Questions for Everyone
This quit smoking book that I read when I have down time is pretty good. I
agree with everything it says except one part of its approach. It has everyone
keep their pack of cigarettes in their pocket/purse the first week of their quit
so they do not fall into the “deprived” feeling in their quit.
Wow, I just don’t know if I could have done that. It would certainly prove your
dedication and avoid the temptation of later discoveries of lonely cigarettes in
the corner. And it would answer my ‘what if’ you know the one…. “What if a
lonely crisp cigarette came rolling out from my monitor to my keyboard as I was
typing?” Strange, the thoughts in my head.
I was just curious what you guys thought of this approach. Wow.
Gail
Three weeks, four days, 11 hours, 23 minutes and 27 seconds. 636 cigarettes not
smoked, saving $105.08. Life saved: 2 days, 5 hours, 0 minutes.
December 16th, 2003 at 5:00 pm
Hi Gail
Think this might be the same book that I used to read and at last year when I
tried this is what I did - but I never felt comfortable with them around and
always found that it was different to the ‘what if a lonely cigarette came
towards me syndrome’.
Indi
December 17th, 2003 at 1:04 am
Gail - I’m honestly not sure I see much point in keeping a pack of
cigs around, what the purpose is. If we’re quitting using a
cognitive approach, we won’t be feeling deprived, but choosing
rational non smoking options if we come up against triggers/craves.
Pam
good. I agree with everything it says except one part of its
approach. It has everyone keep their pack of cigarettes in their
pocket/purse the first week of their quit so they do not fall into
the “deprived” feeling in their quit.
December 17th, 2003 at 8:19 am
– Hi Gail
When I quit smoking like many people, I thought That’s it, I am not
smoking any more so couldn’t see the point in hanging on to the
cigarettes. Personally I am not strong enough [ wasn’t] to have a
packet lying around. [was bad enough having hubbys roll up tobacco in
the house] I always said over rthe years I would rather not smoke if
That [roll ups ]were the only choice but when I did slip badly….
guess what I smoked ??
On the other hand my mum gave up two years ago now and just left the
packet with cigarettes in a drawer. Every time one of us in the
family that still smoked at that time [ two out of nine of us!] she
would offer us them and tell us to take them with us. So she was
absolutely fine with it but she also sailed through her quit too.
So I wouldn’t advice anyone to keep them but I supose we all think
differently and people have stopped smoking with all sorts of little
methods to help them haven’t they?
sue
good. I agree with everything it says except one part of its
approach. It has everyone keep their pack of cigarettes in their
pocket/purse the first week of their quit so they do not fall into
the “deprived” feeling in their quit.
certainly prove your dedication and avoid the temptation of later
discoveries of lonely cigarettes in the corner. And it would answer
my ‘what if’ you know the one…. “What if a lonely crisp cigarette
came rolling out from my monitor to my keyboard as I was typing?”
Strange, the thoughts in my head.
cigarettes not smoked, saving $105.08. Life saved: 2 days, 5 hours, 0
minutes.
December 17th, 2003 at 3:41 pm
One of the ppl I quit with, DDJacque (anyone who reads AS3 will know of
her), kept an unopened pack in her freezer for a year. It’s not something I
would do, but to each his/her own. My question, and I’m the only one who
needs to anwer this, is “why would I want to keep cigs around?” I’m not a
victim, quitting was my choice. I don’t need to keep nicotine around, being
quit means not smoking, either I’m quit or not.
From my perspective, if I’ve quit, it’s cuz I don’t want to smoke anymore.
For me, cognitive quitting offers tools to maintain that perspective
without trying to ‘cover other bases’. I know that in past quits, I’ve
searched for some ‘quit posture’ that will protect me from situations or
thoughts that might threaten my quit. Again, for me, the only protection
I’ve ever found that is reliable, is being aware of what and how I’m
thinking in relation to the events that make up my day.
Steve
p.s.- Jacque’s ‘DD’ and my ‘dd’ stand for Daredevil. The Daredevils were a
group of about 25 ppl who came together to quit on or about March 15 ‘96 in
the Usenet newsgroup ‘alt.support.stop-smoking’. Of that group, Jacque and
I are the only ones I know of who are still quit.
I agree with everything it says except one part of its approach. It has
everyone keep their pack of cigarettes in their pocket/purse the first week
of their quit so they do not fall into the “deprived” feeling in their quit.
prove your dedication and avoid the temptation of later discoveries of
lonely cigarettes in the corner. And it would answer my ‘what if’ you
know the one…. “What if a lonely crisp cigarette came rolling out from my
monitor to my keyboard as I was typing?” Strange, the thoughts in my head.
www.cognitivequitting.com
December 18th, 2003 at 6:04 am
At the time when you’d be most vulnerable why would you have
cigarettes anywhere near you? I don’t agree either. I, myself,
would not be able to stop smoking with a pack of cigs in my purse.
You know those ABCs are hard enough for necessary events.
good. I agree with everything it says except one part of its
approach. It has everyone keep their pack of cigarettes in their
pocket/purse the first week of their quit so they do not fall into
the “deprived” feeling in their quit.
certainly prove your dedication and avoid the temptation of later
discoveries of lonely cigarettes in the corner. And it would answer
my ‘what if’ you know the one…. “What if a lonely crisp cigarette
came rolling out from my monitor to my keyboard as I was typing?”
Strange, the thoughts in my head.
cigarettes not smoked, saving $105.08. Life saved: 2 days, 5 hours, 0
minutes.
December 18th, 2003 at 8:34 pm
the first week of their quit so they do not fall into the “deprived”
feeling in their quit.
I can tell you what I think of that as far as my quit is concerned.
No way, Jose, would I have a pack of cigarettes around me for that
first week. I know me and it would have been too easy to just “have
one” when I was feeling really bad, especially that second day. One
of the reasons I had my quitting ceremony where I deliberately tore
each cigarette into tiny pieces is because I knew that all tobacco
needed to be gone from my house and car for at least a few weeks. I
remember about two weeks into my quit, I “found” a cigarette in my
freezer out in the garage; fortunately, my husband was standing
behind me. He jumped a foot when I flung that smoke at him and asked
him to throw it away, then I stopped him when he was just going to
throw it away. I said, wait a minute there, you HAVE TO TEAR IT UP
IN TINY PIECES FIRST!! In my mind, I could see myself out there in
the garage at midnight, going through the trash and finding that
smoke!!! How attractive, huh? Well, this is one of the things that
I’ve had to realize about myself in the past few months, that I was
just that addicted. Of course, things are not so hard anymore. I’m
around smokers and it still bothers me at times but overall it’s not
a problem anymore. I just had to get through those early days in
learning how to quit smartly but in the meantime I just couldn’t have
the distraction of a cigarette in my face until I knew I could handle
it.
Everyone is different. I see quite a few posts where people have a
pack of cigarettes in their house, purse, etc. And it’s fine for
them, they make it through. But a lot of them don’t make it either.
Would they have made it if it weren’t for that one smoke that was so
easily available that first week? Who knows? I wasn’t willing to
take that chance myself. If I were that strong, I would have quit
years ago.
- Cat
December 20th, 2003 at 11:25 pm
Depending on whose numbers you believe, that ’stat’ is about par for the
course. The vast majority of smokers who quit, will return to smoking
before they’ve reached a year quit. My experience is that the opposite is
the case with cognitive quitters. Ask yourselves, “What are we doing
differently than the rest of the quit smoking community?” The answer is why
you will succeed where so many others fail.
www.cognitivequitting.com
December 22nd, 2003 at 4:18 am
Happens to the best of us, Linda.
We just get a little off-track, and sometimes we can work through the
sudden urge and sometimes it hits us like a mack truck (which is why
you wanted to hit your husband like a mack truck). Betcha don’t want
to go through that again huh? I’m going to sound like I’m lecturing,
but you may have set yourself up for that urge that hit you so hard.
All day long, you didn’t get any fresh air, no exercise (which you
admit makes you feel better), you ate excessively (wanna bet there
was sugar in there?), and went then went to one of the smokiest
establishments in the U.S. of A. The Bowling Alley. Without any ABC
prep. Girl, give that hubby a special hug tonight. He was your ABC
replacement for you last night but he’s not going to be there most of
the time keeping an eye on you and I’m sure you don’t want him to be.
OK, enough of that. Glad to hear you’re moving on.
- Cat