Cognitive Quit Smoking

Step I - set your timer for 60 minutes from now.
Step 2- using the timer tempate, record the time
Step 3- record what is happening (working, sitting, arguing, sad, cold, etc),
Step 4- observe and record your body cues; muscle tension (shoulders, neck,
jaw, abdomen, chest), breathing (depth and speed).
Step 5- identify and enact obvious appropriate nonsmoking responses (deep
breath if you observed your breathing is shallow, stretch to relieve any
needy muscles, etc)
That’s it. Carry on with whatever you are doing until the next time
your timer reminds you to go through the steps again.
All 5 of these steps will take you 1-3 minutes depending on how must
stretching you want to do (figuring on holding a stretch for 15-20 seconds,
each stretch repeated twice including deep breathing. This is less time
than it took to smoke a cigarette and a pack a day smoker goes through
about one an hour.
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Hi all,
I was hunting through some old mailboxes and came across this. Thought it
might be worth reading for some of our newer cog quitters.
repost -
I was talking to one of our quitters yesterday about a family gathering
she’d been to where there were more smokers than nonsmokers. She mentioned
that she’d felt some urges to smoke and that while she had her cog tools
and used them well, still it was a bit disappointing and
frustrating that there were urges at all.
It’s not uncommon in a situation like that to experience ‘urges’ to
smoke. Many who are new to cognitive quitting may feel they’re somehow
missing something or that they’re not ‘doing it right’ if they experience
smoking urges. I know we talk about not having to deal with recurring urges
to smoke when we use cognitive techniques to quit and that it’s a
‘comfortable quit’, but that’s a state we get to after working the program
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I quit smoking on March 15th of ‘96. Within days I was already questioning
why my quit was so much different than every other quit I’d attempted over
the preceding 35 yrs. Within weeks I was talking to others about a ‘body
based’ approach to dealing with urges to smoke, both where urges come from
and what to do about them. A couple of years later the name ‘cognitive
quitting’ was coined and only within the past 2 years has the program been
refined to be what it is today. However, almost from day 1, it’s been
predominantly women who have responded to, and used, this approach to
smoking and quitting. Why?
I’ve asked this question of others and some of the answers have been, ‘Men
don’t do self help, women do’, ‘women are more in touch with their bodies’,
‘men are goal oriented (just decide and do it) where women are more process
oriented’. I expect the answer may include elements from several areas.
I’m throwing this question out to all of you. You are the people, female
and male, who have found your way here and I’m hoping that you will help me
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I havae a quit date of April 1st. Would like to be hooked up with similar date
quitter if possible.
Diana and LeRoy Blumer

How ’bout drinking with a straw? That seems to be helping me. Other than my
morning coffee, I am using a straw for everything- and sipping water all day
long.
One benefit of not smoking that I’ve already noticed is that it is very easy to
go to sleep these days. I used to toss and turn for a long time but now, I
just lay down and go to sleep and am well rested in the mornings.
Sky / TX

Hi there! My name is Geri, from windsor Ont Canada. I have been quit
smoking for a month now and am interested in how cognitive quitting
works. It seems interesting and I would like to learn more. I believe
in using every available source I can to ensure that this quit lasts!
have a great day! Geri

Actually, yesterday (at noon) was my quit day and so far, so good. I’m armed to
the teeth with nicotine replacement gum.
I tried to quit a couple of months ago when I joined the list and used the
patches but caved in during week 3 and a catastrophe- there’s always going to
be a catastrophe- I’ll just have to learn to deal with them as they happen
directly and without the aid of cigarettes. (cigarettes never actually fixed a
catastrophe anyway)
I am going to use the cognitive methods this time also- beginning today.
Worrying about quitting and stressing over not having a cigarette is actually
tougher than simply not smoking.
I really enjoyed smoking, no if’s and’s or but’s about it and there’s about a
10,000 year history of tobacco use in my family but the pre-prepared tobacco of
today is much different and much more harmful than the tobacco of yesterday-
straight off the stalk and dried. I won’t smoke the chemically laden tobacco
any longer and I won’t grow any tobacco either- I’m through with tobacco.
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Have only just discovered your really good site and am only mad I did
not find you two weeks ago!
Today is the first day of my quit, is it too late to learn anything to
help? I have been smoking 48 years too long and would like any help I
can get, especially at this early stage and also any help with further
down the track (last time I quit for 78 days) when I just felt so
unreal and only wanted to get back to “normal”, has anyone else felt
that way?
Thanking you in hopes!
Jen

No problem Bonnie… here you go,
fill in the templates below with your timer data. If you need more, just
add some.
To the rest of the group: If anyone would like to ‘plug’ their timer notes
in and post them, please do. Behavior won’t change just by thinking about
it. If one of your more common thoughts is “I really need to get to ….
(the timer notes or exercise or watching my weight… you fill in your
own), than seize this opportunity to finally take that necessary first step.
1-time-
2-situation-
3-body cues-
4-responses-
1-time-
2-situation-
3-body cues-
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Waving with both hands….
Have been away from my computer for past couple of weeks…. went north to
visit my son and his family….
Welcome to all the new people…. congratulations on finding the best quit
smoking program around…
If you listen to Steve, and do the simple things he suggests, you will
find yourself well on the way to a comfortable quit, far quicker than you
could imagine possible.
Thanks to Steve, and his cogquit method, I have now been quit for over 2
years, 28 months to be precise…. and no I don’t need to keep counting
days, but QuitNet today sent me my congratulations for 28 months quit….
I had smoked for around 40 years, had quit more times than I could
remember, I had medical problems that demanded I quit, but I never managed
to stay quit for longer than a few months…. Thanks to the skills and
insights into myself I learned here, I feel confident I will now remain a
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