The key answer of exercise 6

To Calvin: I wholeheartedly agree that just stopping is the desired goal. However, I have to disagree with the notion that it’s easy. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think many people nd it extremely hard. People have busy lives, and as a result, we often turn to our bad habits to help us cope with the stress. Stopping a bad habit is hard at the best of times, even more so when we’re anxious. To Theo: I’m not sure that’s a valid statement. Knowing how to take small steps isn’t obvious to everyone (see Calvin’s comment above). If it was, more people would be able to kick bad habits. I think beebop’s right in that understanding the underlying problem can help you to address the right thing. Often the habit is a symptom of something else, e.g. anxiety. To Maisie Like you, I don’t like assumptions, but I think on this occasion we can safely assume that baby steps will work for even the most serious of bad habits. If Demi had suggested just stopping it completely as Calvin did, I’d be more in agreement with you. To Arnie: Sorry, I should have made it clearer that I’m not actually asking for advice for myself, but for a friend and I don’t feel I can share information from a confidential discussion with him. So, for now, we’ll just have to keep it general.