I’ve noticed that if I say “I won’t do this anymore at all”, it doesn’t work. But if I say “I’ll only spend this much this month on sex workers, gambling, etc.” I’m able to mellow down. I’ve also noticed some people suggest that moderation doesn’t work and you should try to be as cold turkey as possible.
It’s not the same (obviously) but it depends.
If I buy a bag of jelly belly candy, I will eat the whole bag until I have a stomach ache, and then eat until the bag is empty. So I buy smaller amounts.
But other sugary snacks? I went cold turkey and cut out all sugar and it was all I could focus on, I craved sugar to the point of being miserable. I bought a bag of chocolates, told myself I could have one a day (like a mini snickers) - what happened will shock!
I ate one a day, and sometimes not even that. Just knowing it was there as an option took away the obsession and I ate overall a lot healthier.
So, yeah, I could do sugar in moderation with chocolate, but not with those tiny jelly beans.
Whatever your addiction is, only you know if you can really do moderation or not.
I know of other people that kept a pack of smokes or a pint of whiskey in the back of a cabinet. Knowing it’s there is enough, and they just keep putting off partaking until suddenly they realize it’s been a year or more and they haven’t thought about it in ages.