Post by judyb on Sept 16, 2004 10:53:56 GMT -5
From time to time, people who have just quit complain of depression.
They cry, they feel alone and rejected and so often they have no idea to
it's cause. After all, all that they have done is to stop smoking
cigarettes. To understand this, you have to get a proper perspective on
just what has changed in your life since you quit smoking. First of all,
there are the chemicals that are suddenly absent from your body. Lots
and lots of different chemicals, not just nicotine. For years, these
hundreds of chemicals were a part of what and who you were, and now
they're missing. Your brain has learned to operate with these chemicals
in its system and now without them, it's trying to adjust . And then
there is nicotine, one of the most addictive chemicals around. If you
are going Cold Turkey, your brain is having one humungous charley horse
without it's favorite recreational drug. Those who have gone Cold
Turkey can attest that cerebral charley horses are no fun. If you are
using the patch, is your brain getting like it used to, in constant
series of big jolts of the stuff. Nope, now it's just a slow and steady
drip of the drug. It's almost as if the ebb and flow of the oceans
tides had suddenly stopped and the waters of the seas rolled no more.
Enough of the chemicals, what else is there that's missing. You've lost
your best friend. What did you always share those special private
moments with. A cigarette of course. When you were mulling over a
problem, who was pondering right along with you.... you guessed it, your
cigarette. When you finished a job, what did you have a "Job Well Done"
Celebration with? Your cigarette.
You've lost your lover and your comforter. When things were rough, who
did you turn to. When your heart was heavy and the world was filled
with heavy sighs, who gave you a bit of warmth and comfort. When you
watched the wonder of a perfect sunset, who shared it with you. In all
of these, it was your cigarette, your trusty and ever constant
companion.
So don't minimize what is missing in your life. By quitting smoking,
you have made a huge change in your body chemistry and your lifestyle.
By no means am I trying to glamorize the cigarette, but to show just
what has changed in your life. As with any change, we adjust to it. It
takes time, effort and quite often, a lot of tears. As time goes on,
you will start to look at cigarettes with different eyes; eyes that
aren't clouded with smoke and nicotine addiction and come to realize
that cigarettes really aren't your friend and lover, but more of a leech
that had clamped onto you and was sucking your life slowly away.
bob c - as3 - 4/1999
They cry, they feel alone and rejected and so often they have no idea to
it's cause. After all, all that they have done is to stop smoking
cigarettes. To understand this, you have to get a proper perspective on
just what has changed in your life since you quit smoking. First of all,
there are the chemicals that are suddenly absent from your body. Lots
and lots of different chemicals, not just nicotine. For years, these
hundreds of chemicals were a part of what and who you were, and now
they're missing. Your brain has learned to operate with these chemicals
in its system and now without them, it's trying to adjust . And then
there is nicotine, one of the most addictive chemicals around. If you
are going Cold Turkey, your brain is having one humungous charley horse
without it's favorite recreational drug. Those who have gone Cold
Turkey can attest that cerebral charley horses are no fun. If you are
using the patch, is your brain getting like it used to, in constant
series of big jolts of the stuff. Nope, now it's just a slow and steady
drip of the drug. It's almost as if the ebb and flow of the oceans
tides had suddenly stopped and the waters of the seas rolled no more.
Enough of the chemicals, what else is there that's missing. You've lost
your best friend. What did you always share those special private
moments with. A cigarette of course. When you were mulling over a
problem, who was pondering right along with you.... you guessed it, your
cigarette. When you finished a job, what did you have a "Job Well Done"
Celebration with? Your cigarette.
You've lost your lover and your comforter. When things were rough, who
did you turn to. When your heart was heavy and the world was filled
with heavy sighs, who gave you a bit of warmth and comfort. When you
watched the wonder of a perfect sunset, who shared it with you. In all
of these, it was your cigarette, your trusty and ever constant
companion.
So don't minimize what is missing in your life. By quitting smoking,
you have made a huge change in your body chemistry and your lifestyle.
By no means am I trying to glamorize the cigarette, but to show just
what has changed in your life. As with any change, we adjust to it. It
takes time, effort and quite often, a lot of tears. As time goes on,
you will start to look at cigarettes with different eyes; eyes that
aren't clouded with smoke and nicotine addiction and come to realize
that cigarettes really aren't your friend and lover, but more of a leech
that had clamped onto you and was sucking your life slowly away.
bob c - as3 - 4/1999
