Cognitive Quit Smoking

It was six months for me on the 28th of June. I hadn’t been thinking about
smoking for a while. Other people’s smoke didn’t bother me. I didn’t even
think about the six months until I had my mouse over the time and the date
popped up. Wow! I am impressed. I did gain weight, but I had already started
to lose it. I even went to a concert and had a drink and the smoke didn’t
affect me other than I liked the smell when it mixed with the outdoor concert
smells: Strawberry daqueries, perfume, the river, pot, and incense. It was a
nice summer night and I had fun. I didn’t feen over grits. I just had fun
listening to the music and watching people.
So it’s not even a week later and I am starting to crave when I smell them and
when I get really aggravated. It has to be a really big aggravation, like whenI
found that my central air box that hooks up outside was stolen right off the
back of my house! I didn’t smoke, though. I let my friend put his arm around
me and I just cried. I can see a shortened abc in that scenario. However,
friends aren’t always going to be around when you need a hand/shoulder.
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how long does it take for your body/metabolism/whatever to stabilize after you
quit smoking? I don’t feel a great deal different - except my chest doesn’t
hurt and I don’t wheeze.
Steve - you asked the other day if I was doing ABC’s. I don’t sit down and
write them out but I noticed today when I came upon a situation I hadn’t dealt
with since quitting, I kind of did an ABC in my mind on the fly so to speak.
Quick & dirty . . . A. new situation B. used to smoke when felt this way B1.
don’t smoke any more C. do something else. It passes through in a flash and I
forget about wanting or even thinking about a cigarette before I even know it.
Re: Pleasure/punctuation smokes. I like what Ion said about being calm. It
occurred to me that we don’t recognize calmness or contentedness like we do
chaos and anxiety. We’re always in a hustle and bustle and chasing butterflies
or killing rattlesnakes. Ion wrote “just bask and let the feelings wash over
me.” Why is it we think we have to DO something to acknowledge a moment or
feeling? I like this basking idea and I tried it after a nice meal with my
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Good work Ion
Thanks

Hi, all:
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. I have Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome. I’ve been sick for 11 years and pretty much housebound. I have
asthma.
I can’t smoke. Yet I do. My husband and I tried to quit the first time
before we were married over 25 years ago, and we’ve tried to quit together on
one
other occasion. My most successful attempt was when I had been sick with CFS
for about 1-1/2 years and my husband was out of town on a business trip and I
ran out of cigarettes and was simply to sick to get in the car and drive 1
mile to the local convenience store. I cried for 3 weeks and then managed to
stay quit for a few months. Started sneaking cigarettes out of my husband’s
pack
and saving them for when he was gone and you all know how that story ends.
I have spent a fortune on patches, got gum disease from chewing the gum and I
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hhmmm may be not really a vacation, but I think is a nice change in my daily
routine. Going on three weeks military training means less responsibily cause I
have a rank where every body tells me what to do, no supervising job. Nothing to
decide and so on.
I am a little bit nervous cause I will be away for three weeks, but then its not
the first time. Only this year I am much better prepared and feel more
comfortable in my quit.
To all your newbies do the work is worth it. As more work you do as easier the
quit becomes (just my own experience) Listen to Pam and Steve they are great
coaches and I am going to miss them. But hey now it’s time to show what I have learned. I am on my own for three
weeks, with my ABCs and my statement in my rucksack. Oh and of cours my
medication which will keep me on track.
One sentence is written right above my statement and will lead me:
” I AM GOING AS A NONSMOKER AND I WILL COME BACK AS A NONESMOKER”
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sorry to bug you again but I am just trying to get well prepared and I am a bit
nervous.
I will be together with lots of people I have never met, so they don’t know that
I ever smoked. Should I tell them or it is better not even to mentioned?
thank you
Carmen

Hi Pam and Steve,
Pam and Steve when you have some time could you please go over those ABC’s and
check them out. Those are the ABC I will take with me when I am leaving on
Sunday morning. I am very thankfull for any twisting or nagging on them. Beside
my statement those ABC’s will be the only tools I have to take with me. I know
it is a lot but I really appreciate your help on this one as it is realy
important to me to stay of the smokes those three weeks. I am going to miss my
coaches and the group.
I am going as a NONSMOKER and I am planning on coming back as a NONSMOKER
1.. studiying for a test
A ) I have a test the next morning and I am supposed to memorize and
understand some stafff, I am having a hard time concentrating and can’t memorize
anything. I feel jumpy, my head feels heavy, my hands kind of feel shaky and my
mind is wandering. All I can think of is to smoke.
B) I know smoking will put me at ease and I know from previous experience that
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Hi all,
after having succesfull dealed with Warren and attmepted to retrain for over 6
month and also did not smoke for over 2 weeks I am starting to ask myself is it
worth it all this. I have menaged to upset so many people in the last 4 days.
Starting at work coming close to loose my job to getting now close to loose
everything. Is it realy worth to loose everything else what was importanat to me
before I quit.
I am not sure if I make any sense. All I know right now I am going in a circle
and normaly I would be hiding soemrwhere but I hate smoking by now. So I am just
corious if quiting is worth it.
Having sayed that I wrote a long E-mail to my boss of exlanation and talked
openly today to him. I was suprised of how much understanding I got back. After
all I still have my job and just have to be careful not to mess it up again.
sigh sigh….
Now my family life goes upside down… sigh …
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Hi all,
after a night of thinking and thinkin how to get out of the situatuon I have
brought myself into I hardly got any sleep, but worse of all the first thing in
the morning I felt like smoking and the cravings are still there. My stomach is
all crunched up and I can’t even think about eating. I know it’s not going to
get better once I am at work unless my boss is off today. I know I should
appologize but I am not sure what to explain to him “I am insane and I wrote
that E-mail cause I couldn’t smoke and simply lost it”.
Anyway I decided to make an ABC for today so that I stay of the smokes.
A I am all nervous just thinking that I am going to pass my boss, and I feel
like running away, I can feel my heart is pounding (like it is right now), my
stomach is crunched up and hurting, and I am very irretated and jumpy I can’t
even look my boss straight in the eyes I know I desapointed him.
B I want to smoke so badly all the feelings would go away and I probably would
be able to think of an answer what to tell my boss. My funny stomach and my
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I regret to inform everyone that I smoked over the weekend at a friend’s
wedding reception, which involved LOTS of alcohol and smoker friends. I can’t
remember whether this group allows those who slip to remain in the group and
try again? Anyway, it was a dumb thing to have done, and I did learn from it.
John in Berkeley