I love to hear smoking success stories! I quit before the age of vaping, which was maybe helpful because I really had to deal with the oral fixation stuff right away. I used the patch for 6 weeks, and followed all of the instructions. I tapered off and there it was, DONE! 11 1/2 years now! To this day I don’t have any…

Congratulations on quitting! Keep it up! I found that at the year point, my cravings almost stopped completely. I’ve been quit now for 11 1/2 years! Yay!

This is effective analysis and good thinking, but when our options are between Donald Trump’s circus sideshow and Clinton part deux, there’s really only one logical choice. The real challenge is to attack the system through grass roots activism and to transcend presidential politics. We definitely need more than a…

Even Jersey Mike’s is better than this shit!

You are my personal hero. I’ve only ever done a xanax on a plane for a panic attack, but I will drink as much as they will let me have when I can. I have never been an asshole or overtly drunk. I have been ready to accept death.

Spot on, man... And I still get carded for booze on occasion. It’s the fact that I worked at a Fortune 500 company for 13 years. I should have been job hopping like every other greedy weasel. Live and learn! Seriously though, why the fuck isn’t there a proper union for graphic artists? Everyone thinks that they’re…

Yep. Whatever smoke horseshit people are selling about this “recovery”, I was making like $60k and now I’m working part-time on a winery farm for $10 an hour in a hot field, WHEN THEY HAVE WORK. Fuck this country. My resumé and portfolio are A+. I guess this country just wants millenials.

South Bend, Indiana. I had to suffer through that town for like 20 years. It did however bring us: the Oliver plow, Junior Walker and the All-Stars, “sneaky” Pete Kleinow, the humbucking pick-up, Lisa Germano, and the Hummer (original military version).

Thanks for that. And don’t worry, it’s not square one. Every day of progress is a bit of the puzzle solved. We are humans, and we will have set-backs. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just set some new goals and get the support you need to achieve them! <3

Amy Housewine, I <3 U!

That is a general rule, but not always true. Also, as a former professional in the field of substance abuse, I always try to dissuade the term “alcoholic” because it has no official or medical meaning. It’s a buzzword. The preferred nomenclature is substance use disorder. Each person’s struggle is unique. And, we each…

Two techniques I’ve used to slow it down: Virgin vodka sodas with lime, and filling dark colored beer bottles with water. Ten drinks a week is more than the average person? Ruh roh!

STIGMA! Nothing is better than getting condescended to for your drinking while the person is smoking a cigarette. Also, we will all die, just hopefully we’ll be able to meet our human growth needs while we’re still here.

Ha! I was like, “two drinks is the recommended limit?” Are they smoking crack? Come meet my Slovakian family, LOL!

I’m a person who’s “had it all” and is now sitting barren. I’ve blamed a lot of things, but a big big piece of it for me is that I just let it all go. Just lost the script. Wasted away too many days in anger. Need to get clear-headed.

Aw, c’mon. Now that’s just Judgey Mcjudgerson. You don’t know a thing about this person.

You can drink! It’s practically a human right in this country, thank goodness! But you don’t have to. And sometimes it’s more fun not to (I say as I’m currently drinking alcohol to try to fall asleep with insomnia).

As much as my inner curmudgeon wants to say “screw you” to anyone who has a problem with my drinking, I will admit that I’ve almost always felt better during the periods of time when I’ve abstained. I have to remember that. Keep following that inner voice!

I fully support virgin vodka sodas and lime. It looks the same and tastes almost identical. No-one will know the difference. It has helped me quit for long stretches of time.

THIS. I’m actively drinking heavily. Sometimes very heavily. I was sent to rehab against my will as a teen for smoking marijuana and having emotional problems. A lot of the tenets of AA were actually the INVERSE of what I needed at that point in my life. The “powerless” thing is kind of an ego-deflation device, and my…