Cognitive Quit Smoking

If I´d been told by someone that after 17 months of not smoking I
still find myself craving cigarettes, I would have thought No
thanks! No quitting for me! Just too horrible prospects!
Now that I´ve come this far and having cheated myself one way or
another not to light a cig, I suppose it could be put this way: I
definitely do not want to start quitting again! Of course the first
few months were harder than the rest of the period. But really I
don´t know if the cravings will ever stop.
Maybe someone in the Forum does..
Ilkka
Finland

So there’s this city boy who decides that he’s
tired of the rat race and he’s going to move to
the mountains. A few months go by and he’s starting
to feel just a tad lonely, when a knock comes at
his door. He answers the door and sees this shaggy,
dirty ol’ mountain man. The mountain man says,
“Howdy, neighbor! I live on the other side of
the mountain, and I wanted to invite you to a
party!”
Well, the city boy, feeling kind of lonely, says,
“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun!”
The mountain man says, “Well, I should warn you:
There’s going to be a lot drinkin’!”
The city boy says, “Well, it’s a party. I guess
that’s okay.”
(more…)

Its 7pm GMT which is 2pm EST - I’m in Spinchat if anyone’s around.
Think I’m having problems sending email, so hope to catch up there
instead.
Pam

Hi Frank
Can I ask that when you post that you are in or going into spinchat you put
the time - now I’m not sure if its EST time which Steve uses cos I can work
that one out in connection with GMT.
In regard to you smoking with relatives and the camaraderie one of the things
I use in times like this is my mantra which I use when I can’t or don’t want
to have another choice.
This means riding out the craving but its ok and usually the smell and
watching them smoke makes me feel really pleased to be a non-smoker (unless
its when they first light up, cos then - like Cat- I really like that smell).
My mantra is this
I have a desire to smoke
I have the freedom to smoke
One puff and I’ll be smoking
Then I make a choice
(more…)

In a message dated 28/11/01 06:01:39 GMT Standard Time,
catmohan@… writes:
Thanks for sharing that one Cat, never thougth about that
Indi

OK, sometimes I just can’t help myself. I really shouldn’t have stayed
up this late but felt wired tonight for some reason. Now I need to get
to bed so I can get 5 hours of sleep before going into work. I am
aware at this time, though, that I will most probably be tired tomorrow
and grumpy which means I will be doing some stinkin’ thinkin’. Well, I
need to head that off somehow but I’m too tired to think about it now.
Catch ya’ll on the flip side -
- Cat

Welcome! Think you will like it here. There is a lot of great info,
support and encouragement to claim a smoke free life for yourself! I
too have used the mantra that “the urge to smoke is not a command
that needs to be acted upon” and it has served me well. However, at
some point I needed to replace smoking with something else. That’s
what cognitive quitting is all about. I have often heard people who
have quit describe the sense of emptiness or missing something and
have felt it myself in the past. When we remove our almost universal
response (a smoke) to every change in physical state, we are going to
feel we are missing something unless we address that change or
sensation in another way. Learning how to do this has been a
wonderful process of self discovery and personal empowerment for me
and I am learning more every day! I certainly don’t want to go
through those first few weeks of withdrawl again but what has
happened since then has been a true gift. Hope you find it so as well
(more…)

I didn’t mean that the people are pathetic.
The act itself seems pitiful. That’s all.
Especially since I know, first hand, the
hell that smokers go through.
-Frank

I just see it as pathetic that someone can stand there and
actually inhale and exhale a cloud of poison and interpret it
as “relaxing,” and the more distance I gain from this addiction,
the more foreign and bizarre it seems to me. Let’s see: Take a
rolled paper tube that’s stuffed with a dried and crushed herb
that has been marinated in literally thousands of chemicals,
light it on fire while it’s in your mouth, and then purposely
breathe the smoke from it into your lungs. Now exhale and enjoy!
Mmmmm…. Yum Yum!! *shudder* We trick ourselves into thinking
it tastes good, that it’s relaxing, that it’s natural or normal
somehow.
-Frank

Here is one of the hardest of all situations
for me:
A: A friend, neighbor, or family member
is smoking a cigarette and I find myself
craving one.
B.
1. I can take some deep breaths.
2. I can ignore that they are smoking.
3. I can acknowledge that they are smoking
and that I prefer not to smoke, even if
I’m craving one.
4. I can make some excuse to leave the area.
5. I can bum one and smoke it with them.
C. I choose a combination of 1, 3, and possibly 4.
-Frank