Cognitive Quit Smoking

Hi Kate - welcome to the group
Yep - we know exactly what you’re going through at the moment -
we’ve all been there at some point in our quits, past or present.
The first week or two during detox (if you aren’t using patches or
other NRT’s) can be a rough ride. Nicotine is a powerfully addictive
substance, and the withdrawals are unpleasant. We can feel pretty
emotional - anger/range/tears all within minutes sometimes.
Fortunately it’s short-lived - maybe up to a week or two - not a
permanent condition.
Have you read over in the Files section on the group’s page yet?
Have a look at Steve’s post on ‘Foundation statements’ which can be
a great help when you first quit. In fact, I’ll re-post it here:-
“Regardless of how a person is going at their quit, whether it’s CT
or
with NRT or any other quit aids, I think it helps to establish some

‘foundation statements’. Foundation statements are a set of
statements that
are ALWAYS true regardless of what emotions we may be feeling at the
moment.
The following questions will help define those statements:
1- Is this a calm, rational moment where I can ask myself some
questions
and answer those questions honestly without the answers being
influenced by
any emotion or physical sensation? If the answer to this one is ‘yes’
continue, otherwise wait until a more appropriate time.
2- Do I want to be a smoker? meaning do I want to respond by
lighting up
to all the stresses that are life? If the answer is ‘no’ continue,
otherwise, spend some time thinking about why you’re attempting to do
something that requires ‘total’ commitment at the same time that I
don’t
have that commitment.
3- Having stated that “I don’t want to be a smoker.”, can I think of
any
exceptions? Don’t confuse the desire to relieve discomfort, a
perfectly
normal and natural desire, with the thought(s) that a cigarette is
the
appropriate tool for relief. The question here is
simply, “Is a cigarette ever an appropriate response?” If I can
think of
situations where it would be valid, then we need to examine those in
detail
and refute them.
4- Am I prepared to stay aware of these personal truths and stand by
them regardless of how rough I may feel at any point in the future?
That
there will be many points in the future where I will be
uncomfortable is a
given. To not accept that as a fact of reality is to be
intentionally blind
and will cost me in terms of effort required to deal with that
discomfort
when it happens.
Based on answers to the above questions, I might write out my
foundation
statements as follows:
“During a moment of personal calm, I rationally determined that…
1- I do not want to be a smoker.
2- There is NO situation where behaving as a smoker would be
appropriate.
3- That I’m prepared to re-affirm this to myself each morning; to
write
it out and carry it with me if necessary; to trust completely that no
matter how uncomfortable or cranky I may be, these foundation
statements
will ALWAYS be my personal truth and that I will respond accordingly.
The reason I believe ‘foundation statements’ are important is because
most of us respond to life based on our emotional state at the
moment. Our
initial ‘choice of response’ is based on what we’re feeling rather
than
what we know to be rock bottom, dispassionate truth. Once that
choice based
on ‘feeling’ is ‘on the table’, our brain must work extra hard to
try to
refute that first choice. This is exactly where all the internal
arguing
takes place.
Using our foundation statements, we have a tool that focuses our
thinking on what we know with certainty is true, honest, accurate,
and is
actually, when all is said and done, really what we want.
Work out your own statements or use these if they fit.”
Those urges to smoke can be overwhelming at first, especially until
you’re dealing with the behavioural aspects of smoking i.e. how
you’ve connected the perceived relief from a cig with a stressor
such as anger, tiredness, hunger, rage, joy, etc.
We ‘think’ the cig will relieve all sorts of physical conditions,
only because we’ve used that tried and tested response over years of
smoking and never questioning it. With a cognitive quit you’ll be
learning how to put new non-nicotine responses in place. You’ll be
learning how to retrain Warren bit by bit more later - need to head off for now
Pam

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 18th, 2004 at 2:12 am 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.