Cognitive Quit Smoking

Just read about this definition on the internet, so now I have a name
for what I’ve been thinking the last couple of weeks. Have been on
the “patch” for 6 weeks now. The first 4-5 weeks were quite great -
almost no physical symptoms and absolutely no psychological ones.
Then, last week or so, the “junkie” thinking started - why bother
stopping, you’ve smoked so long, won’t do any good to stop//all this
stop smoking is just politically correct garbage, etc. So what is
the best strategy with this kind of thinking…let it just think
itself out, argue with it, fight it, replace it with positive
thoughts?

Well after many attempts at quitting, I think I have finally found
the greatest incentive- yesterday MD told me they found a spot on my
lung (thru xray) - CAT scan scheduled for 12/1- let us all hope it
works out - if it is bad , hopefully it is something treatable- I am
54- have been an RN for 36 years- I am really scared-
I am not ready to go yet!!
I have not smoked in 21 hours- longest I have ever gone before-
I am open to any tips, suggestions or anything that anyone has to
offer to help me beat this demon- for me it’s now or never- I refuse
at this point to think it’s too late.

Dear Warren,
Over the weekend I will have class room time. Don’t even wont to think about it
sitting in class for two days 8hour each day. This is lotst of stress for me as
I am physically very active ( in my job I move most of the day around except on
days wheere I work on the system) so sitting down all day long will be lots of
effort.
Warren, it also worries me a bit cause that was the major cause of my slips. I
couldnt’ concentrate in class any longer, we got lots of smoke breaks (every 45
minutes the teacher would say smoke break) and I got a smoke from on of my
friends and back I was to smoking. What a relief at this moment and wow I was
able to actual study (don’t ask for how I felt after I realized I am back to
smoking).
To avoid heavy cravings or a slip I came up with an ABC for the next two days
and hope it will guide us and give you proper responses. I don’t think I will
smoke this time as I still have my statement ( folded in my pocket and goes with
(more…)

There was something said, i heard it, forget who said it, but now I repeat
it also,
something to the effect that Warren is not a nicodemon
and infact doesnt like being called a nicodemon
because its an insult,
that can’t be correct.
its not Warrens job to get insulted or to care
what hes called, its only his job
to make sure the machinary that makes us function,
the automatic stuff runs smoothly, and when something is out of place to
find the correct widget to use, to put things back in
alignment.
It has to be a function of the higher brain to “care”
about self or some part of the overall self being called one
thing or another. sure its an insult, but not to Warren,
(more…)

small list having to do with having seizures
(epilepsy)
events/situations
emotional
physical
aura/ warning yellow flag… uh oh, pay attention,
I feel vulnerable,
physcially, nerves stand on end
stronger warnings like almost there fear, powerlessness, victim
feeling terror
physically my stomach, bad butterflys in there really bad, brainwaves
beginning to short curcit, I can feel it and see it,
I break out in sweat from being afraid, I believe someting is going to get
me.
seizures at last its come,
(more…)

Oh man this is hard for me, I dont know how to use cog quit or any other
cog methods to deal with seizures.
they make me verynevious, just anxious and fearful
and I could abc it forever but I wouldnt come up with
a solouton other then to take the extra meds and hope
sleep will come soon and maybe fix it.
yes this does make me wish for a quick fix
a I am having seizures, all day
b I am powerless and hopeless at this moment, and in the past I owuld have
smoked just to change the subject in my mind and stop this anxiety and fear.
c I would have smoked
b its true I am powerless to stop something going on beyond my immediate
control, this has always been a bad situation, my negitive beleifs run deep,
will it every stop, I am so scared, and dont think I know how to deal with
this and its making me feel so vulnerable.
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I have tried to make up an ABC for one situation, something I am trying to teach
Warren. But I am not sure if the ABC is done this way will Warren be able to
understand that, or do I have to wait until the incident happens and the craving
starts and then I teach Warren?
I used the example Steve gave me and some of the example I found in the posts to
come up with this ABC.
A) Tomorrow I will be working on the computer and program something my brain
will be concentrating for a long time. I will start feeling tiered and have a
hard time to concentrate, starting to feel restless
B) I think I should get up and have smoke, lets go down and smoke I am sure a
short break will help a smoke will get me back on track..(Warren thinking)But
Warren we will not smoke no matter what. Let’s ntot go there, so what do we do
instaedt.
C) Okay let’s go down get a fruit from the fridge and relax for ten minutes that
should help us feeling better.
(more…)

Hi Warren
It’s been a long time since we spoke, so I thought I’d catch you up on what’s
been happening with me this past yr or more.
Now…. I first met you in Feb last year. Well, thats not strictly true, I’d
always ‘known’ you, but it seems to me that you always decided what was best for
me whenever I got mad or upset or tense or angry…. or whatever. We never had
a conversation as such, you just stepped in and offered me one tried and tested
solution… and that was to light up. Now, you’d probably say that was the only
thing I ever taught you, but truthfully I hadn’t much clue in those days what
else might help me deal with things.
Once I got to understand more about why my only solution to the physical
discomforts I was feeling was to light up, I could then learn what else might
be more appropriate. That’s when we started talking. At first I got pretty
irritable with you, that you weren’t catching on and kept trying to offer me a
smoke, something you knew had always worked in the past for me. But, once
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EMOTIONS: How do you feel? Some people confuse feelings for thoughts. They
may say, I feel ripped off! In actuality, “ripped off” is not a feeling, it
is a belief. How do you feel about being ripped off? Angry? Sad? Then rate
your emotion on a scale of 0-100% (0=no negative emotion, 100=the most
intense this negative emotion can be experienced). It is useful to create
your own mood ruler by thinking about events in your past which have been
associated with different percentages of the negative mood and compare
current mood states to these events for accurate gauging. For example, 0%
depression might be likened to a honeymoon, 25% to normal hassles of the day
like waiting in line, 50% to an extreme argument with a close friend, 75%
with losing, 100% with the dissolution of a marriage.

Good morning Everyone I really wanted just to say hi and check in. al though its probably more
then that, one day I’ll learn to shorten my thoughts and kind of keep it
more simple, (maybe)
I try really hard to explain what I understand and sometimes I don’t have
the right words, when asked directly for help its hard to say no I can’t,
when sometimes I should, and I made that mistake a while back. So I backed
off a bit, and I will stay that way. If anyone should aska direct question,
if I answer it, my answer will first go through Steve to be sure its correct
I’m dealing with some other stuff besides not smoking.
Thanks to learning some cog techniques, I’ve been able to
keep things seperate. I hurt, this does not require I smoke, it requires
only that I search my beliefs and refute and change as necessary.
What I’m finding as of late, is that cognitively, truth and denial cannot
coexist, that my beliefs deep down remain the same as when I first started
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