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SMOBRIETY I will begin to tell you (those who are involved with non-smoking) a few things: THIS IS THE HARDEST THING YOU WILL EVER DO. IT IS LIKE BEING BORN AGAIN AND LEARNING TO LIVE AGAIN, LIKE A NEW BORN HEADING TOWARDS ADULTHOOD. This is not about will power. If it were, you would have quit a long time ago. The younger you are the more you won't believe this. It is about "willingness". There is a tremendous amount of beauty attached to the "giving up" and surrender to the fact that you are pretty helpless around this subject; you have had the addiction reinforced on every level of your existence, so it is an integral part of you. Once you surrender, there is a huge burden off of you. The burden is lifted in many other ways: naps-take plenty of them. Your chemistry and everything else is being readjusted and you need to cool it as much as possible. Less thought, more naps sunflower seeds-eat plenty of them. They do a good job of replacing a lot of the oral and other sensations related to smoking. Truck drivers use them to stay awake...the same way we used cigarettes. Don't plan on the trials and pains and agony of the quitting process going away for anywhere sooner than 3 to 3 1/2 months. It is a myth that the craziness goes away sooner. Trust me, though, your life will take on a whole new turn towards something really good and sweet starting after that time. Learn about the 12 steps. They are tools that are critical for the reshaping of the person. It is like making/baking a cake. You need to put in the right ingredients and the 12 steps make the cake real goood. Try not to let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. That is what we call H.A.L.T. Do something about these things, really. Try to remember those really low points that have led you to want to quit: It is critical to remember how bad it got. We forget so very easily about this. -bad breath and bad love making due to that -bad smelling cars -bad looks from so many other people -lots of money spent -lonely moments grabbing a smoke when others are having fun or there is so much to do -near accidents related to smoking -trouble with "the law" -dizziness and fainting -coughing and sore throats -poor health in general -soo many other things....just think back The best drug is sobriety and the best high for smokers is Air, oxygen, O2. Air is our higher power in so many ways. Without it, we are nothing. Deep breaths are great tobacco substitutes. Cigarettes are anti depressive drugs and they are a major drug on many levels. They are "Powerful Medicine". A little goes a long way (and we gave up our ability to have a little). Just try to eat some tobacco if you want to see what we are dealing with. We can not use this medicine any more to take care of ourselves! I always tell people, "You can't quit, I know you can't" I believe that that is true, but like in AA we can deal with this one moment and one day at a time. If we stay in the moment, all things seem ok, in my experience. If we are too involved with the past or the future we get angry or anxious, but the present moment is usually just the way it should be. The main thing that we are doing is learning to be good to ourselves in the moment, to gain more and more self awareness and to be more and more able to respond to our world. So it is about love and responsibility. I know how "hard" it is and the pull that we feel to fly on a magic carpet of smoke, but that smoke is a veil and a cloud between you and life and love So much for my "Advice-giving" gene. Love Thor ps ...and don't forget to exercise. You have this body that love to move and breathe.
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