You said it, Phillip- that one hit me particularly hard too [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 41 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,668 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $369 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3

I got this from another site and thought it would be nice to share: JUNKIE THINKING: "One Puff won't hurt" RESPONSE: "One puff will always hurt me, and it always will because I'm not a social smoker. One puff and I'll be smoking compulsively again." JUNKIE THINKING: "I only want one." RESPONSE: "I have never wanted only one. In fact, I want 20-30 a day every day. I want them all." JUNKIE THINKING: "I'll just be a social smoker." RESPONSE: "I'm a chronic, compulsive smoker, and once I smoke one I'll quickly be thinking about the next one. Social smokers can take it or leave it. That's not me." JUNKIE THINKING: "I'm doing so well, one won't hurt me now." RESPONSE: "The only reason I'm doing so well is because I haven't taken the first one. Yet once I do, I won't be doing well anymore. I'll be smoking again." JUNKIE THINKING: "I'll just stop again." RESPONSE: "Sounds easy, but who am I trying to kid? Look how long it too me to stop this time. And once I start, how long will it take before I get sick enough to face withdrawal again? In fact, when I'm back in the grip of compulsion, what guarantee do I have that I'll ever be able to stop again?" JUNKIE THINKING: "If I slip, I'll keep trying." RESPONSE: "If I think I can get away with one little "slip" now I'll think I can get away with another little "slip" later on." JUNKIE THINKING: "I need one to get me through this withdrawal." RESPONSE: "Smoking will not get me through the discomfort of not smoking. It will only get me back to smoking. One puff stops the process of withdrawal and I'll have to go through it all over again." JUNKIE THINKING: "I miss smoking right now." RESPONSE: "Of course I miss something I've been doing every day for most of my life. But do I miss the chest pain right now? Do I miss the worry, the embarrassment? I'd rather be an ex-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to stop doing it." JUNKIE THINKING: "I really need to smoke now, I'm so upset." RESPONSE: "Smoking is not going to fix anything. I'll still be upset, I'll just be an upset smoker. I never have to have a cigarette. Smoking is not a need; it's a want. Once the crisis is over, I'll be relieved and grateful I'm still not smoking." JUNKIE THINKING: "I don't care." RESPONSE: "What is it exactly that I think that I don't care about? Can I truthfully say I don't care about chest pain? I don't care about gagging in the morning? I don't care about lung cancer? No, I care about these things very much. That's why I stopped smoking in the first place." JUNKIE THINKING: "What difference does it make, anyway?" RESPONSE: "It makes a difference in the way I breathe, the way my heart beats, the way I feel about myself. It makes a tremendous difference in every aspect of my physical and emotional health." (Excerpted from Patricia Allison's book "Hooked But Not Helpless")

Here's another interesting post I found. Talk about facing your fear: All my life I was conditioned to either stand and fight or turn and run when faced with challenge. If you�re a newbie, then chances are there is another habit trigger waiting around the corner that will soon generate a short yet powerful anxiety attack that we call a crave. The habit trigger could be an emotion, time, event or place where, or during which, you used to suck warm nicotine laden air into crying lungs in order to replenish your blood�s rapidly falling nicotine level. The good news is that most habit triggers are reconditioned and discarded by our subconscious mind with just a single encounter. The good news is that the triggered crave will only last a few minutes. The good news is that the anxiety power of our crave generator is fizzling fast, and with each encountered crave there is one less trigger to recondition. The good news is that the reward of total and complete comfort is just down the road. The bad news is that if you�re a newbie then there is probably another crave just around the corner. But is it bad? So what approach do you use? Do you duck or run when you sense one coming or do you turn and fight? Is your game plan working to your satisfaction? Our objective here is simple - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF, but our natural instincts on how best to achieve our objective may not be the easiest path to travel. Can we hide from our craves or will they find us anyway? Can we runaway from them or will they catch us? It�s the same with going toe to toe in battle, isn�t it? Can we beat-up our craves and make them surrender or cry "uncle"? Can we scare them away? I think not. Encountering all of our triggers and craves is a very necessary part of recovering and normalizing every aspect of our daily lives. It�s true healing! Tobacco�s deadly cargo is clearly a killer but what about our craves? Can a crave that lasts a couple of minutes kill you? Will it cut you, make you bleed, or send you to the emergency room? Can it physically harm you? If not, then why do you fear it so? How much of the anxiety associated with your quit is self induced? Why are you agonizing over the anticipated arrival of your next crave? When it finally arrives will you immediately begin feeding your mind additional anxieties that only fuel the fire? The anxiety of a crave for nicotine is very real and it�s ok to reach out and feel it but most of you have never done so. Not once! Instead, what you feel is a tremendously inflated experience driven by fear, fueled by anticipation, and tense due to a history of prior relapse. Just once, stop running, drop your guard, take slow deep deliberate breaths and then reach out to TOUCH your crave. It won�t injure you! It�s ok to be afraid but be brave for just one moment! Wrap your arms around your crave. Clear your mind for just one moment so that you can feel the true anxiety of your healing. Make sure that you feel your tummy rising as you take slow deep deliberate breaths into the bottom of both lungs. Clear your mind of all chatter, worries, fears and thoughts so that you can sense and appreciate exactly what this crave is like. Touch it, hug it, feel it, sense it! You won�t make the anxiety one bit more intense than it otherwise would have been. You�re witnessing part of the most beautiful healing that your body and life may ever experience. Yes, there is anxiety there but for the very first time it�s not being fed and fueled by you. Feel it�s strength slowing begin decaying. Take pride in your healing. It can�t hurt you, only you can do that! Enjoy your recovery don�t fear it! Embrace your craves! Enjoy your journey home! There is a very special person waiting at the other end! Phew- very tough to do, but I can see the benefit of doing so. Anyway- not for everyone. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 52 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,098 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $468 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 53 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Phillip- Glad you liked it. I tried it a couple of times today and it is very hard to do, (I think) and taxing. I just let myself sink into the crave and let it wash over me and through me, feeling every little pang of desire and longing..not dissimilar to the loss of a loved one. Certainly not something I would try while driving or in someone's company!! The benefit of embracing the ENTIRE process versus trying to seperate and bury the crave part is quite a concept and I can see the psychology behind it. It takes a lot of energy to do either (bury or embrace). Maybe it takes practice. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 52 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,118 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $468 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 19

Bump :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 95 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,916 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $712.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 39 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

Great stuff Rob47 Particular appeal to me. [quote] I'd rather be an ex-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to stop doing it. [/quote] Thanx Phillip :eg: [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 42 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 854 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $315 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 8 [B]Seconds:[/B] 8

Rob47 I really like this latest addition. What is inside the crave. Get inside it and find out what it is all about. MMMMMMMMM Very Gestalt! I liked: [quote] The anxiety of a crave for nicotine is very real and it?s ok to reach out and feel it but most of you have never done so. Not once! Instead, what you feel is a tremendously inflated experience driven by fear, fueled by anticipation, and tense due to a history of prior relapse. Just once, stop running, drop your guard, take slow deep deliberate breaths and then reach out to TOUCH your crave. It won?t injure you! It?s ok to be afraid but be brave for just one moment! Wrap your arms around your crave. Clear your mind for just one moment so that you can feel the true anxiety of your healing. Make sure that you feel your tummy rising as you take slow deep deliberate breaths into the bottom of both lungs. Clear your mind of all chatter, worries, fears and thoughts so that you can sense and appreciate exactly what this crave is like. [/quote] Stop running. Get inside what is going on inside of me, of us, of those that crave. MMMMMMMMM Very wise and needs strength! Way to go Rob47. Congratulations on your 52 days and that 50 foot transport trailer that you have not smoked. You are doing great. Thanks for posting! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 53 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,078 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $397.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 0 [B]Seconds:[/B] 53

Rob47 I think it takes practice and I think more so it takes our trust. Trust that we will not give into the crave, trust that we will find what is under the crave and do something different be able to feed, nurture, love care (could be all sorts of stuff and itis all about feeding) for ourselves in a radically new and different way. Trust that we can actually be strong, be the choice maker and the dealmaker. I know for me I get into a very dicey tertitory if I go to trusting myself too much. BUT it is little steps, little ways of testing and finding the new way, the new pattern to replace the old. Thanks Phillip [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/17/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 53 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,079 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $397.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 11 [B]Seconds:[/B] 4

Sheller... I think there is a secret junkie school out there.. This one is so ridiculous that it has to come from a junkie.. [color=Orange]JUNKIE THINKING: "I need one to get me through this withdrawal."[/color] How can you withdrawal if you keep smoking ? .. no sense there at all. and... [color=Orange]JUNKIE THINKING: "I only want one." RESPONSE: "I have never wanted only one. In fact, I want 20-30 a day every day. I want them all."[/color] I remember being happy to have a carton of cigarettes and wished I had all of them in the store. I also remember going out late to buy cigarettes and returning home, going to bed and foregetting to smoke one.. just needed them in my possession I guess. :quest: Addiction certainly does cloud our ability to think reasonably. Good post !! Christine [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 58 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,474 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $203 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 49 [B]Seconds:[/B] 39

Been There and Done That. I hate to say how many of those statements I can relate to. Thanks for the great post (and reminder)! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/22/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 12 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 250 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $42 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 50 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9