Vapes, Cigarettes & Reasons to Smoke

Hello My name is Angela and I am a person who struggled with nicotine use disorder for nearly 20 years. For most of my life, smoking was a subconscious autonomous action. Something I did in-between living.

You may be wondering why I did not stop sooner?

Well, I was not ready or more specifically the stinky thinking from my mental health condition. Nicotine causes a change in brain activity within 10 seconds of being inhaled. Rewired my brain to believe I was not able to live my life without my chronic substance use.

My truth was, my life revolved around my next fix. My day to day was full of ideas that flooded my mind, racing around, interrupting every productive thought keeping me hooked on using.

What I have learned in my healing journey is that recovery is never linear. Part of healing from a mental health condition such as addiction is reconfiguring my brain's reward system and that takes time and support.

If you, or someone you know is debating whether their ongoing substance use is making life unmanageable, reach out to some of these amazing resources to explore recovery options. Medically assisted treatment (MAT) options are available for free for certain New Jersey residents.