What's easer to quit, Smoking, Drinking or Cross-Dressing

[Judy-Somthing]

What's easer to quit, Smoking, Drinking or Cross-Dressing?
Is cross-dressing a habit?

[wendy]

I don't smoke nor do I drink, but I can honestly say quitting CDing for me was a temporary phase, as I am back on the CDing train.

[Chelsea B]

CD'ing isn't bad for my health, so I lack motivation to quit:)

[Sonyla]

I quit smoking 2 years ago and that was not very difficult for me.
I drink one bottle of strong beer every day, a docter told me a few days back that I should consider to drink less.
I can quit crossdressing but do I realy want to? I mean it is not bad for my health though it does not make it easier to find a girlfriend.

[Princess Chantal]

My crossdressing is not a habit, but an interest. Unlike many people on this forum, I have full control of my crossdressing possible due to it being an activity to me and not the "inner woman". I don't need to crossdress, just want to when there is an event or something that crossdressing would enhance the fun.
I quit smoking when I was 12 after doing it for a month. Am a very socialable drinker, can't stand drinking by myself (so don't do it at home), could go months without drinking, and when I do it's 3 drinks at most.

[Jenniferathome]

cross dressing is not an addiction. Smoking is and drinking can be. They're very different things.

[Dana44]

I never had habits to smoke or drink. Crossdressing is not a habit. Over the past fifty years I tried quitting but after a while it come back with a vengeance. I have lost many girlfriends due to the stress of not crosdressing or not getting enough. Purged several times. Wish I had some of the things that I had. This crazy CDing will be with me till I'm dead.

[AmyVanessa]

Cross dressing would be hard for me to quit, since I don't really want to.
Especially as CDing has improved my health, as it's motivated me to lose weight and pay more attention to what I'm eating.

[flatlander_48]

Smoking and drinking are potentially harmful for health and emotional stability considerations. Dressing isn't harmful by itself, but it can be in social contexts, given external reactions.

I smoked for about 21 years and quit in 1988. I did it by substituting with 2 things that I really liked: cashew nuts and butterscotch morsels. Of course, eventually I had to break the habit of eating cashews and butterscotch morsels! However, I don't know what you would do for drinking (I do still drink) and dressing.

DeeAnn

[OCCarly]

Alcohol is actually what convinced me that I am transgender. I was a weekend binge drinker in college. I literally drank to get away from myself. After a year or two of that I sobered up, got my act together, and managed to limit the binges to one every year or two or five. Then in middle age, I started drinking regularly again, usually about a six pack per week, sometimes two. But a funny thing happened when I came out to myself as transgender. I totally lost the urge to consume alcohol. As of now, I have been totally sober for almost eighteen months.

[sometimes_miss]

When quitting anything, it depends upon why you do it. As one person told me years ago, if I was told that I had to stop crossdressing tomorrow or I would be executed, well, that would probably get me to stop. OTOH, if you're doing it to make one other person happy just because they don't like the idea of anyone crossdressing, that probably wouldn't do it.

[Ressie]

I'm hooked on the endorphins released from CDing. So for me it is an addictive drug. Smoking has been a nemesis to me. I've quit many times - no joke!

[PattyT]

AmyVanessa said, "Cross dressing would be hard for me to quit, since I don't really want to.
Especially as CDing has improved my health, as it's motivated me to lose weight and pay more attention to what I'm eating."
I feel the same way about CDing and have the same experience regarding health. I have to really watch my weight to fit into the clothes I like. I really don't think crossdressing is a habit, and certainly not an addiction like smoking or drinking can be. These are substances which have a chemical effect on the body and brain. I can't imagine crossdressing having this kind of chemical effect.
Crossdressing seems to be more related to personal taste regarding clothing and the need to express a feminine side. It is does not seem harmful to the health, physically or mentally. When en femme I feel far more relaxed and upbeat than when in drab. For some people being a CD can be stressful due to their social situation or difficulty in coming to terms with it, however. This could cause a person to try to give up or hold back.
In the end result, as so many people have said, we are what we are. It seems that you can give up smoking or drinking and become a non-smoker or teetotaller. But as one person on this forum put it, you can stop dressing but you cannot stop being a crossdresser.

[docrobbysherry]

Compusive personalities don't run in our family. My parents, sister, and I have had no issues or problems with: eating, drinking, drugs, or cancer sticks.

However, I believe dressing has become a complusion for me! Could I quit if I wanted to? I don't know. And, I probably won't until I get so old it's more work than fun for me!:straightface:

[flatlander_48]

When quitting anything, it depends upon why you do it. As one person told me years ago, if I was told that I had to stop crossdressing tomorrow or I would be executed, well, that would probably get me to stop. OTOH, if you're doing it to make one other person happy just because they don't like the idea of anyone crossdressing, that probably wouldn't do it.

That's an important point. Whenever you decide to do (or not do) something, it has to be for your own reasons. If you're doing it for someone else, and it fails, chances are that we will blame everyone except ourselves.

DeeAnn

[Lily Catherine]

I had a drinking habit that I eventually dropped when I got my driver's license; all too easy due to the sheer gravity of knowing one is operating a lethal weapon everytime one drives. Didn't help I had mostly emotional reasons to drink - I am not a social drinker.

Would say the dependency on tobacco or alcohol is physical, vice the entirely psychological dependency (if one can call it that) on clothing that crossdressing often entails.

I have explicitly described my crossdressing as a habit, mostly because I wanted space for whatever I considered Lilian to exist even though I need to go extended periods without being dressed, and in part to make it easier for me to command myself not to crossdress without due consideration. Also because to me it's a deliberate act rather than a compulsion (I decide to crossdress).

[erickka]

CD'ing isn't bad for my health, so I lack motivation to quit:)

What she said!!

[mechamoose]

What's easer to quit, Smoking, Drinking or Cross-Dressing?
Is cross-dressing a habit?

I'd love to answer CDing, but as an alcoholic, I can't.

Alcohol is much harder. It is insinuous. It is invasive. Please don't take that lightly, it is really hard for some of us.

It shuts off the noise, but causes other problems.

[pamela7]

for me, smoking was only ever social accompanied by alcohol, which i drank to serious excess (oblivion)
cd-ing for me would be harder, but since i realised I'm TS, i no longer need alcohol, for it is the drug of truth, and now being true to myself the habit has gone. it's also no longer cd tho; they're my clothes and the only male stuff left is for dirty manual work

[Krisi]

It's impossible to determine which is easier. We are all different and have different reasons for quitting (or not quitting) any of the three. I quit smoking in 1972. I quit drinking (doctors orders) in 2009. I have not quit crossdressing because I have no need to and I enjoy it (I enjoyed the smoking and drinking as well but had good reasons to quit).

I have posted many times that with a reason and enough willpower, one can quit crossdressing. Tobacco and alcohol are physically addicting, crossdressing is not. It's just in your mind. You have a decision each morning; panties and bra or briefs and tee shirt. It's your choice.

[CarlaWestin]

It's easy.

Quit smoking. It's just useless, smelly and dumb.

Don't drink or drink in moderation. In check, it can actually be beneficial. And, it makes you relax.

Crossdressing? Quit? Why the hell would anyone quit that?

[Alice Torn]

i do not know it all, or have an answer. Each person's brain chemistry, and background is a bit or much different, and I would say for me, that quitting CDing is far more difficult to do. Like Doc said about getting too old, and it becomes too much work, or physical ailment makes it too hard. Humans and animals are very adaptable, and things like prison, war, famine, or a relationship partner can make a person quit, under duress.

[NicoleScott]

The question is being asked of crossdressers, many of whom have quit smoking and/or drinking. That's like asking non-smoking alcoholics if they want a carton of Marlboros or a fifth of Jack Daniels. I quit smoking 22 years ago and drink one or two beers a month, but I still crossdress throughout all these decades. The best answers would be compiled from a large group of FORMER smokers, drinkers, and crossdressers, if you can find any. ha

[flatlander_48]

Geez, that would be AUSTERITY, wouldn't it?!?!

DeeAnn

[LilSissyStevie]

I've always said that coming here to ask if it's possible to quit CDing is like going to a bar to ask if it's possible to quit drinking. I "quit" all three at one point or another in my life, I haven't CDed in over a year, not because I "quit," but because I'm too lazy. You can never say you've really quit until you're dead because you can always fall off the wagon. Here's hoping I don't have to quit anything anytime soon.

[Amy Lynn3]

I stopped drinking and smoking over 40 years ago, but crossdressing ....never ! I was born with it in my genes and will die with the desire to wear those beautiful cloths that are made for women.:2c:

[mechamoose]

Don't drink or drink in moderation. In check, it can actually be beneficial. And, it makes you relax.

While I otherwise admire your spirit, it isn't that simple or easy. It is really FFn hard.

Not to throw shade, you are blessed to not have that particular addiction. Alcohol is a rough trap (not the fun kind of trap)

I'm still wearing a skirt right now, and prefer it.

[Angie G]

One can quit smoking and drinking. But very few can quit crossdressing.:hugs:
Angie

[T. Fonda]

I quit smoking. I quit chewing. If I were to quit CD-ing, then I'd have to quit being me...

[bimini1]

Funny, I would only smoke when I CDed. I did this for approximately 10 years in the 1990's. I think I smoked because I had not accepted the CD, to deal with it. Then I asked why am I killing myself? Do I subconsciously want to do it because I am disgusted with my inability to stop CDing?
That rush of nicotine may have enhanced certain fetishtic elements of the dressing perhaps. One day it was like I woke up. Have not touched tobacco since.
Now weed was something else. I abused Mary Jane for over 25 years, mostly I think because when high I did not have to deal with myself. Smoke morning noon and night. Then one day I woke up from that too. Have not touched it in 9 years.

Funny anecdote about alcohol. My dad went out on it. We took him to rehab. The second we stepped up in there I overhear a conversation some of the folks who were already checked in were having about their "crossdressing habits".
Excuse me but WTF?! I kid you not. Strange. It got to me for sure.
All these insidious substances we use we put in us from the outside. I think CD is already in us trying to get outside.

[Samantha_Smile]

I'm asthmatic and I smoked rolling tobacco for over a decade.
I've now been off cancer sticks for over 3 years after 2 previous attempts to quit.

I've been crossdressing for 20 years.
I've made numerous attempts to quit. Purges, denial, shame of returning to it....
But then I just conceded - I'm not killing myself or anyone around me by doing this, so why should I quit?

Crossdressing/Transgenderism is the most addictive thing I ever got into :)
And I love it :D

[Tina_gm]

In some ways CDing would be for me. I can't change the desires, how I feel about myself, but, not dressing does not drive me to the brink like smoking does and alcohol has. I still smoke..... my longest cessation is just a little under a year. I am currently sober for close to a year, once quit for 10 years. I can tell you the reason I started drinking again is not due to wanting it, but sort of a peer pressure kinda thing. I was on a date, the girl I was with was ordering wine.... I just at that moment thought, it has been 10 years, I will be fine. Been plenty long enough to kill the demons. Well, it took a few years after that, but they eventually came back. I go a couple days without cigs and I start wanting to pluck my eye lashes out. Been through that hell once before, I haven't been able to bring myself to go through it again.

Dressing though... IT never goes away, as it is not outside of me but inside.... Yet, I never get the going crazy out of my head feelings from not doing it. I made myself go all but 30 years without ever doing it. Frustrating, but it is now for the times I don't and was more of a dull constant ache that I can manage, sorta lol. I am better with Cding than without, but better without smoking and drinking than with it.

[mechamoose]

I only smoke when not properly oiled }:>

I still keep going back to skirts. they are pretty. They feel *right*.

[irene9999]

Probably drinking for me lol, I guess my desire to dress is not as strong as the need for a drink every now and then

[Beverley Sims]

Smoking and drinking, there are plenty of support organisations for them.

Ever seen a C.D. Anonymous group advertise?

[PaulaQ]

The need to express my gender, to be who I really am, is orders of magnitude stronger than my desire to drink. I've been sober 26 years now. But I realized that my need to live as and be the woman that I've always been was so strong that I could either succumb to it, or it would literally destroy me.

For most of you, it won't be quite this bad. But the fact remains, the need to be who you really are, even if that is "just a CD" is a basic human need. You can't quit it because this is part of you.

[Teresa]

MM,
To answer 27#, I know exactly the point you make , I've been on the receiving end of a heavy drinker, ( father ) not a good place to be, sadly my wife had the same problem , we do both drink but in moderation.

To answer the post it's taken too many years to come to terms with CDing I'm certainly not going to give it up now I'm finally enjoying it !! I try not to drink too much it's not a good combination with heels !!

[Stephanie47]

I never smoke. I use to drink socially, which amounted to one or two beers at a function at which I did not have to drive. I read the calorie content of beer and soda and quit 'cold turkey.' I figured it took too much effort/exercise to rid the body of those calories.

Cross dressing? Wearing women's clothing is not injurious to my health. Wearing women's clothing does bring me a very high sense of relaxation without any ill effects. I did try 'quitting' as a teenager or early twenties because I was suffering from self loathing because I thought, as was the belief in the 1960's, that I was "queer, a faggot" and other erroneous beliefs. It did not work. My interest was strictly limited to wearing some of my mother's lingerie since that was all that fit me.

I would say I did quit, but, it was not intentional on my part. Try getting drafted into the army. Go through basic and infantry training with a hundred plus guys and no women around. It was sort of out of sight, out of mind. Then ship off to 'over the pond' and hump the boonies. If there is no stimuli to tantalize a person, I guess it may be possible to quit. I can truly say I did not have any thoughts about wearing women's clothing for a long time. But, then I had a relapse.

This morning I was checking a box that has three brand new pairs of heels from Payless that I have been saving. Duh! I want to order some more heels in different colors today because there is a good sale until March 13th for pumps at $14.99. I'm into total relapse for the last forty plus years. I guess I'm 'hooked on heels" and dresses and slips and bras and panties and hosiery. Maybe I do need therapy? Someday, but, not soon!

[MarcellaMcNul]

I used to be hooked on smoking, drinking, other substances and crossdressing.

I quit smoking, drinking and other substances over a span of five years. that was twenty-eight yrs ago.

I tried everything to quit crossdressing only to find that my only option was to surrender, accept and learn to enjoy.

[lisa_vin]

I don't smoke and I rarely drink anything more than one or two beers about once every month or two. Crossdressing, however, IS me. I have tried quitting several times over the years, including purging all my female clothing (this gets rather expensive), only to fall into low feelings of unhappiness, discontent and disconnect. I am now 61 and have crossdressed in one way or another since I was 3. I even went through numerous therapy sessions for my wife's sake to satisfy her desperate hope of "curing" me..........(there is no cure. For us it's now DADT.)

It IS part of me and who I am; it is my personal sedative for peace and contentment; it is my plug-in for feeling whole and complete, the last piece of my puzzle; it is my great equalizer and, finally, it is the yin for my yang! I don't fully crossdress much anymore as I now find that simply underdressing seems to accomplish much of that same zen-like feeling and my wife can't see it so it fulfills those DADT requirements as well.

[Joyce Swindell]

I've never been addicted to tobacco or alcohol...both of which are socialy acceptable. Crossdressing...not so much.
However, I've always been a crossdresser and there has always been an adrenaline rush associated with it for me. Not so much anymore as I am now over 60 and because of my wife's acceptance as well as my own acceptance the adrenaline is at a minimum. Bottom line for me is I think it would be impossible for me to quit crossdressing.

- - - Updated - - -

I've never been addicted to tobacco or alcohol...both of which are socialy acceptable. Crossdressing...not so much.
However, I've always been a crossdresser and there has always been an adrenaline rush associated with it for me. Not so much anymore as I am now over 60 and because of my wife's acceptance as well as my own acceptance the adrenaline is at a minimum. Bottom line for me is I think it would be impossible for me to quit crossdressing.

[Cristy2]

I've never been a great big drinker, but I had a horrible time quitting smoking and as strange as it may sound, I quit smoking in 2001 and to this day I still catch myself from time to time reaching for my shirt pocket for a pack of cigarettes after eating a meal.

[HollyGreene]

Never smoked, so I don't know about quitting that. I don't drink very much, so never felt the need to quit.
Tried quitting being a CD a couple of times. Lasted about a month each time.
But as they say, you can only quit something if you want to quit, and deep down. I never really wanted to quit being a CD.
I shall never try to quit again because I really like being a CD.

[Kiwi Primrose]

Smoking was easy 35 years ago, just stopped and never smoked again.
Drinking - no problem - I drink a couple of wines daily but none when I'm driving.
Dressing - I will never give up, partly because I have no male underwear and most of my outerwear is uni or feminine.

[Someone777]

I don't smoke. I developed a rather extreme dislike for it after losing a relative to 2nd hand smoke.

I don't drink. I'm pretty sure I'd be a nasty, addictive, violent drunk and decided to just not start. Look at your relatives, it's not hard to figure out what you've probably inherited and the odds were just too stacked against me for that to ever be worth it.

If I completely stop crossdressing, it could literally kill me (though, it would be a rather slow death and not at all pretty and there's always a chance something else will get me first.) I mentioned in another thread I do it for medical reasons. I wasn't kidding. I wear medical grade pantyhose and I wear panties to keep them from falling down every 2 steps. Technically, I might get away with wearing the male version of the panties but it's outside of my budget and I'm not convinced it would really keep them up given the difference in shape. As it is, my budget is already stretched thin keeping me in pantyhose. Even if I was magically cured somehow, I really like the panties over my old underwear. In fact, I had to stop wearing my old underwear due to the health problems the waist bands on those were causing...

So, it's fairly obvious which would be more difficult for me to quit.

[Krisi]

If you don't want to quit or don't have a compelling reason to quit, you will not be successful. This goes equally for tobacco, alcohol and crossdressing.

There's a current thread about going to prison and quitting crossdressing. Don't you think being in prison would be a good enough reason to quit crossdressing? Can anyone honestly say they could not quit under those conditions?

[CONSUELO]

I gave up smoking several decades ago. I found it to be disgusting anyway so it was not too hard. I give up drinking alcohol for long periods mainly because I sometimes just don't feel like it. I don't drink during the week anyway.
Cross-dressing? Now that is a different matter as I have been a cross dresser since early childhood and it is an integral part of who I am. To give it up would require literally tearing all of the deep roots of desire, sexuality, comfort etc. that cross dressing has grown in me.

Just not possible and also cross dressing is benign whereas smoking and drinking can have both long- and short-term consequences that can be devastating.

[Someone777]

If you don't want to quit or don't have a compelling reason to quit, you will not be successful. This goes equally for tobacco, alcohol and crossdressing.

There's a current thread about going to prison and quitting crossdressing. Don't you think being in prison would be a good enough reason to quit crossdressing? Can anyone honestly say they could not quit under those conditions?

I actually meant to say something about addiction in general in my reply and completely forgot. Addiction tends to be an inherited trait, it can apply to nearly anything and can be nearly impossible to overcome for some people. In some cases, a person with an addiction problem has to settle for changing the focus of their addiction to something less destructive, which can be easier said than done. I'd easily pick crossdressing as my addiction over any form of substance abuse, if I was in a position where I was forced to choose. It's only destructive power is against your wallet.

[Mykaa]

Myself I have tried to quit, I took a class 2 years ago called Mens Fraternity, it helped me as a person, but I recently decided I wasnt very happy, I have reassessed and decided I should be who I am and not necessarily what society thinks I should be.

[uwho1976]

Well I quit smoking a long time ago and I have a beer when I wear my breastforms

[TrishaTX]

only one i couldn't shake is crossdressing

[Babbs]

drinking would be easiest then its a toss up....

[DMichele]

I never smoked probably in part because grandfather died from throat cancer, which at the time was attributed to his smoking. I must confess I did try a few cigarettes but nothing more so giving it up was a non-issue.

I had my share of beer in my life, but when my father (who drank far more) died, I reduced my alcohol intake. Today I have an occasional beer, but usually will have a glass or two of wine. Another reason for cutting back the alcohol was there was a long family history too much alcohol consumption. My drinking today is limited to social outings. I reduced my drinking for health reasons and have not regretted the decision,

As far as giving up crossdressing, well I consider myself transgender so feminine attire is a regular part of my being. I am happier and healthier for accepting my gender identity. No reason to back track.

[Krisi]

If you consider yourself to be transgender, wearing women's clothes would not really be crossdressing.

[Virginia1983]

Well, I'm not gonna quit any of them LOL, although I smoke only occasionally - Eve 120's. Next you'll ask me to give up men. NOT HAPPENING.

[Alice Torn]

Dressing is much harder to stop. Not even a close call.

[PrivateXDresser]

Drinking, cuz I look smoking in my lingerie! :)

[grace7777]

But the fact remains, the need to be who you really are, even if that is "just a CD" is a basic human need. You can't quit it because this is part of you.

I totally agree. I thought I was "just a CD", but I have discovered that I am a lot more. I know that I have to be who I am, and I am trans. The worse thing we can do is to run away from who we are. Now I have never been suicidal, yet I realize it was not good for me all these years running away from who I am.

[Leighcdmd]

I can quit just about anything but crossdressing. It's a big part of who I am. Period.

[Tracii G]

Quit drinking years ago because of random drug/alcohol screens for my job.Not worth the risk.
Been sick for a week or so with a head cold and its been one week and a day since I smoked a cigarette so I think I'll just quit for a while.
CDing I don't think I could give up.

[Mykaa]

Ive know for a long time crossdressing is a part of me, I have been away from it for extended periods, Yes I can shut it off, Am I happy that way? No Im not. I accepted that in me when I joined, I am happy, Im Social, Im making new friends, Im doing new things. I dont see how any of this is nothing but good.

[Bruce64]

I am pretty new to Crossdressing, I don't drink booze or smoke cigarettes, Which is harder to quit, I really dont know.

[marlacd]

Drinking, I can do a lot or not at all. I've had a box of blush in my fridge for two years. (Yeah, I know, it's so classy.LOL!)

I smoke. (I'm bad.)

Crossdressing, I stopped for a while but I'm back. I KNOW I'll always be one.


I think I'll go with smoking. I won't drink and drive. And with dressing, I'll only die of embarrassment if anyone that knows me found out.