Today's Articles

• Repost: Week 1 – Days 1-7

  Question:

  Posted originally by Padders, these really have helped many people…. With hope and heart, Kathleen DAY 1 Welcome to the majority. Only 26 percent of adult Americans smoke, and they nearly all wish they didn’t. Public opinion holds smokers in low esteem. When a person lights up a cigarette, others see a poor soul lacking in self-control, a victim. To put it unkindly, a drug addict. After all, precious few people smoke because they want to. They smoke because they can’t stop. Yet they are surrounded by people who could stop and did. How does that make them feel? Bad. As you did until today. No you have crossed to the other side. You can hold up your head. You can sit in the non-smoking section. You don’t have to subject yourself to other people’s whims by asking the sniveling questions "Mind if I smoke?" Now you’re as good as they are. Twenty minutes after your last cigarette, nicotine ceased to affect your blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature. Within 8 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drastically fell, and increased oxygen is now reaching all the tissues of your body. By: Meditations for surviving without cigarettes DAY 2 Don’t feel sorry for yourself. People moan about the pain of quitting, but what about the pleasure? Things are looking up already. You’ve cleared out those vile ashtrays. You smell better. You don’t have to look for your cigarettes. You probably don’t feel your best today. You crave a cigarette, naturally. You expected that. But you may also be bowed down by headaches, nausea, sweatiness, aches, and digestive upsets. Not to mention irritability, restlessness, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating. These are normal nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and they pass quickly. You can ignore them, or if you prefer, declare yourself sick and go to bed. It’s best to stay away from smokers; this is a perfect time to haunt museums, movie theatres, parks, and mountain trails. one woman spent the first two no-smoking days on her bicycle miserable and depressed. On the third day she felt wonderful. Withdrawal is a nasty business. Wouldn’t care to repeat it, would you? Even if you’re on a nicotine patch, you’re unlikely to be feeling wholly yourself. Observe your feelings, as if they were a passing parade. They will retreat, and so will the urge for a cigarette, unless you smoke. Tomorrow will be different. DAY 3 You have conferred tremendous benefits on yourself by quitting smoking. You’ve added not just eight years (on average age) to your expected life span, but eight much healthier years than you could look forward to as a smoker. Put to good use, they will be happier years, too. You are now in a position to get more out of life than you ever could as a smoker. That cloud of smoke stood between you and life’s full experience. At the moment you may be coughing or clearing your throat more than ever before–so much that your chest may hurt. Be glad! You’ve recovered the ability to clear out blocked airways, which were stuck full of mucus. The clearing-out process lasts only a few days, and your old smoker’s cough (the body’s attempt to protect itself from the irritants in cigarette smoke) will be history in a few weeks. Fatigue during the day and wakefulness at night are normal withdrawal symptoms, not likely to last more than a few weeks. Intestinal upsets can also last weeks, but most of your other symptoms will pass in a day or two. The worst cigarette cravings should now be behind you. DAY 4 Your worst physical withdrawal symptoms should have passed by now. if the only reason you smoked was that you’d once had the bad luck of becoming addicted to nicotine, you’d be home free. But people are not such fools that they smoke out of addiction alone. They smoke because smoking is rewarding. Chances are, you have a number of hurdles still to cross in your metamorphosis into a non-smoker. In the past, smoking has helped you to regulate your moods, ignore pain, control excitement, ward off anxiety, and medicate depression. But as smoking provides only a distraction, not a cure, smokers tend to have a lot of unfinished business in their psyches. When someone stops smoking, he or she is apt to suffer most from the intensity of emotions. The uplifting ones can be as intimidating as the anxious ones. Both scream "CIGARETTE"!!! The trick is to let these feelings rush by without succumbing to them. In time, you will learn to tend your emotions far more affectively without cigarettes than you ever did with them. DAY 5 As long as you smoked, your body operated under a tremendous hindrance. It had to adapt not only to nicotine, but to the 4000 plus other chemicals found in burning tobacco (over 40 of which are known to be carcinogenic). That smoke you took in didn’t just gum up your lungs, but passed immediately into your bloodstream. The carbon monoxide in the smoke displaced oxygen, making you tired and breathless. Nicotine sped up your heart rate and raised your blood pressure. When you lit a cigarette your body temperature also fell, and less blood flowed to your arms, legs, and feet. If you’re feeling tingling now in your fingers and toes, it’s because you’re noticing improved circulation. If you still want a cigarette, try the 4 D’s: Drink water, Delay, Deep-breathe, Do something else. The craving will go away in a couple of minutes — If you don’t smoke DAY 6 You do exercise, don’t you? Exercise lets you fully reap the sense of well-being that comes from not smoking. Exercise does well what the body does badly, which is to alleviate anxiety, depression, and restlessness. Both smoking and exercise give the brain’s neurotransmitters a boost, but the effects of exercise are much longer lasting. A cigarette produces only a few minutes’ reprieve from anxiety; a good workout creates genuine relaxation, lasting hours. For those who worry about getting fat, exercise is a critical part of the program. It’s necessary to find an exercise you can bring yourself to do regularly. You can hate running and still like ice skating or racquetball or weight lifting or bicycling or swimming or yoga. Good old walking will do fine. An easy stroll is far better than nothing. In your early weeks of not smoking, you should try to at least one exercise break a day. The exertion cuts the craving for a cigarette, and there is satisfaction in making the most of your body’s growing capabilities–now that it is no longer a smoking machine. DAY 7 "Just for today" is a key slogan in Nicotine Anonymous. "Just for today, I will not smoke." You may reassess the situation tomorrow, whereupon you may decide to smoke again. Thus, your only problem is getting through today. In the years to come, if you want to smoke, say to yourself, "Well, maybe tomorrow." Tomorrow, one hopes, you will decide you can get through tomorrow. This takes the chill off making a lifetime decision. The thought of forever may be too much to contemplate. And if tomorrow seems too close to forever, there’s "just for the next 7 minutes I will not smoke."

  Response:

  : I loved these, haven’t seen them in eons.. aren’t they originally from a : book or something? : Thanks for reposting them, they are great to read I don’t remember, Kita… at least I didn’t save that info.  I did see that the following is in a couple of them: : > By: Meditations for surviving without cigarettes Hugs, Kathleen

  Response:

  I loved these, haven’t seen them in eons.. aren’t they originally from a book or something? Thanks for reposting them, they are great to read – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Posted originally by Padders, these really have helped many people…. > With hope and heart, > Kathleen > DAY 1 > Welcome to the majority. Only 26 percent of adult Americans smoke, and > they nearly all wish they didn’t. Public opinion holds smokers in low > esteem. When a person lights up a cigarette, others see a poor soul > lacking in self-control, a victim. To put it unkindly, a drug addict. > After all, precious few people smoke because they want to. They smoke > because they can’t stop. Yet they are surrounded by people who could > stop and did. How does that make them feel? > Bad. As you did until today. No you have crossed to the other side. > You can hold up your head. You can sit in the non-smoking section. You > don’t have to subject yourself to other people’s whims by asking the > sniveling questions "Mind if I smoke?" Now you’re as good as they > are. > Twenty minutes after your last cigarette, nicotine ceased to affect > your blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature. Within 8 hours, the > carbon monoxide level in your blood drastically fell, and increased > oxygen is now reaching all the tissues of your body. > By: Meditations for surviving without cigarettes > DAY 2 > Don’t feel sorry for yourself. People moan about the pain of quitting, > but what about the pleasure? Things are looking up already. You’ve > cleared out those vile ashtrays. You smell better. You don’t have to > look for your cigarettes. > You probably don’t feel your best today. You crave a cigarette, > naturally. You expected that. But you may also be bowed down by > headaches, nausea, sweatiness, aches, and digestive upsets. Not to > mention irritability, restlessness, anxiety, and difficulty > concentrating. These are normal nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and they > pass quickly. You can ignore them, or if you prefer, declare yourself > sick and go to bed. It’s best to stay away from smokers; this is a > perfect time to haunt museums, movie theatres, parks, and mountain > trails. one woman spent the first two no-smoking days on her bicycle > miserable and depressed. On the third day she felt wonderful. > Withdrawal is a nasty business. Wouldn’t care to repeat it, would you? > Even if you’re on a nicotine patch, you’re unlikely to be feeling > wholly yourself. Observe your feelings, as if they were a passing > parade. They will retreat, and so will the urge for a cigarette, > unless you smoke. Tomorrow will be different. > DAY 3 > You have conferred tremendous benefits on yourself by quitting > smoking. You’ve added not just eight years (on average age) to your > expected life span, but eight much healthier years than you could look > forward to as a smoker. Put to good use, they will be happier years, > too. You are now in a position to get more out of life than you ever > could as a smoker. That cloud of smoke stood between you and life’s > full experience. > At the moment you may be coughing or clearing your throat more than > ever before–so much that your chest may hurt. Be glad! You’ve > recovered the ability to clear out blocked airways, which were stuck > full of mucus. The clearing-out process lasts only a few days, and > your old smoker’s cough (the body’s attempt to protect itself from the > irritants in cigarette smoke) will be history in a few weeks. > Fatigue during the day and wakefulness at night are normal withdrawal > symptoms, not likely to last more than a few weeks. Intestinal upsets > can also last weeks, but most of your other symptoms will pass in a > day or two. The worst cigarette cravings should now be behind you. > DAY 4 > Your worst physical withdrawal symptoms should have passed by now. if > the only reason you smoked was that you’d once had the bad luck of > becoming addicted to nicotine, you’d be home free. > But people are not such fools that they smoke out of addiction alone. > They smoke because smoking is rewarding. Chances are, you have a > number of hurdles still to cross in your metamorphosis into a > non-smoker. In the past, smoking has helped you to regulate your > moods, ignore pain, control excitement, ward off anxiety, and medicate > depression. But as smoking provides only a distraction, not a cure, > smokers tend to have a lot of unfinished business in their psyches. > When someone stops smoking, he or she is apt to suffer most from the > intensity of emotions. The uplifting ones can be as intimidating as > the anxious ones. Both scream "CIGARETTE"!!! The trick is to let these > feelings rush by without succumbing to them. In time, you will learn > to tend your emotions far more affectively without cigarettes than you > ever did with them. > DAY 5 > As long as you smoked, your body operated under a tremendous > hindrance. It had to adapt not only to nicotine, but to the 4000 plus > other chemicals found in burning tobacco (over 40 of which are known > to be carcinogenic). That smoke you took in didn’t just gum up your > lungs, but passed immediately into your bloodstream. The carbon > monoxide in the smoke displaced oxygen, making you tired and > breathless. Nicotine sped up your heart rate and raised your blood > pressure. When you lit a cigarette your body temperature also fell, > and less blood flowed to your arms, legs, and feet. If you’re feeling > tingling now in your fingers and toes, it’s because you’re noticing > improved circulation. > If you still want a cigarette, try the 4 D’s: Drink water, Delay, > Deep-breathe, Do something else. The craving will go away in a couple > of minutes — If you don’t smoke > DAY 6 > You do exercise, don’t you? Exercise lets you fully reap the sense of > well-being that comes from not smoking. Exercise does well what the > body does badly, which is to alleviate anxiety, depression, and > restlessness. Both smoking and exercise give the brain’s > neurotransmitters a boost, but the effects of exercise are much longer > lasting. A cigarette produces only a few minutes’ reprieve from > anxiety; a good workout creates genuine relaxation, lasting hours. For > those who worry about getting fat, exercise > is a critical part of the program. > It’s necessary to find an exercise you can bring yourself to do > regularly. You can hate running and still like ice skating or > racquetball or weight lifting or bicycling or swimming or yoga. Good > old walking will do fine. An easy stroll is far better than nothing. > In your early weeks of not smoking, you should try to at least one > exercise break a day. The exertion cuts the craving for a cigarette, > and there is satisfaction in making the most of your body’s growing > capabilities–now that it is no longer a smoking machine. > DAY 7 > "Just for today" is a key slogan in Nicotine Anonymous. "Just for > today, I will not smoke." You may reassess the situation tomorrow, > whereupon you may decide to smoke again. Thus, your only problem is > getting through today. In the years to come, if you want to smoke, say > to yourself, "Well, maybe tomorrow." Tomorrow, one hopes, you will > decide you can get through tomorrow. This takes the chill off making a > lifetime decision. The thought of forever may be too much to > contemplate. And if tomorrow seems too close to forever, there’s "just > for the next 7 minutes I will not smoke."

  Response:

  DAY 22 If you’re still having strong impulses to smoke (or worse, succumbing to The impulses), keep track of what brings up the urge. Parties are hard for a lot of people. It may help if you break the ice when you arrive at a party by announcing immediately to somebody that you’ve quit smoking. After that, most people find it too humiliating to be seen with a cigarette. If that doesn’t work, lay off parties for awhile. Not smoking is more important. The liquor at parties adds to an ex-smoker’s vulnerability. If drinking makes you smoke, then drinking may have to go. And if you can’t stop drinking, you have a drinking problem. Call Alcoholics Anonymous or the National Council on Alcoholism. DAY 23 The American obsession with thinness has the tragic effect of keeping many people hooked on cigarettes. It’s all very well for doctors to say that you could gain 100 pounds and still be healthier than if you smoked. Given the choice, you’d rather be dead. There is a fair chance that you are going to end up weighing more than you did while you smoked, but probably not by much. It appears that smoking lowers your natural weight–setpoint–and so when you stop, the body perceives itself as underweight. Consequently, you may suddenly find yourself eating like a horse. The important thing is not to panic and imagine that you’re gong to go on eating like a horse indefinitely. Once the body reaches its new chosen weight, your appetite will drop off. A few people do add considerable poundage, which can take a few years to deal with, but a fair number of people do not gain weight at all. Exercise, like smoking, seems to lower the body’s setpoint, as well as transforming belly fat to muscle. DAY 24 The life of a smoker has become particularly miserable in recent years now that many households are hostile to smoking. A visit with friends entails suffering for the smoker. While others are making merry, the smoker is longing for a cigarette. She becomes more and more distracted as the question looms larger "When can she make a break for it?" Just as she’s about to go into the garden for a cigarette, dinner is served. After dinner, when it would seem reasonable to have a little smoke outdoors, some bore is telling an endless story, and she can’t politely exit until it’s finished. And then soon after she’s served her addiction, the old urge starts all over again. It’s just as bad in restaurants. Even understanding friends may admit that smelling smoke while they’re eating makes them sick. Smoking was certainly more fun when there was a happy conviviality about it. Now, a person who unveils a pack of cigarettes feels like a murderer. DAY 25 In your first few weeks as a nonsmoker, your sleep may be disturbed, but you may soon be sleeping more soundly than you did before, particularly if you’ve been getting some exercise. You may find yourself needing more sleep than you used to (you’re more active during the day) or less (you have more energy). Don’t get overtired, which leads to carelessness, which leads to smoking. Meanwhile, keep a good book next to your bedside and be glad you don’t have to worry about falling asleep with a cigarette in your hand. In Baltimore, a three-year study found that more than half the house fires were caused by smoking. Of those who died, 39 percent were not the smokers themselves. DAY 26 Although cigarettes have been the downfall of most contemporary tobacco addicts, there are other ways to go — pipes, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco. In India there’s the problem of reverse chutta smoking–which is the smoking of a cigarlike stick with the lit end inside the mouth. The practioners of these minority methods should not imagine that they are exempt from the problems of cigarette smoking. When the mortality statistics are highest for cigarettes, each method of nicotine intake has its own nasty side effects. Pipe smokers have high rates of lip and pharynx cancer; cigar smokers get tongue cancer; and snuff and chewing tobacco lead to tongue and gum cancer and heart disease. Furthermore, all nicotine users are drug addicts and consequently to some degree are escaping reality and operating beneath capacity. If your problem was tobacco, but not cigarettes, just substitute the name of your habit when reading this book. Be assured that your vice, whatever it was, was just as vile as cigarettes. DAY 27 Among smoking diseases, lung cancer is one of the quicker ways to go. Emphysema is one of the lingering ones. The air sacs of the lungs are destroyed; by the time the disease is diagnosed a large percentage of these sacs are gone. The sufferer may be left struggling for breath for years before death comes. Smokers have ten times the emphysema rate of non-smokers. Even in the early years of smoking, tobacco is inflicting permanent damage on the lungs. Damaged lungs cannot be reconstituted, but fortunately one can breathe with lungs that operate way below capacity. If the damage is arrested, one may be lucky enough to never seriously suffer from the harm already done. DAY 28 It may seem surprising that the simple act of smoking can cause such varied damage to remote areas of the body. The explanation is that tobacco smoke is made up of a wide variety of toxic chemicals that circulate through the entire body in the bloodstream. Carbon monoxide is only one of the deadly chemicals produced. Nicotine itself is the usual suspect when it comes to raising blood pressure and forming blood clots, but it’s the other chemicals that cause cancer. More than forty have been identified as carcinogens, and some are complete carcinogens, capable of starting tumors single-handedly. One is beta-naphtylamine, which causes bladder cancer, a cancer seven to 10 times more common in smokers than in nonsmokers. Wherever tar lands in the system, it produces abnormal cells, which is where cancers start. For pipe and cigar smokers who don’t inhale, the main cancer sites are the lips, tongue, mouth, jaws, larynx, and esophagus. For cigarette smokers, the primary list goes on to include the lungs, bladder, kidneys, and pancreas. DAY 29 The debate is over as to whether it is harmful to be on the other end of the smoker’s cigarette. It is. Passive smoking is now recognized as the third leading preventable cause of death – after active smoking and drinking. Nonsmokers living with smokers have a 30 percent (or higher, according to some studies) risk of death from heart attacks. And nonsmokers who live with smokers cannot be dismissed as the kinds of people who have heart attacks anyhow. The platelets of nonsmokers sitting for twenty minutes in a waiting room with smokers became stickier-a condition that leads to heart attacks. In one study, 69 percent of nonsmokers developed eye irritation when among smokers; 29 percent had nasal symptoms; 32 percent had headaches; and 25 percent developed coughs. And these were the non-allergic nonsmokers. The percentages were much higher among those with allergies. The nonsmoking majority is fighting back, and public places and work sites now often prohibit smoking. It is in the home that smokers most often find their victims-defenseless children. Day 30 Many are the ex-smokers who have turned to cigarettes at times of pressure. And just as many have been sorry afterward. When the heat is on, it’s easy to forget your priorities, such as how much you care about not smoking. There you are, your mind agitated when a devious thought comes to you: "I need a cigarette." And many months later, the only reason you may have to remember that day is that it was the day you started smoking again. It’s only the moment you have to get through, and the urge will pass. So be ready for it. Proactive. Conjure up difficult situations in which you turn down cigarettes. There you are in the hotel bar late at night when your ex-wife walks in. You suffered for two years after she left. She looks better than ever. She’s with her new husband. You’re with a friend who smokes. DON’T REACH FOR HIS CIGARETTES. That sensation of a rib breaking your chest will pass. You could be stuck with cigarettes forever. DAY 31 You’ve done it! A month without cigarettes. This is a time for celebration-perhaps a long-distance call to someone who will appreciate this good news? It’s also time for one of your periodic counting of blessings. Think back to the state you were in when you smoked. Do you feel better now? Look better? Smell better? Sleep better? Do you get more done? Do you hold your head higher? So, maybe not. Maybe you’re a nervous wreck. Maybe you chew your fingernails or scream at your children. Some people find themselves depressed at this point. If you smoked to avoid facing inner problems, the problems may have become much more apparent since you stopped smoking. But you still have something to be thankful for-at least you’re on the road to recovery. You’re not hiding in your private smoke shelter anymore. Possibly you could benefit from professional insight. Most medical plans offer short-term psychological help-and consider it particularly cost-effective in the case of people giving up smoking.

  Response:

  Day 15 Irritability is a big complaint of people who quit smoking. All those little things that you once took in your stride bug you. The sound of certain voices may make you feel murderous. Being put on hold is more than you can take. Trying to be civil is exhausting. You miss the old easygoing Joe or Jill everybody was so fond of; anything that got on your nerves was met with a cigarette. You can be fairly confident that your irritability level will go down in the next two weeks, although you may not become like Buddha. It’s possible that behind that curtain of smoke, which you raised whenever any small annoyance was at hand, is a somewhat irritable person, one of the reasons you smoked was to obscure that unwelcome fact. Becoming less irritable, which you can do, may take some time and effort–with meditation, therapy, fresh air, biofeedback, exercise, etc. There are, however, some things that are just plain irritating, such as injustice and dishonesty. These should rightfully be met with action, rather than with either smoking or a smile. Day 16 It helps to practice turning down cigarettes before the chance even arises. Imagine Rhett Butler sidling up next to you while you’re standing line at the movies. "Cigarette?" he says. "NO THANK YOU. I DON’T SMOKE," you say. Rhett won’t stick around, but you could be stuck with the cigarettes for years to come. Suppose something frightening happens. Your brother is out fishing, there’s a storm, his boat doesn’t return. You are waiting at the pier with your sister-in-law, who is chain-smoking. DON’T SMOKE. Whatever happens, smoking will only make it worse. Actually, it’s usually the mundane situations that get you. Your cousin, a nonstop talker who has been boring you out of your skull for 25 years, is visiting. In a moment of clarity, you realize that chain-smoking got you through his visits before. Get out your knitting. Or get him out. If a situation is driving you to smoke, change the situation. DAY 17 A smoker is a slave, at the beck and call of a cigarette. you, however, are now free. As your life need no longer be arranged around smoke breaks, you can go anywhere and do anything. If you’ve dreamed of exploring interior New Guinea, you can go without worrying about running out of cigarettes. And speaking of running, you don’t get that awful pain deep in your lungs anymore when you dash for a bus. If you’re lucky, you stopped smoking before you had a heart attack. Young persons who have heart attacks are overwhelmingly smokers. The chemicals in tobacco accelerate arteriosclerosis, and hearts of smokers are starved for oxygen. Carbon monoxide, inhaled from tobacco, readily displaces oxygen in the bloodstream. A smoker has 8 to 30 times as much carbon monoxide in his/her veins as a nonsmoker–thus getting less oxygen than a nonsmoker would at 8,000 feet. Young males who smoke two packs a day have seven times the risk of a heart attack as nonsmokers. For young women–under age 50– smoking two packs a day raises the risk for heart attack to ten times that of nonsmoking women. DAY 18 Has anyone commented on how much better you smell? There are no two ways about it: smokers stink. One can usually detect a smoker by smell alone, and stale tobacco is not an endearing odor. A smoker’s house stinks, too. Most of us do not care to hang around inside one. Often it’s also overheated because the smoker has poor circulation and jacks the thermometer up. The smell inside a smoker’s car does not bear mention. DAY 19 Another aesthetic consideration: wrinkles. Women especially wrinkle up from smoking, probably because of a lack of blood flow to the skin. One study of smokers and wrinkling, based on photographic portraits, concluded that smokers ages 40 to 49 had as many wrinkles as non smokers 20 years older. The coloring of a smoker isn’t pretty either. Likewise due to lack of blood circulation, the skin tends to be sallow, lacking that slight blush that adds to sex appeal. No amount of makeup substitutes for moist, dewy skin. You probably already look far better than you id twelve days ago. Men have tougher skin, but men who smoke are still far more likely to be excessively wrinkled than nonsmokers. Smoking certainly undermines the virile look, and a smoking man looks more beaten than bold. And in time, the health problems associated with smoking do their sad work. Nobody who is carrying an oxygen bottle looks sexy. DAY 20 Besides the smell and the wrinkles, another giveaway that someone is a smoker is stained, yellow teeth. Young people may escape tobacco-colored teeth for awhile, but eventually the effect catch up with them. Smokers get four to five times more gum disease than non smokers and are more likely to lose their teeth at an early age. A study of 17,000 people in Buffalo, new York, revealed that the condition of the gums and underlying bones of smokers was comparable to that of non-smokers fifteen years older. Among women with osteoporosis, the smokers are three times more likely to lose their teeth than the nonsmokers. Now’s the time to make an appointment for a teeth cleaning to get the old cigarette stains off. Your teeth should look a lot better afterward and will stay that way if you don’t smoke. If there’s irreversible damage, you may want to look into the new staining and bonding process. DAY 21 Nicotine Anonymous is a fast-spreading program. Like Alcoholics Anonymous, it is based on twelve steps, it has no dues or fees, and meetings are run by unpaid members. Sabrina P. has been attending meetings weekly for the two years since she stopped smoking. "I’d tried everything by the time I got to Nic Anon. The support and awareness I found there are the reasons I’m not smoking today. I had to realize that I’m an addict. That’s the baseline. People at meetings said, "Don’t listen to your brain, except for entertainment, because it’s addicted." I had been smoking two packs a day for thirty years. Who knew what this person was like without a drug? "Cigarettes had been my high power. They regulated my life. I preferred smoking to sex. When I smoked, I never felt alone because I had my cigarettes. When I put my cigarettes down I couldn’t stand the gaping hole inside. I felt I was one of those smokers who would smoke through the hole after a tracheotomy. It’s a miracle that I stopped. I prayed, I worked in my garden for six hours nonstop, I stood in my living room and screamed. People at meetings would say that if you’re going to stop smoking you have to be prepared to change your life. I was and I did. I’m not just healthier. I’m calmer, I have self-esteem, and my relationships are far better. Smoking kept me shame-based, a word I picked up from John Bradshaw. I’m not shame-based anymore."

  Response:

  DAY 8 Congratulations! Your first and worst week without cigarettes is over. It is not, however, time to relax your vigilance. Instead, count your blessings. You look better, you smell better, and you’re welcome wherever you go. You are probably enjoying your food more, too. Few great cooks are smokers, as smokers generally lack both the passion for food and the nose for it. You may, however, now be demonstrating an obsession with food that you’d rather not have, and you should take certain precautions. If you crave sweets, suck on lemon drops or Life Savers. Bowls of sunflower seeds around the house are diverting. Keep plenty of fruit, juice, and ice water on hand, and fill the fridge with ready to eat vegetable snacks. You can use the vitamins; as a smoker, you needed more and absorbed less. And eat good square meals, remembering that the US Government recommends that we all eat five to seven servings of fruit and vegetables each day. This is no time to diet. Chew gum if you must, but bear in mind that some people find gum chewing even more irritating than smoking. DAY 9 Even though he quit 16 years ago, Micheal Mery vividly remembers how difficult it was. "I loathed myself for smoking, for trashing myself, but it still took me a long time to quit. When I finally did stop, the first three days were just the normal physical withdrawal. Then a light-headedness set in that was so extreme that I was borderline dangerous. (Mery is a carpenter and works with power tools). At the same time, I was almost euphoric not to be smoking. "I’d also break out in a sweat from head to foot while just sitting in a chair, and I had major joint pain. I was irritable for months. Three months after I quit I had a drag of my then-wife’s cigarette. Having that one drag filled me with fury at myself for being so stupid. That was the last time I smoked." "I didn’t notice much physical change until one day I was shovelling horse manure into my truck for my mother’s garden. I was in a big hurry, and I loaded up in less than twenty minutes. As I drove away I was amazed to notice I wasn’t winded. Now, I run twenty miles a week. I’m just grateful to be free of cigarettes. DAY 10 Day by day, this book takes note of the milestones the ex-smoker passes along the road to recovery. Some body parts recuperate quickly, some slowly. For ease of reference, we collect together here some of the highlights in the progress of an ex-smoker. Twenty minutes after the last cigarette: Blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature return to normal. Eight hours later: Carbon monoxide level in the blood falls, allowing oxygen level to rise. Seventy-two hours later: The bronchial tubes relax, and breathing becomes easier. The lung power increases. Coughing decreases. Two weeks to three months: Circulation improves; stamina increases; lung capacity increases up to 30 percent Two Months: Chronic cough completely disappears One to nine months: Sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease. The cilia regrow in the lungs. One year: Risk of heart disease falls to half that of a current smoker Five years: Risk of heat attack and stroke almost equals that of a never smoker Six years: Risk of bladder cancer becomes half that of a never-smoker Ten years: Risk of lung cancer drops to half that of a never-smoker Fifteen years: Risk of lung cancer drops to almost that of a never-smoker Day 11 Chances are that you still feel a berserk craving for a cigarette from time to time. Even nonbelievers may take recourse in prayer at such moments. Saying "God help me" (white breathing deeply) comes as naturally to quitters as it does to drowning sailors. Both are, after all, fighting for their lives. Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, felt that people smoke, or took other intoxicants, to drown the conscience. He gives as an example the cook who cut his lady’s throat but could not finish her off until he smoked a cigarette. Thieves, gamblers, and prostitutes nearly all smoke–and so do people in lawful professions, says Tolstoy, if their behavior requires them to quiet their consciences. DAY 12 Most smokers cling to the odd idea that cigarettes reduce stress. In fact, the effect of smoking is quite the opposite. On lighting a cigarette, the pulse speeds up, blood pressure increases, and the heart pumps faster.  The smoker may enjoy a moments tranquillity when the nicotine hits the brain, but that is quickly followed by the agitation of withdrawal. So the next cigarette quickly follows, sending a further valley of toxins into the body and to the nervous system. The upshot is that smoking is the world’s worst way to cope with stress. Rx for stress: Take three deep breaths, and hold the last one as long as you can. Have a hot bath. Run around the block. Do some stretches. Envision snowcapped mountains. Find someone pleasant to talk to. Pour out your soul into a notebook. Go to bed early. Day 13 Coffee drinking and smoking go together in the minds of many smokers like the proverbial horse and carriage — so much so that some cigarette quitters feel they must renounce coffee also. But adding the stress of giving up coffee to that of giving up cigarettes can be unduly traumatic. Most cigarette quitters would just as soon postpone caffeine withdrawal, perhaps till the grave. However, you might as wee be advised to cut down on the quantity of caffeine you’re taking in. Smokers metabolize caffeine faster than nonsmokers. In one test, caffeine levels went up 46 percent after smokers quit smoking–while still drinking the same amount of coffee. This could account for some of the irritability and nervousness attributed to cigarette withdrawal. So add some decaf to your usual coffee brew, and if need be, alter your rituals. The after-breakfast cup of coffee causes many recent ex-smokers to grieve for their after-breakfast cigarettes. Have that second cup of coffee (maybe decaf) but don’t sit around with it. Stroll in the garden. Strum the old guitar you’ve stowed in the closet. And this is an excellent time to write in your journal–where you can express those feelings you’re no longer trying to extinguish with smoke. Day14 Two weeks smoke free! You’re feeling like a real nonsmoker now, not even thinking about cigarettes for big chunks of time. You may still have bad moments, very likely in the evenings when you’re tired and your defenses are low. It’s a good idea to acquire new routines to get your mind off sinking into an easy chair with a cigarette. One couple who quit together now each evening take a stroll together. You may need to find things to do with your hands: Set up a picture puzzle, do the ironing, bake bread, groom the dog, sew, take up needlework, make a model airplane, pull weeds, or practice your golf swing. One ex-smoker started making a replica of the Vatican from a cut-out book. "It’s incredibly soothing," she says. "I methodically cut, fold, and glue, and the Vatican rises before me." Michelangelo didn’t smoke. If he had, at the age of eighty he could hardly been hanging from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling painting the frescoes.

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• BOYCOTT France Now !!!

  Question:

  And the Yanks are Stinky Big Cowards, they only pick on countries that cant fight back too much Jim —

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The French are stinky little COWARDS !!!!

  Response:

  an they send colored people (30%) and latinos on the front, people who don’t even have the nationality so that they’re sure they get the green card. Disgusting. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> And the Yanks are Stinky Big Cowards, they only pick on countries > that cant fight back too much > Jim > — > The French are stinky little COWARDS !!!!

  Response:

  > an they send colored people (30%) and latinos on the front, people who don’t > even have the nationality so that they’re sure they get the green card. > Disgusting.

  Without getting into the implications of the demographics of the US armed forces, this statement is simply not true.  One must be a legal resident of the US before one is allowed to enlist in the military.  What is true, though, is that enlistment puts legal residents/green cardholders on a fast track for US citizenship. GG

  Response:

  > an they send colored people (30%) and latinos on the front, people who don’t > even have the nationality so that they’re sure they get the green card. > Disgusting.

  Well, no one ever said the U.S. had a MONOPOLY on uninformed idiots! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> And the Yanks are Stinky Big Cowards, they only pick on countries > that cant fight back too much > Jim > — > > The French are stinky little COWARDS !!!!

  Response:

  As a former British citizen who, while still an "alien", joined the  U.S. Navy as an enlisted man and retired 25 years later as a commissioned officer, I can tell you that enlisting does not put you on a fast track for US citizenship.  I had to go through all of the hoops and wait the same time periods as any other applicant.  I was, however, proud to wear my uniform to my swearing in. Wee laddie

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> an they send colored people (30%) and latinos on the front, people who > don’t > even have the nationality so that they’re sure they get the green card. > Disgusting. > Without getting into the implications of the demographics of the US armed > forces, this statement is simply not true.  One must be a legal resident of > the US before one is allowed to enlist in the military.  What is true, > though, is that enlistment puts legal residents/green cardholders on a fast > track for US citizenship. > GG

  Response:

  > As a former British citizen who, while still an "alien", joined the  U.S. > Navy as an enlisted man and retired 25 years later as a commissioned > officer, I can tell you that enlisting does not put you on a fast track for > US citizenship.  I had to go through all of the hoops and wait the same time > periods as any other applicant.  I was, however, proud to wear my uniform to > my swearing in. > Wee laddie

  Now, however, it does put you on a faster track.  Bush issued an executive order in July to accomplish this. See http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/03/bush.military.citizenship/?related GG – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> > an they send colored people (30%) and latinos on the front, people who > don’t > > even have the nationality so that they’re sure they get the green card. > > Disgusting. > Without getting into the implications of the demographics of the US armed > forces, this statement is simply not true.  One must be a legal resident > of > the US before one is allowed to enlist in the military.  What is true, > though, is that enlistment puts legal residents/green cardholders on a > fast > track for US citizenship. > GG

  Response:

  Veuillez, s’il-vous-pla

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• thank you for being so fake.

  Question:

  Good post.  Keep on Keeping on Future.   Don’t smoke, Joy of+ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->For months and months.. I’ve been despairing over a losing someone.  I >was rejected, despite how much I gave, how much I cared.  In essence I >gave much of my heart, and paid the price these past few months. >The reasons she gave me why it couldn’t work, because of how she wants >to be single for a while, I’m a few years older than her, we’re in >different places in our lives.  Those all rang true to me; they were the >same nagging doubts I had, except I pushed them aside and let my >emotions take over.  There was definite chemistry between us.  we’d been >through so much in so little time, due to some unfortunate >circumstances.  we we could talk, make each other laugh, etc.  and every >time we saw each other there was this closeness, intimacy, and at those >times it seemed so right, and moreover, possible. >Now I find that everything she said was a lie, all the excuses.  She’s >"hooked up" with someone recently, someone many years older than I am.   >And you know what, it feels good.  It feels good to finally be certain >that she really was taking advantage of me, of how I was willing to help >her out whenever she asked, how I was willing to be there for her when >nobody else would.  Sure it was obvious to me how I only heard from her >when she wanted something from me, but I never outright knew, because I >thought that possibly she shared the same frustration as me: wanting to >be together, but knowing that it can’t work, at least not now.  These >thing she expressed to me, not just in words.  And I tell you, as >upsetting as it may be that I was rejected for some other reason, it’s >eclipsed by the joy I’m feeling to know that I don’t have to give her >the time of day anymore, I don’t have to wonder if she’s as tormented as >I, because, well, she’s not.  She’s not worth my time or my feelings. >I have to thank her for doing more than Zyban (in its anti-depressant >form) could ever do for me. >I was gonna OT the subject but it’s kind of relevant: she’s one of the >main reasons I’ve had major trouble quitting, and why I started up again >in the first place. >phase >(nearing 1m..Three weeks, six days, 16 hours, 26 minutes and 46 seconds) >—-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- >http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups >—= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  > Good evening, Phase, > I’m sorry that you are going through this. It’s that simple. I don’t > have the time to say all i want to right now, but I will be back > later. I just wanted you to know I care how you feel. I’ll be back > soon.

  Hi, Thanks … I realized after posting I didn’t fully explain everything.  Any time I saw her over the past month, which wasn’t that much, and usually when she needed me to help her out, she’d maintain the story that she was torn.  It almost always ended dramatically.  So… I allowed myself to believe it, mostly that she didn’t want to be in a relationship right now, she’s "not ready", too unstable.  And yeah okay I completely agree with that, she’s fucked up, addicted to drugs (one of them nicotine, another worse), likes to socialize, party, go places I wouldn’t be caught dead.  I don’t know why, my emotions took over, I wouldn’t listen to my own reason, not unlike how I ignore all my sensibilities when I crave a cigarette.  And so for three months now, I’ve gone in and out of depression, because things in my life weren’t going too well in the first place. Then like, this morning, I read on a web page journal of hers, she found someone last week, she’s so happy, even though her parents aren’t keen on the idea that he’s eight years older.  I think her parents’ disapproval though is part of what drives her attraction towards guys, because her parents actually like me.  That’s weird, because no girlfriend’s parents have EVER liked me.  In one case our relationship was forbidden, but that’s another story.  Anyway, they liked me probably because I sat by her side for countless hours overnight in the emergency room, then later in the hospital, when none of her friends bothered to stay more than 5 minutes, and most of them didn’t even come at all.  We were really close during that time.  And before that, we’d had some romantic encounters I guess you could say.  but… the more she recovered, the more distant she got, the less affectionate.  I think I bored some of you on IRC with this story a month ago ok2bwild was there, if I recall … So besides being traumatized by the whole hospital incident (what happened to her, it’s like my worst fear, and to see her helpless in the ER for 12 hours with no one being able to help, no effective medication, that’s something hard to forget) I kept feeling bad that it didn’t work out, it felt so right.  I saw her from time to time last month, and we’d be close again, we’d talk about a relationship, she’d have to think about it, etc.   Now that she’s sort of revealed herself, going against everything she told me was why we couldn’t be together, I feel good knowing that she’s completely full of shit.  I guess it was a lot harder having this image of perfection in my mind, even though it was far from perfect, and coping with the loss of it.  I suspected she was taking advantage of me.   Now I guess I feel kind of vindicated.  Now it won’t hurt so much when she asks me to do something and I have to say no to protect my feelings, like I’m obligated to as a friend… when she’s never really been my mind, I’ve only been hers. A weight has been lifted.  it isn’t making me happy by any means, but maybe it’ll end up being one less thing to dwell on.  Why waste my thoughts & time on someone who doesn’t care.  I knew that logic before.   Now maybe I’ll be able to apply it. phase One month, 5 minutes and 44 seconds. =) —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  > FMD?  Phase that’s lovely!!  Start a new thread for congrats!!

  No no not necessary but thanks very much… I move in four days.  I’m excited & not stressed.  I actually feel okay for the first time in months.  Does peace of mind await?  hmm… who knows.  I think it’s gonna be a long process… but I’m looking forward to it.   optimism!  who knew?!  just have to hold on… kind regards phase One month, 18 hours, 18 minutes and 45 seconds. —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  > protect my feelings, like I’m obligated to as a friend… when she’s > never really been my mind, I’ve only been hers.

  that was supposed to say "when she’s never really been mine" —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  Phase, I am truly sorry about your friend.  Betrayals hurt like hell, don’t they? You’re doing the best you can by taking what positives you can take away from this situation; that speaks volumes about your character and you can feel pretty good about that. You can also feel pretty good about this: > phase > One month, 5 minutes and 44 seconds. =)

  I’m glad to see you got your first month done there.  Congratulations hugs, elle — "The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true." -James Branch Cabell

  Response:

  Hi Phase, this definately sounds like a "good riddance to bad rubbish" sort of relationship, I’ve had a few of those. The relief of them being over is almost, but not quite, worth having them in the first place. Sorta like banging your head against the wall and then noticing how good it feels when you finally stop. Seejee

  <snipped> > Now I find that everything she said was a lie, all the excuses.  <snipped>  She’s not worth my time or my feelings.

  <snipped>

  Response:

  There ain’t no cloud so thick that the sun ain’t shinin’ on t’other side.- Rattlesnake,an 1870s mountain man (beliefnet quote the other day)

  Response:

  FMD?  Phase that’s lovely!!  Start a new thread for congrats!! WHOO HOO, PHASE! You did it, and you will recover from what’s-her-name. Way to go, and stay strong DG

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Good evening, Phase, > I’m sorry that you are going through this. It’s that simple. I don’t > have the time to say all i want to right now, but I will be back > later. I just wanted you to know I care how you feel. I’ll be back > soon. > Hi, > Thanks … > I realized after posting I didn’t fully explain everything.  Any time I > saw her over the past month, which wasn’t that much, and usually when > she needed me to help her out, she’d maintain the story that she was > torn.  It almost always ended dramatically.  So… I allowed myself to > believe it, mostly that she didn’t want to be in a relationship right > now, she’s "not ready", too unstable.  And yeah okay I completely agree > with that, she’s fucked up, addicted to drugs (one of them nicotine, > another worse), likes to socialize, party, go places I wouldn’t be > caught dead.  I don’t know why, my emotions took over, I wouldn’t listen > to my own reason, not unlike how I ignore all my sensibilities when I > crave a cigarette.  And so for three months now, I’ve gone in and out of > depression, because things in my life weren’t going too well in the > first place. > Then like, this morning, I read on a web page journal of hers, she found > someone last week, she’s so happy, even though her parents aren’t keen > on the idea that he’s eight years older.  I think her parents’ > disapproval though is part of what drives her attraction towards guys, > because her parents actually like me.  That’s weird, because no > girlfriend’s parents have EVER liked me.  In one case our relationship > was forbidden, but that’s another story.  Anyway, they liked me probably > because I sat by her side for countless hours overnight in the emergency > room, then later in the hospital, when none of her friends bothered to > stay more than 5 minutes, and most of them didn’t even come at all.  We > were really close during that time.  And before that, we’d had some > romantic encounters I guess you could say.  but… the more she > recovered, the more distant she got, the less affectionate.  I think I > bored some of you on IRC with this story a month ago ok2bwild was > there, if I recall … > So besides being traumatized by the whole hospital incident (what > happened to her, it’s like my worst fear, and to see her helpless in the > ER for 12 hours with no one being able to help, no effective medication, > that’s something hard to forget) I kept feeling bad that it didn’t work > out, it felt so right.  I saw her from time to time last month, and we’d > be close again, we’d talk about a relationship, she’d have to think > about it, etc. > Now that she’s sort of revealed herself, going against everything she > told me was why we couldn’t be together, I feel good knowing that she’s > completely full of shit.  I guess it was a lot harder having this image > of perfection in my mind, even though it was far from perfect, and > coping with the loss of it.  I suspected she was taking advantage of me. > Now I guess I feel kind of vindicated.  Now it won’t hurt so much when > she asks me to do something and I have to say no to protect my feelings, > like I’m obligated to as a friend… when she’s never really been my > mind, I’ve only been hers. > A weight has been lifted.  it isn’t making me happy by any means, but > maybe it’ll end up being one less thing to dwell on.  Why waste my > thoughts & time on someone who doesn’t care.  I knew that logic before. > Now maybe I’ll be able to apply it. > phase > One month, 5 minutes and 44 seconds. =) > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption

  =—

  Response:

  For months and months.. I’ve been despairing over a losing someone.  I was rejected, despite how much I gave, how much I cared.  In essence I gave much of my heart, and paid the price these past few months. The reasons she gave me why it couldn’t work, because of how she wants to be single for a while, I’m a few years older than her, we’re in different places in our lives.  Those all rang true to me; they were the same nagging doubts I had, except I pushed them aside and let my emotions take over.  There was definite chemistry between us.  we’d been through so much in so little time, due to some unfortunate circumstances.  we we could talk, make each other laugh, etc.  and every time we saw each other there was this closeness, intimacy, and at those times it seemed so right, and moreover, possible. Now I find that everything she said was a lie, all the excuses.  She’s "hooked up" with someone recently, someone many years older than I am.   And you know what, it feels good.  It feels good to finally be certain that she really was taking advantage of me, of how I was willing to help her out whenever she asked, how I was willing to be there for her when nobody else would.  Sure it was obvious to me how I only heard from her when she wanted something from me, but I never outright knew, because I thought that possibly she shared the same frustration as me: wanting to be together, but knowing that it can’t work, at least not now.  These thing she expressed to me, not just in words.  And I tell you, as upsetting as it may be that I was rejected for some other reason, it’s eclipsed by the joy I’m feeling to know that I don’t have to give her the time of day anymore, I don’t have to wonder if she’s as tormented as I, because, well, she’s not.  She’s not worth my time or my feelings. I have to thank her for doing more than Zyban (in its anti-depressant form) could ever do for me. I was gonna OT the subject but it’s kind of relevant: she’s one of the main reasons I’ve had major trouble quitting, and why I started up again in the first place. phase (nearing 1m..Three weeks, six days, 16 hours, 26 minutes and 46 seconds) —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  You hot shit, you. And, you know – I think you have a sense of this – and I see it as clear as day – you are One Lucky Bastard! Never think otherwise! > Three weeks, six days, 16 hours, 26 minutes and 46 > seconds)

  You GO, guy!!!! Tom HOF +

  Response:

  Glad to see you’re hitting a month today – me too! Dealing with the opposite sex is always problematic, even when two people are crazy in love – but quitting smoking is just one person dealing with themself and can be forever! Keep working on it, I am – Marilynn – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > For months and months.. I’ve been despairing over a losing someone.  I > was rejected, despite how much I gave, how much I cared.  In essence I > gave much of my heart, and paid the price these past few months. > The reasons she gave me why it couldn’t work, because of how she wants > to be single for a while, I’m a few years older than her, we’re in > different places in our lives.  Those all rang true to me; they were the > same nagging doubts I had, except I pushed them aside and let my > emotions take over.  There was definite chemistry between us.  we’d been > through so much in so little time, due to some unfortunate > circumstances.  we we could talk, make each other laugh, etc.  and every > time we saw each other there was this closeness, intimacy, and at those > times it seemed so right, and moreover, possible. > Now I find that everything she said was a lie, all the excuses.  She’s > "hooked up" with someone recently, someone many years older than I am.   > And you know what, it feels good.  It feels good to finally be certain > that she really was taking advantage of me, of how I was willing to help > her out whenever she asked, how I was willing to be there for her when > nobody else would.  Sure it was obvious to me how I only heard from her > when she wanted something from me, but I never outright knew, because I > thought that possibly she shared the same frustration as me: wanting to > be together, but knowing that it can’t work, at least not now.  These > thing she expressed to me, not just in words.  And I tell you, as > upsetting as it may be that I was rejected for some other reason, it’s > eclipsed by the joy I’m feeling to know that I don’t have to give her > the time of day anymore, I don’t have to wonder if she’s as tormented as > I, because, well, she’s not.  She’s not worth my time or my feelings. > I have to thank her for doing more than Zyban (in its anti-depressant > form) could ever do for me. > I was gonna OT the subject but it’s kind of relevant: she’s one of the > main reasons I’ve had major trouble quitting, and why I started up again > in the first place. > phase > (nearing 1m..Three weeks, six days, 16 hours, 26 minutes and 46 seconds) > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  Good evening, Phase, I’m sorry that you are going through this. It’s that simple. I don’t have the time to say all i want to right now, but I will be back later. I just wanted you to know I care how you feel. I’ll be back soon. Lisa One week, three days, 39 minutes and 28 seconds. 200 cigarettes not smoked, saving $22.96. Life saved: 16 hours, 40 minutes. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > For months and months.. I’ve been despairing over a losing someone.  I > was rejected, despite how much I gave, how much I cared.  In essence I > gave much of my heart, and paid the price these past few months. > The reasons she gave me why it couldn’t work, because of how she wants > to be single for a while, I’m a few years older than her, we’re in > different places in our lives.  Those all rang true to me; they were the > same nagging doubts I had, except I pushed them aside and let my > emotions take over.  There was definite chemistry between us.  we’d been > through so much in so little time, due to some unfortunate > circumstances.  we we could talk, make each other laugh, etc.  and every > time we saw each other there was this closeness, intimacy, and at those > times it seemed so right, and moreover, possible. > Now I find that everything she said was a lie, all the excuses.  She’s > "hooked up" with someone recently, someone many years older than I am.   > And you know what, it feels good.  It feels good to finally be certain > that she really was taking advantage of me, of how I was willing to help > her out whenever she asked, how I was willing to be there for her when > nobody else would.  Sure it was obvious to me how I only heard from her > when she wanted something from me, but I never outright knew, because I > thought that possibly she shared the same frustration as me: wanting to > be together, but knowing that it can’t work, at least not now.  These > thing she expressed to me, not just in words.  And I tell you, as > upsetting as it may be that I was rejected for some other reason, it’s > eclipsed by the joy I’m feeling to know that I don’t have to give her > the time of day anymore, I don’t have to wonder if she’s as tormented as > I, because, well, she’s not.  She’s not worth my time or my feelings. > I have to thank her for doing more than Zyban (in its anti-depressant > form) could ever do for me. > I was gonna OT the subject but it’s kind of relevant: she’s one of the > main reasons I’ve had major trouble quitting, and why I started up again > in the first place. > phase > (nearing 1m..Three weeks, six days, 16 hours, 26 minutes and 46 seconds) > —-== Posted via Newsfeed.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

  Response:

  Mr Phase, I once had a 18 month quit under my belt, and guess what?  I started smoking again because of EXACTLY the situation that you write about here!!  I guess these problems are universal, no?  Don’t make the same mistake I did, Phase!!  Stay strong and stay off the smokes! -JoeD no smokes since 03 Oct 2001 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > For months and months.. I’ve been despairing over a losing someone.  I > …etc…

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• Barbados: Eat some fish. Hang with the locals.?

  Question:

  Hello, We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in Bridgetown. We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are not beachy, night cluby, golfy people We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in Barbados <smile>. We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I don’t know). TIA David David Rose —

  Response:

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello, > We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in > Bridgetown. > We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and > meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy > scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and > stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are > not beachy, night cluby, golfy people > We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can > just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. > Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in > Barbados <smile>. > We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car > (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I > don’t know).

  This sounds like a job for my man Leif!

  Response:

  >We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can >just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals.

  You can go to Oistins, eat some fish and hang with the locals in one of the bars there, although its not a quiet place, especially on Friday night.  Regarding rum-shops, Ive always heard that the’re kinda for men only, but my wife and I have ventured into them on numerous occasions in the eastern caribbean…you get a few raised eyebrows sometimes, but when they see your just visitors they welcome you, at least thats been our experience…you can buy the whole house a round of drinks for a few bucks as the rum is really cheap, and there will be no problem in striking up a conversation or two…ha john  

  Response:

  One thing is for sure: I would definitely get away from Bridgetown as much as possible. Even if you don’t have access to a car, it is relatively cheap to simply hire a taxi to give you a tour of much of the island. The countryside is absolutely beautiful and there is a lot to see. I found Bridgetown to be overcrowded, congested, and rather unpleasant compared to the rest of the island.

  Response:

  You assume that the "locals" will want to hang with you.  I am smart and old enough to know that this won’t work. The only way you will carry it off is to meet a person and gain his confidence and be asked to join him in whatever he is doing. You can walk into a run shop on Bdos, or into a local in Stornoway, but you will not be accepted.  They’ll make you feel at home, take your money, laugh at your jokes, and know that you’re an a**h***.  They usually ask "why would one of ‘them’ want to pretend he’s one of ‘us?" Barry

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello, > We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in > Bridgetown. > We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and > meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy > scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and > stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are > not beachy, night cluby, golfy people > We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can > just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. > Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in > Barbados <smile>. > We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car > (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I > don’t know). > TIA > David > David Rose > —

  Response:

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello, > We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in > Bridgetown. > We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and > meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy > scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and > stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are > not beachy, night cluby, golfy people > We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can > just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. > Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in > Barbados <smile>. > We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car > (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I > don’t know). > This sounds like a job for my man Leif!

  Yes it is. But I will wait a day or two. I am suffering from some depression these days, and hope to recover. Untill I feel a bit better, I don`t really feel like writing. So just wait, I will be back. Hopfully. Leif Arild

  Response:

  Oistins is the place to go.  Try Pam’s or one of the other small stalls. Not quiet but full of local colour and vibrancy on a Friday and Saturday. Charles

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello, > We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in > Bridgetown. > We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and > meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy > scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and > stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are > not beachy, night cluby, golfy people > We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can > just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. > Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in > Barbados <smile>. > We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car > (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I > don’t know). > TIA > David > David Rose > —

  Response:

  Jeez.. sounds like you’re old enough to be a drag.  Try turning the charm down and perhaps you won’t come off as such an a**h***.

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> You assume that the "locals" will want to hang with you.  I am smart and old > enough to know that this won’t work. > The only way you will carry it off is to meet a person and gain his > confidence and be asked to join him in whatever he is doing. > You can walk into a run shop on Bdos, or into a local in Stornoway, but you > will not be accepted.  They’ll make you feel at home, take your money, laugh > at your jokes, and know that you’re an a**h***.  They usually ask "why would > one of ‘them’ want to pretend he’s one of ‘us?" > Barry > Hello, > We are shortly going out to stay with family who are working in > Bridgetown. > We are looking forward to seeing Barbados for the first time and > meeting people, but are a bit apprehensive about the very touristy > scene. People keep telling us about Pirate and Wenches cruises and > stuff like that – which is fine if you like it, but we don’t. We are > not beachy, night cluby, golfy people > We really want to find some ‘quiet’ bars or rum-shops, where we can > just chill for the evening. Eat some fish. Hang with the locals. > Any leads would be appreciated – and will yield a drink if you are in > Barbados <smile>. > We will be in Hightown, St Michaels and MAY have access to a car > (although what good THAT will be after an evening at a rum shop I > don’t know). > TIA > David > David Rose > —

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• Med. Adjustment on Quitting Smoking

  Question:

  Kathy, I don’t have any particular disorders but at 3months quit, my husband told me I had been an angry person for as long as I’d known him.  At 4 1/2 months quit, he changed his mind and told me he remembered saying that but he didn’t feel that way anymore. Feelings come and go.  Be tough!  You just have to ride those feelings.  I felt everywhere I went.  I cussed, I cried, and I danced. It all evens out, it just takes a little while. With hope and heart, Kathleen — The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.   ~ J.R.R. : Today is day 10.  I felt somewhat anxious today, but made it.  I saw : my pdoc today (I am bipolar)and told him I’m on the patch.  I’ve only : been on the highest patch 21 mg. for 10 days now and it says to stay : on the high dose for six weeks before dropping to 14 mg.  My first : week I had severe anxiety when I dropped from wearing the patch 24 : hrs. a day to taking it off at night.  This withdrawal and anxiety : lasted about two days.  If anyone else out there is bipolar or has : anxiety disorder as well, he said to increase my mood stabalizer one : more pill at bedtime.  But what I failed to ask and he is only in on : Sat. mornings and doesn’t like phone calls, was when should I start : this increase for my anger management?  I still have over a month on : the 21 mg. patch before I step down if I follow the program.  I don’t : think I will feel anything like this again until I step down.  I am : scared to have these emotions but know they can’t be avoided when you : drop to a lower mg. patch, RIGHT?  I not only have to try and avoid : cravings but depression and anger and anxiety with all this and know : cold turkey didn’t work for me so I’m now trying the patch as last : resort.  I feel like I’m repeating myself in these postings.  Sorry. : Day 10 : Kathy

  Response:

  It really depends how long the med takes to kick in and how well you are currently managing anger.  If you are not having trouble now, and you know that the med will act rapidly, then you could wait and start taking it shortly before you drop down.  If you are having some control problems now, I would start taking it now, even if the problems are small.   I know that every bipolar person is different, but based on my own experiences and what I’ve read, cumulative stress can have a lasting impact on mood swing intensity in all bipolar people, and quitting smoking can cause a lot of stress.  Each time I am in an emotional situation, it takes me a while to regain my balance.  The more often it happens, the longer it takes to get balanced again.  I now take whatever steps I could to *prevent* any extreme emotions.  Of course, that is me… you know how you respond to stress.   I’ve yet to meet a bipolar person who didn’t know exactly how much stress they could handle… so… how much stress are you feeling?  Are you currently in need of medication to control extreme moods?  How long does the med take to kick in?  When you’ve answered those questions, you’ll know when to start taking the med. Diane M.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Today is day 10.  I felt somewhat anxious today, but made it.  I saw > my pdoc today (I am bipolar)and told him I’m on the patch.  I’ve only > been on the highest patch 21 mg. for 10 days now and it says to stay > on the high dose for six weeks before dropping to 14 mg.  My first > week I had severe anxiety when I dropped from wearing the patch 24 > hrs. a day to taking it off at night.  This withdrawal and anxiety > lasted about two days.  If anyone else out there is bipolar or has > anxiety disorder as well, he said to increase my mood stabalizer one > more pill at bedtime.  But what I failed to ask and he is only in on > Sat. mornings and doesn’t like phone calls, was when should I start > this increase for my anger management?  I still have over a month on > the 21 mg. patch before I step down if I follow the program.  I don’t > think I will feel anything like this again until I step down.  I am > scared to have these emotions but know they can’t be avoided when you > drop to a lower mg. patch, RIGHT?  I not only have to try and avoid > cravings but depression and anger and anxiety with all this and know > cold turkey didn’t work for me so I’m now trying the patch as last > resort.  I feel like I’m repeating myself in these postings.  Sorry. > Day 10 > Kathy

  Response:

  Kathy, Sorry – I have no advice to give you on this.  But I want to say that you are doing very well to be at Day 10!!  Keep it up. -Joe D. 03 Oct 2001 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Today is day 10.  I felt somewhat anxious today, but made it.  I saw > my pdoc today (I am bipolar)and told him I’m on the patch.  I’ve only > been on the highest patch 21 mg. for 10 days now and it says to stay > on the high dose for six weeks before dropping to 14 mg.  My first > week I had severe anxiety when I dropped from wearing the patch 24 > hrs. a day to taking it off at night.  This withdrawal and anxiety > lasted about two days.  If anyone else out there is bipolar or has > anxiety disorder as well, he said to increase my mood stabalizer one > more pill at bedtime.  But what I failed to ask and he is only in on > Sat. mornings and doesn’t like phone calls, was when should I start > this increase for my anger management?  I still have over a month on > the 21 mg. patch before I step down if I follow the program.  I don’t > think I will feel anything like this again until I step down.  I am > scared to have these emotions but know they can’t be avoided when you > drop to a lower mg. patch, RIGHT?  I not only have to try and avoid > cravings but depression and anger and anxiety with all this and know > cold turkey didn’t work for me so I’m now trying the patch as last > resort.  I feel like I’m repeating myself in these postings.  Sorry. > Day 10 > Kathy

  Response:

  Today is day 10.  I felt somewhat anxious today, but made it.  I saw my pdoc today (I am bipolar)and told him I’m on the patch.  I’ve only been on the highest patch 21 mg. for 10 days now and it says to stay on the high dose for six weeks before dropping to 14 mg.  My first week I had severe anxiety when I dropped from wearing the patch 24 hrs. a day to taking it off at night.  This withdrawal and anxiety lasted about two days.  If anyone else out there is bipolar or has anxiety disorder as well, he said to increase my mood stabalizer one more pill at bedtime.  But what I failed to ask and he is only in on Sat. mornings and doesn’t like phone calls, was when should I start this increase for my anger management?  I still have over a month on the 21 mg. patch before I step down if I follow the program.  I don’t think I will feel anything like this again until I step down.  I am scared to have these emotions but know they can’t be avoided when you drop to a lower mg. patch, RIGHT?  I not only have to try and avoid cravings but depression and anger and anxiety with all this and know cold turkey didn’t work for me so I’m now trying the patch as last resort.  I feel like I’m repeating myself in these postings.  Sorry. Day 10 Kathy

  Response:

  Kathy, FIrst of all, 10 days is fantastic! Congratulations. Next, I want to tell you that my pdoc (I am bipolar) also increased my mood stabalizer, just like yours did, in response to anger management. He did it after I got inappropriately angry at a health care provider of mine. I wouldn’ t want to wait too long if you see yourself getting snappy, take that extra pill at night.  He upped it at week 3, and we stayed at that level till week 8. I was sleeping too much (10-12 hours a day) and groggy during the day, and we agreed that I was overmedicated. Now it’s been one week since I got back down to my standard, pre quit dosage of medications. It has been an anxious time, but I liken it to stepping down a step on the patch, at first it is a little rough. I am not on the patch, just that reducing psych meds feels sorta like what others describe with their experiences on the patch. I had no idea my bipolar illness would affect a quit the way it has. If I woulda thought it through, I would have gone with the patch. I’m kinda jealous of you that you have the patch! Today I am actively recovering, taking it easy. I tire readily. Brain fog sets in. I am still waiting for my personality to make a reappearance. I roll with it. Lastly, take care, and I hope that some of this helps you. Moll Two months, five days, 8 hours, 45 minutes and 27 seconds. 1659 cigarettes not smoked, saving $249.02. Life saved: 5 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes.

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Today is day 10.  I felt somewhat anxious today, but made it.  I saw > my pdoc today (I am bipolar)and told him I’m on the patch.  I’ve only > been on the highest patch 21 mg. for 10 days now and it says to stay > on the high dose for six weeks before dropping to 14 mg.  My first > week I had severe anxiety when I dropped from wearing the patch 24 > hrs. a day to taking it off at night.  This withdrawal and anxiety > lasted about two days.  If anyone else out there is bipolar or has > anxiety disorder as well, he said to increase my mood stabalizer one > more pill at bedtime.  But what I failed to ask and he is only in on > Sat. mornings and doesn’t like phone calls, was when should I start > this increase for my anger management?  I still have over a month on > the 21 mg. patch before I step down if I follow the program.  I don’t > think I will feel anything like this again until I step down.  I am > scared to have these emotions but know they can’t be avoided when you > drop to a lower mg. patch, RIGHT?  I not only have to try and avoid > cravings but depression and anger and anxiety with all this and know > cold turkey didn’t work for me so I’m now trying the patch as last > resort.  I feel like I’m repeating myself in these postings.  Sorry. > Day 10 > Kathy

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• The many paths to smobriety (long)

  Question:

  "Edna Pearl" > For example, many of us agree that it trivializes tobacco addiction to call > it a "bad habit," so we choose the word "addiction."  Most of us jump on any > use of the word "cheat" to refer to a "relapse," and some of us (me me me > take issue with the word "slip" to refer to a "relapse."  These > distinctions help us focus in on our addiction and take it seriously.

  And… how about the people who want "options" for not having to reset their meters?   > I submit that it is misleading and it trivializes > tobacco addiction to refer to the "benefits" and "medicinal qualities" of > cigarettes.

  Smoking only helps to postpone the next crave (medically speaking). > The older I get, the more I > learn that we don’t get any brownie points for pretending to be "tough," or > "toughing it out," especially when it comes to quitting and especially when > it comes to depression.

  Awww…. you’re getting to be too much of a softie Edna! Challenge is good! Otherwise, when that smooth-talking salesman comes to your door and throws every *ricken closing technique at you… you’ll go ahead and wimp-out and BUY that crap!!! > Exactly, and I think we’ve clarified some points.  What I don’t understand > is why nobody else is joining this dialog.  The as3 I remember would have > been all over this topic like a rash.

  Sorry I’m late   — Life starts without addiction. I have been freed from tobacco for 4m 3w 2d 9:54, Which means I haven’t smoked 3,198 (handrolled) cigarettes. And, that’s not one puff, toke, drag, draw, hit, or large dose of 2nd hand smoke! (Note: In the event of a relapse, this meter would be reset to zero, but that’s just not going to happen!)          :-p~~~~~~ Keven       (a 46 year old Junqui)

  Response:

  Well, we all quit when we die, so the quit rate is 100% across the board, so why bother trying, you’ll quit eventually.  Seriously the context of this was that a smoker has a 5% success rate on a given quit, not all combined. I’ve been looking into smoking cessation programs, the best one I’ve seen has a success rate of 40%.  This is abysmal if you ask me, and the reason why insurance companies won’t do reimbursements for them.  Seems they’d save a lot of money by improving the stats, instead of handing out cash for chemo and other procedures needed for dealing with illnesses caused by smoking, but the medical field has always been reactionary, a rant for another time. Greg Groth

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> "ggroth9" > and it’s no > wonder the success rate of quitters is 5%. > You mean that 95% of the people that tried to quit are smoking today? You > can toss that out! Ok, so maybe they are not successful on their first > through umpteenth tries. They QUIT. They quit smoking 100%. Anbody who I’ve > ever known that was trying to quit… quit! That makes it a 100% success > rate. Those who stop trying may be the 5%. Statistics can be so damn dumb > sometimes. Just look around to the people you know… > — > Life starts without addiction.

  Response:

  lots of fear of what we cannot understand.

  Response:

  > For the record, I will not admit I am a helpless > addict, I am a smoker.  I am not powerless against my addiction, I’m just > working on it.

  so you smoke because you WANT TO?

  Response:

  > lots of fear of what we cannot understand.

  Wow, frank, this post is even more cryptic than your usual stuff.  I have no idea what you’re talking about.  Care to elaborate?  :-) epvof

  Response:

  "ggroth9" > and it’s no > wonder the success rate of quitters is 5%.

  You mean that 95% of the people that tried to quit are smoking today? You can toss that out! Ok, so maybe they are not successful on their first through umpteenth tries. They QUIT. They quit smoking 100%. Anbody who I’ve ever known that was trying to quit… quit! That makes it a 100% success rate. Those who stop trying may be the 5%. Statistics can be so damn dumb sometimes. Just look around to the people you know… — Life starts without addiction.

  Response:

  "Edna Pearl" > I nonetheless feel compelled to take issue with your idea that cigarettes > "medicate" something.

  Don’t they medicate the fear of quitting smoking?     — Life starts without addiction.

  Response:

  >Wow, frank, this post is even more cryptic than your usual stuff.  I have no >idea what you’re talking about.  Care to elaborate?  :-) >epvof

  need a translation?  heehee it means fear sucks. k? anyway, at this time of year I remember where I came from. I was a country boy and had this aluminum canoe with a flat back for a 5hp outboard. This time of year I wouyld take it below the dam and hit the rapids and in the shallows I would lay back and look at the eagles and all the fall foliage along the cliffs of the river. cool eh?

  Response:

  > More of a dig at a couple of off-line responses than anything else.  Last > itme I was around, the rule was that there was no single way to quit, > everyone just offered suggestions on what worked for them more or less.  I > came back in, voiced an opinion, and got hammered with what sounded more > like a 12-step group.

  Oh, I see.  Glad I didn’t take it too personally; I always liked you too much to want to be pissed off at you  :-) I’m one of those people who is quite unpersuaded that 12-step would be effective for me.  It has helped so many, for sure, but I can’t go there. > For the record, I will not admit I am a helpless > addict, I am a smoker.  I am not powerless against my addiction, I’m just > working on it.

  Yeah, this is one of the things about 12-stepping that I can’t get past — and isn’t it the first step? > If I choose to see the evils of smoking in a different light, > that doesn’t mean I am wrong.

  For sure. > Back to my friend with BPD.  She is currently medicating herself with > alcohol more than anything else (self-mutilation, drugs, and whatnot). > While I can’t deny the stupidity of her choice, I can also recognize that if > it wasn’t for the alcohol, she’d be dead by now.  The alcohol does give her > release of her demons, for a time, and allows her to function at some level. > If she chooses to live her life in a drunken stupor, that’s her prerogative, > and I can do nothing to help her.  If she does manage to pull herself to > quit drinking, and faces the world through sober eyes, she’ll probably do > herself in, as she refuses to accept the fact that she might have deeper > problems than alcoholism.

  I am so sorry.  All I can offer is that I have seen some amazing recoveries from some horrible psychological messes — we should never give up hope of progress. > I did the same thing IMO.  Blindly facing the world without the medication I > have been pumping into my body for way to long, and then having the bottom > fall out.  The only difference between myself and my friend that I can see > is that I have recognized that smoking might not be the root of my problems, > but just might be a symptom caused by something else.  If I don’t treat that > something else in some other fashion than cigarettes, I’m in for trouble, > which did play itself out last year.

  That makes perfect sense to me; I understand what you’re saying and admire you for confronting these issues so squarely.  I hope you’ve got lots of support and assistance in this process, and I wish you the very best of luck and progress.  You’re wise not to rush your quit, and I wish you all possible speed in getting to the point where you are ready to quit. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am using the term medication in the way I read it out of the dictionary: > "something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease". > Nowhere does this term specify that it has to be perfect, that medication > cures anything, that it fixes anything, or that it has no side-effects. All > it does is treat, prevent or alleviate the symptoms of disease.  It also > makes no mention of the question of addiction, just because something is > addictive does not mean it cannot treat, prevent or alleviate symptoms of > disease.  Take for instance obesity, which is sometimes recognized as a > disease.  It’s no surprise to anyone that nicotine acts as an appetite > suppressant, so in theory you could treat obesity with smoking.  Stupid > idea, but I mention it only to back up my opinion that there might be a lot > of people medicating themselves for diseases, ailments, whatever and not > even know it.  To not recognize this fact could be harmful, as there are > plenty of studies that recognize depression as being quite common when > quitting smoking.

  I couldn’t agree more; we are totally on the same page. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if somebody said that my earlier posts on this issue constituted hair-splitting  :-)  The fact is, though, we’ve always done a lot of hair-splitting here at as3, because this kind of consideration and debate can support growth. For example, many of us agree that it trivializes tobacco addiction to call it a "bad habit," so we choose the word "addiction."  Most of us jump on any use of the word "cheat" to refer to a "relapse," and some of us (me me me take issue with the word "slip" to refer to a "relapse."  These distinctions help us focus in on our addiction and take it seriously. And in the same spirit, I submit that it is misleading and it trivializes tobacco addiction to refer to the "benefits" and "medicinal qualities" of cigarettes.  I think it’s counter-productive, and I say so.  And I appreciate the opportunity to clarify the point. > Combine depression with the removal of the medication > (something that treats, prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease) > which could mean a relapse of whatever that disease might be, and it’s no > wonder the success rate of quitters is 5%.

  Amen.  I’ll bet your posts in this thread will encourage some quitters who are having problems to visit their doctors.  The older I get, the more I learn that we don’t get any brownie points for pretending to be "tough," or "toughing it out," especially when it comes to quitting and especially when it comes to depression. > Personally I think we’re along the same line of thought, but using different > definitions for the words we are using to describe them.

  Exactly, and I think we’ve clarified some points.  What I don’t understand is why nobody else is joining this dialog.  The as3 I remember would have been all over this topic like a rash.  I get the feeling that maybe there have been some recent disagreements/flame wars here that have left people cautious about debating issues?  I dunno, I haven’t been around much.  Maybe everybody else here just thinks were debating about angels dancing on pinheads.  :-) > I’m not quite > there yet, but I will be quitting soon.  I am not a junkie, and I am not > powerless against this.  I am more educated and informed this time around > (with little thanks to the medical field),

  LOL.  Well I guess that answers my question, above, about whether you’re getting good help in this process!  I’m sorry.  I’ve been there.  It sucks. > and I’m not going to fall in the > same footsteps I did last time.  I am taking my time, and trying a different > approach, and a different mindset.  If I try this as blind as I did last > time, I will be powerless against it, as it is a sneaky drug indeed.  This > time I want to be part of the 5%.

  Yay! FWIW, it sure sounds like you will be. > BTW, are Wheeler and Padders still around?

  I’m not the person to ask as I haven’t been around much, but the last I heard, Wheeler was still quit  :-)  padders relapsed  and neither post very often anymore.  Maybe somebody else here can clue you in. epvof

  Response:

  Not much really.  Been having a lot of problems with joint pain and tendonitis.  Hoping to get it all straightened out by spring. Greg Groth – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hey Greg, glad to see you’re still around and thinking of us > I wish you all the best with solving the riddle to your depression… it can be > difficult! > Glad you’re back & lurking & posting in prelude to requitting. > Are you still biking? > …pat. > 9m+ > — > Ash’s ICQ:   152392429 > Pat’s ICQ:  153842682

  Response:

  Hey Greg, glad to see you’re still around and thinking of us I wish you all the best with solving the riddle to your depression… it can be difficult! Glad you’re back & lurking & posting in prelude to requitting. Are you still biking? …pat. 9m+ — Ash’s ICQ:   152392429 Pat’s ICQ:  153842682

  Response:

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What a super post.  I started to reply line by line, but what it all boils > down to is that I could not agree more that addicts often rely on > cigarette-smoking, or on whatever their substance of choice is, to mask > depression or some other underlying problem, and I know how unhelpful (and > even destructive) some doctors can be in addressing such self-destructive > behavior.  The general ignorance about addiction and depression in the > medical community can be quite stunning.  And tragic. > I nonetheless feel compelled to take issue with your idea that cigarettes > "medicate" something.  I don’t think that’s any more valid or helpful, and > hardly less "junkie thinking," than saying that cigarettes have "benefits." > Doctors don’t prescribe cigarettes to medicate anything unless, again, that > particular doctor happens to be fantastically ignorant about tobacco > addiction. > I am so sorry about your friend who is receiving inadequate family support > and medical treatment, but I would also point out that your friend’s cutting > herself is OBVIOUSLY not "medicating" her, any more than it is "benefiting" > her, unless you grotesquely twist the meaning of those words.  It may > temporarily palliate her underlying problems, or distract her from them, but > cutting doesn’t medicate any more than crack cocaine or alcohol does. It’s > a temporary, unhealthy pseudo-"fix" that is self-destructive and undermines > the quality of life. > I say that with full awareness that drug-abuse, cutting, or other > self-destructive behaviors may even save an individual’s life, temporarily, > by forestalling suicide, but the same could be said for simply beating a > person unconscious to postpone their suicide.  It may "work," temporarily, > and such desperate measures may even be appropriate on rare occasions, but > it’s not "medication." > And the same is true of smoking. > And again, I don’t mean this as a personal attack on you or your ideas; I > mean this as a rational discussion of those ideas, in the spirit that I > firmly believe that they are counter-productive.  I offer this in the hope > it will help you or somebody else.  And I have no idea what you are talking > about when you say as3 no longer advocates "doing whatever works for you," > so if that was intended as a dig at me, it went over my head like a tent.

  More of a dig at a couple of off-line responses than anything else.  Last itme I was around, the rule was that there was no single way to quit, everyone just offered suggestions on what worked for them more or less.  I came back in, voiced an opinion, and got hammered with what sounded more like a 12-step group.  For the record, I will not admit I am a helpless addict, I am a smoker.  I am not powerless against my addiction, I’m just working on it. If I choose to see the evils of smoking in a different light, that doesn’t mean I am wrong. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> What I AM saying is that it is MY belief, based on PERSONAL experience and > YEARS of observation on this newsgroup, that regarding cigarettes as a > "medication" for ANYTHING is a very short, very slippery slope to addiction, > and I offer that belief to you and to anyone else who might benefit from it. > Anyone suffering from depression has my heartfelt sympathies, as depression > almost killed me some years ago.  I do know what it’s like.  And I urge > anyone suffering from depression to seek, indeed *demand*, competent medical > and psychological help to the fullest extent permitted by your personal > resources and those of your local medical community.  And I also hope you > will quit smoking as soon as you are able, because smoking is not helping > you, and you are not doing yourself any favors by pretending it is. > I wish you the most smoothest possible quit when you are ready to quit, > Greg.  Hang in there. > epvof

  Back to my friend with BPD.  She is currently medicating herself with alcohol more than anything else (self-mutilation, drugs, and whatnot). While I can’t deny the stupidity of her choice, I can also recognize that if it wasn’t for the alcohol, she’d be dead by now.  The alcohol does give her release of her demons, for a time, and allows her to function at some level. If she chooses to live her life in a drunken stupor, that’s her prerogative, and I can do nothing to help her.  If she does manage to pull herself to quit drinking, and faces the world through sober eyes, she’ll probably do herself in, as she refuses to accept the fact that she might have deeper problems than alcoholism. I did the same thing IMO.  Blindly facing the world without the medication I have been pumping into my body for way to long, and then having the bottom fall out.  The only difference between myself and my friend that I can see is that I have recognized that smoking might not be the root of my problems, but just might be a symptom caused by something else.  If I don’t treat that something else in some other fashion than cigarettes, I’m in for trouble, which did play itself out last year. I am using the term medication in the way I read it out of the dictionary: "something that treats or prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease". Nowhere does this term specify that it has to be perfect, that medication cures anything, that it fixes anything, or that it has no side-effects.  All it does is treat, prevent or alleviate the symptoms of disease.  It also makes no mention of the question of addiction, just because something is addictive does not mean it cannot treat, prevent or alleviate symptoms of disease.  Take for instance obesity, which is sometimes recognized as a disease.  It’s no surprise to anyone that nicotine acts as an appetite suppressant, so in theory you could treat obesity with smoking.  Stupid idea, but I mention it only to back up my opinion that there might be a lot of people medicating themselves for diseases, ailments, whatever and not even know it.  To not recognize this fact could be harmful, as there are plenty of studies that recognize depression as being quite common when quitting smoking.  Combine depression with the removal of the medication (something that treats, prevents or alleviates the symptoms of disease) which could mean a relapse of whatever that disease might be, and it’s no wonder the success rate of quitters is 5%. Personally I think we’re along the same line of thought, but using different definitions for the words we are using to describe them.  I’m not quite there yet, but I will be quitting soon.  I am not a junkie, and I am not powerless against this.  I am more educated and informed this time around (with little thanks to the medical field), and I’m not going to fall in the same footsteps I did last time.  I am taking my time, and trying a different approach, and a different mindset.  If I try this as blind as I did last time, I will be powerless against it, as it is a sneaky drug indeed.  This time I want to be part of the 5%. BTW, are Wheeler and Padders still around? Greg Groth

  Response:

  No, seriously, the delivery method does suck. Greg Groth

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->It does provide a benefit, the delivery method sucks. > bullshit.

  Response:

  What a super post.  I started to reply line by line, but what it all boils down to is that I could not agree more that addicts often rely on cigarette-smoking, or on whatever their substance of choice is, to mask depression or some other underlying problem, and I know how unhelpful (and even destructive) some doctors can be in addressing such self-destructive behavior.  The general ignorance about addiction and depression in the medical community can be quite stunning.  And tragic. I nonetheless feel compelled to take issue with your idea that cigarettes "medicate" something.  I don’t think that’s any more valid or helpful, and hardly less "junkie thinking," than saying that cigarettes have "benefits." Doctors don’t prescribe cigarettes to medicate anything unless, again, that particular doctor happens to be fantastically ignorant about tobacco addiction. I am so sorry about your friend who is receiving inadequate family support and medical treatment, but I would also point out that your friend’s cutting herself is OBVIOUSLY not "medicating" her, any more than it is "benefiting" her, unless you grotesquely twist the meaning of those words.  It may temporarily palliate her underlying problems, or distract her from them, but cutting doesn’t medicate any more than crack cocaine or alcohol does.  It’s a temporary, unhealthy pseudo-"fix" that is self-destructive and undermines the quality of life. I say that with full awareness that drug-abuse, cutting, or other self-destructive behaviors may even save an individual’s life, temporarily, by forestalling suicide, but the same could be said for simply beating a person unconscious to postpone their suicide.  It may "work," temporarily, and such desperate measures may even be appropriate on rare occasions, but it’s not "medication." And the same is true of smoking. And again, I don’t mean this as a personal attack on you or your ideas; I mean this as a rational discussion of those ideas, in the spirit that I firmly believe that they are counter-productive.  I offer this in the hope it will help you or somebody else.  And I have no idea what you are talking about when you say as3 no longer advocates "doing whatever works for you," so if that was intended as a dig at me, it went over my head like a tent. What I AM saying is that it is MY belief, based on PERSONAL experience and YEARS of observation on this newsgroup, that regarding cigarettes as a "medication" for ANYTHING is a very short, very slippery slope to addiction, and I offer that belief to you and to anyone else who might benefit from it. Anyone suffering from depression has my heartfelt sympathies, as depression almost killed me some years ago.  I do know what it’s like.  And I urge anyone suffering from depression to seek, indeed *demand*, competent medical and psychological help to the fullest extent permitted by your personal resources and those of your local medical community.  And I also hope you will quit smoking as soon as you are able, because smoking is not helping you, and you are not doing yourself any favors by pretending it is. I wish you the most smoothest possible quit when you are ready to quit, Greg.  Hang in there. epvof

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Benefit was a word that I used only in response to the original post.  The > word I wanted to use was medicate.  I doubt anyone can tell me whether or > not smoking did or didn’t medicate at least a couple of the things that are > ailing me, as no one to date can quite put their finger on what’s wrong to > begin with.  Considering myself a junkie, and stubbornly believing I could > overcome it with brute force was bullshit.  It blinded me to the fact that > there might be something else wrong, and helped contribute to my relapse. > If I would have recognized other external problems beyond my smoking, I > might have gone to seek help with my ailments sooner, and stayed on the > wagon.  Instead, I fell off, believed that this was due entirely to my > incapability to control my "junkie thinking", and sent my depression > spiraling even lower.  I was further provoked by certain individuals on this > forum to basically "get over it and quit whining" (that was my > interpretation anyway). > Personally I think that not recognizing that nicotine is a drug, and does > have medicinal qualities (note – I did not say benefits) can be extremely > harmful.  If nicotine acts as an anti-depressant, and is removed without > treating the depression, failure is assured along with the added benefit of > destroying one’s self-esteem.  A great combination IMO.  Correcting these > problems before quitting would be the key here, but can be more frustrating > than quitting.  Doctor’s seem to have little interest in looking into > problems any further than some random blood tests, and are quick to provide > prescriptions that address a single issue, rather than looking deeper into > the problem.  Depression can be a bitch to discover as well, as if it’s true > that I’ve been suffering from it for 25 years, two other psychologists > missed this completely over the course of that time.  Thinking that your > addiction is simply thus, and not looking beyond it is a total mistake in > some cases.  As I alluded to earlier, why make this harder than it has to > be?  I’ve moved my stubbornness to correcting my ailments, rather than on my > quit, and am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. > Last thing I wanted to mention was your comment of "if a cutter cuts herself > to distance emotional pain".  I have a friend who does precisely this. She > has been a close friend for many, many years now.  She is in a situation > where she will never get treatment, and never be well.  Along with > self-mutilation, she is a very heavy drinker (12-18 beers a day).  She and > her family have identified her drinking as the root cause for all that ails > her, and she is right now in AA following another incident that required 8 > stitches in her wrist.  She will return to drinking, she will return to > self-mutilation.  The reason being is that she has borderline personality > disorder, not a drinking problem.  Her family’s stubbornness, believing that > she is merely an addict, has doomed her to never getting the help she needs. > I am not trying to form a comparison of severe mental disorders and smoking, > I am trying to say that by following a single line of thinking might not be > the correct route in all cases, and that focusing on a single line of > correcting problems can guarantee failure. > As I said in my other post (or at least try to say), I am not trying to > provide reasons to keep smoking, but rather to keep an open mind, look > beyond just the smoking aspect, it might make it easier to quit.  What works > for some people, might not work for all.  Until I can get some proof that > smoking has no medicinal qualities whatsoever (not benefits), I will stand > behind my beliefs and say that sometime smoking does help fix problems. Fix > the problems, and quitting becomes easier, not recognizing this, and you > might end up worse off.  Last time I stuck my nose around here, the > prevalent theme was to do whatever works for you, and from judging from the > replies I’ve been getting (on and off list), that seems to not be the case > anymore.  It’s a pity, I’d hate to see someone else go down the same road I > did. > Greg Groth

  Response:

  <snip> : Enough of my rambling.  Is Padders still around?  Or BirdBrain (sorry, can’t : remember his real name, been too long) or Jeff?  I’m hoping to get the rest : of my ailments taken care of by the end of the year, and come back and give : it another go.  In preparation I thought I would spend the next couple of : months lurking around, and getting my head in the right space.  Just thought : I’d use this opportunity to stick my nose in, say hi, and let everyone know : I’m planning on bothering everyone with my bike riding stories next year. : Greg Groth I’m sorry to hear of your troubles, Greg, but it is good to see you again.  Hope that all goes better for you and will look forward to those magnificent cycling stories again.  As I’m sure you know, it’s loads easier being a cycle-maniac with healthy lungs. best, Tammy VOF

  Response:

  Benefit was a word that I used only in response to the original post.  The word I wanted to use was medicate.  I doubt anyone can tell me whether or not smoking did or didn’t medicate at least a couple of the things that are ailing me, as no one to date can quite put their finger on what’s wrong to begin with.  Considering myself a junkie, and stubbornly believing I could overcome it with brute force was bullshit.  It blinded me to the fact that there might be something else wrong, and helped contribute to my relapse. If I would have recognized other external problems beyond my smoking, I might have gone to seek help with my ailments sooner, and stayed on the wagon.  Instead, I fell off, believed that this was due entirely to my incapability to control my "junkie thinking", and sent my depression spiraling even lower.  I was further provoked by certain individuals on this forum to basically "get over it and quit whining" (that was my interpretation anyway). Personally I think that not recognizing that nicotine is a drug, and does have medicinal qualities (note – I did not say benefits) can be extremely harmful.  If nicotine acts as an anti-depressant, and is removed without treating the depression, failure is assured along with the added benefit of destroying one’s self-esteem.  A great combination IMO.  Correcting these problems before quitting would be the key here, but can be more frustrating than quitting.  Doctor’s seem to have little interest in looking into problems any further than some random blood tests, and are quick to provide prescriptions that address a single issue, rather than looking deeper into the problem.  Depression can be a bitch to discover as well, as if it’s true that I’ve been suffering from it for 25 years, two other psychologists missed this completely over the course of that time.  Thinking that your addiction is simply thus, and not looking beyond it is a total mistake in some cases.  As I alluded to earlier, why make this harder than it has to be?  I’ve moved my stubbornness to correcting my ailments, rather than on my quit, and am starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Last thing I wanted to mention was your comment of "if a cutter cuts herself to distance emotional pain".  I have a friend who does precisely this.  She has been a close friend for many, many years now.  She is in a situation where she will never get treatment, and never be well.  Along with self-mutilation, she is a very heavy drinker (12-18 beers a day).  She and her family have identified her drinking as the root cause for all that ails her, and she is right now in AA following another incident that required 8 stitches in her wrist.  She will return to drinking, she will return to self-mutilation.  The reason being is that she has borderline personality disorder, not a drinking problem.  Her family’s stubbornness, believing that she is merely an addict, has doomed her to never getting the help she needs. I am not trying to form a comparison of severe mental disorders and smoking, I am trying to say that by following a single line of thinking might not be the correct route in all cases, and that focusing on a single line of correcting problems can guarantee failure. As I said in my other post (or at least try to say), I am not trying to provide reasons to keep smoking, but rather to keep an open mind, look beyond just the smoking aspect, it might make it easier to quit.  What works for some people, might not work for all.  Until I can get some proof that smoking has no medicinal qualities whatsoever (not benefits), I will stand behind my beliefs and say that sometime smoking does help fix problems.  Fix the problems, and quitting becomes easier, not recognizing this, and you might end up worse off.  Last time I stuck my nose around here, the prevalent theme was to do whatever works for you, and from judging from the replies I’ve been getting (on and off list), that seems to not be the case anymore.  It’s a pity, I’d hate to see someone else go down the same road I did. Greg Groth

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> It does provide a benefit, the delivery method sucks. > I agree with Frank.  This is bullshit.  This whole "benefit" theme is pure, > 100 percent, unhelpful, dangerous, junkie thinking.  The only way smoking > "benefits" anybody is by distorting the meaning of the word "benefit" enough > so that you can also say crack cocaine and methamphetamine and > self-mutilation and anorexia and spouse-abuse "benefit" somebody. > Sure, if a cutter cuts herself to distance emotional pain, or a crackhead > smokes crack to postpone suicidal depression, it "works."  Temporarily. And > in the long run, such neurotic and unhealthy measures do so much damage to > the body, mind, and spirit, that they cannot meaningfully be called > "beneficial." > The same is true for smoking. > There’s no argument > that smoking is addictive, but it seems to me that if it didn’t fix some > things, it wouldn’t be so damn hard to quit. > Again, smoking "fixes" health problems, physical problems, and psychiatric > problems, only by distorting the meaning for the word "fix."  The fact that > a junkie does not know any way to "fix" his or her problems other than by > injecting narcotics does not mean that narcotics "fix" anything. > Narcotics kill.  Narcotics stunt emotional growth.  The same is true of > smoking. > There will never be a study on > the positive benefits of smoking, because it creates way more problems > than > it solves, and no one in the medical field would want to give anyone a > reason to keep doing it.  It’s a shame, it might help them figure out how > to > help people quit. > Actually, there have been studies on the reasons why smokers find tobacco > desirable, and they are worth reading in preparation for a quit, so you get > a clearer idea of what you’re undertaking.  But I also think your statement > is correct to the extent that no legitimate scientist outside the employ of > the tobacco companies is going to every research the "positive benefits" of > smoking, because such a research design is ridiculous ab initio. > If you have other problems, and try to quit without addressing them, > you’re > up for a steep uphill battle. > While no one would ever call someone who > needs thyroid replacement drugs addicted to their medication, or someone > with lupus addicted to prednizone to keep their kidneys from shutting > down, > no one stops to think what the chemicals in cigarettes might be doing to > their bodies outside of the obvious damage to their lungs. > Smoking does not treat, or fix, or benefit anything or any physical or > psychiatric or spiritual problem any more than crack cocaine, heroin, or > alcohol.  It is pure junkie thinking to try to compare thyroid medication to > smoking tobacco or crack. > It’s been a long time since I took a peek around these parts, and I see > some > familiar faces.  Currently I’m still riding the doctor-go-round.  Over the > past 12 months, dozens of blood tests have shown a number of weird things > in > my case, but nothing conclusive.  Right now I’m working with an > endocrinologist that suspects an adrenal gland problem, with secondary > hypothyroidism.  I’ve also been working with a psychologist who suspects > I’ve been suffering from depression for the past 25 years.  While I have > made a lot of headway with the psychological aspects, I’m still working on > the physical. > I’m glad you poked your head in, and I wish you all the best in working with > these issues.  I remember you, and I know you’ve got the stuff, and I look > forward to your setting your quit date. > In the meantime, I respectfully submit that getting rid of the "junkie > thinking" about tobacco’s "benefits" might be a helpful preparation for your > quit. > It’s been a year since I fell off the wagon, and when I fell, I fell hard. > Last year about this time, my whole life kind of fell apart.  Why I > started > smoking again, I don’t know.  My quit last year was one of severe > determination and the belief I could fight my way through anything.  I > couldn’t do it that way, I suppose I couldn’t force my way through all of > the underlying problems I had for long enough to walk away from smoking. > With my will gone, I turned into a basket case.  I hate to say it, but > after > trying various anti-depressants smoking proved to be the only way I could > get my head together enough to function at work and keep my job.  While > some > might read into this as I never wanted to quit, and they might partly be > right, I’ve spent the past year trying to find information on the links > between smoking and brain behavior and smoking’s effects on depression, > and > found none (from a chemical standpoint).  I’m not trying to justify my > actions, and I’m not trying to make a case for people to not quit.  I > think > too many people are treating themselves with smoking and don’t realize it, > and when they quit, it’s harder than it has to be. > No question, it’s hard.  But it’s hard for all of us, and it’s hard in > different ways, and nobody has a monopoly on the difficulty of beating this > awful addiction. > I’m sorry you relapsed.  I wouldn’t wish a relapse on my worst enemy.  I > know you’ll quit again soon. > Right now, you’re addicted, and IMO your thinking about these issues is not > quite on track.  Like any addict, you are doing some mental gymnastics to > justify your addiction.  And that’s okay, and I’m not trying to attack you > personally, but I just feel like I ought to say this because these little > digressions into junkie thinking can be awfully distracting for new quitters

  … read more »

  Response:

  >It does provide a benefit, the delivery method sucks.

  bullshit.

  Response:

  > It does provide a benefit, the delivery method sucks.

  I agree with Frank.  This is bullshit.  This whole "benefit" theme is pure, 100 percent, unhelpful, dangerous, junkie thinking.  The only way smoking "benefits" anybody is by distorting the meaning of the word "benefit" enough so that you can also say crack cocaine and methamphetamine and self-mutilation and anorexia and spouse-abuse "benefit" somebody. Sure, if a cutter cuts herself to distance emotional pain, or a crackhead smokes crack to postpone suicidal depression, it "works."  Temporarily.  And in the long run, such neurotic and unhealthy measures do so much damage to the body, mind, and spirit, that they cannot meaningfully be called "beneficial." The same is true for smoking. > There’s no argument > that smoking is addictive, but it seems to me that if it didn’t fix some > things, it wouldn’t be so damn hard to quit.

  Again, smoking "fixes" health problems, physical problems, and psychiatric problems, only by distorting the meaning for the word "fix."  The fact that a junkie does not know any way to "fix" his or her problems other than by injecting narcotics does not mean that narcotics "fix" anything. Narcotics kill.  Narcotics stunt emotional growth.  The same is true of smoking. > There will never be a study on > the positive benefits of smoking, because it creates way more problems than > it solves, and no one in the medical field would want to give anyone a > reason to keep doing it.  It’s a shame, it might help them figure out how to > help people quit.

  Actually, there have been studies on the reasons why smokers find tobacco desirable, and they are worth reading in preparation for a quit, so you get a clearer idea of what you’re undertaking.  But I also think your statement is correct to the extent that no legitimate scientist outside the employ of the tobacco companies is going to every research the "positive benefits" of smoking, because such a research design is ridiculous ab initio. > If you have other problems, and try to quit without addressing them, you’re > up for a steep uphill battle. > While no one would ever call someone who > needs thyroid replacement drugs addicted to their medication, or someone > with lupus addicted to prednizone to keep their kidneys from shutting down, > no one stops to think what the chemicals in cigarettes might be doing to > their bodies outside of the obvious damage to their lungs.

  Smoking does not treat, or fix, or benefit anything or any physical or psychiatric or spiritual problem any more than crack cocaine, heroin, or alcohol.  It is pure junkie thinking to try to compare thyroid medication to smoking tobacco or crack. > It’s been a long time since I took a peek around these parts, and I see some > familiar faces.  Currently I’m still riding the doctor-go-round.  Over the > past 12 months, dozens of blood tests have shown a number of weird things in > my case, but nothing conclusive.  Right now I’m working with an > endocrinologist that suspects an adrenal gland problem, with secondary > hypothyroidism.  I’ve also been working with a psychologist who suspects > I’ve been suffering from depression for the past 25 years.  While I have > made a lot of headway with the psychological aspects, I’m still working on > the physical.

  I’m glad you poked your head in, and I wish you all the best in working with these issues.  I remember you, and I know you’ve got the stuff, and I look forward to your setting your quit date. In the meantime, I respectfully submit that getting rid of the "junkie thinking" about tobacco’s "benefits" might be a helpful preparation for your quit. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> It’s been a year since I fell off the wagon, and when I fell, I fell hard. > Last year about this time, my whole life kind of fell apart.  Why I started > smoking again, I don’t know.  My quit last year was one of severe > determination and the belief I could fight my way through anything.  I > couldn’t do it that way, I suppose I couldn’t force my way through all of > the underlying problems I had for long enough to walk away from smoking. > With my will gone, I turned into a basket case.  I hate to say it, but after > trying various anti-depressants smoking proved to be the only way I could > get my head together enough to function at work and keep my job.  While some > might read into this as I never wanted to quit, and they might partly be > right, I’ve spent the past year trying to find information on the links > between smoking and brain behavior and smoking’s effects on depression, and > found none (from a chemical standpoint).  I’m not trying to justify my > actions, and I’m not trying to make a case for people to not quit.  I think > too many people are treating themselves with smoking and don’t realize it, > and when they quit, it’s harder than it has to be.

  No question, it’s hard.  But it’s hard for all of us, and it’s hard in different ways, and nobody has a monopoly on the difficulty of beating this awful addiction. I’m sorry you relapsed.  I wouldn’t wish a relapse on my worst enemy.  I know you’ll quit again soon. Right now, you’re addicted, and IMO your thinking about these issues is not quite on track.  Like any addict, you are doing some mental gymnastics to justify your addiction.  And that’s okay, and I’m not trying to attack you personally, but I just feel like I ought to say this because these little digressions into junkie thinking can be awfully distracting for new quitters looking for a "reason" to smoke. There are no reasons to smoke.  There are only excusies. > Enough of my rambling.  Is Padders still around?  Or BirdBrain (sorry, can’t > remember his real name, been too long) or Jeff?  I’m hoping to get the rest > of my ailments taken care of by the end of the year, and come back and give > it another go.  In preparation I thought I would spend the next couple of > months lurking around, and getting my head in the right space.  Just thought > I’d use this opportunity to stick my nose in, say hi, and let everyone know > I’m planning on bothering everyone with my bike riding stories next year.

  Glad you did.  Feel better soon.  I look forward to welcoming you out of The Cage. And please don’t think I’m attacking your personally.  If anything I’m saying comes across as unduly harsh, please believe I don’t mean it that way and that I really respect what you’re going through. If I sound harsh, I guess I can’t help it, because this whole "benefit" theme alarms me in a group that is trying to beat a life-threatening addiction.  Guys, just don’t go there.  Even if an OF is comfortable going there, that doesn’t mean it’s a good place for a new quitters to go.  Maybe an OF is just using the wrong word when s/he refers to "benefits" of smoking.  Maybe an OF might post about the "benefits" smoking because s/he is having trouble with his/her quit, grappling with some junkie thinking, and needs some feedback and support despite having the attained the exalted state of OF — lord knows I need some feedback and support myself sometimes. But I don’t think it’s supportive or helpful or wise to focus on, or even loosely refer to, the "benefits" of smoking.  This addiction is just too dangerous to entertain such delusions about it. Sorry if I’m sounding like a fucking know-it-all.  FWIW my intentions are good. epvof

  Response:

  > One thing I seem to disagree with the majority on is whether or not smoking > provides some kind of benefit to the smoker.

  It does provide a benefit, the delivery method sucks.  There’s no argument that smoking is addictive, but it seems to me that if it didn’t fix some things, it wouldn’t be so damn hard to quit.  There will never be a study on the positive benefits of smoking, because it creates way more problems than it solves, and no one in the medical field would want to give anyone a reason to keep doing it.  It’s a shame, it might help them figure out how to help people quit. If you have other problems, and try to quit without addressing them, you’re up for a steep uphill battle.  While no one would ever call someone who needs thyroid replacement drugs addicted to their medication, or someone with lupus addicted to prednizone to keep their kidneys from shutting down, no one stops to think what the chemicals in cigarettes might be doing to their bodies outside of the obvious damage to their lungs. It’s been a long time since I took a peek around these parts, and I see some familiar faces.  Currently I’m still riding the doctor-go-round.  Over the past 12 months, dozens of blood tests have shown a number of weird things in my case, but nothing conclusive.  Right now I’m working with an endocrinologist that suspects an adrenal gland problem, with secondary hypothyroidism.  I’ve also been working with a psychologist who suspects I’ve been suffering from depression for the past 25 years.  While I have made a lot of headway with the psychological aspects, I’m still working on the physical. It’s been a year since I fell off the wagon, and when I fell, I fell hard. Last year about this time, my whole life kind of fell apart.  Why I started smoking again, I don’t know.  My quit last year was one of severe determination and the belief I could fight my way through anything.  I couldn’t do it that way, I suppose I couldn’t force my way through all of the underlying problems I had for long enough to walk away from smoking. With my will gone, I turned into a basket case.  I hate to say it, but after trying various anti-depressants smoking proved to be the only way I could get my head together enough to function at work and keep my job.  While some might read into this as I never wanted to quit, and they might partly be right, I’ve spent the past year trying to find information on the links between smoking and brain behavior and smoking’s effects on depression, and found none (from a chemical standpoint).  I’m not trying to justify my actions, and I’m not trying to make a case for people to not quit.  I think too many people are treating themselves with smoking and don’t realize it, and when they quit, it’s harder than it has to be. Enough of my rambling.  Is Padders still around?  Or BirdBrain (sorry, can’t remember his real name, been too long) or Jeff?  I’m hoping to get the rest of my ailments taken care of by the end of the year, and come back and give it another go.  In preparation I thought I would spend the next couple of months lurking around, and getting my head in the right space.  Just thought I’d use this opportunity to stick my nose in, say hi, and let everyone know I’m planning on bothering everyone with my bike riding stories next year. Greg Groth

  Response:

  Personally, the only "benefit" I ever received from smoking was looking forward to the next cigarette, purely because I was addicted, no two ways about it.  As far as people taking it up goes, my mother was (and still is) a smoker, I always *vowed* never ever to take up the habit for the smell alone, but low and behold I took it up.  She was a busy person and I saw, from childhood, that smoking seemed to relax her so that stayed ingrained in me (ie. it was a benefit to her).  Though tobacco advertisement is illegal (in Australia anyway) you still see people on the street, on the TV, in movies, and at the pub in the actual act of "enjoying" a cigarette, for me it is little wonder I became addicted to it…even if it meant a few harsh cigarettes to start with, it gave me a head rush in the initial stages and within a year I didn’t just want them, I thought I needed them to get through the day.  Now, if you took a substance that was addictive (eg. like caffeine in coke, or coffee) which was *necessary* to get through the day, would the act of taking it appear to be enjoyable or distasteful?  I can tell you that when I was at work I absolutely loved my smoke break at 10am…now it honestly doesn’t hold a tenth the significance it used to.  

  Response:

  Diane, I really enjoyed this post. Are you a psychiatrist? Thanks for making us think about this process in another light. Sam — 1w 1d 23:01 smoke-free, 178 cigs not smoked, $62.30 saved, 14:50 life saved

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve been reading a lot more than posting lately, and I’ve noticed that I > often disagree with someone whom I respect very much.  I don’t generally > reply, because I’ve gotten pretty philosophical about quitting, and I feel > that there are a lot of different ideas out there that deserve to be heard, > and if an idea isn’t actually harmful, imo, I don’t have a need to correct > something that is really not wrong, but merely a difference of opinion. > One thing I seem to disagree with the majority on is whether or not smoking > provides some kind of benefit to the smoker.    To me, it seems illogical > that millions of people would partake of an activity that has absolutely no > benefit and is extremely dangerous to their health.  Saying that people are > addicted, and therefore do not have a choice begs several questions, such as > "Why did they get addicted in the first place, if smoking is so unpleasant?" > and "Why do people re-lapse long after they have gotten past physical > addiction, if they do not expect some benefit?".  I’ve seen a lot of answers > to the first question, ranging from peer pressure to sheer stupidity… > but… none really answer the question: Why do so many people smoke long > enough to get addicted if it is totally unpleasant and brings no pleasure. > The only answer I ever see the latter question is equally unsatisfying to > me:  That somehow the people who lapse are weaker than other people, or had > never really committed to quitting.  I’ve seen too many people who were > absolutely determined to quit lapse.  These were honest, thinking people. I > don’t believe that they were lying about their determination.  There must be > more. > In my mind, quitting smoking involves several stages.  In the first stage, > the person starts to think about quitting.  Then, they take action to do > so – educating themselves and getting patches or welbutrin.  The quitting > process itself if the hardest stage, since it involves withdrawal symptoms > that are frequently quit unpleasant, and processes that are quite > life-altering.  There really isn’t much opportunity to think about the loss > at this stage, because the quitter must be totally focused on their quit in > order to get past the addiction.  This is the stage at which mind games come > in handy.  Then the quitter moves into the next stage: coming to terms with > being quit, and loss of the benefits of smoking, and learning to live > without those benefits.  This sequence is based on observation and > experience.  I’ve seen a lot of people stick around here long after their > physical withdrawal was over, and often they have to learn to re-live their > lives – sometimes re-examining the very foundation of their lives.  I’ve > seen marriages break up, people quit their jobs, move.. change their live in > dramatic ways.  I’ve read the statistics on re-lapse after relatively long > periods of time – periods that exceed the scientific evidence for when > physical withdrawal ends.  The only logical explanation that I can see is > that people sometimes miss something about smoking, and in a time of > weakness or crisis, they smoke to get back whatever it is that they miss. > Why am I bringing this up?  I know that there are newbies out there who want > to believe that in X weeks they are going to be smoke free and will never > want another cigarette.  That was my goal once, too.  I know that some of > those newbies will be threatened by this post, thinking that it means that > they won’t ever be able to quit "happily".  That isn’t what I mean, though. > I just don’t think that we are doing a service to people pretending that > they are going to experience something that they won’t.  At least not for a > long time.  Maybe at some point a person stops ever considering smoking. > But it seems to take quite a while.  Years, in many cases.  For some people > it doesn’t happen at all.  Occasional craves are part of life for a long > time, and ignoring them won’t make them go away.  Denying that smoking > provided us with something means that we can’t accept the loss and deal with > it.  It means that that loss stays with us, lingering in our minds, until in > a moment of weakness we are forced to choose between addressing it and > smoking.  Too many choose the latter.  In just about every other aspect of > our lives we recognize that every change involves some sort of loss, even > positive change.  Marriage or having a child means loss of freedom. Leaving > for college or establishing a career means loss of the security of our > families.  Even the most positive changes result in some loss.  Quitting > smoking is the most positive, and one of the most dramatic, changes that a > person will ever experience.  Why should it be different?  I think it is > because during the first few weeks of quitting we can’t think about that > loss, or it will overwhelm us.  We have to be totally focuses on quitting. > After we get past that stage, it is entirely too easy to just deny that a > loss ever occurred and try to move on.  The unfortunate part is that for > many people, that leaves them unprepared to deal with a crisis when they > find themselves unequipped to deal with it without smoking.   I experienced > it myself, twice.  The first time when I was frightened and alone, and used > nicotine as a drug to control my unstable emotions.  The second when I > smoked simply because I was afraid of the emotions brought on by a > significant loss.  If I had established tools in advance to deal with these > situations, I would not have smoked.  But I assumed that my quit was solid, > and didn’t bother to think about the possibility that I might smoke if X > happened. > Well, I never make the same mistake twice (there are so many new and > different mistakes to make <g>).  I have dealt with the loss by accepting it > and reminding myself frequently that I prefer not smoking to smoking. That > is the truth.  I liked smoking, but I like not smoking much more.  I can > list at least a dozen things I liked about smoking. At the same time, I can > honestly state that there are many ways my life has been enhanced by > learning to live without smoking, and that my life is better overall since I > quit.  I have worked to identify reasons I smoked, and add features to my > not-smoking life to compensate for the loss of those things.  Mostly, I have > been successful, which is why I’m not smoking.  I have taken up mediation, > and established clear guidelines under which I might smoke, and then taken > steps to ensure that those guidelines are not met.  Some think that > acknowledging that I might smoke indicates a lack of will to not smoke. In > my mind it is exactly the opposite.  It indicates a will to not smoke, and a > willingness to make whatever sacrifices I need to make to not do so. > But what about people who don’t want to make accommodations?  There are > other ways of being quit.  One can use anger to maintain ones determination > to stay quit.  But I don’t like the people who have done that much.  In > order to fight the urges to smoke, they seem to have to let that anger > totally overwhelm their life.  I hate to think of the darkness in their > minds.  Anger is an unpleasant emotion, both to experience and to observe. > Some use plain old-fashioned stubbornness.  They establish the idea that > they WILL NOT SMOKE and stick with it like permanent adhesive.  They come up > with rules which must remain inviolate.   That wouldn’t work for me.  I’m a > pretty flexible person – I can only hold onto a good stubborn for so long, > and then my brain starts saying "I’m tired of this, let’s just go back to > the way it was".  I hate rules that don’t seem essential to survival.  For > me what works is moving "toward the light".  Toward the positive of not > smoking, toward a life in which smoking is unnecessary because it does not > fill any need I have not already filled some other way.  It takes time, and > thought, and a willingness to adapt my life in ways I had not previously > expected.  I don’t know if it will work.  It will be interesting to see in 5 > years who is still quit and who isn’t.  And who is happy and who isn’t.  I > hope that we will all find accommodations, in our own way. > I guess the point of this post is to tell newbies: There is not one path to > smobriety.  The "junkie thinking" rules are not laws of nature, they are > tools which may be used or rejected according to your own personal > preference and need.  You may need to accept each rule as gospel in order to > quit and remain smoke free. But if you can’t, there are other ways.  . Good > luck and strength in your quit. > Diane M.

  Response:

  <snipped for brevity> > I guess the point of this post is to tell newbies: There is not one path to > smobriety.  The "junkie thinking" rules are not laws of nature, they are > tools which may be used or rejected according to your own personal > preference and need.  You may need to accept each rule as gospel in order to > quit and remain smoke free. But if you can’t, there are other ways.

  <snip> Diane, Thanks.  This is a great post you’ve share and hopefully it will end up in a few people’s hold files to be re-read as needed. Morgan VOF

  Response:

  Thanks, Diane, for providing food for thought as I work my way past the emotional roller coaster of physical addiction, and progress into, some other, nameless and formless stage. That is, an unknown stage, untill I saw these words of yours:  Then the quitter moves into the next stage: coming to terms with being quit, and loss of the benefits of smoking, and learning to live without those benefits.  This sequence is based on observation and experience. Moll Smoke free 2 weeks, 5 days, 4 hours, 56 minutes, 39 seconds, money saved $72.00, Cigarettes not smoked 479, Life saved a day 15 hours, 55 minutes.

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve been reading a lot more than posting lately, and I’ve noticed that I > often disagree with someone whom I respect very much.  I don’t generally > reply, because I’ve gotten pretty philosophical about quitting, and I feel > that there are a lot of different ideas out there that deserve to be heard, > and if an idea isn’t actually harmful, imo, I don’t have a need to correct > something that is really not wrong, but merely a difference of opinion. > One thing I seem to disagree with the majority on is whether or not smoking > provides some kind of benefit to the smoker.    To me, it seems illogical > that millions of people would partake of an activity that has absolutely no > benefit and is extremely dangerous to their health.  Saying that people are > addicted, and therefore do not have a choice begs several questions, such as > "Why did they get addicted in the first place, if smoking is so unpleasant?" > and "Why do people re-lapse long after they have gotten past physical > addiction, if they do not expect some benefit?".  I’ve seen a lot of answers > to the first question, ranging from peer pressure to sheer stupidity… > but… none really answer the question: Why do so many people smoke long > enough to get addicted if it is totally unpleasant and brings no pleasure. > The only answer I ever see the latter question is equally unsatisfying to > me:  That somehow the people who lapse are weaker than other people, or had > never really committed to quitting.  I’ve seen too many people who were > absolutely determined to quit lapse.  These were honest, thinking people. I > don’t believe that they were lying about their determination.  There must be > more. > In my mind, quitting smoking involves several stages.  In the first stage, > the person starts to think about quitting.  Then, they take action to do > so – educating themselves and getting patches or welbutrin.  The quitting > process itself if the hardest stage, since it involves withdrawal symptoms > that are frequently quit unpleasant, and processes that are quite > life-altering.  There really isn’t much opportunity to think about the loss > at this stage, because the quitter must be totally focused on their quit in > order to get past the addiction.  This is the stage at which mind games come > in handy.  Then the quitter moves into the next stage: coming to terms with > being quit, and loss of the benefits of smoking, and learning to live > without those benefits.  This sequence is based on observation and > experience.  I’ve seen a lot of people stick around here long after their > physical withdrawal was over, and often they have to learn to re-live their > lives – sometimes re-examining the very foundation of their lives.  I’ve > seen marriages break up, people quit their jobs, move.. change their live in > dramatic ways.  I’ve read the statistics on re-lapse after relatively long > periods of time – periods that exceed the scientific evidence for when > physical withdrawal ends.  The only logical explanation that I can see is > that people sometimes miss something about smoking, and in a time of > weakness or crisis, they smoke to get back whatever it is that they miss. > Why am I bringing this up?  I know that there are newbies out there who want > to believe that in X weeks they are going to be smoke free and will never > want another cigarette.  That was my goal once, too.  I know that some of > those newbies will be threatened by this post, thinking that it means that > they won’t ever be able to quit "happily".  That isn’t what I mean, though. > I just don’t think that we are doing a service to people pretending that > they are going to experience something that they won’t.  At least not for a > long time.  Maybe at some point a person stops ever considering smoking. > But it seems to take quite a while.  Years, in many cases.  For some people > it doesn’t happen at all.  Occasional craves are part of life for a long > time, and ignoring them won’t make them go away.  Denying that smoking > provided us with something means that we can’t accept the loss and deal with > it.  It means that that loss stays with us, lingering in our minds, until in > a moment of weakness we are forced to choose between addressing it and > smoking.  Too many choose the latter.  In just about every other aspect of > our lives we recognize that every change involves some sort of loss, even > positive change.  Marriage or having a child means loss of freedom. Leaving > for college or establishing a career means loss of the security of our > families.  Even the most positive changes result in some loss.  Quitting > smoking is the most positive, and one of the most dramatic, changes that a > person will ever experience.  Why should it be different?  I think it is > because during the first few weeks of quitting we can’t think about that > loss, or it will overwhelm us.  We have to be totally focuses on quitting. > After we get past that stage, it is entirely too easy to just deny that a > loss ever occurred and try to move on.  The unfortunate part is that for > many people, that leaves them unprepared to deal with a crisis when they > find themselves unequipped to deal with it without smoking.   I experienced > it myself, twice.  The first time when I was frightened and alone, and used > nicotine as a drug to control my unstable emotions.  The second when I > smoked simply because I was afraid of the emotions brought on by a > significant loss.  If I had established tools in advance to deal with these > situations, I would not have smoked.  But I assumed that my quit was solid, > and didn’t bother to think about the possibility that I might smoke if X > happened. > Well, I never make the same mistake twice (there are so many new and > different mistakes to make <g>).  I have dealt with the loss by accepting it > and reminding myself frequently that I prefer not smoking to smoking. That > is the truth.  I liked smoking, but I like not smoking much more.  I can > list at least a dozen things I liked about smoking. At the same time, I can > honestly state that there are many ways my life has been enhanced by > learning to live without smoking, and that my life is better overall since I > quit.  I have worked to identify reasons I smoked, and add features to my > not-smoking life to compensate for the loss of those things.  Mostly, I have > been successful, which is why I’m not smoking.  I have taken up mediation, > and established clear guidelines under which I might smoke, and then taken > steps to ensure that those guidelines are not met.  Some think that > acknowledging that I might smoke indicates a lack of will to not smoke. In > my mind it is exactly the opposite.  It indicates a will to not smoke, and a > willingness to make whatever sacrifices I need to make to not do so. > But what about people who don’t want to make accommodations?  There are > other ways of being quit.  One can use anger to maintain ones determination > to stay quit.  But I don’t like the people who have done that much.  In > order to fight the urges to smoke, they seem to have to let that anger > totally overwhelm their life.  I hate to think of the darkness in their > minds.  Anger is an unpleasant emotion, both to experience and to observe. > Some use plain old-fashioned stubbornness.  They establish the idea that > they WILL NOT SMOKE and stick with it like permanent adhesive.  They come up > with rules which must remain inviolate.   That wouldn’t work for me.  I’m a > pretty flexible person – I can only hold onto a good stubborn for so long, > and then my brain starts saying "I’m tired of this, let’s just go back to > the way it was".  I hate rules that don’t seem essential to survival.  For > me what works is moving "toward the light".  Toward the positive of not > smoking, toward a life in which smoking is unnecessary because it does not > fill any need I have not already filled some other way.  It takes time, and > thought, and a willingness to adapt my life in ways I had not previously > expected.  I don’t know if it will work.  It will be interesting to see in 5 > years who is still quit and who isn’t.  And who is happy and who isn’t.  I > hope that we will all find accommodations, in our own way. > I guess the point of this post is to tell newbies: There is not one path to > smobriety.  The "junkie thinking" rules are not laws of nature, they are > tools which may be used or rejected according to your own personal > preference and need.  You may need to accept each rule as gospel in order to > quit and remain smoke free. But if you can’t, there are other ways.  . Good > luck and strength in your quit. > Diane M.

  Response:

  > One thing I seem to disagree with the majority on is whether or not smoking > provides some kind of benefit to the smoker.

  Yes, there is always something "enjoyable" or "good" about any addictive substance.  I mean, obviously.  Of course.  You name it: crack, alcohol, heroin, methamphetmine, overeating.  And that "good" aspect doesn’t disappear once you’ve quit, and it may "tempt" you occasionally.  Of course. I wouldn’t call it a "benefit," though.  I think it stretches the meaning of the concept of "benefit" to say that addictive substances "benefit" you by getting you high, relaxing you, giving you a sense of comfort, keeping you awake, keeping you focussed, etc.  Those are not a "benefits," those are transient and unhealthy delusions.  You can get REAL benefits in each of these respects in healthy ways, without resorting to addictive substances. Sure, I "liked" or "enjoyed" some of the thousands and thousands and thousands of cigarettes I smoked during the course of 27 stinking, expensive, unhealthy, enslaved years.  So what? Most people believe that a life lived free of addiction is preferable to a life enslaved to your buzz of choice.  Personally, I certainly prefer freedom to addiction, regardless of how "beneficial" crack cocaine and cigarettes are. epvof

  Response:

  I’ve been reading a lot more than posting lately, and I’ve noticed that I often disagree with someone whom I respect very much.  I don’t generally reply, because I’ve gotten pretty philosophical about quitting, and I feel that there are a lot of different ideas out there that deserve to be heard, and if an idea isn’t actually harmful, imo, I don’t have a need to correct something that is really not wrong, but merely a difference of opinion. One thing I seem to disagree with the majority on is whether or not smoking provides some kind of benefit to the smoker.    To me, it seems illogical that millions of people would partake of an activity that has absolutely no benefit and is extremely dangerous to their health.  Saying that people are addicted, and therefore do not have a choice begs several questions, such as "Why did they get addicted in the first place, if smoking is so unpleasant?" and "Why do people re-lapse long after they have gotten past physical addiction, if they do not expect some benefit?".  I’ve seen a lot of answers to the first question, ranging from peer pressure to sheer stupidity… but… none really answer the question: Why do so many people smoke long enough to get addicted if it is totally unpleasant and brings no pleasure. The only answer I ever see the latter question is equally unsatisfying to me:  That somehow the people who lapse are weaker than other people, or had never really committed to quitting.  I’ve seen too many people who were absolutely determined to quit lapse.  These were honest, thinking people.  I don’t believe that they were lying about their determination.  There must be more. In my mind, quitting smoking involves several stages.  In the first stage, the person starts to think about quitting.  Then, they take action to do so – educating themselves and getting patches or welbutrin.  The quitting process itself if the hardest stage, since it involves withdrawal symptoms that are frequently quit unpleasant, and processes that are quite life-altering.  There really isn’t much opportunity to think about the loss at this stage, because the quitter must be totally focused on their quit in order to get past the addiction.  This is the stage at which mind games come in handy.  Then the quitter moves into the next stage: coming to terms with being quit, and loss of the benefits of smoking, and learning to live without those benefits.  This sequence is based on observation and experience.  I’ve seen a lot of people stick around here long after their physical withdrawal was over, and often they have to learn to re-live their lives – sometimes re-examining the very foundation of their lives.  I’ve seen marriages break up, people quit their jobs, move.. change their live in dramatic ways.  I’ve read the statistics on re-lapse after relatively long periods of time – periods that exceed the scientific evidence for when physical withdrawal ends.  The only logical explanation that I can see is that people sometimes miss something about smoking, and in a time of weakness or crisis, they smoke to get back whatever it is that they miss. Why am I bringing this up?  I know that there are newbies out there who want to believe that in X weeks they are going to be smoke free and will never want another cigarette.  That was my goal once, too.  I know that some of those newbies will be threatened by this post, thinking that it means that they won’t ever be able to quit "happily".  That isn’t what I mean, though. I just don’t think that we are doing a service to people pretending that they are going to experience something that they won’t.  At least not for a long time.  Maybe at some point a person stops ever considering smoking. But it seems to take quite a while.  Years, in many cases.  For some people it doesn’t happen at all.  Occasional craves are part of life for a long time, and ignoring them won’t make them go away.  Denying that smoking provided us with something means that we can’t accept the loss and deal with it.  It means that that loss stays with us, lingering in our minds, until in a moment of weakness we are forced to choose between addressing it and smoking.  Too many choose the latter.  In just about every other aspect of our lives we recognize that every change involves some sort of loss, even positive change.  Marriage or having a child means loss of freedom.  Leaving for college or establishing a career means loss of the security of our families.  Even the most positive changes result in some loss.  Quitting smoking is the most positive, and one of the most dramatic, changes that a person will ever experience.  Why should it be different?  I think it is because during the first few weeks of quitting we can’t think about that loss, or it will overwhelm us.  We have to be totally focuses on quitting. After we get past that stage, it is entirely too easy to just deny that a loss ever occurred and try to move on.  The unfortunate part is that for many people, that leaves them unprepared to deal with a crisis when they find themselves unequipped to deal with it without smoking.   I experienced it myself, twice.  The first time when I was frightened and alone, and used nicotine as a drug to control my unstable emotions.  The second when I smoked simply because I was afraid of the emotions brought on by a significant loss.  If I had established tools in advance to deal with these situations, I would not have smoked.  But I assumed that my quit was solid, and didn’t bother to think about the possibility that I might smoke if X happened. Well, I never make the same mistake twice (there are so many new and different mistakes to make <g>).  I have dealt with the loss by accepting it and reminding myself frequently that I prefer not smoking to smoking.  That is the truth.  I liked smoking, but I like not smoking much more.  I can list at least a dozen things I liked about smoking. At the same time, I can honestly state that there are many ways my life has been enhanced by learning to live without smoking, and that my life is better overall since I quit.  I have worked to identify reasons I smoked, and add features to my not-smoking life to compensate for the loss of those things.  Mostly, I have been successful, which is why I’m not smoking.  I have taken up mediation, and established clear guidelines under which I might smoke, and then taken steps to ensure that those guidelines are not met.  Some think that acknowledging that I might smoke indicates a lack of will to not smoke.  In my mind it is exactly the opposite.  It indicates a will to not smoke, and a willingness to make whatever sacrifices I need to make to not do so. But what about people who don’t want to make accommodations?  There are other ways of being quit.  One can use anger to maintain ones determination to stay quit.  But I don’t like the people who have done that much.  In order to fight the urges to smoke, they seem to have to let that anger totally overwhelm their life.  I hate to think of the darkness in their minds.  Anger is an unpleasant emotion, both to experience and to observe. Some use plain old-fashioned stubbornness.  They establish the idea that they WILL NOT SMOKE and stick with it like permanent adhesive.  They come up with rules which must remain inviolate.   That wouldn’t work for me.  I’m a pretty flexible person – I can only hold onto a good stubborn for so long, and then my brain starts saying "I’m tired of this, let’s just go back to the way it was".  I hate rules that don’t seem essential to survival.  For me what works is moving "toward the light".  Toward the positive of not smoking, toward a life in which smoking is unnecessary because it does not fill any need I have not already filled some other way.  It takes time, and thought, and a willingness to adapt my life in ways I had not previously expected.  I don’t know if it will work.  It will be interesting to see in 5 years who is still quit and who isn’t.  And who is happy and who isn’t.  I hope that we will all find accommodations, in our own way. I guess the point of this post is to tell newbies: There is not one path to smobriety.  The "junkie thinking" rules are not laws of nature, they are tools which may be used or rejected according to your own personal preference and need.  You may need to accept each rule as gospel in order to quit and remain smoke free. But if you can’t, there are other ways.  .  Good luck and strength in your quit. Diane M.

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• Days 1, 2, 3, and 4

  Question:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 1 > Welcome to the majority. Only 26 percent of adult Americans smoke, and they > nearly all wish they didn’t. Public opinion holds smokers in low esteem. > When a person lights up a cigarette, others see a poor soul lacking in > self-control, a victim. To put it unkindly, a drug addict. After all, > precious few people smoke because they want to. They smoke because they > can’t stop. Yet they are surrounded by people who could stop and did. How > does that make them feel? > Bad. As you did until today. No you have crossed to the other side. You can > hold up your head. You can sit in the non-smoking section. You don’t have to > subject yourself to other people’s whims by asking the snivelling questions > "Mind if I smoke?" Now you’re as good as they are. > Twenty minutes after your last cigarette, nicotine ceased to affect your > blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature. Within 8 hours, the carbon > monoxide level in your blood drastically fell, and increased oxygen is now > reaching all the tissues of your body. > By: Meditations for surviving without cigarettes > DAY 2 > Don’t feel sorry for yourself. People moan about the pain of quitting, but > what about the pleasure? Things are looking up already. You’ve cleared out > those vile ashtrays. You smell better. You don’t have to look for your > cigarettes. > You probably don’t feel your best today. You crave a cigarette, naturally. > You expected that. But you may also be bowed down by headaches, nausea, > sweatiness, aches, and digestive upsets. Not to mention irritability, > restlessness, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating. These are normal > nicotine withdrawal symptoms, and they pass quickly. You can ignore them, or > if you prefer, declare yourself sick and go to bed. It’s best to stay away > from smokers; this is a perfect time to haunt museums, movie theatres, > parks, and mountain trails. one woman spent the first two no-smoking days on > her bicycle miserable and depressed. On the third day she felt wonderful. > Withdrawal is a nasty business. Wouldn’t care to repeat it, would you? Even > if you’re on a nicotine patch, you’re unlikely to be feeling wholly > yourself. Observe your feelings, as if they were a passing parade. They will > retreat, and so will the urge for a cigarette, unless you smoke. Tomorrow > will be different. > DAY 3 > You have conferred tremendous benefits on yourself by quitting smoking. > You’ve added not just eight years (on average age) to your expected life > span, but eight much healthier years than you could look forward to as a > smoker. Put to good use, they will be happier years, too. You are now in a > position to get more out of life than you ever could as a smoker. That cloud > of smoke stood between you and life’s full experience. > At the moment you may be coughing or clearing your throat more than ever > before–so much that your chest may hurt. Be glad! You’ve recovered the > ability to clear out blocked airways, which were stuck full of mucus. The > clearing-out process lasts only a few days, and your old smoker’s cough (the > body’s attempt to protect itself from the irritants in cigarette smoke) will > be history in a few weeks. > Fatigue during the day and wakefulness at night are normal withdrawal > symptoms, not likely to last more than a few weeks. Intestinal upsets can > also last weeks, but most of your other symptoms will pass in a day or two. > The worst cigarette cravings should now be behind you. > DAY 4 > Your worst physical withdrawal symptoms should have passed by now. if the > only reason you smoked was that you’d once had the bad luck of becoming > addicted to nicotine, you’d be home free. > But people are not such fools that they smoke out of addiction alone. They > smoke because smoking is rewarding. Chances are, you have a number of > hurdles still to cross in your metamorphosis into a non-smoker. In the past, > smoking has helped you to regulate your moods, ignore pain, control > excitement, ward off anxiety, and medicate depression. But as smoking > provides only a distraction, not a cure, smokers tend to have a lot of > unfinished business in their psyches. > When someone stops smoking, he or she is apt to suffer most from the > intensity of emotions. The uplifting ones can be as intimidating as the > anxious ones. Both scream "CIGARETTE"!!! The trick is to let these feelings > rush by without succumbing to them. In time, you will learn to tend your > emotions far more effeictely without cigarettes than you ever did with them.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 5 > As long as you smoked, your body operated under a tremendous hindrance. It > had to adapt not only to nicotine, but to the 4000 plus other chemicals > found in burning tobacco (over 40 of which are known to be carcinogenic). > That smoke you took in didn’t just gum up your lungs, but passed immediately > into your bloodstream. The carbon monoxide in the smoke displaced oxygen, > making you tired and breathless. Nicotine sped up your heart rate and raised > your blood pressure. When you lit a cigarette your body temperature also > fell, and less blood flowed to your arms, legs, and feet. If you’re feeling > tingling now in your fingers and toes, it’s because you’re noticing > improved circulation. > If you still want a cigarette, try the 4 D’s: Drink water, Delay, > Deep-breathe, Do something else. The craving will go away in a couple of > minutes — If you don’t smoke > DAY 6 > You do exercise, don’t you? Exercise lets you fully reap the sense of > well-being that comes from not smoking. Exercise does well what the body > does badly, which is to alleviate anxiety, depression, and restlessness. > Both smoking and exercise give the brain’s neurotransmitters a boost, but > the effects of exercise are much longer lasting. A cigarette produces only a > few minutes’ reprieve from anxiety; a good workout creates genuine > relaxation, lasting hours. For those who worry about getting fat, exercise > is a critical part of the program. > It’s necessary to find an exercise you can bring yourself to do regularly. > You can hate running and still like ice skating or racquetball or weight > lifting or bicycling or swimming or yoga. Good old walking will do fine. An > easy stroll is far better than nothing. > In your early weeks of not smoking, you should try to at least one exercise > break a day. The exertion cuts the craving for a cigarette, and there is > satisfaction in making the most of your body’s growing capabilities–now > that it is no longer a smoking machine. > DAY 7 > "Just for today" is a key slogan in Nicotine Anonymous. "Just for today, I > will not smoke." You may reassess the situation tomorrow, whereupon you may > decide to smoke again. Thus, your only problem is getting through today. In > the years to come, if you want to smoke, say to yourself, "Well, maybe > tomorrow." Tomorrow, one hopes, you will decide you can get through > tomorrow. This takes the chill off making a lifetime decision. The thought > of forever may be too much to contemplate. And if tomorrow seems too close > to forever, there’s "just for the next 7 minutes I will not smoke." > DAY 8 > Congratulations! Your first and worst week without cigarettes is over. It is > not, however, time to relax your vigilance. Instead, count your blessings. > You look better, you smell better, and you’re welcome wherever you go. You > are probably enjoying your food more, too. Few great cooks are smokers, as > smokers generally lack both the passion for food and the nose for it. You > may, however, now be demonstrating an obsession with food that you’d rather > not have, and you should take certain precautions. > If you crave sweets, suck on lemon drops or Life Savers. Bowls of sunflower > seeds around the house are diverting. Keep plenty of fruit, juice, and ice > water on hand, and fill the fridge with ready to eat vegetable snacks. You > can use the vitamins; as a smoker, you needed more and absorbed less. And > eat good square meals, remembering that the US Government recommends that we > all eat five to seven servings of fruit and vegetables each day. This is no > time to diet. Chew gum if you must, but bear in mind that some people find > gum chewing even more irritating than smoking.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 9 > Even though he quit 16 years ago, Micheal Mery vividly remembers how > difficult it was. "I loathed myself for smoking, for trashing myself, but it > still took me a long time to quit. When I finally did stop, the first three > days were just the normal physical withdrawal. Then a light-headedness set > in > that was so extreme that I was borderline dangerous. (Mery is a carpenter > and works with power tools). At the same time, I was almost euphoric not to > be smoking. > "I’d also break out in a sweat from head to foot while just sitting in a > chair, and I had major joint pain. I was irritable for months. Three months > after I quit I had a drag of my then-wife’s cigarette. Having that one drag > filled me with fury at myself for being so stupid. That was the last time I > smoked." > "I didn’t notice much physical change until one day I was shovelling horse > manure into my truck for my mother’s garden. I was in a big hurry, and I > loaded up in less than twenty minutes. As I drove away I was amazed to > notice I wasn’t winded. Now, I run twenty miles a week. I’m just grateful to > be free of cigarettes. > DAY 10 > Day by day, this book takes note of the milestones the ex-smoker passes > along the road to recovery. Some body parts recuperate quickly, some slowly. > For ease of reference, we collect together here some of the highlights in > the progress of an ex-smoker. > Twenty minutes after the last cigarette: Blood pressure, pulse, and body > temperature return to normal. > Eight hours later: Carbon monoxide level in the blood falls, allowing oxygen > level to rise. > Seventy-two hours later: The bronchial tubes relax, and breathing becomes > easier. The lung power increases. Coughing decreases. > Two weeks to three months: Circulation improves; stamina increases; lung > capacity increases up to 30 percent > Two Months: Chronic cough completely disappears > One to nine months: Sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath > decrease. The cilia regrow in the lungs. > One year: Risk of heart disease falls to half that of a current smoker > Five years: Risk of heat attack and stroke almost equals that of a never > smoker > Six years: Risk of bladder cancer becomes half that of a never-smoker > Ten years: Risk of lung cancer drops to half that of a never-smoker > Fifteen years: Risk of lung cancer drops to almost that of a never-smoker > Day 11 > Chances are that you still feel a berserk craving for a cigarette from time > to time. Even nonbelievers may take recourse in prayer at such moments. > Saying "God help me" (white breathing deeply) comes as naturally to quitters > as it does to drowning sailors. Both are, after all, fighting for their > lives. > Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace, felt that people smoke, or took other > intoxicants, to drown the conscience. He gives as an example the cook who > cut his lady’s throat but could not finish her off until he smoked a > cigarette. Thieves, gamblers, and prostitutes nearly all smoke–and so do > people in lawful professions, says Tolstoy, if their behavior requires them > to quiet their consciences. > DAY 12 > Most smokers cling to the odd idea that cigarettes reduce stress. In fact, > the effect of smoking is quite the opposite. On lighting a cigarette, the > pulse speeds up, blood pressure increases, and the heart pumps faster. The > smoker may enjoy a moments tranquillity when the nicotine hits the brain, > but > that is quickly followed by the agitation of withdrawal. So the next > cigarette quickly follows, sending a further valley of toxins into the body > and to the nervous system. The upshot is that smoking is the world’s worst > way to cope with stress. > Rx for stress: Take three deep breaths, and hold the last one as long as you > can. Have a hot bath. Run around the block. Do some stretches. Envision > snowcapped mountains. Find someone pleasant to talk to. Pour out your soul > into a notebook. Go to bed early.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Day 13 > Coffee drinking and smoking go together in the minds of many smokers like > the proverbial horse and carriage — so much so that some cigarette quitters > feel they must renounce coffee also. But adding the stress of giving up > coffee to that of giving up cigarettes can be unduly traumatic. Most > cigarette quitters would just as soon postpone caffeine withdrawal, perhaps > till the grave. > However, you might as wee be advised to cut down on the quantity of > caffeine you’re taking in. Smokers metabolize caffeine faster than > nonsmokers. In one test, caffeine levels went up 46 percent after smokers > quit smoking–while still drinking the same amount of coffee. This could > account for some of the irritability and nervousness attributed to cigarette > withdrawal. > So add some decaf to your usual coffee brew, and if need be, alter your > rituals. The after-breakfast cup of coffee causes many recent ex-smokers to > grieve for their after-breakfast cigarettes. Have that second cup of coffee > (maybe decaf) but don’t sit around with it. Stroll in the garden. Strum the > old guitar you’ve stowed in the closet. And this is an excellent time to > write in your journal–where you can express those feelings you’re no longer > trying to extinguish with smoke. > Day14 > Two weeks smoke free! You’re feeling like a real nonsmoker now, not even > thinking about cigarettes for big chunks of time. You may still have bad > moments, very likely in the evenings when you’re tired and your defenses are > low. It’s a good idea to acquire new routines to get your mind off sinking > into an easy chair with a cigarette. One couple who quit together now each > evening take a stroll together. > You may need to find things to do with your hands: Set up a picture puzzle, > do the ironing, bake bread, groom the dog, sew, take up needlework, make a > model airplane, pull weeds, or practice your golf swing. One ex-smoker > started making a replica of the Vatican from a cut-out book. "It’s > incredibly soothing," she says. "I methodically cut, fold, and glue, and the > Vatican rises before me." > Michelangelo didn’t smoke. If he had, at the age of eighty he could hardly > been hanging from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling painting the > frescoes. > Day 15 > Irritability is a big complaint of people who quit smoking. All those > little things that you once took in your stride bug you. The sound of > certain voices may make you feel murderous. Being put on hold is more than > you can take. Trying to be civil is exhausting. You miss the old easygoing > Joe or Jill everybody was so fond of; anything that got on your nerves was > met with a cigarette. > You can be fairly confident that your irritability level will go down in the > next two weeks, although you may not become like Buddha. It’s possible that > behind that curtain of smoke, which you raised whenever any small annoyance > was at hand, is a somewhat irritable person, one of the reasons you smoked > was to obscure that unwelcome fact. Becoming less irritable, which you can > do, may take some time and effort–with meditation, therapy, fresh air, > biofeedback, exercise, etc. > There are, however, some things that are just plain irritating, such as > injustice and dishonesty. These should rightfully be met with action, rather > than with either smoking or a smile. > Day 16 > It helps to practice turning down cigarettes before the chance even arises. > Imagine Rhett Butler sidling up next to you while you’re standing line at > the movies. "Cigarette?" he says. "NO THANK YOU. I DON’T SMOKE," you say. > Rhett won’t stick around, but you could be stuck with the cigarettes for > years to come. > Suppose something frightening happens. Your brother is out fishing, there’s > a storm, his boat doesn’t return. You are waiting at the pier with your > sister-in-law, who is chain-smoking. DON’T SMOKE. Whatever happens, smoking > will only make it worse. > Actually, it’s usually the mundane situations that get you. Your cousin, a > nonstop talker who has been boring you out of your skull for 25 years, is > visiting. In a moment of clarity, you realize that chain-smoking got you > through his visits before. Get out your knitting. Or get him out. If a > situation is driving you to smoke, change the situation.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 17 > A smoker is a slave, at the beck and call of a cigarette. you, however, are > now free. As your life need no longer be arranged around smoke breaks, you > can go anywhere and do anything. If you’ve dreamed of exploring interior New > Guinea, you can go without worrying about running out of cigarettes. And > speaking of running, you don’t get that awful pain deep in your lungs > anymore when you dash for a bus. If you’re lucky, you stopped smoking before > you had a heart attack. > Young persons who have heart attacks are overwhelmingly smokers. The > chemicals in tobacco accelerate arteriosclerosis, and hearts of smokers are > starved for oxygen. Carbon monoxide, inhaled from tobacco, readily displaces > oxygen in the bloodstream. A smoker has 8 to 30 times as much carbon > monoxide in his/her veins as a nonsmoker–thus getting less oxygen than a > nonsmoker would at 8,000 feet. > Young males who smoke two packs a day have seven times the risk of a heart > attack as nonsmokers. For young women–under age 50– smoking two packs a > day raises the risk for heart attack to ten times that of nonsmoking women. > DAY 18 > Has anyone commented on how much better you smell? There are no two ways > about it: smokers stink. One can usually detect a smoker by smell alone, and > stale tobacco is not an endearing odor. A smoker’s house stinks, too. Most > of us do not care to hang around inside one. Often it’s also overheated > because the smoker has poor circulation and jacks the thermometer up. The > smell inside a smoker’s car does not bear mention. > DAY 19 > Another aesthetic consideration: wrinkles. Women especially wrinkle up from > smoking, probably because of a lack of blood flow to the skin. One study of > smokers and wrinkling, based on photographic portraits, concluded that > smokers ages 40 to 49 had as many wrinkes as non smokers 20 years older. > The coloring of a smoker isn’t pretty either. Likewise due to lack of blood > circulation, the skin tends to be sallow, lacking that slight blush that > adds to sex appeal. No amount of makeup substitutes for moist, dewy skin. Yo > probably already look far better than you id twelve days ago. > Men have tougher skin, but men who smoke are still far more likely to be > excessively wrinkled than nonsmokers. Smoking certainly undermines the > virile look, and a smoking man looks more beaten than bold. And in time, the > health problems associated with smoking do their sad work. Nobody who is > carrying an oxygen bottle looks sexy. > —- > DAY 20 > Besides the smell and the wrinkles, another giveaway that someone is a > smoker is stained, yellow teeth. Young people may escape tobacco-colored > teeth for awhile, but eventually the effect catch up with them. > Smokers get four to five times more gum disease than non smokers and are > more likely to lose their teeth at an early age. A study of 17,000 people in > Buffalo, new York, revealed that the condition of the gums and underlying > bones of smokers was comparable to that of non-smokers fifteen years older. > Among women with osteoporosis, the smokers are three times more likely to > lose their teeth than the nonsmokers. > Now’s the time to make an appointment for a teeth cleaning to get the old > cigarette stains off. Your teeth should look a lot better afterward and will > stay that way if you don’t smoke. If there’s irreversible damage, you may > want to look into the new staining and bonding process.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 21 > Nicotine Anonymous is a fast-spreading program. Like Alcoholics Anonymous, > it is based on twelve steps, it has no dues or fees, and meetings are run by > unpaid members. Sabrina P. has been attending meetings weekly for the two > years since she stopped smoking. > "I’d tried everything by the time I got to Nic Anon. The support and > awareness I found there are the reasons I’m not smoking today. I had to > realize that I’m an addict. That’s the baseline. People at meetings said, > "Don’t listen to your brain, except for entertainment, because it’s > addicted." I had been smoking two packs a day for thirty years. Who knew > what this person was like without a drug? > "Cigarettes had been my high power. They regulated my life. I preferred > smoking to sex. When I smoked, I never felt alone because I had my > cigarettes. When I put my cigarettes down I couldn’t stand the gaping hole > inside. I felt I was one of those smokers who would smoke through the hole > after a tracheotomy. It’s a miracle that I stopped. I prayed, I worked in my > garden for six hours nonstop, I stood in my living room and screamed. People > at meetings would say that if you’re going to stop smoking you have to be > prepared to change your life. I was and I did. I’m not just healthier. I’m > calmer, I have self-esteem, and my relationships are far better. Smoking > kept me shame-based, a word I picked up from John Bradshaw. I’m not > shame-based anymore." > DAY 22 > If you’re still having strong impulses to smoke (or worse, succumbing to The > impulses), keep track of what brings up the urge. Parties are hard for a > lot of people. It may help if you break the ice when you arrive at a party > by announcing immediately to somebody that you’ve quit smoking. After that, > most people find it too humiliating to be seen with a cigarette. If that > doesn’t work, lay off parties for awhile. Not smoking is more important. > The liquor at parties adds to an ex-smoker’s vulnerability. If drinking > makes > you smoke, then drinking may have to go. And if you can’t stop drinking, you > have a drinking problem. Call Alcoholics Anonymous or the National Council > on Alcoholism. > DAY 23 > The American obsession with thinness has the tragic effect of keeping many > people hooked on cigarettes. It’s all very well for doctors to say that you > could gain 100 pounds and still be healthier than if you smoked. Given the > choice, you’d rather be dead. > There is a fair chance that you are going to end up weighing more than you > did while you smoked, but probably not by much. It appears that smoking > lowers your natural weight–setpoint–and so when you stop, the body > perceives itself as underweight. Consequently, you may suddenly find > yourself eating like a horse. The important thing is not to panic and > imagine that you’re gong to go on eating like a horse indefinitely. Once the > body reaches its new chosen weight, your appetite will drop off. > A few people do add considerable poundage, which can take a few years to > deal with, but a fair number of people do not gain weight at all. Exercise, > like smoking, seems to lower the body’s setpoint, as well as transforming > belly fat to muscle. > DAY 24 > The life of a smoker has become particularly miserable in recent years now > that many households are hostile to smoking. A visit with friends entails > suffering for the smoker. While others are making merry, the smoker is > longing for a cigarette. She becomes more and more distracted as the > question looms larger "When can she make a break for it?" Just as she’s > about to go into the graden for a cigarette, dinner is erved. After dinner, > when it would seem reasonable to have a little smoke outdoors, some bore is > telling an endless story, and she can’t politely exit unil it’s finished. > And then soon after she’s served her addiction, the old urge starts all over > again. > It’s just as bad in restaurants. Even understanding friends may admit that > smelling smoke while they’re eating makes them sick. Smoking was certainly > more fun when there was a happy conviviality about it. Now, a person who > unveils a pack of cigarettes feels like a murderer.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 25 > In your first few weeks as a nonsmoker, your sleep may be disturbed, but you > may soon be sleeping more soundly than you did before, particularly if > you’ve been getting some exercise. You may find yourself needing more sleep > than you used to (you’re more active during the day) or less (you have more > energy). Don’t get overtired, which leads to carelessness, which leads to > smoking. > Meanwhile, keep a good book next to your bedside and be glad you don’t have > to worry about falling asleep with a cigarette in your hand. In Baltimore, a > three-year study found that more than half the house fires were caused by > smoking. Of those who died, 39 percent were not the smokers themselves. > DAY 26 > Although cigarettes have been the downfall of most contemporary tobacco > addicts, there are other ways to go — pipes, cigars, snuff, chewing > tobacco. In India there’s the problem of reverse chutta smoking–which is > the smoking of a cigarlike stick with the lit end inside the mouth. > The practioners of these minority methods should not imagine that they are > exempt from the problems of cigarette smoking. Whe the mortality statistics > are highest for cigarettes, each method of nicotine intake has its own nasty > side effects. Pipe smokers have high rates of lip and pharynx cancer; cigar > smokers get tongue cancer; and snuff and chewing tobacco lead to tongue and > gum cancer and heart disease. Furthermore, all nicotine users are drug > addicts and consequently to some degree are escaping reality and operating > beneath capacity. > If your problem was tobacco, but not cigarettes, just substitute the name of > your habit when reading this book. Be assured that your vice, whatever it > was, was just as vile as cigarettes. > DAY 27 > Among smoking diseases, lung cancer is one of the quicker ways to go. > Emphysema is one of the lingering ones. The air sacs of the lungs are > destroyed; by the time the disease is diagnosed a large percentage of these > sacs are gone. The sufferer may be left struggling for breath for years > before death comes. Smokers have ten times the emphysema rate of > non-smokers. > Even in the early years of smoking, tobacco is inflicting permanent damage > on the lungs. Damaged lungs cannot be reconstituted, but fortunately one can > breathe with lungs that operate way below capacity. If the damage is > arrested, one may be lucky enough to never seriously suffer from the harm > already done. > DAY 28 > It may seem surprising that the simple act of smoking can cause such varied > damage to remote areas of the body. The explanation is that tobacco smoke is > made up of a wide variety of toxic chemicals that circulate through the > entire body in the bloodstream. Carbon monoxide is only one of the deadly > chemicals produced. > Nicotine itself is the usual suspect when it comes to raising blood pressure > and forming blood clots, but it’s the other chemicals that cause cancer. > More than forty have been identified as carcinogens, and some are complete > carcinogens, capable of starting tumors single-handedly. One is > beta-naphtylamine, which causes bladder cancer, a cancer seven to 10 times > more common in smokers than in nonsmokers. Wherever tar lands in the system, > it produces abnormal cells, which is where cancers start. For pipe and cigar > smokers who don’t inhale, the main cancer sites are the lips, tongue, mouth, > jaws, larynx, and esophagus. For cigarette smokers, the primary list goes on > to include the lungs, bladder, kidneys, and pancreas.

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> DAY 29 > The debate is over as to whether it is harmful to be on the other end of the > smoker’s cigarette. It is. Passive smoking is now recognized as the third > leading preventable cause of death – after active smoking and drinking. > Nonsmokers living with smokers have a 30 percent (or higher, according to > some studies) risk of death from heart attacks. And nonsmokers who live with > smokers cannot be dismissed as the kinds of people who have heart attacks > anyhow. The platelets of nonsmokers sitting for twenty minutes in a waiting > room with smokers became stickier-a condition that leads to heart attacks. > In one study, 69 percent of nonsmokers developed eye irritation when among > smokers; 29 percent had nasal symptoms; 32 percent had headaches; and 25 > percent developed coughs. And these were the non-allergic nonsmokers. The > percentages were much higher among those with allergies. > The nonsmoking majority is fighting back, and public places and work sites > now often prohibit smoking. It is in the home that smokers most often find > their victims-defenseless children. > Day 30 > Many are the ex-smokers who have turned to cigarettes at times of pressure. > And just as many have been sorry afterward. When the heat is on, it’s easy > to forget your priorities, such as how much you care about not smoking. > There you are, your mind agitated when a devious thought comes to you: "I > need a cigarette." And many months later, the only reason you may have to > remember that day is that it was the day you started smoking again. > It’s only the moment you have to get through, and the urge will pass. So be > ready for it. Proactive. Conjure up difficult situations in which you turn > down cigarettes. There you are in the hotel bar late at night when your > ex-wife walks in. You suffered for two years after she left. She looks > better than ever. She’s with her new husband. You’re with a friend who > smokes. DON’T REACH FOR HIS CIGARETTES. That sensation of a rib breaking > your chest will pass. You could be stuck with cigarettes forever. > DAY 31 > You’ve done it! A month without cigarettes. This is a time for > celebration-perhaps a long-distance call to someone who will appreciate this > good news? > It’s also time for one of your periodic counting of blessings. Think back to > the state you were in when you smoked. Do you feel better now? Look better? > Smell better? Sleep better? Do you get more done? Do you hold your head > higher? > So, maybe not. Maybe you’re a nervous wreck. Maybe you chew your fingernails > or scream at your children. Some people find themselves depressed at this > point. If you smoked to avoid facing inner problems, the problems may have > become much more apparent since you stopped smoking. But you still have > something to be thankful for-at least you’re on the road to recovery. You’re > not hiding in your private smoke shelter anymore. Possibly you could benefit > from professional insight. Most medical plans offer short-term psychological > help-and consider it particularly cost-effective in the case of people > giving up smoking. > Day 32 > If you haven’t been feeling well tuned in the head since you stopped > smoking, there’s plenty you can do about it. Regular exercise is one of the > most beneficial. It will both calm you down and pep you up. > Regular conversation is important, too. Smokers very often have spent their > years of smoking avoiding certain subjects. This isn’t a problem if you > aren’t > ‘t troubled or longing for cigarettes. But if you are, a confidante might > help-therapist or friend. A good therapist will help you clear away some > anxiety. But therapists cost money, sometimes too much. An understanding > friend will listen to what’s on your mind, although you may have to force > the conversation beyond its usual limits. Men in particular often find it > hard to expose their most profound worries. > There are plenty of self-help groups around. You might not think you’re the > type for them, but you’ll find out in these groups that whatever your > problems, you’re not alone. There may be meetings of Nicotine Anonymous in > your community-ex-smokers helping one another. You will almost certainly > find other twelve-step programs, men’s groups, and women’s groups. > Day 33 > The infants and children of smoking parents are at high risk for pulmonary > problems, middle ear infections, complications of asthma, and heart disease. > Their lungs show reduced airway size, and blood test proves that hey have > higher cholesterol levels than the children of nonsmokers. > An Israeli study demonstrated that children whose mothers smoked more than a > pack a day had three times the rate of hospitalizations for bronchitis and > pneumonia as the children of nonsmokers. Cigarettes have long been suspected > of contributing to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and a Swedish study > of 279,000 infants documented to 2 to 3 times as many deaths from SIDS among > the newborns of smokers. > The children of smokers grow up to have elevated rates of heart disease even > if they don’t smoke themselves. Unfortunately, the children of smokers are > very likely to smoke themselves-twice as likely as the children of > non-smokers.

  Response:

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• Mind games…

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  Question:

  > We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has > been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut > it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not > tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t > going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not > going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. > I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment.   > Diane M.

  So true; and I like others here have stopped smoking based on this. I could never have said to myself "OK, I will never smoke again, as long as I live…" – it’s just too big a concept to get my head around. So, I’ve just said – "Chris, you can smoke whenever you want – you just have to prove to yourself that you want to more than you want *not* to". Worked for me so far – I’ve never been able to come up with a compelling enough reason to start again (come close a couple of times), and as time goes by and I have more and more non-smoking time behind me, the reasons will have to be more and more compelling. — ~s~ QOF+2

  Response:

  You are so right Diane.  I hear a lot of those type comments about mental illnesses in recovering folks, and it’s like, get a life!!  Alcoholism is a mental illness too dumbass!!!!  There are some freaky ones out there. I’m proud of you Diane, and proud to know you! With hope and heart, Kathleen – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has > been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut > it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not > tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t > going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not > going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. > I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment. > Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie > thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support > group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake. >  It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use > their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental > illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, > I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I > could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill > health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. > That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to > believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt > that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche > appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go > back.  I will not. > I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the > same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the > commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I > remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot > on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble > climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re > faced with a craving, or depression, or problems. > Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life > to quit.  Don’t forget. > Diane M.

  Response:

  I do hear a little junkie thinking here Diane. The problem I see, is that the "thinker" is just torturing his/herself! The sooner we can realize what is junkie thinking, is the less likely it will have a negative effect on us. ODAT (one day at a time) is a significant tool in getting over the next hurdle, and is even good to overcome junkie thinking. But, when the nicodemon strikes, sometimes it won’t let us think about anything else. So far, I’ve been fortunate… it’s left me alone! My method for overcoming junkie thinking is the FFF method which incorporates what you’re saying: #1F- Don’t FLIRT with smoking. Don’t do anything physical that allows you to get closer to puffing-away again! You’ve heard the things that people will do because they are "strong enough" to resist any urges, only to be surprised themself at how fast they fall! #2F- Don’t FANTACIZE with smoking. Your thinking about what it would be like to have a cigarette again is just plain dangerous. You did it for years, why would you think it has changed? #3F- Don’t FORGET why you quit. Always remember what a dangerous and filthy habit smoking is. — There’s just nothing good that a cigarette can do. "Diane M" – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment. > I remembered the day I made the > commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I > remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot > on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble > climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re > faced with a craving, or depression, or problems. > Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life > to quit.  Don’t forget. > Diane M.

  Response:

  Thanks for the link. Actually, this is the drug my doctor recently prescribed to supplement my mood stabilizer, and I was kind of bothered when I read that it was an anti-psychotic drug.  I don’t think I’ve ever actually been psychotic (nothing from the peanut gallery, dear Otter <g>), and it’s good to see that the motivation really was just increased mood stability.  According to the doctor, it’s temporary, anyway, and it does seem to help, although it leaves me quite mentally fuzzy (I was totally out of it when I posted this last night, btw), especially right after I take it.  This is why I haven’t been posting much. The side effect seems to be getting better, though.  I may even be able to get some work done this weekend.  :-) Diane M.   – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Diane, not directly related to what you’re saying here, but your good > self did pass you consciousness when I saw this link on ‘ye good olde’ > BBC site, while I was having a look at this recent Al-Qaeda arrest in > Pakistan. > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2255578.stm > Not that I’m suggesting you take it of course !!! > bobf > 2y+

  Response:

  We’re playing those mind games together Pushing the barriers planting seeds Playing the mind guerrilla Chanting the Mantra peace on earth We all been playing those mind games forever Some kinda druid dudes lifting the veil Doing the mind guerrilla Some call it magic the search for the grail Love is the answer and you know that for sure Love is a flower you got to let it grow So keep on playing those mind games together Faith in the future out of the now You just can’t beat on those mind guerrillas Absolute elsewhere in the stones of your mind Yeah we’re playing those mind games together Projecting our images in space and in time Yes is the answer and you know that for sure Yes is surrender you got to let it go So keep on playing those mind games together Doing the ritual dance in the sun Millions of mind guerrillas Putting their soul power to the karmic wheel Keep on playing those mind games together Raising the spirit of peace and love (I want you to make love, not war I know you’ve heard it before) Singing in the sunshine, laughing in the rain.

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has > been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut > it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not > tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t > going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not > going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. > I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment. > Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie > thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support > group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake. >  It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use > their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental > illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, > I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I > could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill > health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. > That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to > believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt > that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche > appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go > back.  I will not. > I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the > same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the > commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I > remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot > on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble > climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re > faced with a craving, or depression, or problems. > Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life > to quit.  Don’t forget. > Diane M.

  Response:

  Hi, Diane.  It’s good to see you back. I know what you’re saying.  There are a lot of weird people with weird conspiracy theories about everything under the sun, and sometimes I think all of them are on usenet.  Sometimes I think all of them are here  Hey, that kind of sounds conspiratorial, doesn’t it?  Some of these theories seem plausible.  It’s easy to get drawn in, especially when it’s something you’d like to believe in. Kimberly wrote yesterday about learning to trust your gut– and sometimes I think that (combined with our own common sense) is what we miss when we’re tempted by thoughts like this.  Stay the course; know that your own instincts about what you need are usually the correct ones.  I hope you’ll find your way back to a place of greater peace soon. Hugs, elle

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has > been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut > it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not > tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t > going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not > going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. > I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment. > Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie > thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support > group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake. >  It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use > their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental > illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, > I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I > could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill > health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. > That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to > believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt > that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche > appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go > back.  I will not. > I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the > same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the > commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I > remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot > on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble > climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re > faced with a craving, or depression, or problems. > Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life > to quit.  Don’t forget. > Diane M.

  Response:

  odat.

  Response:

  Diane, not directly related to what you’re saying here, but your good self did pass you consciousness when I saw this link on ‘ye good olde’ BBC site, while I was having a look at this recent Al-Qaeda arrest in Pakistan. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2255578.stm Not that I’m suggesting you take it of course !!! bobf 2y+ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has >been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut >it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not >tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t >going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not >going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. >I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is >a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a >commitment.   >Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie >thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support >group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake. > It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use >their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental >illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, >I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I >could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill >health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. >That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to >believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt >that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche >appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go >back.  I will not. >I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the >same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the >commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I >remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot >on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble >climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re >faced with a craving, or depression, or problems.   >Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life >to quit.  Don’t forget. >Diane M.

  Response:

  Diane a really good post. Too many times when we get depressed we forget to think positive. We always should remember why we do things the way we do them especially when we have craving we always should remember why we quitt in the first place. As far as the comitment goes for me it’s day by day and on very bad day it’s by hours and even minutes. I cant comit longer than a day. I don’t smoke today. To think this way got me through one week and 4 days I am fighting Mr. Smoke every single day like you and I am not giving in. Carmen

  – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has > been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut > it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not > tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t > going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not > going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. > I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is > a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a > commitment. > Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie > thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support > group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake. >  It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use > their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental > illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, > I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I > could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill > health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. > That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to > believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt > that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche > appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go > back.  I will not. > I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the > same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the > commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I > remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot > on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble > climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re > faced with a craving, or depression, or problems. > Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life > to quit.  Don’t forget. > Diane M.

  Response:

  We all play mind games with ourselves.  Human nature.  My brain has been working overtime lately.  Sometimes I want to smoke just to shut it up, but I made a commitment not to smoke today, and it’s not tomorrow yet <g>. Someone commented that telling yourself you weren’t going to smoke today is just like telling yourself that you are not going to smoke for X hours, but will smoke then. Not the same at all. I *may* smoke tomorrow, but I may not.  I probably will not.  There is a real possibility that I will never smoke again.  I made a commitment.   Mind games aren’t just for quitters. I’m thinking a lot of "junkie thoughts" about other things.  I’ve been reading the bipolar support group, and there is this guy who says that mental illness is all fake.  It’s a plot by the drug industry to make people pay money to use their product.  The drugs actually cause the symptoms of the mental illness.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But I want to believe him.  God, I want to believe him.  Just the same way I wanted to believe that I could smoke and not suffer the repercussions – coughing, disease, ill health, etc.  I want to believe that I don’t really need the pills. That I could just stop taking them, and I’d be fine.  I want to believe that I’m not sick.  But I keep reminding myself of how I felt that day I sat on the phone and begged my health plan for a psyche appointment.  I keep remembering the chaos in my head.  I will not go back.  I will not. I’m not going to give in, though.  I’m going to fight.  I’m using the same will I used when I quit smoking.  I remembered the day I made the commitment – the way I felt when I decided to really *try* to quit.  I remembered the sight of cigarettes burning in a little teepee in a pot on the front porch.  I remembered coughing, and having trouble climbing stairs.  It’s so easy to forget.  Especially when you’re faced with a craving, or depression, or problems.   Just don’t forget.  Use the skills you have gained elsewhere in life to quit.  Don’t forget. Diane M.

  Response:

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• Today…..

  Question:

  >My emotions don’t deserve all >the attention they get from me. >       You mean they *do* deserve the attention you give them……?

  Some attention yes, but I’m guilty of overwatering the flowers so to speak. My mom would call it *having a pity party* Boy was I serious this morning or what? I think I was listening to U2 at the time. Anyway, I hope your day improved considerably. The adventure continues! Amy

  Response:

  Today I have had trouble getting myself moving. I have things I have to do; I don’t feel like doing any of them. I am having slight cravings for cigs. but they do not persist. (Still waitin’ for my care package from parents in NY including those pretzels and Breathsavers ) I am still depressed being here in England, awaiting visa for 7 months, unable to work. I don’t have enough $ (

  No comments Recover from Depression
  
  

• When does your brain return?

  Question:

  You don’t want to smoke???  You should be really happy! I’m sorry I don’t have any advice for you Laurie… Just a shoulder to cry on. It’s Ok… it’s ok…. it’s ok…   there-there    :-) You’re gonna be alright! > I don’t know, but I just feel sad.  I > don’t even want to smoke or eat or anything.  Thanks for listening, > sorry for whining. > Laurie > One month, 13 hours, 30 minutes and 1 second. 611 cigarettes not > smoked, saving $224.45. Life saved: 2 days, 2 hours, 55 minutes.

  Hey, another one of the June Quitters!!! —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–==  Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–

  Response:

  - Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am having a very difficult time at work because of my brain > apparently being somewhere else, (probably somewhere that is air > conditioned) I am making so many mistakes at work that my job may be > in danger.  It’s not like newbie brain fog, I feel like I am all > there, but evidence proves otherwise.  Has this happened to anyone > else?  When does your brain come back? > In addition to this or perhaps because of it, I am having the worst > day since Days 1, 2, and 3.  I have spent most of the day crying. > Maybe the heat is getting to me, I don’t know, but I just feel sad.  I > don’t even want to smoke or eat or anything.  Thanks for listening, > sorry for whining. > Laurie > One month, 13 hours, 30 minutes and 1 second. 611 cigarettes not > smoked, saving $224.45. Life saved: 2 days, 2 hours, 55 minutes.

  I am at 4 weeks tonight, and I still get kind of silly here and there.  Just kind of floaty/spacy feeling and not quite thinking straight.  Strange enough to where I feel I have to apologize/explain it.  I have had some really cry-a-lot days too (if you’ve read my posts).  It seems to come and go.  I have had a couple really good days now, but the couple days before that were just down in the dirt.  Hang in there, your body is still adjusting! With hope and heart, Kathleen

  Response:

  > I am having a very difficult time at work because of my brain > apparently being somewhere else, (probably somewhere that is air > conditioned) I am making so many mistakes at work that my job may be > in danger.  It’s not like newbie brain fog, I feel like I am all > there, but evidence proves otherwise.  Has this happened to anyone > else?  When does your brain come back?

  I’m 6 weeks down and still waiting. > In addition to this or perhaps because of it, I am having the worst > day since Days 1, 2, and 3.  I have spent most of the day crying. > Maybe the heat is getting to me, I don’t know, but I just feel sad.  I > don’t even want to smoke or eat or anything.  Thanks for listening, > sorry for whining.

  You’re not alone. I’m feeling exactly the same, cept without the concentrated heat (though it’s been v warm across the pond today for a change). I have lots of other reasons for being blue right now, but missing my old way of life is right there in the mix and close to being top of the list. I know it doesn’t make sense. I know that smoking isn’t going to help (though it’s hard to shake the whispered ‘oh yes it will’ in my ear). I honestly don’t feel like smoking, and I can’t imagine buying a packet. I do think about the upsides — the easier breathing, the sense of taste/smell coming back — but it’s not helping a whole lot. There’s not even much in the way of craving, just a constant nag. It feels like crap. So I definitely sympathise. I’m just trusting the rest of the people in here when they say it gets better. Hang in there. > Laurie > One month, 13 hours, 30 minutes and 1 second. 611 cigarettes not > smoked, saving $224.45. Life saved: 2 days, 2 hours, 55 minutes.

  Nice meter and congrats on your hard won FMD, btw. Jean One month, one week, six days, 2 hours, 43 minutes and 43 seconds. 862 times I said NO, saving

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