Looking for suggestions to stop vaping
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JamesI started smoking when I was 13 years old. I´m now nearly 36. For the vast vast majority of that time, I have been a 20+ a day smoker.
I did stop for 4 years at one time, using Allen Carr's The Easyway to stop smoking. If you're a regular cigarette smoker, I´d thoroughly recommend that. It has something like a 98% success rate.
I also have the PSTEC Stop Smoking product. I tried to use it. The issue with it is that it is very specifically centred around cigarettes. I have stopped smoking tabacco (and also cannabis, which I essentially smoked my whole adult life too) for around 9 weeks now.
In some ways, it's a great improvement – obviously not smoking weed is a massively positive thing.. and yes, I know there are medical benefits, but overall I do not think it's a beneficial thing, certainly not for me. I can fairly solidly attribute many of the deeper issues I have now on the compounded negative effects of many years with constant THC-effected thinking, as well as all the other life choices I made around when, where, and who it was comfortable to smoke around, etc. Also laziness.
The real underlying issue has been all the REAL issues that I had used it to self-medicate with. And PSTEC is helping massively with those of course.
So, to get to the point: I want to stop vaping. Completely. I want no more nicotine in my life. It's awful. I know I´m addicted to it. I understand the mechanisms of it very well, and addiction in general. I have no illusions that I enjoy the anxiety it brings me, but I´m just straight addicted, and when I've tried to stop in the last couple of months, my other as yet unresolved issues now have no other self-medication to manage them. The walls I´ve built up over the years are being taken down, and I am noticing that, while on general things are improving massively, on the flip side, if I get down, it's a much bigger drop, and I only have food, alcohol, and vaping to “help”.
I know they don't help. It's all interconnected with so many other things, which I´m trying to work on, and doing quite well mostly.
But I just have this addiction, and it controls me. Takes up my time. I just want to stop. So I´m hoping perhaps the community might be able to help me with some suggestions for a plan of action. I have pretty much all of the PSTEC goodies which are not specialised tools. Again, I do have the stop smoking product, but it is specifically talking about cigarettes, and vaping workings in a different way. And honestly, I feel it is a bigger demon. I never woke up in the night wanting to smoke before (well, maybe once or twice in 20 years) – with vaping, it happens fairly frequently.
I am open and welcome all suggestions, although anything around the concept of “gradually reducing the nicotine amount” doesn't make sense for me. Ideally I am hoping that just by writing a bit about it here, some of you wonderful people might be more easily able to pick out some things to work on from reading my words.
Some thoughts / beliefs about it …. I vape because I´m addicted to nicotine, that's factual.
– I like the excuse to get away sometimes, to have time to myself. I often only have time for myself when I´m vaping.
– It used to be a social thing, like “I smoke so I have an instant connection with people, it's a conversation starter” that kind of thing, although now, honestly, I avoid others as much as I can
– There's definitely a connection to “the cool factor”, which I do not actually believe for a second, and I feel it less so about vaping than actual smoking, but it ties in with like a “bad boy” image, which I think I used for a long time as a cover for being different/weird/fucked up… yes, I read that too… clearly I still have that belief going. I also wonder if it is related to self worth – I really don't look after myself very well, I don't have time.
There's probably enough there to get the ball rolling. Thanks to anyone willing to help me out
Daniel WynnI started smoking when I was 13 years old. I´m now nearly 36. For the vast vast majority of that time, I have been a 20+ a day smoker.
I did stop for 4 years at one time, using Allen Carr's The Easyway to stop smoking. If you're a regular cigarette smoker, I´d thoroughly recommend that. It has something like a 98% success rate.
I also have the PSTEC Stop Smoking product. I tried to use it. The issue with it is that it is very specifically centred around cigarettes. I have stopped smoking tabacco (and also cannabis, which I essentially smoked my whole adult life too) for around 9 weeks now.
In some ways, it's a great improvement – obviously not smoking weed is a massively positive thing.. and yes, I know there are medical benefits, but overall I do not think it's a beneficial thing, certainly not for me. I can fairly solidly attribute many of the deeper issues I have now on the compounded negative effects of many years with constant THC-effected thinking, as well as all the other life choices I made around when, where, and who it was comfortable to smoke around, etc. Also laziness.
The real underlying issue has been all the REAL issues that I had used it to self-medicate with. And PSTEC is helping massively with those of course.
So, to get to the point: I want to stop vaping. Completely. I want no more nicotine in my life. It's awful. I know I´m addicted to it. I understand the mechanisms of it very well, and addiction in general. I have no illusions that I enjoy the anxiety it brings me, but I´m just straight addicted, and when I've tried to stop in the last couple of months, my other as yet unresolved issues now have no other self-medication to manage them. The walls I´ve built up over the years are being taken down, and I am noticing that, while on general things are improving massively, on the flip side, if I get down, it's a much bigger drop, and I only have food, alcohol, and vaping to “help”.
I know they don't help. It's all interconnected with so many other things, which I´m trying to work on, and doing quite well mostly.
But I just have this addiction, and it controls me. Takes up my time. I just want to stop. So I´m hoping perhaps the community might be able to help me with some suggestions for a plan of action. I have pretty much all of the PSTEC goodies which are not specialised tools. Again, I do have the stop smoking product, but it is specifically talking about cigarettes, and vaping workings in a different way. And honestly, I feel it is a bigger demon. I never woke up in the night wanting to smoke before (well, maybe once or twice in 20 years) – with vaping, it happens fairly frequently.
I am open and welcome all suggestions, although anything around the concept of “gradually reducing the nicotine amount” doesn't make sense for me. Ideally I am hoping that just by writing a bit about it here, some of you wonderful people might be more easily able to pick out some things to work on from reading my words.
Some thoughts / beliefs about it …. I vape because I´m addicted to nicotine, that's factual.
– I like the excuse to get away sometimes, to have time to myself. I often only have time for myself when I´m vaping.
– It used to be a social thing, like “I smoke so I have an instant connection with people, it's a conversation starter” that kind of thing, although now, honestly, I avoid others as much as I can
– There's definitely a connection to “the cool factor”, which I do not actually believe for a second, and I feel it less so about vaping than actual smoking, but it ties in with like a “bad boy” image, which I think I used for a long time as a cover for being different/weird/fucked up… yes, I read that too… clearly I still have that belief going. I also wonder if it is related to self worth – I really don't look after myself very well, I don't have time.
There's probably enough there to get the ball rolling. Thanks to anyone willing to help me out
Hi James
Good move on quitting. I also smoked weed regularly. I quit weed a long time ago, then i switched ciggies for vaping a good few years back. Then i quit vaping. I can't say exactly how long its been now, but I'm thinking it must be coming up to a year now.
Firstly, i get what you mean. Its geared towards smoking in particular. Thing is, its all really the same thing. If vaping didn't exist you would say you are addicted to cigarettes right? Even though you are addicted to vaping now, you were once addicted to smoking. And, if the option of vaping was taken away from you, smoking would seem more accessible in your mind.
I actually found that when i cleared my vaping habbit, smoking seemed somehow more relevant to me. I then cleared my hang up around smoking. Memories started arising of when i first started, so i cleared them out too. Its all linked. I would recommend clearing any excitement around vape gear. That was a big one for me. I really liked getting new mods, and tanks , juice etc.
I found that when i cleared out my addiction bad habits would arise, i kept biting my lips. Bitting my fingernails to nothing lol. My mind felt a little overwhelmed and i felt exposed, and at times i wasn't thinking straight. The best thing is, without that crutch of smoking/vaping i HAD to feel. So i managed to clear issues i had otherwise suppressed/avoided with vaping.
All in all, its more beneficial then you could realise to give up, especially with tools like pstec. I would say take your time with it, just begin clearing issues around wanting to vape. Have your set up in front of you, and run the click track on wanting to vape. Any associations you might have around certain times you vape.
I would clear the feeling of no control. Being at the mercy of vaping, and the dependency you have around it.
Also what's it going to be like without it? No more excuse to get away or escape certain situation, how would that feel? Click track it.
Maybe positive on.
“Vaping isn't cool now I'm cool without it now”
“I'm just a straight up cool geezer without that vape now”
You don't necessarily have to reduce nicotine. Just dependency on vaping/smoking itself.
Let us know how your getting on!!
JamesIts geared towards smoking in particular. Thing is, its all really the same thing. If vaping didn't exist you would say you are addicted to cigarettes right? Even though you are addicted to vaping now, you were once addicted to smoking. And, if the option of vaping was taken away from you, smoking would seem more accessible in your mind.
Good point, while it is the nicotine that I´m addicted to, that's actually just like a starter-motor for the psychological addiction/dependency.
Its all linked. I would recommend clearing any excitement around vape gear. That was a big one for me. I really liked getting new mods, and tanks , juice etc.
That hit home more than I thought!
The best thing is, without that crutch of smoking/vaping i HAD to feel. So i managed to clear issues i had otherwise suppressed/avoided with vaping.
That's exactly what I´ve been noticing after clearing and working on things – maybe part of the problem is the sub trying to protect me from what I´m avoiding. But #### that, I´m going after it all
Have your set up in front of you, and run the click track on wanting to vape. Any associations you might have around certain times you vape.
I would clear the feeling of no control. Being at the mercy of vaping, and the dependency you have around it.
Also what's it going to be like without it? No more excuse to get away or escape certain situation, how would that feel? Click track it.
Those 3 points were great:
-having the mod + juice in front of me I think will help a lot for running the CT. That one line was the gold in an already very helpful response – thank you!
-the control thing is a big one for me, related to a lot more than vaping for sure
-that last one terrifies me… so clearly work to do there also
Maybe positive on.
“Vaping isn't cool now I'm cool without it now”
“I'm just a straight up cool geezer without that vape now”
Nice suggestions, and man it's been a long time since I heard someone drop “geezer”… reminds me of home and that I miss England… sometimes!
Thanks so much for your feedback and suggestions mate, I really appreciate them and your time.
I´m going to work through your suggestions and whatever related things come up this weekend, and update after that.
I can't wait to be free, omg…
Paul McCabeHi James and Clearingman,
Thanks for your posts.
I really appreciate you taking the time to map that out for James, Clearingman. You know how to tackle this, so thanks for being so gracious.
James, please update us on your progress. Allen Carr's books are full of really good reframes so, if you still have his book, you could also run some of those suggestions through PQT. You could modify them to meet your needs.
You might also wish to a Belief Blaster on these type of beliefs:
“I was an addict” (purpose: to remove this from the “identity level”)
“Getting rid of one addiction meant I had to take up another”
“Being free of addictions was impossible”
“Vaping kept me calm”Then you can use PQT for other suggestions like:
“I can now easily quit things that do not benefit me”
“It is absolutely safe to be free of all addictions”
“I now find healthy ways to be calm and at ease”
“It makes absolute sense to be a healthy non-smoker now”In any case, I am very confident you can smash this, James.
Please keep the thread updated with your progress and any questions you have.
All the best,
Paul
Paul McCabe – PSTEC Master Practitioner
http://www.lifestyleforchange.com
Please contact me anytime if you want any assistance in utilising PSTEC to help you live a life of tremendous freedom & possibility.
Recreate yourself with PSTEC.
Skype, Zoom, in-person & phone sessions available…
James- Hi Paul,
thank you so much for your input and suggestions here – very very helpful and very much appreciated!
I did not respond sooner because I was somewhat “in the trenches” with my overall PSTEC journey and life – you can read the latest about that here: http://pstecforum.com/pf/miscellaneous-and-other-topics/forum-case-study-avoidant-personality-disorder-apd/15/
There you will see that I took SOME your suggestions (as they resonated with me), specifically:
- “I was an addict”
- “Getting rid of one addiction meant I took up another”
- “Being free from addictions was impossible”
- CT bad stuff
- Remove bad beliefs
- Install good beliefs
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As I noted in the linked forum post, I seem to have resistance to doing things myself/for myself… and in particular around using the PQT. I see the value of the PQT suggestions you made, I want to do them… I just don't/haven't yet.
I think part of it comes down to the idea that I´ve read/heard from Tim and Jeff and others about the best/ideal way to do things being:
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I know this is the ideal, and that probably it's fine to do it in other ways. But I have PAGES AND PAGES of bad feelings/events/situations/memories to work through, and even more PAGES of beliefs to get rid of…
With regards to stopping smoking – I´m done. Vaping too. I am absolute about that. I do need to follow Clearingman's excellent suggestions around “vaping being cool” and that side of things… and again, it comes back to the same thing, essentially – that I need permission and guidance.
Any thoughts/suggestions on being able to do this myself, without permission/guidance? I love the guidance of course, but it the NEED for it that is slowing me down and hurting me.
Thank you so much for your help.
James.
Paul McCabeHi James,
Thanks for posting.
I will respond separately to your other posts.
You're absolutely correct that the standard protocol is to CT first, then clear the beliefs and install positive suggestions.
However, such is the power of the newer PSTEC tracks (BB and PQT) and suggestion itself, there are times when just using these can change the pattern.
Well-crafted and powerful suggestions can bypass the critical factor, and can dramatically alter behaviour and feelings.
For instance, one of the suggestions you may have given yourself is that “change takes a long time” or “there is a mountain to climb.” You could clear the emotions linked to that, or simply “unsuggest” this via BB and PQT.
A belief you may wish to clear is “I couldn't trust myself to do what was needed” and then you could layer in “I can absolutely trust myself to resolve all my issues”
Then…just systematically go through the suggestions in the thread (as pertains to vaping).
Paul
Paul McCabe – PSTEC Master Practitioner
http://www.lifestyleforchange.com
Please contact me anytime if you want any assistance in utilising PSTEC to help you live a life of tremendous freedom & possibility.
Recreate yourself with PSTEC.
Skype, Zoom, in-person & phone sessions available…
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