Written by Benjy

I write about quitting things. Alcohol, cigarettes, vaping, energy drinks, gambling, pornography, screens — habits that stopped being choices a long time ago.

I write about it because I've been on the other side of that search. The 2am search, specifically. The one where you're looking for something honest and you keep finding clinical abstractions written by people who've clearly never sat in the room. The articles that talk around the thing instead of at it. The ones that feel like they were written by a committee that had a meeting about empathy.

That's not what this is.

Who I am

I've spent time in the rooms — not as a clinician, but as someone who needed to be there. I've gone through the process of quitting things that had stopped being choices, and I've watched people close to me do the same. Some of them made it. Some of them didn't. That experience shapes everything I write.

I'm also the founder of 180 Habits and the creator of Weally, the companion app referenced throughout this site. I built Weally because the tools that existed when I needed them were either expensive, patronising, or designed by people who seemed to view addiction as a market rather than a problem. Full disclosure: I have a commercial interest in Weally. I recommend it because I built it to solve a problem I personally had — but I'll always tell you about other options too, and I do in the app comparison pages.

I don't have medical qualifications. I'm not a doctor, a psychologist, or a certified addiction counsellor. What I have is direct experience with addiction and recovery, a background in research and writing, and an obsessive commitment to getting the facts right. Where clinical expertise is needed — and in this space, it often is — I make that clear and point you to professionals.

What I write and why

Everything on 180 Habits is evidence-based. I reference real research — clinical trials, systematic reviews, peer-reviewed studies — and I write it for people who are actually going through it, not for people who want to feel like they've helped.

I write the kind of content I wished existed when I needed it.

That means honest to the point of discomfort. It means I won't dress something up to make it easier to hear. If a method works, I'll tell you. If something's being oversold by people with something to gain, I'll tell you that too. No moralising. No lectures. Just what's real.

It also means I get things wrong sometimes. Research changes. Guidelines get updated. When that happens, I'd rather fix it than defend it.

How accuracy works here

Health content has to be right. The wrong information in the wrong moment can do real damage. So everything on 180 Habits follows a clear process:

  • Research-backed claims. Every medical or scientific claim links to or references its source — peer-reviewed studies, clinical guidelines, or established health bodies (NHS, WHO, SAMHSA, DSM-5, ICD-11).
  • Regular updates. Content is reviewed and updated when new research emerges or guidelines change. Every article carries a "last updated" date.
  • Medical review. Articles covering topics with direct medical risk — alcohol withdrawal, opioid tapering, anything where getting it wrong could cause physical harm — are flagged for medical review. We are currently working with a clinical reviewer to formalise this process across all YMYL content.
  • Corrections welcome. If you spot something that's out of date, miscited, or just wrong — let me know. That's genuinely the most useful thing a reader can do.

What's on the site

If you're looking for something and can't find it, get in touch. I'd rather know what's missing.