Cognitive Quit Smoking

Hello all,
I am on Day 2 of my quit and found the cognitive quit website and
this group yesterday when scouring the web for some support. I have
started on my lists and just wanted to let everyone know I am on on
board. I have attempted to quit several times in the past and have
always been able to succeed with the first 2 weeks. The three week
mark, the six week mark and the four month mark have done me in on
past attempts. But I do look forward to trying this method.

A quick well done to Di on a week quit today.
Keep working your ABCs, it becomes automatic quickly.
Steve

I doubt any of the new folk new me - but its nice to be remembered by
the ‘oldies’ I quit a little over 6 months ago. Its a simple concept, cog
quitting, and I knew soon as i found it that it was for me. Not
easy, but simple. I had a bit of a slip up very early on in my quit.
I got no sympathy and was taken to task - but I didn’t want any
sympathy. My fault entirely for having the tools and not using
them. Thing is, I did learn from it and move on. I dealt also with
some quit depression - I went on to meds which helped a great deal.
I’m slowly coming off those now.
This method of quitting works superbly - if you put in some hard work
and do the ABC’s. I did a lot of them, and they really did help me a
lot. Nowadays if I come up against issues/problems I find myself
automatically thinking how to resolve them instead of side-stepping
them on my way to a smoke.
(more…)

I had a great day yesterday with my little ooe we walked and Rollerbalded form
our hom to Woodbine got lost on the way there and it was hot. We even stopped
att he convienient store to buy some water. I hsf no cravings at all, not even
in the store seeing all the smokes, I guess I was far to thursty to even think
about smoking. So everything was just great until hubby picks us up, he made a stupied comment
and me being sensitive right now got upset. But to make things even worst he
tells his brother oh she just quit smoking and is just in one of her moods. I
was furious and all I could think of was smoking. Warren kept on telling me lets
go and by smokes. But there was also a part of me which decided to just back
off.
So I walked behind all of them all bymyself and tried to figure out what I felt:
my chest hurt it felt like I had a weight on it
breathing was swollow
my head felt like exloding
(more…)

Hi Pam and Steve,
I was trying to look into the “sensation” how where do we feel them folder in
our group files. I am only able to look at the main page but when I click on the
posts it shows me “Document not found”
I would have liked to print those sensations as I am trying to listen more and
more to my body it would be a great help to know how to put those physical
sensation into words.
thanks
Carmen

A - I want to log on and chat with my quitsmoking buddies/coaches and
I’m getting ‘that look’ from my husband
B - He’s no clue what quitting smoking is like - he thinks I should
just stop smoking and that I’ll be over it in no time. What’s there
to talk about? Why do I need to talk to people I’ve never met?
Whats the attraction? He no doubt thinks its some excuse to avoid
him for some reason, or leave him to cook dinner again. He prob
thinks the whole thing is a pointless exercise anyway. I feel really
seriously wound up. Every muscle in my body feels taut, and my
stomach is feeling upset. I feel angry and yet want to cry to I need
urgent RELIEF and I want it now. Only one thing calms me down…
C I’ll smoke (and damn well inhale it down to my toes… that’ll
prove him right….blah blah. Grr I’m angry)
B1- OK, ‘that look’. ‘that look’ is about someone who has absolutely
no clue what torture detox is, how brutal it is. He doesn’t know
(more…)

I very occasionally visit and post at other quitsmoking venues. Just recently a
discussion took place in one of the forums about cravings - what they are and
how they ‘feel’. It made a change from the usual nicodemon-type discussions
which I steer clear of Here was my post to that group….
About.Com Smoking Cessation forum message 10309.9
Cravings produce a raft of physical sensations, which many have described
here… the tense muscles, knots in the stomach, altered breathing (eg, shallow,
rapid), palpitations etc. Many of those sensations were identical to the ones we
experienced when our nicotine levels were depleted. As smokers we learned that a
cigarette would cure that discomfort, and very soon any and every physical
discomfort became associated with the relief a cigarette could give us…. so we
smoked. I think we then believed that those normal physical senations (whether
brought about by feelings of hunger, tiredness, worry etc) could only be ‘cured’
by smoking, and believed we were craving a cigarette.
(more…)

Hi all,
I just wanted to wave a message and a big thank you. My ABC’s worked fine.
Thanks Pam for twisting my last one. If I understand right under A I should
include the physical sensations.
It almost got me after the meeting I was just frustrated about wasting so much
time for nothing. So I realized that not only I need an ABC before an event but
also after the event.
I survived the first day without to many difficulties. I had some few cravings
but most of the time I was able to recognize them. and offer Warren a non
smoking response.
Today I will be going back to the timer exercise as I found it very helpful to
keep truck of times and physical sensations even so I can not always pinpoint
them.
greetings
Carmen

It’s day 17 since I removed the patch, and I’m starting to have those “I
deserve the pleasure (of smoking)” feelings. Clearly, I need to review the
foundation statements. Any other suggestions?
John

I had some help writing this a day or two ago to help me deal with
day 1 quitfoggies… good job I did, I’m cabbaged today..
A Wake up, first day of my quit. I’m nervous, excited, apprehensive.
What if I don’t do this? Lighting up soon after I get up has been
the routine for as long as I remember. I’m getting anxious and
fidgety and my stomache is upside down and in knots
B When I get as stressed as this the only thing thats ever helped is
a couple of smokes, a strong coffee
C I’ll smoke and drink coffee
B1 Nervous excited apprehensive….. I can feel like that whatever
it is causing it, not just starting a quit. It feels like fluttering
in the pit of my stomach, feel antsy, can’t sit still, my back gets
stiff through tensing muscles (like as if I’m bracing myself for
something)
Changing the morning routine around is going to help here so I don’t
(more…)