Post by judyb on Jul 16, 2011 7:36:34 GMT -5
Even though we hang out here and many times bare our souls to the world,
quitting smoking is really a personal thing. We tell our stories and spill our guts to
cyber pals because we know there is an understanding of our troubles. We speak
of our dilemmas because we know we'll receive support from fellow quitters. We’re
also able to compare notes and take advantage of ideas and methods used to
keep the beast at bay. We're able to ask questions about the process of
withdrawal and the changes our body experiences during detox. The positive
aspects of support groups are endless. Though it's a personal thing, we log on and
talk about it.
We express our personal thoughts and emotions by telling one another ‘it will get
better’. We encourage one another by reinforcing the benefits of being smokeless.
We remind ourselves continuously that we’ll feel better, look better, smell better
by tossing the cigarettes aside. Of course all these things are true, common sense
tells us that. We don’t really learn these things on the internet, it isn’t as though
this is all news. Many of us enjoy successful quits because of the support and
morale boosting conversation we receive here.
Though there are never enough, we have a number of quitters at Just4U. Many of
us watch our meters click into some rather impressive stats. We watch the days
and weeks pile up and the amount of cigarettes not smoked turn into 4 and 5 digit
numbers. ‘Many’ of us are successful and ‘most’ of us are able to maintain our
quits. However, we still aren’t able to say ‘all’ of us are successful and we don’t
talk about how 100 per cent of us continue with our quits. What about the ‘few’
who don’t make it or the ‘some’ who stumble and fall. There must be a way to
scoop them up and help them, carry them, do whatever it takes to get them over
the hump. If only there was a way to do it. But there isn’t. We coax, we prod, we
encourage, we urge, we post and do what we can. But.....You have to do this on
your own. You have to somehow gain control.
We all know that taking control of our actions isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
Sometimes the brain just doesn’t connect with the motor. The hands and feet
work independent of the mind. We somehow lose the connection. It’s as if another
force commands us to buy cigarettes. We are nothing more than robots
maneuvered by some remote control. Does all this sound farfetched? Not at all.
Ask anyone how they wound up at the store to buy cigarettes. They didn’t want
to be there. They really didn’t want to reestablish an addiction. They didn’t really
want to commit themselves to slavery. We call this ‘operator’ the nico-beast, the
nico demon because he is a beast and he is a demon. He’s in all of us. Like it our
not, he resides in our minds, in our spirit and in our soul. He’s capable of causing
us to do all kinds of terrible things; including killing ourselves one puff at a time.
How do we rid ourselves of this monster? If I knew, I’d package it and sell it and
make the world a better place. Of course there is no such remedy. All we can do is
try our best to help ourselves and one another. To all the folks who continue to
struggle with their quits and to those who are finding it difficult to find a life
without smoking, please don’t give up. Don’t quit quitting. If you do stumble a bit,
reach out. We’ll catch you and help dust you off and give you a push to get you
started again. That’s why we are here.
quitting smoking is really a personal thing. We tell our stories and spill our guts to
cyber pals because we know there is an understanding of our troubles. We speak
of our dilemmas because we know we'll receive support from fellow quitters. We’re
also able to compare notes and take advantage of ideas and methods used to
keep the beast at bay. We're able to ask questions about the process of
withdrawal and the changes our body experiences during detox. The positive
aspects of support groups are endless. Though it's a personal thing, we log on and
talk about it.
We express our personal thoughts and emotions by telling one another ‘it will get
better’. We encourage one another by reinforcing the benefits of being smokeless.
We remind ourselves continuously that we’ll feel better, look better, smell better
by tossing the cigarettes aside. Of course all these things are true, common sense
tells us that. We don’t really learn these things on the internet, it isn’t as though
this is all news. Many of us enjoy successful quits because of the support and
morale boosting conversation we receive here.
Though there are never enough, we have a number of quitters at Just4U. Many of
us watch our meters click into some rather impressive stats. We watch the days
and weeks pile up and the amount of cigarettes not smoked turn into 4 and 5 digit
numbers. ‘Many’ of us are successful and ‘most’ of us are able to maintain our
quits. However, we still aren’t able to say ‘all’ of us are successful and we don’t
talk about how 100 per cent of us continue with our quits. What about the ‘few’
who don’t make it or the ‘some’ who stumble and fall. There must be a way to
scoop them up and help them, carry them, do whatever it takes to get them over
the hump. If only there was a way to do it. But there isn’t. We coax, we prod, we
encourage, we urge, we post and do what we can. But.....You have to do this on
your own. You have to somehow gain control.
We all know that taking control of our actions isn’t always as easy as it sounds.
Sometimes the brain just doesn’t connect with the motor. The hands and feet
work independent of the mind. We somehow lose the connection. It’s as if another
force commands us to buy cigarettes. We are nothing more than robots
maneuvered by some remote control. Does all this sound farfetched? Not at all.
Ask anyone how they wound up at the store to buy cigarettes. They didn’t want
to be there. They really didn’t want to reestablish an addiction. They didn’t really
want to commit themselves to slavery. We call this ‘operator’ the nico-beast, the
nico demon because he is a beast and he is a demon. He’s in all of us. Like it our
not, he resides in our minds, in our spirit and in our soul. He’s capable of causing
us to do all kinds of terrible things; including killing ourselves one puff at a time.
How do we rid ourselves of this monster? If I knew, I’d package it and sell it and
make the world a better place. Of course there is no such remedy. All we can do is
try our best to help ourselves and one another. To all the folks who continue to
struggle with their quits and to those who are finding it difficult to find a life
without smoking, please don’t give up. Don’t quit quitting. If you do stumble a bit,
reach out. We’ll catch you and help dust you off and give you a push to get you
started again. That’s why we are here.
