Post by Ann on May 4, 2004 11:46:20 GMT -5
Anatomy of an Urge
www.cognitivequitting.com/AnatomyOfAnUrge.htm
Urges can be about anything. We might have an urge to eat or cry or go for a walk or avoid the boss. As smokers we turned almost every urge into an urge to smoke.
The following is how I see the anatomy of an urge:
1- Your body experiences a sensation.
As a smoker, when the nicotine level drops we begin to experience that feeling we call a nicotine fit. Or it can be the physical manifestations of anger or hunger or fatigue. Or the emotional attitude of settling in with a book and a coffee.
2-Some part of your mind "decodes" the sensation and makes the association with a cig.
As a smoker, this association would be valid as smoking a cig is the correct way to "cure" the discomfort of a lowered nicotine level. However, that part of your mind doesn't distinguish between discomforts. It associates cigs with any discomfort, ie. lowered nic level, anger, hunger, fatigue. Further, on this level these associations are usually unconscious in that these connections have been made so many times you don't need to "think" about it.
3- Your conscious mind thinks "Oh, a cig is what I "need". That will make me feel better."
This is where the mind/nico-devil games are played out. If we relate to an urge for a cig only at this last step, we've already "assumed" that a cig is the correct and proper response/association to whatever discomfort/sensation we're experiencing. Once that "assumption" has been made then, "Just one won't hurt" or "Just one and I'll feel better" sound like perfectly valid arguments.
However, if we can catch the process at the 2nd step, then we can consciously decide whether smoking would be an appropriate response.
If we decide that it isn't, then at step 3 instead of thinking "Oh, a cig is what I need", we will look for more reasonable responses.
If I'm hungry, I'll eat. If I'm fatigued, I'll rest. If I'm angry, I'll yell. If I feel terrible and have no idea why, at least I won't automatically assume that a cig will make it better.
And I won't be caught up in the nicotine mind games.
I'll be one step ahead of them
www.cognitivequitting.com/AnatomyOfAnUrge.htm
Urges can be about anything. We might have an urge to eat or cry or go for a walk or avoid the boss. As smokers we turned almost every urge into an urge to smoke.
The following is how I see the anatomy of an urge:
1- Your body experiences a sensation.
As a smoker, when the nicotine level drops we begin to experience that feeling we call a nicotine fit. Or it can be the physical manifestations of anger or hunger or fatigue. Or the emotional attitude of settling in with a book and a coffee.
2-Some part of your mind "decodes" the sensation and makes the association with a cig.
As a smoker, this association would be valid as smoking a cig is the correct way to "cure" the discomfort of a lowered nicotine level. However, that part of your mind doesn't distinguish between discomforts. It associates cigs with any discomfort, ie. lowered nic level, anger, hunger, fatigue. Further, on this level these associations are usually unconscious in that these connections have been made so many times you don't need to "think" about it.
3- Your conscious mind thinks "Oh, a cig is what I "need". That will make me feel better."
This is where the mind/nico-devil games are played out. If we relate to an urge for a cig only at this last step, we've already "assumed" that a cig is the correct and proper response/association to whatever discomfort/sensation we're experiencing. Once that "assumption" has been made then, "Just one won't hurt" or "Just one and I'll feel better" sound like perfectly valid arguments.
However, if we can catch the process at the 2nd step, then we can consciously decide whether smoking would be an appropriate response.
If we decide that it isn't, then at step 3 instead of thinking "Oh, a cig is what I need", we will look for more reasonable responses.
If I'm hungry, I'll eat. If I'm fatigued, I'll rest. If I'm angry, I'll yell. If I feel terrible and have no idea why, at least I won't automatically assume that a cig will make it better.
And I won't be caught up in the nicotine mind games.
I'll be one step ahead of them