question / anticipated sensations
I think I tend to not smoke after a meal that is lighter. I want to light up maybe more after a meal where I overeat or feel sluggish after eating, so maybe my body is looking for a stimulus to replace the sluggish feeling?
Linda
September 13th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
When quitting is an exercise in hanging on, then one habit at a time makes
sense. ‘Hanging on’ isn’t dealing effectively and as a result, there’s only
so much we can hang on to. It’s sad, but most quits are of the ‘hang on’
type. This is probably why the generally accepted, and dispensed, advice is
“eat what ever you want. quit now and lose the weight later”.
However, if you’re quitting cognitively then you’re not doing a ‘hang on’
quit but rather a ‘thinking quit’. That means you’re becoming aware of why
you smoked and what you can do to respond to your needs in an effective
way. It’s a process of taking control. Taking control in one area and
giving it up in another is counter productive behavior. It’s actually
easier, if you’re serious about taking control and changing behavior, to
take control in all areas. I’m not talking about suddenly all at once
having complete control over everything. What I’m talking about is taking
control one step at a time, one event at a time whether it’s how to deal
with the after dinner crave or what to eat for dinner. It really is easier
when we work at changing behaviors as a complete package.
Steve
September 14th, 2006 at 5:00 am
Dear Steve–
What qualifies as a light balanced meal or healthy snacks that are good for people in the midst of a quit? I’m living in a part of the country where nutrition information is spotty at best. Though I’m deeply involved with nutrition and health, I was wondering what your thoughts on this might be.
Best wishes–
Courtenay.
HI Linda,
You’re right, heavy meals tend to create abdominal discomfort and sluggishness. That’s why we suggest eating light balanced meals with healthy snacks in the early days/weeks of a quit.
Steve
September 14th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
I guess you are right, but isn’t it hard enought just concentrating on not smoking? I guess I haven’t gotten far enought into this program yet. Alice
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:46:46 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
When quitting is an exercise in hanging on, then one habit at a time makes
sense. ‘Hanging on’ isn’t dealing effectively and as a result, there’s only
so much we can hang on to. It’s sad, but most quits are of the ‘hang on’
type. This is probably why the generally accepted, and dispensed, advice is
“eat what ever you want. quit now and lose the weight later”.
However, if you’re quitting cognitively then you’re not doing a ‘hang on’
quit but rather a ‘thinking quit’. That means you’re becoming aware of why
you smoked and what you can do to respond to your needs in an effective
way. It’s a process of taking control. Taking control in one area and
giving it up in another is counter productive behavior. It’s actually
easier, if you’re serious about taking control and changing behavior, to
take control in all areas. I’m not talking about suddenly all at once
having complete control over everything. What I’m talking about is taking
control one step at a time, one event at a time whether it’s how to deal
with the after dinner crave or what to eat for dinner. It really is easier
when we work at changing behaviors as a complete package.
Steve
September 14th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Hi Alice,
For most of us “concentrating on not smoking” was really nothing more
than hanging on as tight as we could. If we were doing anything sort of
quit management it was probably eating everything within reach, drinking
water by the gallon, repeating mantra after mantra, and/or simply waiting
for it all to ‘get better’.
Smoking is about life and not simply a chemical addiction.
Cognitivequitting is a very different approach that precludes hanging on
because we’re too busy examining and preparing how to deal with life
effectively. That examination and preparation includes everything that was
connected to smoking. So in a cognitivequit we deal with smoking, eating,
exercise, relationships…. it’s really more than just not smoking any
longer.
Steve
September 15th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Hi Alice and list
I quit smoking 2 months ago ( yes, 2 months today.. hurrah!) using cog quit methods…and can echo what Steve wrote in this post and in his reply to you
Using cog quit methods, I have learned to really focus on what sensations are occurring in my body, and develop appropriate responses to deal with them. I discovered very quickly doing this work that in my smoking days I would smoke in response to virtually any sensation in my body, and in response to virtually any emotion….including hunger, tiredness, anxiety, fear, anger, love, joy, pleasure.. you name it.. I’d smoke! I was completely out of touch with what the sensations and emotions were till I did the timer exercise… and even after then new ones would pop up and be a smoking cue. Why I thought that putting a white stick full of dried leaves in my mouth and setting light to it would help to alleviate, for example, tiredness and that aching longing for someone to look after me I really don’t know. It now seems a little crazy to me….
For me, the danger was that having quit smoking, I would just substitute another inappropriate response to these cues.. such as stuffing myself with mints, or chewing on a pencil.. or eating lots of those lovely carbs….or having a glass of wine or two. Again I would be using food/drink to respond to sensations and emotions that were nothing to do with hunger or thirst. Would food be any better at alleviating my tiredness and aching longing for someone to look after me? I doubt it….(in fact it might be fairly counterproductive in the longer term as my chances of having someone to look after me might reduce as my blubber increased even further!)
So, for me.. having started this programme I bit the bullet and made a commitment to myself that I would learn.. as far as is humanly possible…to deal directly with the sensations and emotions that cropped up, and not just respond in another inappropriate way. Otherwise I believe it is likely that sooner or later I would have gone back to smoking as I would have been still not addressing the underlying issues. And, what is very interesting to me is that once I correctly identified a feeling or emotion and dealt with it appropriately, then the next time it came up Warren didn’t offer a cigarette at all. If I didn’t really address it, or deal with it appropriately, then the chances were that warren would continue to offer up a cigarette as a possibility. So had I not addressed the (inappropriate) eating response, the chances would be that it would have prolonged the desire for cigarettes.
I also committed to thinking carefully about what I was putting into my body and why, and in response to what cues, and start to treat my body with the respect it deserved (about time!). So this has led me to adjust my diet and take up exercise. To be frank, eating well and exercising more is not a hardship - not something that is an additional “burden” over and above stopping smoking. In fact I think it helps enormously in the quit. Really looking after yourself and treating yourself with respect really (for me at least) builds a positive feeling and increased self-esteem which helps enormously in the quit. Not to mention the effect of exercise in getting those endorphins going….
I can honestly say that my quit has not been a matter of hanging on and nor has it been hard…. its been a joyous and exciting journey so far.. like living life in full colour again. I haven’t had very many strong desires for cigarettes.. indeed recently I haven’t really thought about them at all. I’ve just been enjoying my life and feeling healthier, fitter and increasingly lighter both in weight and spirit…
carol
Alice wrote I guess you are right, but isn’t it hard enought just concentrating on not smoking? I guess I haven’t gotten far enought into this program yet. Alice
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:46:46 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
When quitting is an exercise in hanging on, then one habit at a time makes
sense. ‘Hanging on’ isn’t dealing effectively and as a result, there’s only
so much we can hang on to. It’s sad, but most quits are of the ‘hang on’
type. This is probably why the generally accepted, and dispensed, advice is
“eat what ever you want. quit now and lose the weight later”.
However, if you’re quitting cognitively then you’re not doing a ‘hang on’
quit but rather a ‘thinking quit’. That means you’re becoming aware of why
you smoked and what you can do to respond to your needs in an effective
way. It’s a process of taking control. Taking control in one area and
giving it up in another is counter productive behavior. It’s actually
easier, if you’re serious about taking control and changing behavior, to
take control in all areas. I’m not talking about suddenly all at once
having complete control over everything. What I’m talking about is taking
control one step at a time, one event at a time whether it’s how to deal
with the after dinner crave or what to eat for dinner. It really is easier
when we work at changing behaviors as a complete package.
Steve
September 17th, 2006 at 1:38 am
Hi Steve,
That’s alot to think about. It seems that I have alot of work ahead of me and not very long before my quit date. But I am determined to do this. Alice
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 22:14:48 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
Hi Alice,
For most of us “concentrating on not smoking” was really nothing more
than hanging on as tight as we could. If we were doing anything sort of
quit management it was probably eating everything within reach, drinking
water by the gallon, repeating mantra after mantra, and/or simply waiting
for it all to ‘get better’.
Smoking is about life and not simply a chemical addiction.
Cognitivequitting is a very different approach that precludes hanging on
because we’re too busy examining and preparing how to deal with life
effectively. That examination and preparation includes everything that was
connected to smoking. So in a cognitivequit we deal with smoking, eating,
exercise, relationships…. it’s really more than just not smoking any
longer.
Steve
September 18th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the good advice. Last night I downloaded the “Timer Template” and tried to fill it out this morning, but forgot to bring it with me to work. Anyway, I filled it out for the first 2 hours that I was home and had trouble with the “Emotion/Condition” and “Physical Sensations” portion of it. How do you know what you feel if you are still smoking? Is this something you do after you quit? I want to do everything I can now to prepare myself for my quit on Monday. Alice
On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 10:57:08 -0000 “Carol Dent” <carol.a.dent@…
September 20th, 2006 at 1:48 am
I guess Steve or Pam may have a better answer.. I did the timer exercise after I’d quit.
I had problems at first with the emotion/condition and physical sensations part.. it took a couple of days before I really started to tune in enough to feel all those subtle changes and feelings. for the first day I just wondered why I was doing it, but persevered and the light dawned on day 2 or 3. I found that you just have to stick with it a bit, and make sure you do it on a strict time basis (eg every hour).. much more valuable info than a random approach.
Anyway.. what to do if you are still smoking… (Steve and Pam may give you better advice)…I guess I would still check my body on the hour whether or not I wanted a cigarette (that’s just to really start tuning in).. and I guess what I would do as well is when I was about to light a cigarette, I would stop and do a body check, to see if I can identify any sensations or conditions that are there.
Part of the exercise is to increase awareness of what’s going on in your body…I found that once I started to pick up some things, it was as if my body said- “ah! You are finally listening” and then generated all sorts of sensations and emotions…. like opening the floodgates….its just I guess like focussing a pair of binoculars… as you focus, things come into view.. things appear that you didn’t notice in the blurry picture.
Good luck for Monday… if you do the work it will be much easier than you think!
carol
Alice wrote
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the good advice. Last night I downloaded the “Timer Template” and tried to fill it out this morning, but forgot to bring it with me to work. Anyway, I filled it out for the first 2 hours that I was home and had trouble with the “Emotion/Condition” and “Physical Sensations” portion of it. How do you know what you feel if you are still smoking? Is this something you do after you quit? I want to do everything I can now to prepare myself for my quit on Monday. Alice
September 20th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Carol, I just wanted to tell you how awesome this was for me to read, I printed this out Thanks, You summed it all up so beautifully, and I am also working at this little thing we call life everyday.
Nicotine and smoke free for Six days, 7 hours, 27 minutes and 58 seconds. 157 cigarettes not smoked, saving $35.50. Life saved: 13 hours, 5 minutes.
Best Regards, Mary
Hi Alice and list
I quit smoking 2 months ago ( yes, 2 months today.. hurrah!) using cog quit methodsâ¦and can echo what Steve wrote in this post and in his reply to you
Using cog quit methods, I have learned to really focus on what sensations are occurring in my body, and develop appropriate responses to deal with them. I discovered very quickly doing this work that in my smoking days I would smoke in response to virtually any sensation in my body, and in response to virtually any emotionâ¦.including hunger, tiredness, anxiety, fear, anger, love, joy, pleasure.. you name it.. Iâd smoke! I was completely out of touch with what the sensations and emotions were till I did the timer exercise⦠and even after then new ones would pop up and be a smoking cue. Why I thought that putting a white stick full of dried leaves in my mouth and setting light to it would help to alleviate, for example, tiredness and that aching longing for someone to look after me I really donât know. It now seems a little crazy to meâ¦.
For me, the danger was that having quit smoking, I would just substitute another inappropriate response to these cues.. such as stuffing myself with mints, or chewing on a pencil.. or eating lots of those lovely carbsâ¦.or having a glass of wine or two. Again I would be using food/drink to respond to sensations and emotions that were nothing to do with hunger or thirst. Would food be any better at alleviating my tiredness and aching longing for someone to look after me? I doubt itâ¦.(in fact it might be fairly counterproductive in the longer term as my chances of having someone to look after me might reduce as my blubber increased even further!)
So, for me.. having started this programme I bit the bullet and made a commitment to myself that I would learn.. as far as is humanly possibleâ¦to deal directly with the sensations and emotions that cropped up, and not just respond in another inappropriate way. Otherwise I believe it is likely that sooner or later I would have gone back to smoking as I would have been still not addressing the underlying issues. And, what is very interesting to me is that once I correctly identified a feeling or emotion and dealt with it appropriately, then the next time it came up Warren didnât offer a cigarette at all. If I didnât really address it, or deal with it appropriately, then the chances were that warren would continue to offer up a cigarette as a possibility. So had I not addressed the (inappropriate) eating response, the chances would be that it would have prolonged the desire for cigarettes.
I also committed to thinking carefully about what I was putting into my body and why, and in response to what cues, and start to treat my body with the respect it deserved (about time!). So this has led me to adjust my diet and take up exercise. To be frank, eating well and exercising more is not a hardship - not something that is an additional âburdenâ over and above stopping smoking. In fact I think it helps enormously in the quit. Really looking after yourself and treating yourself with respect really (for me at least) builds a positive feeling and increased self-esteem which helps enormously in the quit. Not to mention the effect of exercise in getting those endorphins goingâ¦.
I can honestly say that my quit has not been a matter of hanging on and nor has it been hardâ¦. its been a joyous and exciting journey so far.. like living life in full colour again. I havenât had very many strong desires for cigarettes.. indeed recently I havenât really thought about them at all. Iâve just been enjoying my life and feeling healthier, fitter and increasingly lighter both in weight and spiritâ¦
carol
Alice wrote I guess you are right, but isn’t it hard enought just concentrating on not smoking? I guess I haven’t gotten far enought into this program yet. Alice
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:46:46 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
When quitting is an exercise in hanging on, then one habit at a time makes
sense. ‘Hanging on’ isn’t dealing effectively and as a result, there’s only
so much we can hang on to. It’s sad, but most quits are of the ‘hang on’
type. This is probably why the generally accepted, and dispensed, advice is
“eat what ever you want. quit now and lose the weight later”.
However, if you’re quitting cognitively then you’re not doing a ‘hang on’
quit but rather a ‘thinking quit’. That means you’re becoming aware of why
you smoked and what you can do to respond to your needs in an effective
way. It’s a process of taking control. Taking control in one area and
giving it up in another is counter productive behavior. It’s actually
easier, if you’re serious about taking control and changing behavior, to
take control in all areas. I’m not talking about suddenly all at once
having complete control over everything. What I’m talking about is taking
control one step at a time, one event at a time whether it’s how to deal
with the after dinner crave or what to eat for dinner. It really is easier
when we work at changing behaviors as a complete package.
Steve
September 22nd, 2006 at 4:51 am
Thanks Carol,
I have been reading all the emails and I think I am starting to get it. Just listen to your body. I am so used to not listening, just pushing ahead and doing what is expected of me whether I feel good or not—ignoring the physical. Alice
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 07:13:20 -0000 “Carol Dent” <carol.a.dent@…
I guess Steve or Pam may have a better answer.. I did the timer exercise after I’d quit.
I had problems at first with the emotion/condition and physical sensations part.. it took a couple of days before I really started to tune in enough to feel all those subtle changes and feelings. for the first day I just wondered why I was doing it, but persevered and the light dawned on day 2 or 3. I found that you just have to stick with it a bit, and make sure you do it on a strict time basis (eg every hour).. much more valuable info than a random approach.
Anyway.. what to do if you are still smoking… (Steve and Pam may give you better advice)…I guess I would still check my body on the hour whether or not I wanted a cigarette (that’s just to really start tuning in).. and I guess what I would do as well is when I was about to light a cigarette, I would stop and do a body check, to see if I can identify any sensations or conditions that are there.
Part of the exercise is to increase awareness of what’s going on in your body…I found that once I started to pick up some things, it was as if my body said- “ah! You are finally listening” and then generated all sorts of sensations and emotions…. like opening the floodgates….its just I guess like focussing a pair of binoculars… as you focus, things come into view.. things appear that you didn’t notice in the blurry picture.
Good luck for Monday… if you do the work it will be much easier than you think!
carol
Alice wrote
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the good advice. Last night I downloaded the “Timer Template” and tried to fill it out this morning, but forgot to bring it with me to work. Anyway, I filled it out for the first 2 hours that I was home and had trouble with the “Emotion/Condition” and “Physical Sensations” portion of it. How do you know what you feel if you are still smoking? Is this something you do after you quit? I want to do everything I can now to prepare myself for my quit on Monday. Alice
September 22nd, 2006 at 12:06 pm
For the last two days I have been trying to do the “Timer” exercise but not getting very far with it. The first day I forgot it at home when I went to work and today I actually put it in my purse fully intending to stop every hour and record something on that piece of paper. Unforturnately, when I got into my car to go to work the check engine light was on and it was back to the Mechanic for the third time in two weeks—-so my whole schedule was thrown off. I am wondering how many people out there who did this exercise found time to do this at work. My job is very busy and most days I barely have time to go to the bathroom.
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:30:36 EST Angl4pc562@… writes:
Carol, I just wanted to tell you how awesome this was for me to read, I printed this out Thanks, You summed it all up so beautifully, and I am also working at this little thing we call life everyday.
Nicotine and smoke free for Six days, 7 hours, 27 minutes and 58 seconds. 157 cigarettes not smoked, saving $35.50. Life saved: 13 hours, 5 minutes.
Best Regards, Mary
Hi Alice and list
I quit smoking 2 months ago ( yes, 2 months today.. hurrah!) using cog quit methodsâ¦and can echo what Steve wrote in this post and in his reply to you
Using cog quit methods, I have learned to really focus on what sensations are occurring in my body, and develop appropriate responses to deal with them. I discovered very quickly doing this work that in my smoking days I would smoke in response to virtually any sensation in my body, and in response to virtually any emotionâ¦.including hunger, tiredness, anxiety, fear, anger, love, joy, pleasure.. you name it.. Iâd smoke! I was completely out of touch with what the sensations and emotions were till I did the timer exercise⦠and even after then new ones would pop up and be a smoking cue. Why I thought that putting a white stick full of dried leaves in my mouth and setting light to it would help to alleviate, for example, tiredness and that aching longing for someone to look after me I really donât know. It now seems a little crazy to meâ¦.
For me, the danger was that having quit smoking, I would just substitute another inappropriate response to these cues.. such as stuffing myself with mints, or chewing on a pencil.. or eating lots of those lovely carbsâ¦.or having a glass of wine or two. Again I would be using food/drink to respond to sensations and emotions that were nothing to do with hunger or thirst. Would food be any better at alleviating my tiredness and aching longing for someone to look after me? I doubt itâ¦.(in fact it might be fairly counterproductive in the longer term as my chances of having someone to look after me might reduce as my blubber increased even further!)
So, for me.. having started this programme I bit the bullet and made a commitment to myself that I would learn.. as far as is humanly possibleâ¦to deal directly with the sensations and emotions that cropped up, and not just respond in another inappropriate way. Otherwise I believe it is likely that sooner or later I would have gone back to smoking as I would have been still not addressing the underlying issues. And, what is very interesting to me is that once I correctly identified a feeling or emotion and dealt with it appropriately, then the next time it came up Warren didnât offer a cigarette at all. If I didnât really address it, or deal with it appropriately, then the chances were that warren would continue to offer up a cigarette as a possibility. So had I not addressed the (inappropriate) eating response, the chances would be that it would have prolonged the desire for cigarettes.
I also committed to thinking carefully about what I was putting into my body and why, and in response to what cues, and start to treat my body with the respect it deserved (about time!). So this has led me to adjust my diet and take up exercise. To be frank, eating well and exercising more is not a hardship - not something that is an additional âburdenâ over and above stopping smoking. In fact I think it helps enormously in the quit. Really looking after yourself and treating yourself with respect really (for me at least) builds a positive feeling and increased self-esteem which helps enormously in the quit. Not to mention the effect of exercise in getting those endorphins goingâ¦.
I can honestly say that my quit has not been a matter of hanging on and nor has it been hardâ¦. its been a joyous and exciting journey so far.. like living life in full colour again. I havenât had very many strong desires for cigarettes.. indeed recently I havenât really thought about them at all. Iâve just been enjoying my life and feeling healthier, fitter and increasingly lighter both in weight and spiritâ¦
carol
Alice wrote I guess you are right, but isn’t it hard enought just concentrating on not smoking? I guess I haven’t gotten far enought into this program yet. Alice
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 23:46:46 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
When quitting is an exercise in hanging on, then one habit at a time makes
sense. ‘Hanging on’ isn’t dealing effectively and as a result, there’s only
so much we can hang on to. It’s sad, but most quits are of the ‘hang on’
type. This is probably why the generally accepted, and dispensed, advice is
“eat what ever you want. quit now and lose the weight later”.
However, if you’re quitting cognitively then you’re not doing a ‘hang on’
quit but rather a ‘thinking quit’. That means you’re becoming aware of why
you smoked and what you can do to respond to your needs in an effective
way. It’s a process of taking control. Taking control in one area and
giving it up in another is counter productive behavior. It’s actually
easier, if you’re serious about taking control and changing behavior, to
take control in all areas. I’m not talking about suddenly all at once
having complete control over everything. What I’m talking about is taking
control one step at a time, one event at a time whether it’s how to deal
with the after dinner crave or what to eat for dinner. It really is easier
when we work at changing behaviors as a complete package.
Steve
September 25th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Hi Alice,
put them on ‘hold’. Seriously, if the work days is just too busy, then commit to spending a weekend with your timer and put in a couple of 10 - 12 hr timer days.
The questions you answer when the timer goes off shouldn’t take more than 60 secs. Once you’ve gotten adept at it, maybe about 30 secs. Not sure how long it takes to go to the bathroom… but if your on the phone with someone
Steve
September 27th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
I have a three day weekend this weekend and am trying to work on it. But I am still having trouble identifying the”emotion and physical sensations” part of the exercise. Any suggestions? Alice
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 21:04:05 -0700 Steve <ddsteve@…
Hi Alice,