Cognitive Quit Smoking

Hi everyone,
I had a weird dream last night. The only part that I remember was
being in a huge graveyard where there were packets of cigarettes
instead of gravestones. I’d never seen a dream related to smoking
before despite the hard time I had during my previous quits. I got
really scared because for a moment I thought it was some kind of an
omen for me or for the people I love almost all of them are
smokers. The image is still very vivid in my mind. It helps be
stronger & more resolute though.
I just wanted to share this.
xxx
Mina

Yep, I’m still here reading and working on this. Today at work I was surprised to notice that I hadn’t even THOUGHT about smoking for hours on end. Then, all of a sudden Warren kicked in as if to say…. hey, I’m STILL here. LOL Why aren’t you thinking about smoking? I realize that NOT smoking is making me so much more calm that I am not NERVOUS or anxious or feeling my heart race around (like it does when I’m smoking)…. just to show that smoking just feeds on itself. It gets your heart racing and makes you anxious and nervous and then you want to smoke more. Kind of a Catch-22. Anyway, doing my “note taking” but not FORMALLY yet… but oh yes, I will. (grins)
P.S. I’ve been getting lots more rest lately too. Early to bed and sleeping more soundly too now that my evenings aren’t filled with puff after puff.

Also P.S. This a.m. instead of sitting at my computer smoking (this is 2 days in a row now .. yeah!)….. I went down to have a great breakfast .. orange and toast….. instead of racing around, running to eat at McDonald’s .. THAT place is starting to really turn my stomach too…….. and watched a little TV while waking up.. no cigs though……. I’ve had a few today, but not many.. making more progress. I know I am learning what this is all about.
Thanks to Steve and Pam and to all of you others sharing your stories.
Linda

There’s quite a few of you here who are now enjoying a comfortable
quit - and maybe you’re still around, reading the posts. If you are,
then it would be great if you’d post and tell the newbies (who are
hovering on the brink of setting those timers and putting pen to
paper) just how doing that self observation helped you to understand
what your urges to smoke really were about, and how that work helped
you to become comfortably quit.
Tell them how it worked for you…. please?
Pam

Forwarded from Linda:
Sooooo, have only smoked 2 cigs since last night at about 6:00 p.m. That is an amazing thing for me, since I usually smoke about 7-8 cigs even before I get to work. It’s now 2:45 p.m. the following day! Been thinking all along what helped me stay off, and I felt more calm this time than other times I’ve quit (or TRIED to quit)……

I’ve done some deep breathing today and started my day (instead of sitting at the computer smoking)… drinking a fresh glass of water, and taking a nice long bath. Vive la difference! I drove into work more peaceful and my heart was lighter and I didn’t feel that stress in my chest from heavy smoking.

Linda

Hello again,
It’s been five days since I’ve had a cigarette & I’ve been fine
about the whole thing. Even though I’ve convinced myself of the
reasons why I should be away from smoking (& these reasons are
pretty serious for me), there is something that is bothering me.
This Friday I’m going to a concert, which is something I’ve been
waiting for so long, & I’m afraid that something may go wrong. I’ll
be all alone & I’ll will be able to do anything I want; I could even
light up. I know I don’t want to do that, but why does it bother me?
I even thought of postponing going there but I know I will regret
it. Why should I miss Sarah Brightman live? I may never get the
chance to see her again. The reason I feel this way is because my
relapse happened in another concert a couple of weeks ago -so did my
previous relapses; they were triggered by a pleasant event. I was
having such a good time that I got carried away. Everybody around me
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Hi Tony, and welcome to cognitivequitsmoking. You said..
A lot of us spent our lives responding to any and everything by
lighting up. Hungry? a smoke will fill that gap til I’ve time to go
eat. Angry? A smoke will calm me down. Nervous? A smoke will calm
me down. Sad? A smoke will cheer me up…..
Cognitive quitting taught me much… I’m so glad I found cognitive
quitting when I bumped into our ddsteve in a chatroom almost 4 yrs
ago. I’d always just assumed that smoking was some sort of habit, and
that once I’d got off the nicotine merry go round that I’d be quit. I
learned that what I was in fact responding to were all the physical
symptons of hunger, anger, nervousness etc etc. Warren had become
skilled at offering me a smoke as the ‘cure’ for all these physical
sensations, whether or not they were caused by nicotine withdrawal.
One of our cogquitters once said ‘If I always do what I’ve always
done, then I’ll always get the same results’ There are better ways of
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Hi Steve, welcome to the group.
You said
the job, but they won’t do the work for you.
Tell us how you’re using the tools…. are you following the programme
outlined in ‘Getting Started’ ? Are you working on the timer log and
recording your findings? Any questions you’d like to ask?
To all of you new quitters: one of the Foundation Statements that Steve
(ddsteve) wrote said
” 5- In order to retrain Warren, I WILL DO THE WORK. Reading and thinking
alone will not make permanent changes to my patterns of behavior.”
Lots of you are reading here, but we’re not seeing many of you posting, and
discussing how you’re finding the work, what you’re finding out about your
smoking behaviour, how you’re addressing those ‘urges’ to smoke. You
honestly will learn so much more how to become comfortably quit if you join
in and share your experiences. We can only help you quit cognitively if
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Hi all,
Carmen:
Thanks for the hugs; I needed them.
Mina:
Way to go on the quit! It’s got to be a huge relief just not being
sneaky anymore. Keep going to the gym. I’m using it, and it really
helps. It helps one realize how much they’ve destructed their
precious body already, and also releases those feel-good
endorphins. Being from the states, it’s really hard to imagine
your country’s social culture regarding smoking. Here, I was a
total leper just for going outside for a smoke. Smokers are very
much disapproved of here. This obviously is an aid for me, but it
can also be for you. There were people here who were once in your
shoes. They were the pioneers for cleaning our culture, and now you
have that opportunity to educate and change. You know the truths;
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Hi folks,
Here’s an example of a ’slice’ of a day….
8AM….Making Breakfast….I’m groggy, grumpy, stiff, and hungry(sounds
like 4 of the 7 dwarfs)….my muscles are stiff/achy, by brain won’t
focus(doesn’t want to), and there’s a gnawing hollow feeling in my
stomach….this is a classic smoking moment….or I can do some stretching
to ease my muscles, some deep breathing to clear my head, and eat something
proper for breakfast to take care of my stomach. Maybe all of that will
help with the grumpy.
If this was one of your ’slices’, then you’ll probably encounter it on most
mornings. However, the difference is that now you have some information you
can take with you tomorrow as you go into the kitchen. Write yourself a
note tonight and put it at the entrance to the kitchen. Something like this:
Good Morning Sunshine (or whatever is suitable for you),
This morning is like most others… you’re groggy, grumpy, stiff,
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Hi, all. I am here to try this new way of quitting. It was
recommended by another site. I read some of the information on this
site and am impressed by it. It is easy to see that smoking, like
other addictions,, is a reaction to feelings. Many of us don’tlike
those uncomfortable feelings and any way to stop them from
consciousness is the way we want to go.
There have been several quits in my life, one for three years, and
the most recent was in April 2004 for three months. I went back
about 5 weeks ago. The three year quit was ruined when I was
drinking in a bar with friends, was offered a smoke, and the rest is
history.
I am going to make time each day to try and realize my actual
feelings whether during a crave or outside of one. Maybe I can
figure me out,and in the process quit smoking. Any help you all can
give I would appreciate.
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