Cognitive Quit Smoking

Hello Jeff and Leslie,
I think most of us have done the “just one more” or “I might as well
finish this pack since I already slipped”. We’ve got two problems
initially: 1- chemical addiction and no clear idea what stepping off that
entails or how we’ll deal with it as it happens and 2- a habit whereby
we’ve established reaching for a cigarette at the first sign of any sort of
discomfort as the one and only response. I don’t know of too many processes
that have more attendant stress than quitting. The slightest drop in our
nic ‘comfort’ level and we begin to feel stressed which triggers our one
and only response, an urge to smoke.
There is no ‘good’ day to quit, everyday is as good as the next, and it
makes no difference what day we quit. I think it all starts with “Do I want
to quit?” and if so, am I prepared to be uncomfortable while I learn to
interact with my life without reaching for a smoke, and most important, am
I prepared to continue to develop and choose to use effective quit tools…

which brings us back to “Do I want to quit?”
At this point I’d usually be on about ‘foundation statements’ and lists
of smoking related details. All of which would be more compelling if it
appeared to have some practical value. I’m going to suggest that you try a
simple experiment. It’s a one shot ABC exercise for one event specific to
you. I’ll help you set it up and you’ll give it a try. What an ABC does is
prepare us for an event so that when that event occurs we have a set of
rational statements that we can use to direct our thinking. Having the ABC
prepared creates a detached perspective that allows us a different level of
awareness regarding the event and how we’ll respond to it. It’s really
nothing more than a way to step back out of the situation and look at it a
bit more dispassionately. As a side note, genetically we have a tendency to
not use our higher brain (neocortex) in situations that can be perceived in
any way as ‘urgent’. A caveman who stopped to think about a perceived
threat rather than react immediately and automatically might not live long
enough to pass on his genes.
Events can be almost anything…. a barbeque, a meeting with the
boss, a drive, sitting on the deck. You come up with an expected event and
I’ll help you ABC it. Then when it happens and you bring your ABC into
play, you will be able to observe how you’re thinking differently, if you
feel differently as a result, and if you are more inclined to choose a
different response. This can be done whether or not you are smoking at the
moment. The important point is to become aware of the thinking that you
bring to a situation. This experiment I’m suggesting will give you an idea
immediately of what the cogquit way of quitting is about and also help you
decide if you want to invest your time and effort in this method of quitting.
Leslie, Jeff, anyone? Want to try it?
Steve

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 28th, 2004 at 8:40 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.