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Quitting Smoking
- Thread starter FireSoul
- Start date
I could be wrong about what he meant. I took it to mean that there is always an underlying emotional component to any habit/addiction. If you are not aware of what it is (what you're getting out of it) then it's very hard to quit. By addressing the underlying *need* the behavior is meeting, you can find something else that meets that need in a more positive fashion. THEN willpower comes into play, getting through the detox stage of the physical addiction. And in not returning to what is familiar. It takes aprox 30 days to burn new pathways into the brain. So that's 30 days of forcing a new behavior to override an old, established one.
HellRazor
Knight
FireSoul;645057 said:
I hear what you're saying and I agree there are underlying issues that can make some people more prone to addictions and they need to be solved.
But at the same time, those issues can be a conveniant crutch or excuse. I think many of those addiction issues are mental and emotional and can be overcome by enough willpower and desire. I think the very fact of quitting can be very empowering on overcoming the other addiction issues.
But the first step is sincerely WANTING to quit. If you want to quit bad enough, you will. And then the key is recognizing that you may be prone to addiction and not allowing yourself to replace smoking with something equally as damaging (or worse)!
Too bad they don't have "Smokers Anonymous" because I think some of the stuff you are talking about is actually addressed in alcohol addiction. Smokers are a lot more "on their own".
Any addiction can be overcome but you have to believe that you can overcome it, and make up your mind to do it. I was able to quit because I didn't make it an option for myself to NOT quit. No matter how badly I wanted that cigarette, I told myself "No, you can't have it, period".
And yeah it was rough as hell for a little while. But then...it got a lot better.
It's nice not to waste the money on something that made me cough up a bunch of brown shit all the time and that was likely to kill me some day.
Now if I could just stop biting my nails! :O
HellRazor;645111 said:
Ok had to edit my response to this, I'd missed the last part originally. Nicotine IS every bit (if not more) addictive as Heroin or any other addictive substance. There is a ton of published medical documentation confirming this.
Not all people are prone to addiction. Yes, everyone can become physically addicted to a substance that creates a physical dependence in the body. But genetics plays a large part in how easily you become addicted and how hard an addiction is to break once established (again, TONS of medical evidence on this).
HellRazor
Knight
FireSoul;645121 said:
I'm not talking about the addiction, I'm talking about the effects of withdrawal. It's a lot harder to quit an addiction when doing so makes you so physically sick you want to die. Cigarettes don't do that so its just not the same thing in my opinion.
I don't deny any of that. But being prone to addiction doesn't mean it can't be overcome.
I don't mean this in a negative way or even saying that it applies to you at all so don't get me wrong. But rationalizing is very typical of addicted smokers. Both my mother (before she passed) and my sister were addicted, and either one of them could rationalize why they couldn't quit over and over again. Because as long as you can rationalize it, it makes it ok not to quit. Which is why my mom is dead now and my sister remains addicted and will very likely die a lot sooner than she needs to (sooner than me at any rate!)
My father was a lifetime smoker as well. Until his doctor gave him a very short time to live if he didn't quit. He did quit. He was scared into quitting. He lived many more years as a result. (Supporting what you have said, he was also an alcoholic for most of his life. I'm sure he had an issues with addictions. He quit the booze at about the same time as the smokes).
Again, that doesn't mean those obstacles you discussed don't exist. I don't deny that they do. But you can allow them to stop you... or not. It's hard as hell and those issues make it a lot harder, but certainly not impossible.
I maintain that your willingness and desire to quit are the #1 factors. If you have the willpower you can do it despite all the other obstacles. If you don't decide in your own mind to do it and totally commit to it though, chances are very good you won't quit. You have to really refuse to accept having another cigarette as being in the realm of possibility no matter how much your body and brain are screaming at you to satisfy the urge.
More often than not people tend to fall back on the obstacles as crutches because its a hell of a lot easier to not quit than it is to quit. And no one wants to feel like cigarettes are controlling them, or that they are being weak, or have been beaten, or whatever else. So the mind logically will search for reasons to support not quitting. It deflects the responsibility and makes one feel better about not quitting. "It's not my fault because of (insert reason)". "I don't want to quit because of (insert another reason)".
I'm not a doctor or a shrink, but I am a former smoker who has quit, and who lives in a family that consists of 99% smokers who are all now dying early. I've seen all this stuff and all of the denials first hand.
In the end, the members of my family who wanted to quit quit, and the ones who really didn't or who didn't have the willpower are still smoking. Or dead.
HellRazor;645178 said:
If they don't do that to you, wonderful. Let me tell you withdrawal from smoking very much DOES do it to me. It starts out as a gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, sort of like hunger but much stronger and painful (and these get worse over time). Then I get chills and sweat and shake and become physically VERY ill. And this is only the physical aspect, there is the emotional component where I start crying and can't stop for about an hour at a time, and the mental component were I can barely keep a thought straight in my head. All of this will go on (with varying degrees of severity) for days (though the first 3 are the worst). Gradually the symptoms and the severity of them reduce. But that takes another few days. Yes I have quit before, and my fear of having to go through all of this, is more of a deterrent than even I like to admit. That's my battle right now...getting over the fear. Would not be so hard if I had a support system. But I don't, I could handle it on my own as well, but that's not the case either.
HellRazor
Knight
FireSoul;645207 said:
Ouch.
But is this physical or psychiological? (I'm not being smarmy, I'm asking seriously because I've never heard of this type of problem). I can see where that would tremendously amplify the problems associated with quitting. Any time physical pain or severe mental/emotional trauma is involved it becomes a pretty convinving detrement to quitting ANYTHING.
Would you agree that this is probably the exception and not the general rule though? I'm speaking in generalities, I realize there may be specific medical conditions that make it more than just a cigarette addiction. I think that with the majority of people the physical addiction is just the craving.
At any rate, don't give up! Maybe if you can't go cold turkey you can cut back a bit at a time. Maybe a doctor can help with the withdrawal symptoms. In the long run if you can quit it will be worth all the pain and anguish. I can honestly say there has not been a day in recent memory where I have ever missed them, quitting was probably one of the smarter things I have done and I've had zero regrets.
HellRazor;645256 said:
Oh, it's physical. And it happens to quite a few people. It's genetics, like I said. Some people have the gene (yes there is a gene that effects addictions) and some don't. As for medication, I've talked to more than one doc about it, they don't recommend it because my brain chemistry is so messed up (and this is also part of the problem).
One of the effects of smoking tobacco (it is the actual smoke, not the nicotine), is that the production of monoamine oxidase is inhibited. MOA does various things in the body, one of which is destroy tyramine. Tyramine is an amine which causes elevated blood pressure and tachycardia. High enough levels are fatal. It is the by-product of the breakdown of certain proteins, and is found in elevated levels in most foods which have been aged or bacterially cultured. This function of MOA is needed. But it also destroys dopamine and norepinephrine, neurotransmitters which elevate mood.
So for me, smoking is very much self-medicating. Yes I can take an MOAI, but the older versions all require very restrictive diets which frankly I can't really afford. And the newer ones, while they don't have the same food interaction issues...have a whole host of much more serious ones. So it's not just willpower. I can force myself to quit. It's the long term aftermath of it that will be difficult.
Johabius
Knight
That is definitely not good at all. Might want to ask the Dr. that put you on Adderal if Concerta might be a better drug for you.Anti-Basic;645328 said:
You should also always follow the dosage instructions given by your Dr. doubling up your prescription for a drug such as adderall is usually not a good idea.