foolishness

I've heard well-meaning people say that it's possible to taper in a way that is painless. I can imagine that, but it's like the delusion you have when the teacher gives you an assignment that's due in 3 months, and you have this sense that you have so much time, but you don't use the time to work on the assignment. Instead, you keep thinking you have plenty of time, until you don't and then it's too late. 

I don't know what it's like for other people, but for me, tapering represents a change in who I am, and that needs to be painful. There would be something wrong if it was painless.