Addiction Blog

When did you start smoking? Were you young? Why did you
start? To be cool? To fit in?

I bet you didn’t start smoking to get a nicotine fix. When you
first started smoking it was probably because your friends were
doing it, you were curious or felt pressured to try it, so you
smoked just to smoke. Pretty soon though, smoking became
something more for you–it became a part of your life. And this
was a part that you probably found yourself regretting very soon
after you realized that you “needed” cigarettes.

After the “coolness” wore off and you decided maybe your
parents *were* right–smoking wasn’t very glamorous–where did
you find yourself then? Did you try to quit, but you felt sick
if you didn’t smoke another? Did you miss your cigarettes or
your smoking breaks? Did you find yourself nervous and
fidgety, not knowing what to do with your hands?

All these symptoms of withdrawal give you clues into your
addiction. In fact they help you answer the question, “What’s
your addiction?”

Every smoker is addicted to a slightly different combination
of what I’ll call “stimulants.” I don’t use this in the “drug”
sense of the word. Instead, what I mean by stimulants is the
addictive property or addictive “thing” that hooks you into
smoking and keeps you there, locked in its grip.

What grips you and hooks you? That’s what you must endeavor
to uncover. What do you *like* about smoking? What good do
you find in it? Write it down. Understand it.

If you dig deep, very deep, you’ll probably find stimulants that
you didn’t expect to find.

Do you like the fire from the match or lighter? Do you find
yourself in a Humphrey Bogart movie every time you cover
your hand to protect your match from the wind? Is smoking
still a way for you to rebel against your parents? society? Are
you calmed by the chemicals? Does smoking suppress your
appetite and keep you trim? Do you need something in your
hands and mouth? Are you unpleasantly lonely if you don’t
have a pack of cigarettes in your pocket? Are you often bored
with life, except when you smoke? Is your mind made clearer
when you light up? Do you feel irregular if you don’t get your
cigarettes?

What does smoking do for you? Yes, it can give you “positive”
experiences, or so you think. The problem is that you have
conditioned your mind and body, through prolonged exposure to
smoking, to experience positive, even euphoric, feelings when
you smoke. Non-smokers don’t experience the roller-coaster
ride of the high and lows. Instead they maintain a much higher
level of “well-being", most all the time. They don’t need a
cigarette to relax–they just learn how to relax naturally.

The great news for you today is that you can learn to replace
cigarettes with other “things” that give you the positive
experiences. You can learn to relax; you can learn to clear your
mind in far more productive ways, than smoking. Finding
replacements for your addictions is a topic for another
email, but I know you can begin to do this yourself.

Here’s some simple steps to take now to learn what you are
addicted to and then to combat your addiction

1. For two days, every time you smoke, pay attention to
and write down, the feelings you had just prior to smoking each
cigarette. Were you tired? Bored? Hungry? Fidgety?

2. Write down the “good” that you feel came from smoking
that particular cigarette. Did it help you relax? Ease your
boredom? Help you wake up? Fall asleep?

3. Study your list. You’ll probably notice a pattern very
quickly.

4. Be creative and find things to distract you when you notice
yourself having a feeling that brings on the desire for a smoke.

5. In addition to distracting yourself, you should find
replacements for the “good” that you get from smoking. If you
smoke to relax, figure out how to relax without a cigarette. If
you smoke to clear your mind, figure out how to clear your mind
without a cigarette.

6. Remember, this ain’t easy, so don’t feel bad if the solutions
don’t come right away. This does take work and frustration is
normal!

Good luck in understanding “What’s your addiction?”

** Article © Copyright Fred Kelley of QuitSmoking.com. Visit the web site at http://www.quitsmoking.com
for great information and products designed to help you
quit smoking.

To inventory your personal or life resources is to take a good look at yourself-but a sympathetic,positive look,the way an admiringfriend would see you,What is good,praiseworthy,commendable about you?You can start by making a list in response to these questions:
What are your greatest accomplishments in life?
What are you best at?
Of what are you proudest?
What gives you greatest enjoyment?
What do people like or respect most about you?

Here are some specific accomplishements,skils,and assets people report:

I’m very proud of my relationships with my children
I have made major life changes ( such as quitting an addiction )befor
I am very good at making other people feel relaxed
I have contributed a lot to my church groups
I do my job very well
I have a lot of friends
I am good athlete
I’m an artist;I can create beautiful and unique things
I love going to the beach;I feel at peace there
I was president of my college freternity
I solved a financial crunch that saved our company
I belive God loves me
I can fix almost anything
I organize our household better than anyone else could
I’m smart
I can figure out solutions to most problems
I handle stress very well
I do things that are making the world a better place
I can spend time by myself,like a lot of people can’t

As the last statement illustrates , thislist leaves you open to the sinof ‘pride’ .Indeed some twelve-step or six,five programs actually ask people to record their violations of the ’seven deadly sins’ and to cite how pride is a sin that gotten them into trouble

This list an outline of what tou need to sustain yourself and to overcome addiction.