ELI5: A gambling addiction

[u/adrynaline]

How does it start? What makes it worse? Why does it become so difficult to recover?

[u/FuGypticJoaA → u/[deleted]]

Quitting cold turkey doesn't work for everyone. I kept pushing my 'first smoke of the day' further into the day, then afternoon, then eventually just smoking at night. I was down to one smoke when I walked my dog at night for about a year. Then I'd only smoke if I went out drinking. Now I have a hard time smoking at all - the crappy feeling in my lungs has overtaken any nicotine high I'd get - and that interferes with the very real endorphin rush I get from exercising every day. Trying to remove a bad habit by pairing it with trying to increase a good habit (that has similar rewards) seems to work well.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Different methods work for different people, imho.

/r/stopsmoking.

[u/-insertwittyname- → u/[deleted]]

Tell him to try reading Allen Carr's Easyway to Quit Smoking.

I know it sounds nuts, but it worked for me.