Comments on: Limping along

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Sun, 30 May 2004 17:30:01 +0000

Hey, Chelle, glad to hear that this weekend is going better for you
(well, as of yesterday, I’m optimistic that today is going well also).
Quitting is definitely a ticket to the rollercoaster of emotions.
Keeping a focus on your ABC’s will help you thru the rough times. It’s
hard sometimes but, before you know it, you’ll be on that kiddie ride!!
- Cat
— In CognitiveQuitSmoking@y…, “chelle_68″

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Sun, 30 May 2004 10:15:06 +0000

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Sat, 29 May 2004 12:30:22 +0000

Chelle - some of us use one or more Chat programmes - I use ICQ (my
personal favourite), AOL Messenger and MS Messenger. (Can’t you
just tell I’m a real chatter )
I’m in the UK which is 5 hours ahead of EST - am not sure which time
zone you’re in, but we manage to find a way round the time
differences and find a time to hook up.
Hope you get ICQ sorted out. Incidentally there’s a file with
contact details in, in the Files section.
Pam
— In CognitiveQuitSmoking@y…, “chelle_68″

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Sat, 29 May 2004 05:15:28 +0000

Thanks, Pam,
I will put that on my to do list. I think I will have to reinstall
ICQ. Do you or anyone else have a preference for ICQ or MSN?
Chelle

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Fri, 28 May 2004 22:00:33 +0000

Hi Chelle - glad to hear that things improved for you - as you said,
being proactive in our thinking makes a huge difference.
As Steve mentioned, chat with other quitters - especially at those
tough times - can be a godsend. Did you sort out your ICQ (maybe
reinstalling it would help) or get MSN Messenger? My ICQ # is
142898919, so let me know if you want to hook up.
bye for now
Pam
— In CognitiveQuitSmoking@y…, “chelle_68″

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Fri, 28 May 2004 14:45:39 +0000

Hi all,
Thanks for the feedback on my “Limping Along” posts. I think Steve
was right when he said that we have to be proactive in our thinking
and not allow ourselves to ease off. I definately had a ‘woe is me’
kind of day, wanted to find some way out of this quit. In the end, I
held to my foundation statement and felt very proud of myself. Having
got that off my chest turned things around and Friday was almost
effortless in comparison. I was again in control. I think this must
be what is described by many as the ‘rollarcoaster’ experience of
quitting. My hope is that through cog quitting, my rollercoaster will
eventually become a ‘kiddie ride’.
I don’t think it was on this site, I think it was another site (where
DID my memory go - it was here yesterday!) someone recommended the
site www.psycharts.com. I found it extremely helpful - haven’t had a
chance to read through it all yet. Seems to follow RET principles.

Are you familiar with this site, Steve? I’d like your opinion. Have a
great weekend everyone.
1 week, 3 days, 12 hours, 33 minutes
Chelle

By: Neva Marjory

Neva Marjory — Fri, 28 May 2004 07:30:44 +0000

By: Lester Sierra

Lester Sierra — Fri, 28 May 2004 00:35:23 +0000

Hi Steve………..
Think you are right about evenings and fatigue…..and a measure of
vulnerability…..and have been doing my best to get some kind of
routine going in order to minimize same…….
I readily admit, though, that I have been a “nighthawk” all of my life -
and as far back as I can remember lived in those hours after dark when
no one required anything of me - and I could bury my nose in a book - or
my heart in a daydream - without fear of being confronted by
reality…… :))
Hope things are going better for you, Nyniane…………
I know I have been weeping and wailing in the group this past week
………
perhaps because I feel things should be better after 4 months……….
………….
but bottom line I am not so sure we who have a couple of months behind

us are much better offf than any “newbie”……..
we all hurt, we have all given up a so-called “friend”, and we all need
re-programming…… Bottom line - we need to lean on our foundation statements…………..
“I can choose to smoke - or I can choose to live - and I choose LIFE”
Jean

By: Raleigh Missy

Raleigh Missy — Thu, 27 May 2004 17:08:21 +0000

Hi Nyniane,
I’m glad you’ve joined us.
Evenings and bedtime are too often primary stress periods and I believe
that it’s because of fatigue. I mentioned this fatigue issue in a reply to
Jean a few days ago. Fatigue is a state of being that aggravates and
exaggerates every other negative sensation we’re experiencing. I think
that setting a time to head to bed and sticking to that time might be a
great way to minimize some of the stress of the evenings.
Steve

By: Raleigh Missy

Raleigh Missy — Thu, 27 May 2004 09:53:26 +0000

Hi Chelle,
You’ve said it correctly, “I was doing well thinking things through.”
It’s easy to fall into the ‘victim’ posture. Specially when we’re feeling
not so great, the quit is becoming a bit of a grind, somehow just getting
through the next day seems a daunting task. We are NOT victims. We chose
this path for excellent reasons. Those reasons, our foundation
beliefs/statements, are just as valid regardless of how we ‘feel’. 1- We do
not want to be smokers. 2- We accept that there are no acceptable reasons
to light up. 3- We’re prepared to be uncomfortable and still choose a
rational response.
Chelle, if you look back through some of the older posts, you’ll see
that there are times when others have hit a ’slump’ of sorts. It almost
always coincides with a easing off of proactive thinking about the quit. If
we aren’t being proactive in our thinking, then we’re going to be reacting
to our feelings and that can, too easily, result in this feeling of ‘poor

me, it’s not fair’.
Suggestions…. get outside as early in the day as you can and walk
for a while. That will help set your ‘mood’ for the rest of the day. Do at
least one ABC every day. The more you do, the better. Even if it’s not a
great ABC, just actively thinking along those lines sets the stage for
feeling in charge. Post here. Every post helps all of us. Get ICQ or MSN
messenger and be in touch with other cog quitters. Sometimes the instant
contact can be a life saver.
Hope some of this helped,
Steve
msn - ddsteve@…
ICQ - 360581