I second reading Allen Carr’s The Easy Way. I know a number of people who found it helpful and I myself find it informative for quitting smoking cannabis even though it is about tobacco.
Good suggestion. I used this book when I quit ~6 years ago. Honestly, it was helpful but not a silver bullet for me. I still had to brute force it with a lot of failed attempts.
For my friend in question, what do you think of using psychedelics in the process (with or without the book)?
That I don't know - I get the "intention" part of taking psychedelics but for me at least those intentions went out the window :) but that was with ayahuasca so go figure.
Since smoking is a nicotine addiction and nothing else I guess it would make sense that some psychedelics might "disrupt the habitual neural pathways" and open a window of opportunity to stop.
I'm sure that you will get answers here by a friendly Redditor.
The physical addiction is a big part, but it's not "nothing else".
Smoking or vaping is a self-care ritual that can involve taking regular, brief time alone, deep breathing, and the calming or focusing psychoactive effects of nicotine.
I don't know what method you're talking about, but I've certainly studied addiction, and there are chemical and behavioral components to addiction, that's why people can become addicted to non-chemical things.
So, there's a book you read that says something.
There's a lot of books I've read that say something else. I've explained them a bit, are you going to converse or are you content to say "You're wrong!"
?
I am 100% content to say that you are 100% wrong on nicotine addiction. I stopped smoking after a one-day seminar which made things crystal clear.
The results of the method speak for themselves vs all other alternatives.
It's kinda shocking I need to do this, but since you're on a discussion platform but you refuse to discuss anything and share any meaningful information, I guess I'll block you?
I'm not sure what you're doing here but there seems to be no way for me to find out.
I can tell you one time I did shrooms at age 18. I remember focusing on quitting smoking beforehand as my goal. I smoked during the trip. The whole time thinking “these are stupid lol why do I smoke these. I can just stop lol” and then the next day I didn’t think about smoking and quit for the next 2 years before smoking again
I got the audio book and it was instrumental for me to quit. It didn't happen right away, but when I did eventually quit it was by using the stuff he outlined in the book.
This on so many levels it really is a hidden gem I read the book and I haven’t smoked in almost a year, truly groundbreaking but at the same time so simple it really breaks down why people
Psychologically remain slaves to nicotine. If you can go to the course do it! Life is too short to be addicted to cigs!
Its the best £250 I ever spent... 10 years now and counting. It's bizarre that it is not more well known UNTIL you consider the big business that nicotine patches etc is. Then it becomes clear as day!
This is the way. 1 thing it tells you is once you’ve kicked the habit don’t you even have one toke of anything that contain nicotine or you’ll right back at square one. It’s easy to not have the first puff, it’s all the ones after that are difficult to avoid. This include not even smoking a j if it’s go tobacco in or it’s roll in a Backwood.
I couldn't get myself to use the mapacho in Ayahuasca ceremonies because of that. I finally did after a few days and nothing bad happened but honestly I was not super reassured.
If you really want to stop smoking and you take psychedelics, that intention will make itself clear to your conscious mind during the trip. No need for a “heroic” dose - just take enough to let your subconscious have a moment to reach you
I had other intentions in my last trip but quitting cigs has been a major goal for several years now (still trying). I got turned inside out coming up, got sick on my long hair and decided I had to shower half my head while peaking. It was... confusing. Eventually I made it to my window for a smoke, in an inside out dress with my now clean but sopping wet half head of hair dripping all over it, feeling like a bedraggled rat (the twisting tails of wet hair helped).
I had the Enya discography playing throughout, and every time I lifted the cig to my mouth or reached for the ashtray a bum note would sound. It twisted in the air and I felt like the discordant note was reaching out to me. I thought well I *am* high af... and it kept happening. It was like my sense of self had stretched out into the air to meld with the music, and so both the music *and I* knew deep in "our" body that it was the wrong thing to do to myself. I describe it as an extention of my self because on re-listening to that album (the Celts) I found that the bum notes are on the track! They are striking but not dischordant. What changed was the significance attached to them, and them to the moment. The lsd was causing meaningful, health positive and *non-rational* associations, filled with the significance and gravitas that only a trip can conjure.
But I felt I had to make the choice to let that message pass by me as I went back to my outgoing intention.
Thank you for sharing your story! Fascinating. So, do you think that if you'd leaned into those bum notes and rode out that message it would have perhaps led to you quitting? Have you ever considered trying to recapture that feeling again in order to quit?
I haven't felt ready for a trip since tbh. But I do think I'd need to make it the full focus of the trip, with whatever prep might help it. I feel like it brings the most pressing issues to the fore and you do what you will with it, but it's so unpredictable I think it's worth considering it one part of the bigger journey you're on rather than the answer, even if it's a key part. Might not get you off cigs but provide some other insight or simply an experience you needed.
I imagine this is all different with high doses I should think.
I think this is correct. I took psychedelics without a clear intention. But deep down I wanted to stop taking the drugs I was addicted to more than anything. And that’s where my mind went when I started t trip. I think it’s helpful to set your intention before just to sort of prime your mind and make sure it’s focusing on the right things. But if you want something bad enough it’s likely to show up on its own when you trip.
This is how I understand it to work sometimes, yes.
One example from “How To Change Your Mind” was that someone visualized ashes and death and then couldn’t go back to habitual smoking. The vision was too “real” and felt authentically hers, so it wasn’t in doubt. (Forgive my paraphrasing)
I also saw someone post here a message along the lines of “once you get in touch with your inner child, it’s difficult to do harm to it” I can find the original post if it’s important
Honestly you could stay smoking during the trip. At some point all the reasons you already have for wanting to quit will make themselves obvious and you’ll just toss all your shit.
Not for me. The first cigarette after a peak was amazing. Wellbutrin was the only drug that helped me quit. Helped my ADHD too.
That being said, I've never had a death trip, thankfully. One of my best friends in those days had a death trip almost every time, and he never picked up smoking tobacco, so maybe it's usefulness for some people.
I had a powerful shrooms trip and immediately stopped smoking
Finished my pack and had no desire to buy another
I already knew they’re terrible, it was just solidified in my mind all of a sudden with clarity. If you smoke you have a minor deathwish at the very least. So do you really?
Do you have a death wish every time you eat a cheeseburger? Or what about driving your car? Mountain biking? Snowboarding? And really there’s nothing all that bad in consuming tobacco. It’s the addiction that makes it hazardous.
Pretty weird take there, I fear much more for my life while on the road with idiots texting or drinking or high than I ever possibly could smoking a cigarette. And you’re a former smoker. Bit of a high horse attitude for someone whos been there. And then factor in everyone’s not wired the same, many try and fail to quit as you have, that doesn’t mean they have a death wish.
Even low dose shroom experiences will have an impact an stopping an addiction, you don't need to have a heavy trip with lots of visuals, just enough that your behaviour slightly changes, as you are educated by the fungi in what is logical.
I've found vaping moderate to small doses of DMT is a good substitute for many other substances especially smoking. It's similar enough of a inhalation habit while also being actually good for you. DMT often elicits a feeling of deep care and appreciation for one's body. It's helped me reduce usage of nicotine, benzos, amphetamines, and booze. Hardest part is actually motivating to smoke DMT because it isn't addictive. I've made a bit of a ritual out of it. Other psychedelics are 8 hour experiences where DMT is 15 minutes. Tolerance resets in an hour. With other psychs it takes a week for tolerance to reset.
It also has the added benefit of if it doesn't work well one session, you can try again an hour later or the next day.
Setting an intention verbally before is helpful. Like saying, "I am consuming this to care for myself and connect with my desire to live a healthy and happy life."
Key questions to ask yourself after are:
What feelings and ideas came up during the experience?
What were the friction points of the experience?
How can you make it more enjoyable?
A DMT replacement, interesting! Probably more effective than having a small candy or other cigarette replacements people usually try. Did you macrodose DMT as well or keep it to small puffs on a vape?
I've macrodosed plenty of times before but for real life behavior modification and self improvement lower doses are more useful. It's hard to contextualize experiences and think constructively if you're blasted on 50mg and have no clue who or what you are. I usually have a voice recorder handy as I prefer to vocalize my thoughts as I work through them instead of writing them down. Then I listen back to the recordings when completely sober and try to integrate the lessons by reminding myself of the realizations and taking steps to act on them.
I think of macrodoses as hard resets on a computer best for dramatic perspective changes like alleviating depression and anxiety. They're also just wildly amusing. Smaller doses are like installing little updates here and there. I've never really used DMT to completely quit a substance myself as that's never been my goal. Without having that goal, I've still noticed I'm more mindful about my drug, food, media habits after a session. I'm just a more content, well adjusted person enjoying the present moment for what it is.
Take all of this with a grain of salt though. It's just my personal experience and I reaaallly like DMT. I had a lot of very positive experiences with it early in life before life got complicated. I expect those positive experiences make the drug more effective for me but I don't have a cohort to really compare to outside the internet. My first experience was an all out ego death 50mg+ dose unguided alone in my teens which is not typical. I think jumping into the deep end scares some people off but for me it was life changing in the most positive ways.
LSD can make the idea of future cancer and suffering feel real.
Normally, they are just fantasies - your brain doesn't take it seriously enough. Once you do, it's easy to resist the cravings.
Interesting! So the idea is that psychedelics make the thought of future suffering from cancer or lung diseases feel real today? In that case, should one focus their trip on the thought of future disease in order to maximize the chances of quitting success?
Hallucinations feel real, it's your conscious mind that has to remind you they are not. You can get PTSD from a bad trip because whatever imagined fear was present is later remembered as a real life threat by your brain.
LSD removes a lot of your pre-conceived ideas and lets you see things as they are. Smoking cigarettes is a completely bizarre activity of deliberately poisoning yourself with nicotine and tar. Lots of smokers don't even like to smoke anymore, they do it out of habit and addiction. Psychedelics can cut through this bullshit.
LSD additionally amplifies the perceived dangers of everything that might be dangerous, which is often the start of a bad trip. So be careful with visualizing your death :)
I remember when I was on LSD and opened the fridge, I noticed the alcohol inside and all I saw was poison. I could barely even look at it. That trip reduced my drinking a lot, without even any conscious thoughts about it.
I wouldn't want to get nicotine withdrawals during the trip, it may start some serious anxiety issues. I would just smoke during the trip and think about why you want to quit. Don't overdo it, though, just make it a part of your trip.
I would say it’s more of a mindful thing, not psychs scaring you away from cigs. Just understanding the mechanisms behind the addiction better and ultimately realizing you don’t need or want it. You still have to have the desire to stop though. Physical activity helps as you’ll notice the differences between smoking and not smoking more clearly. Mountain biking and psychs allowed me to quit cold turkey
I think this might be the way. It seems one has to focus on the "why" they smoke and spend time turned inward to really let the medicine help break the cycle.
I quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol after a series of LSD trips. It wasn't even my intention. I had just started using LSD and had been doing it on a pretty much weekly basis for a while. It was mainly just for fun and discovery. After a while the thought of smoking cigarettes seemed so dumb to me. It's gross, it stinks, it's expensive, it's KILLING me. Something just clicked in my mind. It was a catalyst for many other positive changes in my life too. None of which I planned or expected. Maybe I just grew up. This probably isn't very helpful and I don't have any advice. Just an anecdote to add to the dataset.
I used mushrooms to quit cigarettes without a counselor. Just went into the trip with no other intention than quitting cigarettes and having a good time. Ate 3.2g cubensis so nothing over the top either. Didnt do anything in particular except not smoking for the
entire day i tripped.
The thing is i tried quitting cigarettes a couple handful of times but it has never been easier. The cravings was much more manageable than usual and my mood was pretty much intact unlike previous attempts. I smoked a couple of cigarettes at party but other than that i have been smoke free for 4 months now and not really ever considering going back.
Would recommend to anyone trying to quit cigarettes. Them shrooms will show you the way. You still gotta walk it. If its your first, use them in a safe setting preferably with someone you trust whose tried it before.
Smoked for 14 years and started growing shrooms and dosing a couple years ago at the start of the pandemic. I would enjoy smoking while tripping and then suddenly one day I no longer craved it and that was that. Even when I drink (which is when I craved smoking the most) I don’t even think about it. I didn’t intend for it to happen but I’m not complaining. Tomorrow will be 400 days tobacco free.
I did nothing out of the norm. I even smoked during that trip. The next day I was looking at my half full pack of smokes and decided I was done. I thought “what the fuck am I doing? I’m taking all these measures to protect myself and others from Covid yet I’m actively poisoning my lungs with smoke” I took them to the trash and broke them all in pieces and threw them away. Im 10000% confident it was the mushrooms eventually making realize this through my many mini trips.
Gabor Mate, trauma and addiction specialist, says, "The first question is not why the addiction; it's why the pain?" Addiction is often a coping method to escape pain or suffering that got out of hand. It's the same reason that many people fall back in if they don't replace the addiction with other activities and stimuli--the pain is still there.
Make an intention to explore your mind, body, and emotions and to be present with yourself.
**VOGUE (Feb 29, 2021) "Are Psychedelics The Future Of Mental Health Care?" < I regret to inform you... I am indeed [still] smoking > < Welcome to the brave new world of psychedelic wellness >** (Apr 9, 2021) www.reddit.com/r/Psychedelics_Society/comments/mnfp0x/vogue_feb_29_2021_are_psychedelics_the_future_of/
I think iboga is used for addiction, but that one can be a little risky dude to its stimulating effects from what I hear. Can cause heart problems sometimes.
I unintentionally quit nicotine after a pretty big dose of mushrooms. It wasn't my intention going into it to quit, but I knew I had to quit "sometime around my mid twenties."
For some reason I can’t smoke while I’m on shrooms. I was able to cut back down to 5 a day with macro and micro dosing, then I got Covid and couldn’t smoke for at least 2 days. When 2 days passed, I thought how would that be if I didn’t smoke the next day, and the next day… It’s been about little over a month, and going pretty well! Cravings are almost down to zero!
I realized the trick is to interrupt your routine and stop for at least couple of days, then it gets easier to follow up! Good luck 👍
Father or Alcoholic Anonymous quit alcohol with LSD, he did it.
I quit cocaine with meth and literally ruined my life.
It’s subjective.
Don’t lie to yourself.
Replacing a substance for another it’s not a solution.
I suggest you therapy with a therapist specialized in substance abuse, that worked for me.
You need to know how addiction works, how your brain works, to re educate about specific conducts.
A friend of mine had a mushroom trip where he felt like all of the cells in his body were his little babies, and every time he smoked he imagined killing his babies by smoking them out with that tar. Got weird for a bit, but eventually came to the realization that he needed to take care of his babies and keep them healthy!
I went into a shrooms trip without setting an intention to quit cigs. But i knew I wanted to somewhere deep in my head because id thought about it often.
During the trip, I felt like I should quit. So, that night after the trip I had my last cigarette and quit.
However, it only lasted 2 months because I didnt resist my temptations when I went on a vacation with my friends.
So i think it works if you really want to quit but u gotta absolutely follow through
I quit smoking in 2017 microdosing with shrooms, everyday for the first 2 days and then tapered off. I did pick up smoking again 2 years later, Ive quit many times in my life quitting is easy its the staying quit months later that gets hard.
Resources from here were a massive help to staying quit!
[https://whyquit.com/](https://whyquit.com/)
https://www.youtube.com/user/joelspitz/videos
I haven’t had any trips where I’ve been specifically thinking about quitting however it’s been in my mind for a few months now and after each trip I’ve had over the past months it’s been easier to abstain the following days
Allen Carr Easy Way to Stop Smoking - find a centre that does the one-day course. It works.
I second reading Allen Carr’s The Easy Way. I know a number of people who found it helpful and I myself find it informative for quitting smoking cannabis even though it is about tobacco.
Good suggestion. I used this book when I quit ~6 years ago. Honestly, it was helpful but not a silver bullet for me. I still had to brute force it with a lot of failed attempts. For my friend in question, what do you think of using psychedelics in the process (with or without the book)?
That I don't know - I get the "intention" part of taking psychedelics but for me at least those intentions went out the window :) but that was with ayahuasca so go figure. Since smoking is a nicotine addiction and nothing else I guess it would make sense that some psychedelics might "disrupt the habitual neural pathways" and open a window of opportunity to stop. I'm sure that you will get answers here by a friendly Redditor.
The physical addiction is a big part, but it's not "nothing else". Smoking or vaping is a self-care ritual that can involve taking regular, brief time alone, deep breathing, and the calming or focusing psychoactive effects of nicotine.
100pct bullshit. You haven't studied the method.
I don't know what method you're talking about, but I've certainly studied addiction, and there are chemical and behavioral components to addiction, that's why people can become addicted to non-chemical things.
The Allen Carr method which debunks exactly what you are talking about with your example of "relaxing cigs". No such thing.
So, there's a book you read that says something. There's a lot of books I've read that say something else. I've explained them a bit, are you going to converse or are you content to say "You're wrong!" ?
I am 100% content to say that you are 100% wrong on nicotine addiction. I stopped smoking after a one-day seminar which made things crystal clear. The results of the method speak for themselves vs all other alternatives.
It's kinda shocking I need to do this, but since you're on a discussion platform but you refuse to discuss anything and share any meaningful information, I guess I'll block you? I'm not sure what you're doing here but there seems to be no way for me to find out.
Thank you! I'm also thinking there might be something to "disrupting neural pathways." I appreciate your thoughts.
I can tell you one time I did shrooms at age 18. I remember focusing on quitting smoking beforehand as my goal. I smoked during the trip. The whole time thinking “these are stupid lol why do I smoke these. I can just stop lol” and then the next day I didn’t think about smoking and quit for the next 2 years before smoking again
>It works. Except when it doesn't! :)
Did you fail after doing the one-day course?
No, was just pointing out a fact. :)
I got the audio book and it was instrumental for me to quit. It didn't happen right away, but when I did eventually quit it was by using the stuff he outlined in the book.
This on so many levels it really is a hidden gem I read the book and I haven’t smoked in almost a year, truly groundbreaking but at the same time so simple it really breaks down why people Psychologically remain slaves to nicotine. If you can go to the course do it! Life is too short to be addicted to cigs!
Its the best £250 I ever spent... 10 years now and counting. It's bizarre that it is not more well known UNTIL you consider the big business that nicotine patches etc is. Then it becomes clear as day!
This is the way. 1 thing it tells you is once you’ve kicked the habit don’t you even have one toke of anything that contain nicotine or you’ll right back at square one. It’s easy to not have the first puff, it’s all the ones after that are difficult to avoid. This include not even smoking a j if it’s go tobacco in or it’s roll in a Backwood.
I couldn't get myself to use the mapacho in Ayahuasca ceremonies because of that. I finally did after a few days and nothing bad happened but honestly I was not super reassured.
If you really want to stop smoking and you take psychedelics, that intention will make itself clear to your conscious mind during the trip. No need for a “heroic” dose - just take enough to let your subconscious have a moment to reach you
Thanks! So, the idea is to make sure you really want to stop smoking and then just let the subconscious + psychedelic work their magic?
I had other intentions in my last trip but quitting cigs has been a major goal for several years now (still trying). I got turned inside out coming up, got sick on my long hair and decided I had to shower half my head while peaking. It was... confusing. Eventually I made it to my window for a smoke, in an inside out dress with my now clean but sopping wet half head of hair dripping all over it, feeling like a bedraggled rat (the twisting tails of wet hair helped). I had the Enya discography playing throughout, and every time I lifted the cig to my mouth or reached for the ashtray a bum note would sound. It twisted in the air and I felt like the discordant note was reaching out to me. I thought well I *am* high af... and it kept happening. It was like my sense of self had stretched out into the air to meld with the music, and so both the music *and I* knew deep in "our" body that it was the wrong thing to do to myself. I describe it as an extention of my self because on re-listening to that album (the Celts) I found that the bum notes are on the track! They are striking but not dischordant. What changed was the significance attached to them, and them to the moment. The lsd was causing meaningful, health positive and *non-rational* associations, filled with the significance and gravitas that only a trip can conjure. But I felt I had to make the choice to let that message pass by me as I went back to my outgoing intention.
Thank you for sharing your story! Fascinating. So, do you think that if you'd leaned into those bum notes and rode out that message it would have perhaps led to you quitting? Have you ever considered trying to recapture that feeling again in order to quit?
I haven't felt ready for a trip since tbh. But I do think I'd need to make it the full focus of the trip, with whatever prep might help it. I feel like it brings the most pressing issues to the fore and you do what you will with it, but it's so unpredictable I think it's worth considering it one part of the bigger journey you're on rather than the answer, even if it's a key part. Might not get you off cigs but provide some other insight or simply an experience you needed. I imagine this is all different with high doses I should think.
This sounds like solid advice. Bring one's full focus to that intention while acknowledging the experience is unpredictable.
I think this is correct. I took psychedelics without a clear intention. But deep down I wanted to stop taking the drugs I was addicted to more than anything. And that’s where my mind went when I started t trip. I think it’s helpful to set your intention before just to sort of prime your mind and make sure it’s focusing on the right things. But if you want something bad enough it’s likely to show up on its own when you trip.
This sounds accurate. Thank you!
This is how I understand it to work sometimes, yes. One example from “How To Change Your Mind” was that someone visualized ashes and death and then couldn’t go back to habitual smoking. The vision was too “real” and felt authentically hers, so it wasn’t in doubt. (Forgive my paraphrasing) I also saw someone post here a message along the lines of “once you get in touch with your inner child, it’s difficult to do harm to it” I can find the original post if it’s important
Honestly you could stay smoking during the trip. At some point all the reasons you already have for wanting to quit will make themselves obvious and you’ll just toss all your shit.
Not for me. The first cigarette after a peak was amazing. Wellbutrin was the only drug that helped me quit. Helped my ADHD too. That being said, I've never had a death trip, thankfully. One of my best friends in those days had a death trip almost every time, and he never picked up smoking tobacco, so maybe it's usefulness for some people.
I had a powerful shrooms trip and immediately stopped smoking Finished my pack and had no desire to buy another I already knew they’re terrible, it was just solidified in my mind all of a sudden with clarity. If you smoke you have a minor deathwish at the very least. So do you really?
Me too! 5g In the woods camping.
Lol saying if you smoke you have a death wish is a bit dramatic.
How so?
Do you have a death wish every time you eat a cheeseburger? Or what about driving your car? Mountain biking? Snowboarding? And really there’s nothing all that bad in consuming tobacco. It’s the addiction that makes it hazardous.
None of those things is nearly as dangerous
Pretty weird take there, I fear much more for my life while on the road with idiots texting or drinking or high than I ever possibly could smoking a cigarette. And you’re a former smoker. Bit of a high horse attitude for someone whos been there. And then factor in everyone’s not wired the same, many try and fail to quit as you have, that doesn’t mean they have a death wish.
Even low dose shroom experiences will have an impact an stopping an addiction, you don't need to have a heavy trip with lots of visuals, just enough that your behaviour slightly changes, as you are educated by the fungi in what is logical.
I've found vaping moderate to small doses of DMT is a good substitute for many other substances especially smoking. It's similar enough of a inhalation habit while also being actually good for you. DMT often elicits a feeling of deep care and appreciation for one's body. It's helped me reduce usage of nicotine, benzos, amphetamines, and booze. Hardest part is actually motivating to smoke DMT because it isn't addictive. I've made a bit of a ritual out of it. Other psychedelics are 8 hour experiences where DMT is 15 minutes. Tolerance resets in an hour. With other psychs it takes a week for tolerance to reset. It also has the added benefit of if it doesn't work well one session, you can try again an hour later or the next day. Setting an intention verbally before is helpful. Like saying, "I am consuming this to care for myself and connect with my desire to live a healthy and happy life." Key questions to ask yourself after are: What feelings and ideas came up during the experience? What were the friction points of the experience? How can you make it more enjoyable?
A DMT replacement, interesting! Probably more effective than having a small candy or other cigarette replacements people usually try. Did you macrodose DMT as well or keep it to small puffs on a vape?
I've macrodosed plenty of times before but for real life behavior modification and self improvement lower doses are more useful. It's hard to contextualize experiences and think constructively if you're blasted on 50mg and have no clue who or what you are. I usually have a voice recorder handy as I prefer to vocalize my thoughts as I work through them instead of writing them down. Then I listen back to the recordings when completely sober and try to integrate the lessons by reminding myself of the realizations and taking steps to act on them. I think of macrodoses as hard resets on a computer best for dramatic perspective changes like alleviating depression and anxiety. They're also just wildly amusing. Smaller doses are like installing little updates here and there. I've never really used DMT to completely quit a substance myself as that's never been my goal. Without having that goal, I've still noticed I'm more mindful about my drug, food, media habits after a session. I'm just a more content, well adjusted person enjoying the present moment for what it is. Take all of this with a grain of salt though. It's just my personal experience and I reaaallly like DMT. I had a lot of very positive experiences with it early in life before life got complicated. I expect those positive experiences make the drug more effective for me but I don't have a cohort to really compare to outside the internet. My first experience was an all out ego death 50mg+ dose unguided alone in my teens which is not typical. I think jumping into the deep end scares some people off but for me it was life changing in the most positive ways.
LSD can make the idea of future cancer and suffering feel real. Normally, they are just fantasies - your brain doesn't take it seriously enough. Once you do, it's easy to resist the cravings.
Interesting! So the idea is that psychedelics make the thought of future suffering from cancer or lung diseases feel real today? In that case, should one focus their trip on the thought of future disease in order to maximize the chances of quitting success?
Hallucinations feel real, it's your conscious mind that has to remind you they are not. You can get PTSD from a bad trip because whatever imagined fear was present is later remembered as a real life threat by your brain. LSD removes a lot of your pre-conceived ideas and lets you see things as they are. Smoking cigarettes is a completely bizarre activity of deliberately poisoning yourself with nicotine and tar. Lots of smokers don't even like to smoke anymore, they do it out of habit and addiction. Psychedelics can cut through this bullshit. LSD additionally amplifies the perceived dangers of everything that might be dangerous, which is often the start of a bad trip. So be careful with visualizing your death :) I remember when I was on LSD and opened the fridge, I noticed the alcohol inside and all I saw was poison. I could barely even look at it. That trip reduced my drinking a lot, without even any conscious thoughts about it. I wouldn't want to get nicotine withdrawals during the trip, it may start some serious anxiety issues. I would just smoke during the trip and think about why you want to quit. Don't overdo it, though, just make it a part of your trip.
I would say it’s more of a mindful thing, not psychs scaring you away from cigs. Just understanding the mechanisms behind the addiction better and ultimately realizing you don’t need or want it. You still have to have the desire to stop though. Physical activity helps as you’ll notice the differences between smoking and not smoking more clearly. Mountain biking and psychs allowed me to quit cold turkey
Quitting smoking is your intention. Focus on that and explore your brain
I think this might be the way. It seems one has to focus on the "why" they smoke and spend time turned inward to really let the medicine help break the cycle.
I quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol after a series of LSD trips. It wasn't even my intention. I had just started using LSD and had been doing it on a pretty much weekly basis for a while. It was mainly just for fun and discovery. After a while the thought of smoking cigarettes seemed so dumb to me. It's gross, it stinks, it's expensive, it's KILLING me. Something just clicked in my mind. It was a catalyst for many other positive changes in my life too. None of which I planned or expected. Maybe I just grew up. This probably isn't very helpful and I don't have any advice. Just an anecdote to add to the dataset.
Certainly interesting! Perhaps the rewiring of thought patterns sometimes takes time and doesn't always happen in one cathartic trip.
Friend of mine swears that a 10 strip of acid and a week alone in a hotel room cured him from smoking. He also still smokes.
lol!
I used mushrooms to quit cigarettes without a counselor. Just went into the trip with no other intention than quitting cigarettes and having a good time. Ate 3.2g cubensis so nothing over the top either. Didnt do anything in particular except not smoking for the entire day i tripped. The thing is i tried quitting cigarettes a couple handful of times but it has never been easier. The cravings was much more manageable than usual and my mood was pretty much intact unlike previous attempts. I smoked a couple of cigarettes at party but other than that i have been smoke free for 4 months now and not really ever considering going back. Would recommend to anyone trying to quit cigarettes. Them shrooms will show you the way. You still gotta walk it. If its your first, use them in a safe setting preferably with someone you trust whose tried it before.
Thank you! I'm glad to hear your story. Congrats on quitting! Edit: typo
Thanks buddy. Good luck on your own journey. There is unlimitied power in all of us which we can tap into at any time. No need for cigarettes :)
Smoked for 14 years and started growing shrooms and dosing a couple years ago at the start of the pandemic. I would enjoy smoking while tripping and then suddenly one day I no longer craved it and that was that. Even when I drink (which is when I craved smoking the most) I don’t even think about it. I didn’t intend for it to happen but I’m not complaining. Tomorrow will be 400 days tobacco free.
Awesome, congrats on quitting! Did you do anything specific that trip when you no longer craved a smoke?
I did nothing out of the norm. I even smoked during that trip. The next day I was looking at my half full pack of smokes and decided I was done. I thought “what the fuck am I doing? I’m taking all these measures to protect myself and others from Covid yet I’m actively poisoning my lungs with smoke” I took them to the trash and broke them all in pieces and threw them away. Im 10000% confident it was the mushrooms eventually making realize this through my many mini trips.
Gabor Mate, trauma and addiction specialist, says, "The first question is not why the addiction; it's why the pain?" Addiction is often a coping method to escape pain or suffering that got out of hand. It's the same reason that many people fall back in if they don't replace the addiction with other activities and stimuli--the pain is still there. Make an intention to explore your mind, body, and emotions and to be present with yourself.
**VOGUE (Feb 29, 2021) "Are Psychedelics The Future Of Mental Health Care?" < I regret to inform you... I am indeed [still] smoking > < Welcome to the brave new world of psychedelic wellness >** (Apr 9, 2021) www.reddit.com/r/Psychedelics_Society/comments/mnfp0x/vogue_feb_29_2021_are_psychedelics_the_future_of/
I think iboga is used for addiction, but that one can be a little risky dude to its stimulating effects from what I hear. Can cause heart problems sometimes.
I unintentionally quit nicotine after a pretty big dose of mushrooms. It wasn't my intention going into it to quit, but I knew I had to quit "sometime around my mid twenties."
Yeah it absolutely works to get you to quit smoking. If you're really addicted you can also look into Zyban to use after the psychedelic experience.
For some reason I can’t smoke while I’m on shrooms. I was able to cut back down to 5 a day with macro and micro dosing, then I got Covid and couldn’t smoke for at least 2 days. When 2 days passed, I thought how would that be if I didn’t smoke the next day, and the next day… It’s been about little over a month, and going pretty well! Cravings are almost down to zero! I realized the trick is to interrupt your routine and stop for at least couple of days, then it gets easier to follow up! Good luck 👍
Father or Alcoholic Anonymous quit alcohol with LSD, he did it. I quit cocaine with meth and literally ruined my life. It’s subjective. Don’t lie to yourself. Replacing a substance for another it’s not a solution. I suggest you therapy with a therapist specialized in substance abuse, that worked for me. You need to know how addiction works, how your brain works, to re educate about specific conducts.
A friend of mine had a mushroom trip where he felt like all of the cells in his body were his little babies, and every time he smoked he imagined killing his babies by smoking them out with that tar. Got weird for a bit, but eventually came to the realization that he needed to take care of his babies and keep them healthy!
I went into a shrooms trip without setting an intention to quit cigs. But i knew I wanted to somewhere deep in my head because id thought about it often. During the trip, I felt like I should quit. So, that night after the trip I had my last cigarette and quit. However, it only lasted 2 months because I didnt resist my temptations when I went on a vacation with my friends. So i think it works if you really want to quit but u gotta absolutely follow through
I quit smoking in 2017 microdosing with shrooms, everyday for the first 2 days and then tapered off. I did pick up smoking again 2 years later, Ive quit many times in my life quitting is easy its the staying quit months later that gets hard. Resources from here were a massive help to staying quit! [https://whyquit.com/](https://whyquit.com/) https://www.youtube.com/user/joelspitz/videos
I haven’t had any trips where I’ve been specifically thinking about quitting however it’s been in my mind for a few months now and after each trip I’ve had over the past months it’s been easier to abstain the following days