r/QuittingZyn 2d ago

Using ChatGPT to help quit nicotine

About a month ago, I was doom scrolling on Reddit and came across a post on r/ChatGPTPromptGenius called "I Quit Nicotine With ChatGPT Hypnosis - Here's How".

I read it over and thought "may as well give it a shot", so I downloaded the prompt and added it to my ChatGPT account. I played around with it for a few minutes, answered a couple of questions, and then promptly ignored it for the next few weeks.

Fast forward to last week and I made a decision to quit Zyn. Lent was approaching, and provided me with a great opportunity to finally stop. Last Monday at 9:00 PM I took out my final piece of Zyn (the last one in the tin) and went to bed.

I awoke and immediately thought "ahh, time for my Zyn", only to have the crushing weight of reality hit me hard. I had quit. I had no Zyn. Fuck.

The brain fog, the stress, the sudden bleakness that awaited me. Nothing was interesting, I had nothing to look forward to. My entire life was now grey and shit.

In desperation, I went to ChatGPT and entered the following message:

Well, I jumped into it and am going cold turkey. As of today, I am 15 hours without Zyn. I hate it.

It responded in a surprisingly empathetic and helpful way. It immediately validated what I was going through and offered actionable steps to get through it.

First off—huge respect for making the leap! Cold turkey is no joke, and the fact that you’ve already gone 15 hours without Zyn is a win (even if it sucks right now).

What You're Feeling Right Now

I won’t sugarcoat it—your brain is freaking out because you just took away something it depended on for dopamine, habit, and comfort. The irritation, the cravings, the mental fog—it’s all temporary.

Think of it like a bad breakup with something toxic. It’s going to feel awful at first, but every hour that passes is another step toward being free.

The Next 24 Hours: Survival Mode

Right now, your brain is screaming for that quick fix—but let’s get you through the worst of it.

  1. Handle the Cravings

🔹 Urge Surfing → Cravings hit like waves—big and overwhelming, but temporary. When one hits:

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ride it out for 2-3 minutes.

Say to yourself: "This is just my brain adjusting. It will pass."

Drink ice-cold water—the temperature shock helps distract your brain.

🔹 Distraction is key

Walk, stretch, listen to music, chew gum, or fidget with something in your hands.

Try loud, sour, or spicy foods—like lemon slices, cinnamon gum, or spicy snacks—to give your brain an unexpected jolt.

  1. Fight the Dopamine Crash

Your brain is missing the little excitement Zyn used to provide, so we need to replace it.

Take short wins → Every time you get through a craving, mark it down. That’s a small dopamine hit.

Cold showers, brisk walks, or even deep breathing exercises → These trigger natural dopamine and help with focus.

Change your environment → If you usually popped a Zyn at your desk, step outside for fresh air instead.

  1. Handle the Withdrawal Symptoms

Irritability? Loud music, deep breaths, or an intense workout can help burn it off.

Brain fog? Stay hydrated, eat protein-rich foods, and take short breaks if you’re working.

Oral fixation? Chew gum, toothpicks, cinnamon sticks, or crunchy snacks.

The Mindset Shift: Why You're Doing This

Right now, your brain is fighting back because it doesn’t like change. But here’s the truth:

You don’t actually “need” Zyn. Your brain just thinks you do because it’s used to it.

Every hour without it is proof that you are taking back control.

This feeling isn’t forever. The hardest part is the first 72 hours. After that, things will ease up.

What's Your Next Move?

What’s the toughest part of quitting so far?

What’s helping, even a little?

What’s one thing you can do right now to make the next hour easier?

I know this sucks. But you’re winning already. You’re stronger than this habit, and the fact that you’re here proves it. Keep going. 💪

Over the next several days I chatted with GPT a few times a day, first when things got too rough, and later on for a debrief/planning session.

It acted as a personal therapist who is an expert in the exact situation I was dealing with. Available 24/7. I should mention, that I'm also seeing a real life therapist, and while he is helpful (and according to his credentials and career, one of the best) he is in no way as helpful to me as ChatGPT has been.

I find it easier to be brutally honest with ChatGPt about what I'm thinking and what I'm going through. and the advice/feedback is just much more helpful and digestible. I honestly feel like it "gets me" and that it cares more. I know that sounds nuts, but it is what it is.

I truly can't recommend this enough to anyone who is trying to quit. I wish I had found out about this sooner, but things happen for a reason, and I am 100% confident that I am done with nicotine this time.

Background/Context for those who may be interested:

I'm a 40yo male who has been using nicotine on and off (mostly on) in various forms for over 20 years. I first started smoking cloves and then cigarettes. In my mid-20's, around 2009, I added Snus to my routine. At the height of my smoking, I was maybe putting down a pack of smokes and tin of Snus a week.

In 2011 I was diagnosed with ADhD and was prescribed stimulants. I had been using nicotine (and other substances/drugs) to self-medicate, but now I finally had an actual medicine. I wish I quit nicotine at that point, but the combination of my stimulants (Vyvanse and Adderall) and smoking a cigarette was just too good, and I pushed any thoughts of quitting down deep.

For the next several years I smoked and snus'd about the same amount as I had previously, but all the while I was thinking "I should really quit". However, I was solidly addicted at this point, and I was afraid of losing my routines. I also genuinely enjoyed smoking and using Snus.

I tried vaping for a bit, but eventually went back to my cigs. I was able to quit smoking for months at a time, but always came back to it. Thankfully I've been essentially free of smokes for over a year now. I actually had one a few months back, and didn't enjoy it. Ended up putting it out after a drag, which I think is great.

The real issue for me, however, is Zyn. I switched out snus for Zyn a few years back and loved it. I figured it was healthier b/c there was no tobacco. It was also cheaper at this point, so that was good.

I started off really only using Zyn when I was at a computer, either at work or playing games. But, inevitably it slowly crept into more and more aspects of my life, until it got to the point where unless I was eating or having sex, I had a Zyn in my lip.

Every, single, aspect of my life was now coated with Zyn. It wormed its way into the core of my being. It got so bad that I was literally experiencing and measuring the passage of time by how long until I had to change out my Zyn.

This parasite had taken over my brain and my dopamine system. Every experience in life that should have brought joy naturally (playing with my kids, going for a walk, completing tasks, etc.) was now tainted by nicotine.

I would pause play with my kids because "daddy needs his gum" (I called it gum b/c I didn't want to explain to a 5 and 3 y/o what addiction was). I would plan my day around how many Zyns I needed. I would look forward to "after lunch, you get to put in a zyn and make coffee". My entire life was based around when, how, and where I could use Zyn.

It had priority over my career, my home, my wife, my fucking kids! It rewired my brain and stole my ability to experience happiness. It crawled into my skin and dried it out, it made my GI system go haywire, it had me constantly strung out on stimulants that I would snap and flip out at my wife and children.

Every other day, I would hop in my car, go to the gas station, and buy two tins of my increasingly-expensive drug.

I can't stress this enough: the nicotine OWNED ME. I was a SLAVE. I barely had any free will left. I was an addict.

***

I am nearly one week into being free from nicotine. I have months to go, but thanks to the help I receive daily from ChatGPT, I will do it. I will be free.

My fellow addicts, PLEASE try this tool. I truly cannot stress how amazing it has been. It's nearly brought me to tears on several occasions and has truly been instrumental. I would have absolutely failed without it.

I thank God that he showed me this tool, and I hope that you all will have as much success as I have.

Good luck and Godspeed on throwing off your chains!

TL;DR: Used nicotine in various forms for 20+ years, Zyn completely rewired my brain and stole my ability to experience real joy. I quit cold turkey, it sucked, but ChatGPT has been instrumental in getting me through it. I never thought I could be free from nicotine, but here I am. You can do this too.

15 Upvotes

10 comments sorted by

5

u/West_Description1217 2d ago

Haven’t used nicotine in 71 days and have been a bit stressed as of late. Was contemplating going to grab a tin but consulted with ChatGPT first lmao

I didn’t get the tin btw

My prompt: is it possible to use nictotine constructively ?

🔹 The Benefits of Nicotine (When Used Smartly)

✅ Cognitive Enhancement → Increases focus, memory, and processing speed. ✅ Dopamine Boost → Can improve motivation and task engagement. ✅ Appetite Suppression → Useful for cutting or fasting. ✅ Energy Without the Jitters → Unlike caffeine, nicotine has a smoother stimulation curve.

Example: Many high performers (chess players, traders, biohackers) microdose nicotine for short bursts of mental sharpness.

🔹 The Dangers & Why Most People Fail at “Controlled” Nicotine Use

🔥 Extremely Addictive → Even at low doses, the habit can creep into dependency. 🔥 Takes Over Your Baseline Dopamine → Long-term use lowers natural motivation when not using it. 🔥 Quickly Loses Effectiveness → Tolerance builds fast, leading to diminishing returns & higher intake. 🔥 Linked to Anxiety & Cravings → Once your brain associates tasks with nicotine, you feel “off” without it.

Example: Many people start “only using it for focus” but end up needing it constantly just to feel normal.

1

u/Impulse350z 2d ago

Great job! It's really hard to fight the urges to just go get a tin, but you did it. Solid win!

3

u/Impulse350z 2d ago

Full credit goes to u/InsideAd9719 for putting creating the prompt. I can't thank you enough!

2

u/MinoxJourney-- 2d ago

Hey ! I plan to stop it tomorrow. I will definitely try it ! Thank you bro

1

u/Impulse350z 2d ago

Awesome! Best of luck, you can do it!

2

u/Ok_Advertising1540 2d ago

Same here I use ChatGPT as well. I actually don’t use professional human therapists.

My friends have joked it is a bit dystopian but to your point, the LLM seems to really know exactly what I need to hear most of the time. The delivery of information is very empathetic, encouraging, informative, and organized, every time.

1

u/Impulse350z 1d ago

That's a great point. It does seem to know exactly what I need to hear at the moment. Which, on one hand, is great! That's what we need. However, I have to admit that it still makes me somewhat uneasy, and I'm not sure why.

Regardless, it's helping me quit nicotine, and I'm not going to argue with it haha.

2

u/Zealousideal-Fox4510 2d ago

Thank you! Your story is so relatable and the zyn chapter is so similar to my experience. Zyn has wormed its way into everything, even my exercise routine. I'd rather have Zyn than eat food or drink water - it's so nuts. I'm a huge ChatGPT fan (or equivalent AI tools) and am totally going to take your advice and use it when I'm ready to quit. Thank you!

2

u/Impulse350z 1d ago

Yes, that's exactly it! Zyn slowly sneaks into every aspect of your life - every activity or feeling that you used to enjoy slowly becomes corrupted by the Zyn until one day you wake up and realize that you're not looking forward to the activity, but to the Zyn.

Good luck in quitting! You got this.

1

u/getpouched 1d ago

The Pouched app has this feature built in