RE: Nicotine addictions

[Guest guest]

I just have to add my 2 cents. What Bob said here really rings true. I

smoked for 16 years and quit over 8 years ago.

 

>receptive to the idea that I needed to quit and come to a point in my life

>where the love of my self was becoming more powerful than my destructive

>habits.

 

>What I would like to say to others who are suffering from this addiction is

>that in my experience 2 things seem to be paramount in importance. The

first

>is loving yourself, and realizing that smoking is slow suicide and the

>antithesis of loving yourself. The second is knowing with complete and

utter

>certainty that you do not want to smoke anymore. Ever! Once those two

>things are clear in your mind you will be able to quit and stay off.

 

The other things that helped me were:

- I drew a cigarette in a red circle with a slash and my quit date on my

white board at work. This was a visual aid for me. It made my quitting

public. Anyone who has tried to quit without complete success must know how

others will make comments about your smoking or not smoking. There is some

humiliation here for some of us. I can't tell you how many dreams I had had

since quitting of having to go into work and erase it because I smoked in my

dream. This was awefully powerful. I would wake up from the dream,

relieved that it was only a dream!

- I kept telling myself "I no longer smoke". My personal mantra, if you

will (pre-KY).

- Knowing that smoking "just one" would cause me to have to quit all over

again. Since the addiction was very strong, this is an unbearable thought

to me.

- I was very strong willed about this. I realize that not everyone has this

capacity to overcome the addiction, but it sure helped me. I had tried

hypnosis several times with great short-term success - with no urges to

smoke after the sessions. It seemed too easy. So, after the last time I

went for hypnosis, the first thing I wanted to do when it was over was light

up. I was so enraged that I quit cold turkey. That was it for me. Talk

about a positive way to channel negative energy! That same year I moved

houses with 2 young sons and served divorce papers. So, there is no good

time to quit. Many of us often feel that they have to choose the "right

time" to quit. It can be done.

 

Sat Nam,

 

/Kewal Kaur