Timers and other things..
Just popping my head in to say hello to all the new quitters here in the group.
I’m Pam, and I quit cognitively almost 6 years ago. I’ve been very absent in
recent months, mainly due to some ill health and not being comfortable sitting
at the computer - hopefully that will all change.
The key to becoming comfortably quit is to follow the program Steve has
developed over the past almost 11 years since he quit. During that time he has
helped countless quitters to discover some simple yet quite profound information
about themselves - how they react to life in physical terms, and how to
disconnect the smoking associations associated with those physical cues. The
only way to reach that state is to do some work at identifying the physical
cues, and practising alternative and more appropriate responses.
I’ve been reading all the posts in recent weeks, and have yet to see anyone
saying ‘right, I’ll give this a go - it’s a new angle that’s worth a try. If
nothing else, it might get me more in touch with myself’ Doing the timer
exercise isn’t even work - its a quick body check once an hour, taking less time
than it took to smoke a cigarette. Maybe we spent too many years stuffing down
goodness what with a smoke - a useful way of procrastinating, avoiding
confronting issues, acknowledging how we felt, and doing anything about it?
Doing a bit of a reality check can sometimes be quite a scary proposition
perhaps. Or maybe smokers are just extremely skilled procrastinators? I’d just
be really interested to know what puts you quitters off doing this simple
exercise, and what (if anything) scares you about doing it.
A cognitive quit is all about being proactive - taking charge and control.
Becoming adept at recognising the true smoking triggers before they even happen.
Very different from hang-on quits where the object is to delay lighting up,
distracting ourselves, keeping manically busy and occupied. Hang-on quits are
exhausting and don’t get better with time - thats why people go back to smoking
after several years quit. Cognitive quitters (and I’m one of them) find that
they gain the tools to lead their lives very differently, and no longer have
that sense of missing ’something’. And it all starts with a timer, a piece of
paper and a pen - oh, and a willingness to stop and do a quick bit of self
examination.
Who’s up for it?
Pam in the UK