‘Life changing’ for others- no different for me!

I think some things definitely are life changing-having children, leaving a horrible DH, moving abroad, getting a great job, losing half your body weight. It’s possibly an overused, facile saying. A family member is fond of saying it about non-life changing issues, but she’s pretty dramatic! It’s now a trite saying we trot out when we’re about to do something non-life changing in our house-change the colour of the walls, buy a new car, for example.

I gave up smoking 12 years ago (still addict to nicotine pastils though), drinking 2 years ago (never a fullblown alcoholic but I was on my way there craving some every night), started go to the gym regularly a year ago. Been on antidepressants for 22 years. Started seeing a psychiatrist 9 months ago.

I don't feel better at all tbh. I know that it's my shitty mental health that makes me dependant on cigarettes, alcohol, chocolate to stave off anxiety etc so I'm glad I managed that. I am now addicted to exercice as a way to quell my anxiety. Do I feel better? Not really. I replaced one addiction with a healthier one.

The only life changing thing for me has been antidepressants. Without them I couldn't even get up in the morning and have a coherent thought in my head. As for the psychiatrist, it's not the first I've seen so I'm open but it really doesn't help me to talk. My depression is rather biological/neurological so cognitive therapy is quite useless (although I'm open for it as you never know).

Some people are just overly dramatic.

Things which actually change your life are stuff like:
Cancer or other serious illness
Bereavement
Traumatic divorce
Childhood abuse
Being bullied out of your career

Apologies OP, not meaning to depress anybody.
It just gets my goat when people are evangelical about their pet passion like yoga/ running / fucking mindfulness and use that term.

OP, in all seriousness, most people who smoke, drink, do no exercise, etc. feel absolutely great until their late 40 or early 50s.

so you may think there is no difference but you have probably avoided looking like this:

https://www.alamy.com/middle-aged-overweight-caucasian-woman-smoking-outside-in-a-busy-crowded-image150349929.html?imageid=C61EA3F8-CF7B-43BA-973F-B44C4DF33BE4&pn=1&searchId=9d8d2614066ee867d456666ffb20cb92&searchtype=0

I've got to say, I don't notice much difference having given up smoking 6 years ago other than financially ( but only really noticed that for the first year, when I consciously allowed myself to buy a new pair of shoes every month) and feeing smug. Sometimes I wish I did still smoke ( eg when smokers are chatting outside) but that's usually outweighed by the horribleness of feeling in thrall to an addiction.
And I've put on weight, gone up a couple of dress sizes.

I gave up drinking alcohol. I'd not been a big drinker, maybe shared a bottle with XP over a weekend, the odd glass of gin and tonic when I went out, more over occasions like Christmas...

Waited to feel better, lose weight, see my skin improve, but none of this happened. Perhaps I just didn't drink enough to start with, but I did expect something - I didn't even lose a pound in weight.

Could this all be more of an indictment of your view on life? 🤣

You sound quite glass half empty

Hrt and Mounjaro have changed my life. So I guess that means they are life changing.

Mounjaro definitely life changing but I agree with you about the rest.

I don’t feel any different either, went from 40 a day to none
thyroid medication - still tired!

How can you know? 15 years of continued smoking and not exercising might impact your health. It might not, but you can’t know.

‘Life-changing’ is often an exaggeration, though.

You genuinely feel no better physically as a non smoker than a smoker?

I honestly think very little is truly life changing.
People love to announce that things are though, god knows why.

Giving up smoking and taking up yoga may not feel life changing to you, but the changes to your body and health that you probably can’t see will be.

Not sure about HRT though.