettes
I smoked 15+ a day for nearly four years. I quit two weeks ago, after reading an Allen Carr book and for the first week using nicotine patches. The last eight days I've been cold turkey, but re-reading Carr a lot. I really have no desire to smoke any more; I feel I've been reprogrammed and I just don't want to smoke. I can see why Carr's approach is by far the best: it ruins smoking for you, shows you that you don't get anything from it.

Caffeine
I drank around two litres of diet coke a day for ten years - either endless cans, or a big bottle. I stopped that and switched over to coffee, then tea. I've given it up sporadically. At the moment I've been about a month off caffeine. I feel much better for it - those endless cups of tea are no good for my nerves.

I guess getting over any of these things is about telling yourself that you feel okay, you feel normal, without a particular substance.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I'm pretty sure I posted in this thread, it has just vanished [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

Computer is definitely the most addictive thing of all. I can go for endless time without computer if I have something better to do but how often do I have? Pretty much never.

To me it's Computer > Alcohol > Caffeine.
I love to drink but I need to moderate.. you know what happens if you don't [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I can't compare across genres like that, but I've seen studies done about which drugs are hardest to quit. Heroine and nicotine are the hardest (H #1 and nicotine #2), and are the only drugs with recidivism rates >90%. Everything else is a distant second.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Oxygen. No one has ever quit that [censored] in their lifetime.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Never used illegal drugs, and I hardly ever drink, so i don't really have a basis forcomparison. But, man, these cigarettes are tough. I've tried just about every quitting aid on the market.

[/ QUOTE ]

Read alan carr's book "the easyway to stop smoking"

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

cigarettes are the hardest to quit.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]

you obviously dont know much about heroin.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Smoking. Don't even get started, you'll dream about smoking 20 years later.

Drugs I don't understand. In the 70s we all took speed and it wasn't even addictive and now suddenly it is. What, there is some magical addictive component in brake fluid? Don't think so. They could quit if they wanted to, they'd just rather spend all your money first.



[ QUOTE ]
If you have had experience with many, then being at to rate

x > y

would be awesome.

Here are some I was thinking
- Drinking
- Smoking
- Gambling
- Abuse
- Drugs
- Cheating
- Video Games
- Etc

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Women.

And glue...that is tough.

Oh...using the stapler on my thigh...that's a nasty one.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Toughest Addiction? Food.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia.
These people really believe food is not required to live.
Just sunlight.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I heard this great quote from somebody who worked in the rehab wing of a hospital:

If somebody is coming in for heroin withdrawal, they book a bed for three days.

If somebody is coming in for alcohol withdrawal, they book a bed for one week.

If somebody is coming in for Valium withdrawal, they book a bed for three weeks and equip it with restraints.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree completly.

Although I think this "addiction" term is thrown around far too loosely.

I don't really believe in it in general. I mean, addicted to gambling? People say I'm addicted to gambling because I play poker, but really, would they sey Kobe Bryant is addicted to basketball? (Insert Russian name here) is addicted to Chess?

I enjoy gambling, just like the next guy enjoys chess, and the next guy enjoys alcohol, the next enjoys ciggarettes, and the next enjoys basketball.

You can stop doing anything if you have strong will power.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

What everyone has failed to mention so far in this discussion is the difference between THINGS which are addicting by nature, and PEOPLE who have addictive tendencies. People can say what they like about 'anyone can give up anything with willpower' and actually, I agree, but you have to realise that some people find it harder than others, due to their genetic makeup and personal background. Personally, I've given up weed (it took two years) and alcohol (it took a year). I now drink again; I don't do it every day but still, when I do, I feel the need to do it to excess. From my experiences so far, I think it's likely those kind of feelings will be with me for the rest of my life. I hope people can try and empathise a little before jumping in with judgemental opinons.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Cigarettes for sure. I just got my dividend check from MO.

They have been coming quarterly forever.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Coke > Everything else.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Toughest Addiction? Food.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inedia.
These people really believe food is not required to live.
Just sunlight.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good Read, thanks.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

The answer to OP's question has been answered by everyone in the thread. It's obviously different for everyone.

Cigarettes for me was much easier than I thought. I had smoked over a pack a day for 13 years. When I found out my son was on the way I decided that I would quit soon so he wouldn't have to live around it and with hopes that I would be able to spend time with him as an adult w/o having to carry around an oxygen tank with me. One day I got sick ( regualr flu stuff) and was unable to smoke due to a sore throat, went a whole day w/o one and never looked back. I spent the first few days a little nervous but chewed a lot of gum and stayed out of bars and all was well. January was three years and haven't had a drag. I have had dreams that I slipped up and have gotten real shitfaced and thought maybe it was possible but it is unlikely that I have. I don;t jones for smokes at all or really since the first few weeks have even a craving for one. That was easy.

My MMORPG was very hard and seemed pretty ridiculous to me that I couldn't stop but w/e. I ended up quitting a job over EQ my grades were [censored], lol was terrible over a stupid video game. To this day this is no doubt the hardest, I have to force myself to stay away from all video game sections, websites, stores, etc. I always knwo if I ever slip into a deep depression this will be the first one to come back no doubt, especailly if I have a lot of free time. Both of those habits have one thing in common in that I truly realized I needed to stop or bad things would happen. Weed is another issue in that I am in complete denial of it being a bad thing. I have no intent on quitting any time soon same goes with poker. I still ahve a ways to go with addictions but they can be beaten, as long as I challnge myself to do it. I really didn't mean to ramble on like this. When I do this sort of thing I usually just delete the entire post, probably will do it to this one too.

Oh yea, caffeine was a pretty dumb thing to not be able to quit but w/e I have dropped back to like maybe one or two caffeinated (sp?) bevs a day instead of a dozen so thats a small victory I suppose.

I recognize I will possibly do many of these things again in the future, but the smoking addiction I truly do appreciate how important quitting that was, when I see someone I care about smoking I truly get a little sad in a not teh gay kind of way. I only give my "you should quit that [censored]" blurb about once a month and only to the people I don't want to die sooner than later. It's only a one sentence speech and they don't want to hear it but w/e.

lol sorry for all that , funny thing is I am certified to teach Middle school English, I just don'ty give a [censored].

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

I've lurked 2+2 very heavily till this precise moment for two years, first tried cocaine when i was sixteen ten years ago and continued using it during the past five years let's say once a month; lots of my friend are pretty hooked and are doing coke more than they should and they continue doing it regardless they don't like it that much already (i never liked it very much and unly used mainly it when working as a dj just for therapeutic use to boost up in small doses), did extasy for the past eight years, y also did a lot of other drugs (i've tried a lot of them, like twenty more, but wont mencion everyone because i dont want to be a propagandist), smoked cigarettes from 13 years old to 23 years old, drunk a lot of alcohol, dated hookers once a week for a year, played tons of poker a week for some months.... Im also addicted to spicy food, its just like not sipcy food is flavourless and theres even some booze related to high amounts of chile habanero. The worst addiction y ever faced is marihuana, no doubt about it, the only withdrawl i ever felt is marihuana withdrawl, and a very hevy one, of course is not even close to the one it would be felt because of alcohol, cocaine, etc... but those drugs never hooked me as marihuana did, maybe that was an election i did before getting adicted, im a vey adictive person, and i get hooked on anything in a bad extent, but then get bored... so that has been my worst one, there are a lot of recent studied that affirm that THC creates some kind of strong physical adiction.

I think, however, that adictions are something very, very subjective.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

The addiction to government is the hardest to quit.

Or maybe the addiction to the news is hardest to quit.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

[ QUOTE ]
they are all easy to kick if you arent weak minded

[/ QUOTE ]
QFT

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Drinking bleach was tough to put down.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

The third day of quitting smoking is by far the hardest day you can imagine.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

Cigarettes: they're legal, sold everywhere, you can't get around them, and the method--inhalation--is so much better than every other means of getting a nicotine fix. It took me 6 tries to quit.

Re: Addictions - What is hardest one to quit?
 

there's a difference between addiction and psychological dependence......

vid games/internet/poker are psychological, while things you use are actually changing the chemistry of your body (thus they are the hardest)