I'm not crazy, I just remembered something I did. Pretend you are smoking a cig. Fingers and all. Breathe in deep, to the very bottom of your lungs. (Which won't be that deep, because of all of the black tar, that is in there), and let it out slowly. Pretend that you are blowing smoke rings. Do this several times. The craving will pass!!! Tell me how it works for you. HL
Watching an addicted brain is fun! (quitting smoking)
by AlmostAtheist 27 Replies latest jw friends
-
-
damselfly
Best of luck AA.
I have to admit the floating fingers thing sounds kinda cool. Is it like an out of body experience but just with your digits?
Dams
-
fairchild
I cross my fingers and hope you'll succeed.
-
Aude_Sapere
My dad quit cold turkey nearly 40 years ago.
He found that carrot sticks and celery worked well to keep oral/digital habit satiated.
He is quite proud to tell people that he quit because I came home from school one day in 1967 and asked him why he didn't love me. He didn't understand the connection. I explained that if he loved me he wouldn't smoke because it would make him die sooner. He quit that night.
Emotional blackmail (or whatever that was) was ingrained in me early on.
But really, the carrot sticks and celery helped keep the fingers and lips busy.
Best wishes for successful cessation!!
-Denise.
-
Aude_Sapere
btw - years out of 'the truth' and thousands of dollars paid in psych bills, I don't use emotional blackmail anymore.
-Denise.
-
AlmostAtheist
Thanks everybody for your encouragement. And for those that are quitting/have quit too, congrats! Please recognize the reasonings on smoking again for what they are -- your addicted brain trying ANYTHING to get you to smoke again.
Ok, update. This morning my thoughts are racing. I can't keep my head focused. When I walk, it feels like there is some artificial inertia pulling me along, like I simply couldn't stop walking if I tried. My fingers continue to feel detached from my hands. (And yes, it's very cool! I can't say I've had an out-of-body experience, but it feels very much like the fingers are floating there, hanging around the vicinity of my hands, but not in any way attached.)
The most striking and amusing aspect of the whole deal is watching my brain trying to explain why I should go ahead and smoke. You would think that a simple chemical addiction couldn't "speak". It would be an urge, a primal desire, but an articulated thought? An actual spoken plan?
Yep. The latest trick is saying "When you've finally quit, you'll be able to enjoy one once in awhile. Maybe buy a pack a month." The idea being that once I accept that someday I'll smoke again, then it can begin to roll that clock back. "Why wait until you've quit? Have one a week now! It's the weekend, for Christ's sake! Relax, enjoy a smoke!" The fallacious reasoning is like having a damn JW in my head nattering on about "the troof".
16 hours and counting...
Dave
-
Finally-Free
your addicted brain trying ANYTHING to get you to smoke again.
Tell me about it! I quit smoking on Saturday and I rewarded myself with a smoke on Sunday morning, Monday morning, and again last night. I am rewarding myself right this minute! My twisted brain is looking for any excuse to reward myself with a smoke. I DESERVE ONE because I just washed the dishes!
Thanks for the thread. I'm going to throw out my cigarettes now and put this patch back on.
W
-
AlmostAtheist
My twisted brain is looking for any excuse to reward myself with a smoke.
And when that doesn't work...
Now I'm having trouble thinking clearly, so my brain is saying, "Is it really right to sit and work and get paid while not thinking clearly? You should quit smoking on your own time." Ha! Can you believe that? I kid you not, that's the line my brain fed me a minute ago. I kill me...
(I swear, it's like having an 8-yr-old in my head. "can I have a cigarette?" "No" "can I have a cigarette?" "No" "can I have a cigarette?" "No" "can I have a cigarette?" "No" .....)
Dave
-
xjwms
I hope you do it.
My dad died from smokes.
-
lonelysheep
Keep it up, Dave!!