addiction
expanding a bit, because just a bit ago i had a tiny struggle with this. i can only speak on my experience having been addicted to nicotine and the struggle to recover from it.
i had my first cigarette in late 2018, it was also the {redacted}. shortly after i started vaping, and in 2021 i started smoking cigarettes, a lot of cigarettes. my coworker always had some, my mod was broken and i was really stressed because of work. i had maybe a pack a week for a year. i tried quitting throughout most of 2023, mostly because i was out of the job and had no money. i didnt smoke or vape as much as i had previously, but i still really struggled. i havent had a cigarette or a puff from a vape since i want to say february this year.
it hasnt been perfectly easy since then either, and it very well may never be. ive had a few times since then where i really struggled with feeling like i needed a cigarette, its a distressing feeling, and one that makes you feel gross. and even small reminders that such things exist, can be in the wrong moment, just enough to send you into that. last year, when i would cave to those urges, it made me feel so much fucking worse about myself.
not to mention the permanent damage this has caused my body, i have a permanent cough and shorter breath. and im glad i stopped when i did, because it could be SO MUCH WORSE.
anyway, people with addictions, past or present, dont need you breathing down their necks making them feel even worse about themselves, that often actually just drives them further into their addictions. what they need is compassion.
so idk, if you treat people with addictions like shit, pro tip: shut the fuck up
