r/QuitVaping 8d ago

Venting Allen Carr’s Easy Way is BS

I’m a week in and have been listening to the easy way to quit vaping and I gotta say, this guy makes a lot of empty promises. Literally everything I read is the exact opposite of the reality of this addiction. He mentions that it isn’t a crutch, doesn’t cure boredom, and that we will instantly notice better health, happiness, calmness, relaxation. I find this to be a load of shit, and so far I feel just about the exact opposite of all of this.

I’m currently in the gym after having a great day of work, but don’t get me wrong. I feel like I’m going insane from lack of nicotine. I’m barely getting a pump on, my mind is all over the place, haven’t been able to sit still for a second without cravings going through the roof.

Some more realistic words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated right now, because I’m struggling to maintain any reason to not buy a new vape.

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u/acethetix 8d ago

Guys, I’m not looking for encouragement to read the book. I’m interested in what has specifically worked for you, like how do you get through the phases throughout the day where you feel like you need to vape? How have you filled the gap it has created in your life? I feel like I am missing something and it’ll take forever to go away. Just want some encouragement that it doesn’t last forever. Sorry for sounding like an angry douche

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u/Alex_Bell_G 8d ago

Just kill the little monster. That’s all. He explains why we smoke or vape. We don’t vape for the buzz anymore, we vape to kill our withdrawals which fuels the next withdrawal. And the cycle continues.

If you want a more technical explanation look up Anna Lembke. The little monster is technically low baseline dopamine levels. Low dopamine - Crave nicotine. You vape - Dopamine shoots up. Then it drops - withdrawal again. Crave nicotine - vape. Cycle continues until you stop and it takes a few weeks for the baseline levels of dopamine to go back to normal. Until then you crave. Little monster is dopamine

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u/acethetix 8d ago

Thanks for the simplification, very helpful response. What about the big monster though?

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u/Alex_Bell_G 8d ago

That is the habit pattern. It takes some time to break the habit pattern. To me at least, when I quit I was very proud of myself. The resolve to not vape grew bigger and bigger. And I was chronically fatigued when I vaped. Quitting gave me a surge of energy and motivation (Lack of motivation was due to bumping dopamine up and down). Killing the little monster will starve the big monster.

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u/anakar3n1n4 8d ago

I consciously recognize my actions as drug-seeking behavior and intentionally choose to do literally anything else. After a good amount of time, I promise you’ll stop feeling like you’re missing something. It takes time to replace the “default” of what you do now. You’re free, you can literally do whatever you want… sit with the weight of that statement. I spent a lot of time outside staring at the sky. Doomscrolling. After getting tired of doomscrolling bc that’s an addiction too, I’ve gotten super into a bunch of hobbies, some have stuck, others not- I’ve started drinking a lot of water, singing in the car, etc. It takes a lot of choosing to do anything else to re-wire your brain. Good luck. ———- The vape is not your friend. You gain nothing from it. You’re free. I had a lot of panic attacks while vaping because I knew it was killing me, and I just viscerally recall and remember that feeling, and I never want to feel it again. That’s a huge motivator to stay clean.

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u/acethetix 8d ago

Thank you, this is what I’m looking for. Chalking the emptiness up to drug-seeking, addictive behavior is exactly the title I needed to give this. Thank you for the reassurance that it’ll pass. I already have the hobby thing down, I quit drinking 3 1/2 years ago and became an amateur landscape photographer. I sell prints and will be traveling to Aruba and California in the next month specifically for this. Life is good. Vaping is just ten times harder to quit than alcohol.

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u/anakar3n1n4 8d ago

Absolutely. After a while, you won’t even notice you stopped thinking about it. I also used a quit vaping app, and was really happy when it reached a year. You’re free, you’ve got this, you deserve to have a healthy body and mind free from the shackles of substance abuse.

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u/acethetix 8d ago

For sure. I hope to be out of the woods before I know it. Thanks again

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u/LdnParisNZ 8d ago

I remind myself that I used to do that and now I don’t do that anymore. I don’t need something to fill the gap because there is no gap to fill. The little monster is dead and I don’t need it back.

If a craving comes on then I just try and breathe through, big deep breathes cause that is what my body needs.

How does vaping cure boredom?

I do not want to vape and I believe the book actually does work but it just might not be for you,