The Case of Eugene Pauly

In his book “The power of habit”, Charles Duhigg describes the remarkable case of Eugene Pauly, a man who suffered from encephalitis and lost part of his brain.

His memory was so damaged that he couldn’t remember his friends, where he lived, his age, or even how to follow a simple conversation.

When doctors asked him to draw a map of his own house, Eugene said he couldn’t do it. Yet shortly after, he stood up, walked straight to the bathroom, washed his hands, returned to the sofa, and calmly waited for the next question.

The doctors were amazed!

It turned out that while Eugene’s memory was irreparably damaged, his habits remained intact.

Despite not knowing where his house was, he could still take his morning walk around the neighborhood and return home without hesitation.

How was that possible?

Eugene’s brain had created a habit.

It had memorized a chain of repeated actions that, once triggered, ran automatically.

Why Habits Are So Powerful

The human brain is designed to save energy. To do this, it memorizes action sequences – what we call habits.

This means that once your brain encodes a habit, like brushing your teeth, driving to work, or smoking a cigarette, it doesn’t consciously think about each step.

Just put toothpaste on the brush, turn the car key, or light a cigarette, and the habit loop kicks in.

These habits are stored in one of the most primitive parts of the brain: the basal ganglia.

Research shows that they persist even when memory itself is damaged.

Here’s how a habit loop works:

• Trigger – the cue that sets everything in motion
• Craving – the desire for the outcome
• Action – the behavior itself
• Reward – the satisfaction your brain gets

Because habits are hardwired into the brain, they’re very difficult to break.

But the good news is, you don’t have to fight against your brain.

If you know the structure of the habit loop, you can break a bad habit by replacing the action in it.

The Smoking Loop

First of all, if you struggle with quitting smoking, you are not a weak person!

Smoking is so difficult to break, because it is a habit, but it’s not just a bad habit – it’s an addiction.

Unlike harmless habits (like leaving your shoes at the front door), smoking gets reinforced by nicotine, which chemically hooks your brain.

Once you become a regular smoker, a simple trigger is enough to start the habit loop. You don’t consciously think about it anymore.

Some common triggers are:

• if you normally smoke in the morning – your daily coffee,
• if you smoke every time you’re stressed – a bad internet connection,
• if you only smoke socially – going out with friends for drinks.

The smoking loop looks like this:

• A trigger happens
• Your brain looks for a quick dopamine hit
• You light a cigarette (action)
• You feel relief (reward)
  

Each time you stimulate your brain’s reward center by lighting a cigarette, the habit loop strengthens. If you don’t get that dopamine hit, you feel anxious – and to avoid that discomfort… you smoke again.

The cycle repeats.

Cigarette addiction gets harder to break with time

If you’ve been a smoker for a long time, you’ve probably tried to quit more than once. Have you noticed that it was easier to quit when you were younger?

That’s because the longer you smoke, the deeper the habit gets wired into your brain.

But trust me on this. I was a chain smoker for eighteen years and I quit using the strategies below.

And if I can, then so can you.

Why most ex-smokers relapse

Many people quit smoking and relapse months or years later, usually after something bad happened to them.

Why? Because they tried to quit by creating a void where smoking used to be. But if that void isn’t filled with something else, the anxiety builds up until they cave in.

If this void is not filled, it’s a matter of days before you get overwhelmed with anxiety.

While initially you will be determined to quit for good, as nicotine leaves your body, you’ll start craving a cigarette.

Nicotine has a calming effect.

When your body doesn’t get it, you feel like you’ve lost your main coping mechanism. And you light up again.

The only way to break cigarette addiction is:

1. Cognitive reframing
2. Altering the habit loop

What does this mean?

Cognitive reframing

means changing the way you interpret smoking.

As long as you hold the false belief that a cigarette makes you feel BETTER, you’ll keep craving it. But once you recognize that smoking actually makes you feel worse, you strip away its power. (In this article, I shared powerful affirmations for quitting smoking that you can write on sticky notes and place on your wall.)

Do you remember the last time you had a cigarette?

You were probably anxious just before you lit it, then you felt slight relief during the first two puffs, and then the cigarette tasted disgusting.

You then felt WORSE and even more anxious than before. Now, not only did your problems remain, but you also started resenting yourself for smoking.

Once you realise this, the next step is to replace the act of smoking in the habit loop.

If you do these two – you will finally quit smoking for good.

The proven 5 step plan to permanently quit smoking

1. Set a date

Quitting cold turkey is the best strategy to break free from cigarette addiction.

If you simply reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke each day, you’re sending your brain mixed signals.

Since you’re still giving your body nicotine, but not enough, you confuse your brain. It ends up believing: “Nicotine is good, but I’m not getting enough of it.”

That’s why quitting cold turkey works better.

Pick a date on your calendar when you’ll feel most comfortable quitting – ideally a day with special meaning, like your birthday (or the day after), an anniversary, or another symbolic event. Tell yourself that from this day forward, you’re a non-smoker.

Don’t try to quit earlier, and until then, smoke as usual.

By setting a firm date, you’re subconsciously programming your brain to see you as a non-smoker from that point forward. (See how to program your mind to do anything you want to do.)

2. Throw away anything associated with smoking

Get rid of all “anchors” linked to your old habit – lighters, ashtrays, cigarette packs, etc.

If you usually smoked with coffee or alcohol, change those drinks.

You don’t need to quit coffee if you love it – just change the way you drink it. For example, if you usually had dark coffee, switch to cappuccino, or the other way around. If you link smoking to drinking beer, switch to wine or another drink.

3. Replace the “act” in the habit loop

This is the most important step in breaking cigarette addiction.

Identify when you usually smoke and what triggers the urge. Then replace the act of lighting a cigarette with something else that is pleasant and rewarding.

– Is it early in the morning?
Take a long hot shower/ Do a quick workout.

– On a coffee break with colleagues?
Try a different kind of drink every time you go out.

– After work with a drink?
Go shopping (even window shopping) or take a walk in the park.

– Every time something happens that stresses you out?
Practice techniques to protect your mood and calm yourself without nicotine. You can read all about anxiety in this section.

– At restaurants or parties with friends?
This is a tricky one. After a few drinks, you may feel tempted to “just have one” cigarette. But that “one” will almost always pull you back into full-blown smoking. Addiction doesn’t go away, and one slip can undo all your progress.

You will get back to square 1.

For these extra tough situations, keep a non-nicotine vape with you. You don’t have to use it.

But just the comfort thought you have a “safety net” reduces anxiety and keeps you from asking for a cigarette.

You have to be prepared that, especially in the beginning, whenever a trigger appears, you WILL want to smoke. This is just how the habit loop works.

Depending on your habit, you need to replace the act of lighting a cigarette with something pleasant and that also rewards your brain.

NB:

Don’t replace smoking with overeating, or you’ll create a new problem. After quitting, your body is prone to weight gain because of:

metabolic changes – slower metabolism and increased appetite

water retention (because nicotine is a diuretic)

and hormonal changes. When it doesn’t receive the usual amount of nicotine, your body is under stress, which causes cortisol levels to raise, leading to fat storage.

To avoid a weight problem, start a workout routine.

Just 20 minutes of cardio releases “feel-good” hormones like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, and unlike smoking, the effect lasts for hours.

4. Introduce novelty

You may not have noticed, but smoking often served as an escape from boredom.

It distracted you and filled empty moments when there was nothing else to do. That’s why some people feel especially restless and depressed during withdrawal.

When you quit smoking, make extra effort not to get bored.

Reward yourself for quitting by using the money you save from not buying cigarettes. Get yourself small gifts or new experiences every other day.

Mix buying small things with having new experiences. Your brain doesn’t make a difference between big purchases and small ones, as long as the perceived value is high, you’ll still get a dopamine boost.

For example:

Buy a dessert cookbook and experiment with recipes. You will have something to experiment with the whole upcoming month, and you can get a new pancake pan or a cute apron to make the experience more exciting.

Or sign up for a photo class where you can explore new places with a bunch of strangers and reward yourself with small accessories like a tripod or camera filter.

Or join a Pilates group and start upgrading on the sport equipment – new sneakers, a hat, a fancy water bottle, a yoga mat…

The relationship between shopping and dopamine is closely linked to the brain’s reward system.

Here’s how it works:

When you decide to buy something, your brain’s reward system activates. The anticipation of getting what you want triggers dopamine release. As you browse shops or scroll online, spotting things you’d like to buy increases dopamine even more. And once you finally make the purchase, your brain rewards you with an even bigger dopamine rush.

This is why shopping can feel so satisfying.

For women, it might be things like new nail polish, hair accessories, or makeup. For men, maybe car gadgets, PC games, or tech accessories.

The key here is to go for small things. Don’t overspend and don’t buy everything at once!

If you buy everything in one go, you’ll quickly get bored once the novelty wears off – and then you’ll have nothing to look forward to.

Instead, spread your purchases out across the month. This way, you’ll always have something new coming up, or at least something exciting to anticipate.

5. Change your beliefs about smoking

Learn to recognize the illusion of relaxation after smoking.

Nicotine withdrawal between cigarettes tricks your brain into believing that smoking relieves stress.

But in truth, it’s the cigarette that creates this stress in the first place, by making you dependent.

Think about it: why don’t non-smokers need cigarettes to feel calm? Because they’re not fighting withdrawal!

Once you fully see this illusion for what it is, you’ll naturally start looking for healthier, real ways to relax and cope with stress.

Reward yourself for every milestone: one week, one month, three months, six months.

Each smoke-free day is a victory! A proof that you’re stronger than your cravings.

Stay committed to your goal. Quitting smoking won’t just free you from addiction, it will transform your life.

You will become a stronger, more powerful person in every area of life.

Want to know more about qutting smoking?

Check out:

See 10 things you can do right now to cope with smoke cravings

Sticky notes to write to yourself for when you crave a cigarette

The effects on burnout at your workplace

How to deal with your anger issues

I have anxiety. How do I manage that?

How long ago did you quit?

TheThinkAbout is a website based on psychology in practice and experience.

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