First post
Hi all!
I am new to this group but not new to Steve’s web site. I quit
smoking on July 25, 2001 and have visited cognitive smoking
frequently to get ideas on how I might be active in claiming a
smokefree life for myself. The info has been so very helpful! Thanks
Steve! I heard about this egroup site through UKPam on another site.
I was reading through the posts this morning and I am so excited to
be here. Reading though others ABCs really helps! Looking forward
to posting with all of you!
Terri
March 17th, 2003 at 9:40 am
Hi Terri
Nice to have you here with us. I am still struggling slightly, but
every day seems to be getting better, I am getting to the point where
I am not really enjoying the taste of cigarettes anymore.
I just seem to need them to help me go to the toilet - sounds awful
doesn’t it??? Have had 2 today, but not really enjoying them at
all. Tomorrow I am not at work so it will probably be loads better.
Look forward to chatting and hearing how you managed to quit.
Lynne
March 18th, 2003 at 9:06 am
Hi Terri and welcome - UK Pam is great isn’t she I’m glad I met her and now
through her you.
Look forward to getting to know you
Indi
March 18th, 2003 at 3:16 pm
Hi Terri - glad to see you’re on board with us. Welcome to a great
support group and a source of much useful information. Am sure Steve
will be along when he gets chance, to welcome you too.
How are you getting along, wading your way through all the posts? As
you can see it’s a pretty active group. So tell us more about how
you quit and how you’re finding things now. Look forward to hearing
more!
bye for now
Pam
March 19th, 2003 at 7:48 am
Someone sent this to me to pass on…..
Psyllium husks (bulk or in capsules) make constipation a NON issue, AND
it cleans out the heart. They can be found at natural food sections and
natural food stores.
There, I’ve ‘passed’ it on. sorry
March 19th, 2003 at 3:03 pm
We haven’t gotten into long lists of all the symptoms of nic withdrawal and
detox and recovery. Here are a couple of common ones…..
constipation- very common for a couple of weeks. you may experience it,
you may not. DO NOT SUFFER. There are enough products available to deal
with this.
heartburn- very common for a couple of weeks. you may experience it, you
may not. DO NOT SUFFER. There are enough products available to deal with this.
bleeding gums- if it shows up, usually within the first 2- 3 weeks. find an
antibiotic mouthwash that’s soothing. avoid hard or spicey anything. if it
persists more than 2 or 3 days, see a dentist. DO NOT SUFFER needlessly.
There are probably more, but I can’t think of them at the moment. It’s
very important early in our quits that we DO NOT SUFFER needlessly. That’s
only a stressor we can do without. We offer no points for martyrdom. So
find some exlax or whatever that other stuff is, tums for the tummy, mouth
wash, whatever. Take care of yourselves.
Steve
www.cognitivequitting.com
March 19th, 2003 at 8:16 pm
As I just mentioned to Steve, the tone of this place is going down
This topic ‘regularly’ crops up in quitting circles, fondly
Pam
the pan
called ‘Quitstipation’ at another quit smoking site I visit. I shall
respond in full when I’ve a bit more time, and ‘pass’ it on to you
March 20th, 2003 at 10:45 am
OK - a serious response to some sensible advice.
As one who suffers from a condition called diverticulitis, I know
quite a lot about ‘keeping regular’, and have to make sure I do or I
pay for it. Steve is quite right - don’t suffer, take action.
In my case I was advised to stick to a healthy diet, which includes a
lot of natural fibre to ‘keep things moving’ - lots of veggies and
fruit make great natural laxatives and are a good way of eating. As a
fruit, pineapple is one of the best. Wholemeal bread is good, as is
drinking lots of water throughout the day. Eating this way should
help a lot - we all eat way too much processed food in our busy
lives, and neglect to eat properly.
I’ve diet sheets etc my doctor gave me, so seriously, if anyone wants
a bit of extra advice, please feel free to email me.
take care
Pam
March 21st, 2003 at 2:21 am
Steve
I love it - is it particularly for those of us who are having problems with
constipation due to quitting or just for general information?????
Whichever, thanks for passing it on:)
Namaste
Indi
March 23rd, 2003 at 4:04 pm
No points for martyrdom? Geez, you’re taking ALL the fun out of
quitting, ya know.
- Cat
March 24th, 2003 at 5:26 pm
The ‘gaffer’ (smile) wrote:
From someone who has known Steve for a long time now, I laughed out loud
There, I’ve ‘passed’ it on. sorry
when I read his response. Just in case you guys didn’t know (and he
might not own up to it even yet….. smile), he has a great sense of
humor…. and I hope he shows it every now and then. Even though we are
dealing with very serious stuff here…. ’cause quitting smoking means
LIFE! to us…. we can’t forget how healing humor can be.
When I was first quitting, I was involved with the newsgroup,
Alt.Support Stop-Smoking (AS3). Very early in my quit, because of the
severe roller coaster ride that I was experiencing, I had to learn new
ways to dry the tears and to help myself stay quit. One of the most
important tools that I used was humor. Every day, for one year, I would
post a new joke. The therapy for me came from pouring through several
jokelists every day. It was really hard to cry when I was laughing out
loud. And think of all of the endorphins I was releasing with those
belly laughs! It was very healing. I found a few lists that were good
for at least one joke a day.
Little did I know that my therapy was helping others. After a year,
when I could no longer be with AS3 every day, I received a ton of
e-mails asking me to at least post a joke, if I couldn’t every day, at
least post one every now and then. They further wrote how much they had
benefited from the jokes as well. Smile. (Now before you ask me what
the URL of the lists are, I have long since lost them. Computer crashes
should be outlawed!!! I can’t even remember how I found them….
probably by a search, though.) So….. my point in writing all of this
is to share with you one of my favorite tools for quitting smoking….
humor. It was very important to me.
I read with great interest the posts from all of you. Wow. You guys
are doing so great. It is a true gift to have one another like we do,
isn’t it? I am sorry I can’t join you in your chats (being on the west
coast of the US, the time difference is prohibitive as well as work
taking up much of my time too…. yuck), but that you have one another
to lean on is just excellent.
To you new folks, just for your info, I quit 3 1/2 years ago using Cog
Quitting. Today, I experience a degree of quit comfort that I never
knew was possible before this quit. So, keep on keeping on. When I
tell you how wonderful it is here in this place of my quit, know that
you can achieve this place as well. Cog Quitting was the difference.
Thanks for letting me step in here for just a bit. I also wanted to let
you know I am available if you are unable to get ahold of Steve. He
must be the one to take you through your ABC’s but I can sure listen, if
that is what you need. You can write to me at
patriciaanns@…. And now I must go pay attention to the man
in my life. Smile…. My 10 year old Golden Retriever, Elliot, is about
to crawl into my lap if I don’t pay some attention to him…. so I
guess, I’d better go do that.
You are all doing so grand…. that is truth,
Pat
www.talkingstick.net
March 25th, 2003 at 6:44 am
Hi Pat - I totally agree, humor is so important, and mine can get me
Yep - there’s a little nucleus here who enjoy some fun, and there’s a
……
into trouble
sorta informal email list with some great jokes, flying back and
forth between the USA, UK and Canada. And talking of toilet
dynamics, I know this toilet roll holder assassin in Toronto who has
more than a mischievous sense of humour
Pat - thanks for your email today, and good luck with the job
hunting. Give that gorgeous lab of your a big hug from me
take care
Pam
May 14th, 2005 at 2:08 am
Hi Glenn,
I’ll include that
Steve
Welcome to the group and congratulations on your decision to quit.
Thanks for the correction to the spinchat directions,
from now on.
As for NRT, there is no policy. Some ppl start out using it, some don’t.
Most will drop it earlier than planned simply because the most
uncomfortable part of a quit is the internal arguing that has always been
involved. With a cog quit, you’re going to have ABCs and a fairly
comprehensive plan for dealing with detox. Glenn, I’m assuming you intend
to start out cold turkey and therefore your question about including NRT
only if it gets too rough. My personal opinion, and this carries no more
weight than any other opinion, in that since the first several days are an
adjustment period of getting off nic entirely, reintroducing nicotine in
any form could be seen as a step that would only prolong whatever physical
discomfort you’re experiencing. That said, I can also see situations where
the initial brain fog, which can be pretty debilitating, is unacceptable
for all sorts of reasons, job performance and/or safety to name only two.
Again, I think you’ll find that being prepared to deal with Warren in the
first several days will make detox much less the ordeal you’re anticipating.
I’m calling in some favors here …. could we hear from some of you
who had some cog quit prep in place when you quit? How did being prepared
effect your initial quit experience and, if you can remember, what
preparations did you find most helpful?
thanks
April 28th, 2007 at 2:35 am
I’m Steve’s wife & this is my first time posting to the group. I’ve been a
‘once removed’ lurker for 10yrs. Whenever Steve sees a post he thinks I
should read he’ll call me over to look at his monitor or if I’m not around
email me a copy. So I’ve some idea of what goes on in the group but not
entirely.
I been involved with cognitive quitting from the beginning because Steve
would run things past me. Later he would ask me to verify facts or find
statistics for him (my skill) & finally I started to work with him on his
book & his program.
The most important thing I’ve learnt about nicotine is: After you’ve past
through withdrawal. - there is nothing nicotine does for you that you can’t
do for yourself once you know how.
Over the years smokers have learnt to take care of their fundamental
physical needs with cigarettes. Nicotine relaxes muscles, stimulates the
brain, suppresses appetite & gets you to breathe properly. Prepare to take
care of yourself in a timely & appropriately manner & as a side effect
you’ll lose your craving for nicotine. But you need to learn & practice how
to do it until it becomes automatic.
On a personal note; my family’s genetic profile ( both sides ) was straight
forward. They lived clear minded & physically active until their mid 80s or
90 then died quickly from heart attacks, strokes or aneurysms. Not perfect
but not so bad.
Twenty years ago just before her 65 birthday my mother died of lung cancer.
She smoked.
Ten years later I met Steve, too late for my mother but not for others.
That’s why I’m extremely supportive of the time & effort my husband spends
on line helping people move on with their lives, free of nicotine. - Mairead
August 7th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Well, I read through the materials on the web site (which I learned
about at QuitNet), downloaded the timer template, signed up for this
group , received and wrote down the foundation statements. I’m going to
do the timer thing tomorrow - figure it will be easier on a weekday.
I’m 42 years old and have been a pack-a-day smoker for almost 30 years.
My husband, who has smoked about as much for about as long as I have,
but has a lung condition, was recently read the riot act by his doctor
and we decided to quit together. Our quit date is this Thursday,
February 1. We’re taking a smoking cessation class and the whole class
will be quitting that day.
Anyway, I can definitely see myself battling the urge to smoke for the
rest of my life. I have been practicing not smoking certain cigarettes,
and the only thing that has seen me through was the idea that if I
waited I could have one eventually. I started taking Wellbutrin a while
ago and will double the dose this week in preparation for my quit. One
of my theories about smoking has always been that I was self-medicating
for depression. I also should mention that I went directly from sucking
my thumb to smoking - so the hand/mouth thing is pretty strong for me.
I’m about 30 pounds overweight despite the fact that I smoke, and dread
putting any more weight on.
I’ve come across the theory that using NRTs just prolongs withdrawal,
and am seriously considering foregoing using them. (We’re getting them
free from the class - I figure I’ll get them but try and do without and
see how it goes.)
So - what are the ABCs? I guess I understand your basic theory - that
I’ve developed an autonomic response to life that has me reaching for a
cigarette whenever there is a change in my emotional or physical
atmospheric situation. And that I’ve got to retrain this response
(Warren, if you must). Are deep breathing and stretching the best
alternatives? Do they work to reprogram Warren? Or are the ABCs
something else?
Thanks,
Lisa
August 8th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Hi Lisa,
The timer thing is pretty simple. It’s a way to stop and pay
attention to your body cues i.e. what muscles are tense, what the
condition of your breathing is, whether you need some food, fluids,
or rest. The reason to pay attention is because these cues are the
source of your urges to smoke and they’re almost always below your
awareness. All it takes to become more aware is to practice paying
attention for a while. The timer reminds you to pay
attention. That’s the first step, becoming aware of the cues that
have always triggered your urges to smoke.
As for the ABC’s, I’m sorry you read about them since they’ve been
replaced with something simpler. In an effort to keep this as simple
as possible, I’d say forget them for now. Concentrate on the timer
and being able to quickly and easily identify the tension in your
shoulders, neck, back, stomach, jaw (if any of those are common
stress areas for you) and your breathing. Many of us breath shallow.
This can seem slow and relaxed, but if it’s not really filling our
lungs properly, we’re not getting enough air and there are very
specific consequences.
If you care to post some of your time notes here, we’ll help you make
sure you’re optimizing your efforts. You’ve got 3 days to do the
timer before you quit on Thursday. That’s lots of time if you do this right.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Steve