teddiebears
05-01-2007, 01:09 PM
Hello!!! :D Sorry it's been so long since I posted a roll call. :eek:
QUIT DATE LIST
Kevin - April 17, 2007
Brian - ??
Sarah - Jan. 17, 2006
~Laura - ?? Jan. 13, 2006
Teresa - ?? Jan. 9, 2006
Janny – Dec. 10, 2005
Fiona – Dec. 1, 2005
Pamster - Oct. 17, 2005
Jingle - Oct. 10, 2005
Kristi Ski - Oct. 9, 2005
Accutech - Oct. 9, 2005
Tarzana - Sept. 11. 2005
Geo - Aug.1, 2005
comfortseeker - Aug. 1, 2005
steff - July 5, 2005
Glenn - June 13, 2005
Astroglide - April 1, 2005
Jennifer - Jan. 19, 2005
Jo (2) - Jan. 10, 2005
befuddled2 - Dec. 23, 2004
Buzz - Nov. 19, 2004
Amy - Oct. 17, 2004
Minx - July 18, 2004
Candida - July 15, 2004
Alicia - June 18, 2004??
quietmouth - June 18, 2004
Tattoo - May 13, 2004
Kevin – May 10, 2004
Cindi - May 6, 2004
Kathy (gakat) - April 4, 2004
marijo – March 29, 2004
Kim - March 27, 2004
Zack - March 6, 2004
Christine - Feb. 3, 2004
HappyPolarBear - Jan. 28, 2004
Tina Marie - Jan. 1, 2004
Edith – Dec. 12, 2003
carlacat – Nov. 1, 2003
Shari – Sept. 12, 2003
Pam - April 1, 2003
nanastbird – Jan. 22, 2003
Marie - Nov. 4, 2002
Jo - Oct. 29, 2002
Andrea - July 13, 2002
Lorraine - April 8, 2002
batsinwonderland - Dec. 29, 1998
teddiebears – Dec. 28, 1995
How is everyone doing?? I've been hanging in there. This 'spring' weather has been causing some breathing trouble for me - partly my allergies and partly my normal stuff.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Why Do People Relapse after Years of Not Smoking?
Nicotine Addiction FAQ
From Terry Martin, Your Guide to Smoking Cessation.
I have a nagging fear that I can't seem to shake. I am stable in my quit right now, but the addict in me is telling me that 5,6,7 or 10 years from now I'm just going to pick up the habit again so what's the point of celebrating the fact that I'm a non-smoker now? Am I doomed to fail eventually? I know people who have started smoking again after YEARS of abstaining. It scares me.
A. Every so often someone comes into the Smoking Cessation Forum who lost their quit after years of not smoking. On the surface, it IS scary for those who are working hard to beat this addiction. On the surface, it looks like smoking is a nasty monster that follows us, waiting to pounce when we're least suspecting... That's not how it works though. Relapse never happens out of the blue, even though people often think it does.
The key to lasting freedom from this addiction lies in changing your relationship to smoking. If you quit smoking by sheer will power, believing somewhere in the back of your mind that you're sacrificing something good, chances are very high that you'll eventually relapse. You might be able to abstain for years and years, but you'll find yourself missing smoking and thinking of it as a fix when times of stress or other potential triggers come along. However, if you do the work necessary to change how you think about your smoking habit, you'll find your freedom, and you won't have to struggle to maintain it.
That's all fine and well you're probably saying, but HOW to make that change?
Be A Sponge
All smokers know that smoking is bad. We all know that it causes emphysema, lung cancer, and a thousand other diseases. In order to continue smoking in the face of this harsh reality, we all had ways of compartmentalizing our habit. Otherwise, smoking would have caused so much fear and discomfort, we wouldn't have been able to do continue doing it. We'd tell ourselves we had years before we needed to worry. We'd rationalize that smoking light cigarettes was better for our health. We'd say that smoking disease happens to other people, not us. We had a hundred ways to rationalize smoking.
Eventually though, the smokescreen wears so thin that the scales tip in the other direction, which is usually when people quit. Once that happens, it's time to take a good look at all of the issues surrounding smoking. Learning everything you can about the dangers as well as what to expect when you quit will go a long way toward helping you start to make that permanent change of attitude that we're talking about.
When I quit smoking, I was a full four months into my quit before I could look at pictures of smoking-related disease. I just was not ready before that, but when the time came that I could face it, those graphics did a lot to strengthen my resolve. Education is an important part of the process that will release you from this killer of an addiction. Be a sponge and soak up everything you can find about smoking/quitting.
Attitude Adjustment
Obviously, a good attitude helps us more than a bad attitude. There's more to it though than just positive thinking. Truly changing your attitude when it comes to this process involves retraining how you think. For most of us, it involves conscious effort and plenty of practice.
Begin by paying close attention to the literally thousands of thoughts floating through your mind on a daily basis. Capture negative thoughts as they arise and change or "retrain" them on the spot. You may not believe what you're telling yourself at first, but do it anyway. One of the lovely things about the way our minds work is that we tend to believe what we tell ourselves. Take advantage of that and feed yourself a steady diet of good, solid information about the realities of smoking. For instance, if you're thinking:
I may as well give up. I've been smoke free for months now and I still miss smoking every now and then. I'll never be free.
Tell yourself:
I need to be patient with myself. I smoked for a lot of years and it takes time to reprogram the hundreds associations to smoking I've built up. I know that cravings are signs of healing.
If you think:
Smoking made life more pleasant. It relaxed me and helped me cope.
Tell yourself:
Smoking was slowly killing me. Addiction to nicotine actually created most of the anxiety I felt. Smoking only relieved the physical withdrawal I experienced when the nicotine level in my bloodstream dropped. I can cope so much better without smoking than I ever did with it.
Changing the way we think isn't a miracle that just happens to us. We do the work to make the changes by paying attention to errant thoughts and making appropriate adjustments. If you notice your attitude is making a shift for the worse, this is the way to pull it back into line.
Be patient with yourself and allow for the time it takes to heal from this addiction. As you make your way through the first year, you will have experienced most of the situations in regular everyday life that trigger thoughts of smoking. Once faced, these triggers lose power. This all takes time and practice.
You are in the driver's seat with your quit. Our actions are always within our control. Do the work to change your relationship to smoking and you will find the permanent freedom you want so badly. It's doable AND you have the ability to make it happen for yourself.
SOURCE: http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/preventingrelapse/f/whyrelapse.htm
QUIT DATE LIST
Kevin - April 17, 2007
Brian - ??
Sarah - Jan. 17, 2006
~Laura - ?? Jan. 13, 2006
Teresa - ?? Jan. 9, 2006
Janny – Dec. 10, 2005
Fiona – Dec. 1, 2005
Pamster - Oct. 17, 2005
Jingle - Oct. 10, 2005
Kristi Ski - Oct. 9, 2005
Accutech - Oct. 9, 2005
Tarzana - Sept. 11. 2005
Geo - Aug.1, 2005
comfortseeker - Aug. 1, 2005
steff - July 5, 2005
Glenn - June 13, 2005
Astroglide - April 1, 2005
Jennifer - Jan. 19, 2005
Jo (2) - Jan. 10, 2005
befuddled2 - Dec. 23, 2004
Buzz - Nov. 19, 2004
Amy - Oct. 17, 2004
Minx - July 18, 2004
Candida - July 15, 2004
Alicia - June 18, 2004??
quietmouth - June 18, 2004
Tattoo - May 13, 2004
Kevin – May 10, 2004
Cindi - May 6, 2004
Kathy (gakat) - April 4, 2004
marijo – March 29, 2004
Kim - March 27, 2004
Zack - March 6, 2004
Christine - Feb. 3, 2004
HappyPolarBear - Jan. 28, 2004
Tina Marie - Jan. 1, 2004
Edith – Dec. 12, 2003
carlacat – Nov. 1, 2003
Shari – Sept. 12, 2003
Pam - April 1, 2003
nanastbird – Jan. 22, 2003
Marie - Nov. 4, 2002
Jo - Oct. 29, 2002
Andrea - July 13, 2002
Lorraine - April 8, 2002
batsinwonderland - Dec. 29, 1998
teddiebears – Dec. 28, 1995
How is everyone doing?? I've been hanging in there. This 'spring' weather has been causing some breathing trouble for me - partly my allergies and partly my normal stuff.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Q. Why Do People Relapse after Years of Not Smoking?
Nicotine Addiction FAQ
From Terry Martin, Your Guide to Smoking Cessation.
I have a nagging fear that I can't seem to shake. I am stable in my quit right now, but the addict in me is telling me that 5,6,7 or 10 years from now I'm just going to pick up the habit again so what's the point of celebrating the fact that I'm a non-smoker now? Am I doomed to fail eventually? I know people who have started smoking again after YEARS of abstaining. It scares me.
A. Every so often someone comes into the Smoking Cessation Forum who lost their quit after years of not smoking. On the surface, it IS scary for those who are working hard to beat this addiction. On the surface, it looks like smoking is a nasty monster that follows us, waiting to pounce when we're least suspecting... That's not how it works though. Relapse never happens out of the blue, even though people often think it does.
The key to lasting freedom from this addiction lies in changing your relationship to smoking. If you quit smoking by sheer will power, believing somewhere in the back of your mind that you're sacrificing something good, chances are very high that you'll eventually relapse. You might be able to abstain for years and years, but you'll find yourself missing smoking and thinking of it as a fix when times of stress or other potential triggers come along. However, if you do the work necessary to change how you think about your smoking habit, you'll find your freedom, and you won't have to struggle to maintain it.
That's all fine and well you're probably saying, but HOW to make that change?
Be A Sponge
All smokers know that smoking is bad. We all know that it causes emphysema, lung cancer, and a thousand other diseases. In order to continue smoking in the face of this harsh reality, we all had ways of compartmentalizing our habit. Otherwise, smoking would have caused so much fear and discomfort, we wouldn't have been able to do continue doing it. We'd tell ourselves we had years before we needed to worry. We'd rationalize that smoking light cigarettes was better for our health. We'd say that smoking disease happens to other people, not us. We had a hundred ways to rationalize smoking.
Eventually though, the smokescreen wears so thin that the scales tip in the other direction, which is usually when people quit. Once that happens, it's time to take a good look at all of the issues surrounding smoking. Learning everything you can about the dangers as well as what to expect when you quit will go a long way toward helping you start to make that permanent change of attitude that we're talking about.
When I quit smoking, I was a full four months into my quit before I could look at pictures of smoking-related disease. I just was not ready before that, but when the time came that I could face it, those graphics did a lot to strengthen my resolve. Education is an important part of the process that will release you from this killer of an addiction. Be a sponge and soak up everything you can find about smoking/quitting.
Attitude Adjustment
Obviously, a good attitude helps us more than a bad attitude. There's more to it though than just positive thinking. Truly changing your attitude when it comes to this process involves retraining how you think. For most of us, it involves conscious effort and plenty of practice.
Begin by paying close attention to the literally thousands of thoughts floating through your mind on a daily basis. Capture negative thoughts as they arise and change or "retrain" them on the spot. You may not believe what you're telling yourself at first, but do it anyway. One of the lovely things about the way our minds work is that we tend to believe what we tell ourselves. Take advantage of that and feed yourself a steady diet of good, solid information about the realities of smoking. For instance, if you're thinking:
I may as well give up. I've been smoke free for months now and I still miss smoking every now and then. I'll never be free.
Tell yourself:
I need to be patient with myself. I smoked for a lot of years and it takes time to reprogram the hundreds associations to smoking I've built up. I know that cravings are signs of healing.
If you think:
Smoking made life more pleasant. It relaxed me and helped me cope.
Tell yourself:
Smoking was slowly killing me. Addiction to nicotine actually created most of the anxiety I felt. Smoking only relieved the physical withdrawal I experienced when the nicotine level in my bloodstream dropped. I can cope so much better without smoking than I ever did with it.
Changing the way we think isn't a miracle that just happens to us. We do the work to make the changes by paying attention to errant thoughts and making appropriate adjustments. If you notice your attitude is making a shift for the worse, this is the way to pull it back into line.
Be patient with yourself and allow for the time it takes to heal from this addiction. As you make your way through the first year, you will have experienced most of the situations in regular everyday life that trigger thoughts of smoking. Once faced, these triggers lose power. This all takes time and practice.
You are in the driver's seat with your quit. Our actions are always within our control. Do the work to change your relationship to smoking and you will find the permanent freedom you want so badly. It's doable AND you have the ability to make it happen for yourself.
SOURCE: http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/preventingrelapse/f/whyrelapse.htm