What is the worst habit (addiction you ever tried to break or did break)

I started smoking during my first year in the Navy. Non-filters, to boot. Mainly, just bummed a cigarette now and then. A cigarette and hot cup of coffee kept me awake when we were at sea and I was standing an outside watch in the middle of the night (Mid-Watch). After the Navy, mainly smoked when I went out for a beer. Heck, a pack and a half could last me a week! In the late 80's, when I got involved with rodeo, traded the cigs in for "dip" (Copenhagen). First time I tried it, WOW, talkin about getting a "high" feeling! Went from using Cope, to using Long-Cut Skoal Straight. The Cope was just too flaky and hard to take out of my mouth.

When I met my wife, I was "dipping" Skoal and it didn't bother her. I never kissed her with it in my mouth. In Oct 2005, I started noticing some irritation on my inside lower lip/gum. I was about to get a hip replacement and wife and I decided that I should stop. Again, like smoking, wasn't using that much. Two weeks after buying a new can, would still have half a can left. So, I stopped. Wasn't hard, b/c I didn't use that much. The following April (2006), just before we went fishing, I broke down and bought a can of Skoal Straight. Took it on the boat with us, grabbed a pinch, put inside my lip, BUT, almost immediately, took it out and threw the can away when we got home. That was the total end to my tobacco days! Stopping smoking and "dipping" was easy for me, because I didn't do much of it in the first place.

When my wife met me, she was extremely happy that I didn't smoke because she has some asthma. Her previous husband was a smoker and she had to use an inhaler quite often. Not any more!

Actually, neither of us like being around cigarette or cigar smoke and will avoid it if at all possible.

Well, that's my story.
 

Twixie said:
The worst habit I vanquished was believing a cheating husband..and getting rid of him..:D
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I'm with you- a cheating spouse throw's your psyche into a complete tailspin, it took me ten years to get clear of that!
 

For me it's food. It's a life long problem since I have comforted myself with foot since childhood.

I quit smoking at 25. And I'm so glad I did. Back then, cigarettes were not that expensive and you could smoke in restaurants and at the mall etc.
 
The dreams are scary. I wake up freaking out because I'm convinced the experience was real...I can taste the damn thing. Of course, I don't have the time in you guys have...only 6 months. The only dangerous times are when I've had a few drinks and burning cigarettes are all around. Several cookouts were rough this summer. I feel confident now but I must admit, the preferred method for me would be to limit the smokes to 3-4 per day. I know this is impossible through past experience...just sayin'. I assume many of you tried that approach?
 
Metasegue, Yes, the dreams are scary, a nightmare to be exact, I'm always happy when I awake and realized it was all a dream and I hadn't fallen off the wagon. Most of my early smoking days, I was a light smoker, so a pack lasted me at least 4 days, in my the later years, I was up to a 1/2 pack or more. I do believe they've done something to the tobacco to make it even more addictive as I never graved it as much as I was craving it in more recent years before I quit.

On quitting and how, cutting back wouldn't work for me, doesn't work for me in most things, it's cold turkey or nothing else for others that works, for me if I have one, I will surely make an excuse to keep going. I just focused on all the reasons why lighten up wasn't really a plus in my life. The excuse, it relaxes me, oh really, does it, the anxiety over planning when and where, the smell, the cost, the impositions, feelings sometimes of being a pariah, knowing how it's eating up my oxygen, the fact that I didn't care if I was in the middle of bout of the flue with a hacking cough, I was still going to find a moment to light up. I have some horrid memories of when I worked as a CNA and one of my private duty patients was on oxygen, he would have me turn his oxygen off so he could smoke. I've witnessed this on more than one occasion. And thought I furiously discussed the matter with my supervisors and it was not encourage and this situation was permitted, they felt well, he was terminal anyway and it was his last bit of pleasure he could have in life so be it. This was a long time ago before they toughened up a bit more on the rules and some home-health care agencies were rather lax and really let things slide that they shouldn't have. I worked with a lot of hospice patients, a lot of them where smokers. The hacking coughs with the smokers was heartbreaking to deal with. Yet, there I was smoking on the sidelines myself some years. I did quite during the case with the one on oxygen though.

Ah, just talking about the cigarettes is making me crave. Time to move on to another subject. Don't think I don't get the addiction, I do. I don't have any plans to ever light up again, but like any addict, I never say never, but, once the moment passes, I don't really give it another thought, till I engage in conversations like this or am around a smoker for too long. I wouldn't ever date a smoker, because I know without a doubt, I would cave.
 
Smoking, but I really think it was an addiction rather than a habit. I've gone 25 years now. I had tried everything but could never get through that 48 hour period that can lead to withdrawal. A five day stay in the hospital post surgery did the trick.
 
Sounds more like OCD, but I always had to have my cruiser clean inside and out. I am called a "neatnick" by my kids. My fellow officers would always kid me and I would get gag gifts at Christmas like a sponge or a mini vacuum, or some other weird gift that pertained to cleaning a car. I finally got away from being so particular and went back to just having it washed once per week. I never smoke or drank, so that wasn't an issue.
 
911 said:
Sounds more like OCD, but I always had to have my cruiser clean inside and out. I am called a "neatnick" by my kids. My fellow officers would always kid me and I would get gag gifts at Christmas like a sponge or a mini vacuum, or some other weird gift that pertained to cleaning a car. I finally got away from being so particular and went back to just having it washed once per week. I never smoke or drank, so that wasn't an issue.
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I'm the same..my eyes swivel when someone is messing my house up..I am behind them with a cloth..I can't help it..
 
Had a bad bout of heavy drinking after the death of my husband. Won't bore you with details but I wound up losing my house,staying on a hotel room while awaiting a homeless shelter bed.
I guess it was a suicide attempt because I put away an incredible amount of beer and vodka!
Long story short,wound up hospitalized for acute alcohol intoxication and rehab for my shrunken body and useless muscles,no eating occurred during this just Coors light and Stoli.
Obviously,no smoking in the hospital or nursing home ,didn't see much point in starting

7 years this past May!
 
i quit smoking regular cigarettes 6 months ago---i use e cigarettes- it just has a hint of nicotine -the doctor said that was fine
 
Addition here would be trying to keep my mouth shut when a know it all speaks and don't have a real clue on what they are speaking of, there are not many subjects that I really consider myself knowledgeable but the few I do I speak out and need not to, way too many years in the Army and keeping quite too much then.
 
A few years ago when we traveled by car from New Jersey to see my daughter and family who lived in Oregon at the time, my main problem was sleeping. The hubby snores and I am a very light sleeper. I told our doctor about this and he gave me Ambien. Slept like a baby. Once home I continued to take it for every reason I could come up with. I had a lot of work to do,my knees hurt, the list goes on and on. Now I'm down to just a 1/4 of a tablet. I'm suppose to go to every other night for awhile which I will start tonight. Then hopefully nothing. If I have a problem I will then try melatonin.
 
My worst habit has been wasting precious moments of my life posting on politics on an internet forum.

And so far I'm not having much luck breaking it.
 
I woke up one morning in 1961 and my lung had collapsed during the night. That was the most intense pain I have ever had. It motivated me to quit smoking.

In 1971 the doctor told me to stop drinking coffee, it was irritating my stomach. Have not had any since.

We had to knock off the booze because it didn't play nice with our medications. Sometimes it is tough getting old.

The less we are exposed to cigarette smoke the more offensive it becomes.
 
You see what's in my hand ? Trying to quit was causing too much stress.

It's just the habit of holding and lighting the cigarette. I don't even inhale the smoke. (Don't laugh.)

@ 93, it's the only sin I have left.
 
Gambling. While you are gambling everything else is forgotten.

But it's one of the worst habits because.

You can take an alcoholic away from alcohol. You can take a smoker away from cigarettes. But it's almost impossible to live without money. So you go gambling hoping you will come away with more than you started with.
 
I completely understand, my SIL who had quit after hard core smoking for many years was visiting, I planned to go outdoors so the smoke wouldn't bother her,she pretty much pleaded with me to stay put so she could enjoy the 2nd hand smoke.
She passed a few years later from lung cancer that spread to her brain,same as her brother,my hubby.
 

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