fears of not smoking
Right before I tossed out my tobacco, I was
feeling afraid as well.. and another cogquitter
(Judy, whose support helped me enormously)
wrote to me that before quitting she had been
afraid of having to hold a beachball underwater
forever. This analogy really hit home for me.
It is a fear that I will fail… because I think that
in order to be a nonsmoker, I must have the strength
FOREVER and EVER to ‘just say no’ to smoking.
That I must resist with vigilance, fight hard,
hold out and hang on for the rest of my life.
The reality has been so different. With the clarity
and certainty of “I do NOT want to be a smoker”
plus the tools of this simple cognitive approach, I am
able to satisfy each urge to smoke — but with
something far healthier, and more satisfying:
my breath, ease of body, focus of mind and heart,
knowledge that I am doing a great thing for
myself.
I know now that whenever an urge to smoke arises,
I can respond in a non-smoking way. I do not have
to fight with myself. This is a remarkable discovery.
Annie
<< What is it you’re afraid of? the sensations of nicotine withdrawal?
that feeling of no longer being part of the (smoking) group?
Pam
December 23rd, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Hi Annie - congrats on 2 weeks cognitively quit.
I think many of us had repeated attempts to quit smoking before we
found cognitive quitting. We went through the same old cycles -
hanging on grimly one day at a time which soon led to feelings of
despair that life was going to be a constant battle fighting off urges
to smoke.
As someone here once said ‘If we always do what we’ve always done,
we’ll always get the same results’. Its remarkable how a change in
thinking and perspective - plus a bit of work - can produce very
different results.
If we can find that commitment to quit within ourselves and be
prepared to think ‘outside the box’, we can experience a very
different quit
Pam
December 24th, 2006 at 2:51 am
because I think that
in order to be a nonsmoker, I must have the strength
FOREVER and EVER
Hi Annie,
Just the strength for right now.
Donna
December 24th, 2006 at 7:56 am
Hi Donna,
Sometimes it’s not strength we need in order to make a particular decision.
Sometimes understanding and awareness are just what does the trick.
or as Annie said so well…
With the clarity and certainty of “I do NOT want to be a smoker” plus
the tools of this simple cognitive approach, I am able to satisfy each
urge to smoke — but with something far healthier, and more
satisfying: my breath, ease of body, focus of mind and heart
Steve
December 24th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
Hi Annie.
Yes, that’s it. Quitting does not require strength or fighting with ourselves.
Breathe, stretch, be aware, be honest. Do that and the rest follows.
Nice work Annie.
Steve