Recognizing "Junkie Thoughts"

Even though I�ve had an addiction for thirty years, I never thought of myself as a �junkie� before. The dictionary defines the word �junkie� as follows: 1. a drug addict, esp. one addicted to heroin. 2. a person with an insatiable craving for something: a chocolate junkie. 3. an enthusiastic follower; fan; devotee: a baseball junkie. A couple of weeks ago, I probably would have agreed that my cigarette addiction made me a junkie under #2. But that was before I started having Junkie Thoughts. People don�t have Junkie Thoughts when their craving is for chocolate. People have Junkie Thoughts when their craving is for a drug. Period. The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program at the University of California concluded in a paper entitled �Neurobiological Substrates of Nicotine Addiction� that [I]�Nicotine is considered to be as addictive as other drugs of abuse such as morphine or heroin, amphetamines and alcohol.�[/I] [B]So what are some examples of Junkie Thoughts?[/B] I can only speak for my own, but I�ve already had quite a few! - Okay, so you don�t want to reset your Quit Meter � no one will have to know! - Just lie about it. It�s not like the smoke police are gonna know. - You can just have one cigarette and if anyone asks you can say �Doing good! Only one cigarette in thirteen days!� - One cigarette in that many days is still impressive. - There�s no law that says you have to quit so suddenly. - You could just cut down for a while and then quit. - See there, the average number of quit tries is seven. You�re only on number three, so it�s totally normal to slip up a couple more times. That last one was just a few minutes ago, and was what prompted this entry! I have been amazed that so many of my own Junkie Thoughts have centered around dishonesty. I�m generally pretty committed to being honest and so having such frequent temptation to LIE really hit it home for me that these ARE Junkie Thoughts! I haven�t considered stealing the family silver and selling it for a fix� yet! :) More examples of Junkie Thoughts?

Recognizing "Junkie Thoughts"

YES! "MY" thoughts have won! And each battle is short-lived because I refuse to entertain those Junkie Thoughts in my head for long. So far, my own personal best weapon of defense against them is OXYGEN. I take four or five deep breaths and the thoughts (and the craving that goes with them) pass. It was just helpful for me, to identify those thoughts I was having as being BAD (so that I would ignore them) but also as a product of my withdrawal (so that I wouldn't get so caught up in guilt over them). Protecting my Quit, Sammi [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 404 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 15

I made some cartoons & posters =D

[img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sammijofl/lastpuff.jpg[/img]

To All the Other New Years Quitters

[center][size=4]Tonight at midnight makes TWO WEEKS! [img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sammijofl/woohoo.jpg[/img] Wooohoooooo!![/size][/center] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 405 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 22 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

Had a car accident today... almost blew my quit.

The most important word of that topic title being "ALMOST!" This elderly man pulled up beside me to get out on the highway, almost like he didn't even see me there. When a break in traffic came, he went to pull out and *BOOM* hit my car! He [B]hadn't[/b] seen me there! He'd only been looking left, he never even thought to look to his right. I had to hop out of the passenger side of the Jeep because his car was smashed into the driver's door. In the moments right after the accident, I wanted to smoke SO bad. I know my husband did too (after all, the Jeep is his!). But we managed to get through it. Still smoke-free. Whew! N.O.P.E. :)

Had a car accident today... almost blew my quit.

If I can make it through that, I can make it through a day at work, huh? =D [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 415 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 14

First thought of the day

Doesn't sound crazy at all, but then, I'm right there with ya! What you wrote is EXACTLY what I've been thinking each morning, which is why I made this: [img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sammijofl/lastpuff.jpg[/img] [center] [size=4]Congratulations on two weeks tomorrow, Magic![/size] [img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sammijofl/woohoo.jpg[/img] [/center] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 419 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 38

Had a car accident today... almost blew my quit.

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I'm still just celebrating that: 1) the accident didn't cause any of us any physical harm (the elderly man was fine, as were we) and 2) we didn't give into the urge today. It really does help to give me perspective, so that one day soon I can say to myself... "If I didn't blow it that day of the accident, I'm sure not gonna mess up over something stupid like this!" LOL, I never would have imagined finding JOY in having a wreck! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 13 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 419 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $39 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 27 [B]Seconds:[/B] 56

My Smoking Buddy is Not Happy

My best friend is really having trouble with me deserting her in �our� habit. The funny thing is, she was the one that announced, back in November, �I�ve decided that I�m going to quit smoking in January.� I said, �Cool, I�ll quit with you,� and just like that, my decision was made. I talked to my husband and he agreed to quit with me also. By the time New Year�s rolled around, I knew she wasn�t actually going to quit. She wasn�t talking about it, and when it did come up, she was all, �Yeah, I�m still thinking about it� instead of her previous statements of �I�m gonna do it.� It didn�t matter to me, though, whether she quit or not. I mean, not that I don�t care whether she smokes or not because I do care, and I�d be very happy if she did eventually come around and actually follow through on her original commitment. What I mean is, the decision that *I* made to quit smoking had nothing to do with whether she quit or not � and her subsequent decision to not quit had no effect on *my* decision to go through with my own quit. Ultimately, it�s a very personal decision and we�re all in it alone, experiencing our withdrawal symptoms in an individualized manner and from within our own perspective. Even though my husband and I quit at the same time, our quit-experiences are vastly different. My cravings have decreased over twelve days, his have actually increased. My mouth is dry and my sense of smell is returning and he�s feeling sweaty and jittery and just a little bit cranky. For my friend, I think she�s feeling a combination of guilt and abandonment. This was her idea and I was the one who followed through and that makes her feel bad. Also, for the nine years that we�ve been friends, we�ve been each other�s smoking-buddy. When we were shunned and given dirty looks by judgmental non-smokers (most probably ex-smokers with that dreaded smug disease), we stuck together and coped by simply chain-smoking in joint retaliation (boy, did we show �em, huh!). It has occurred to me that my decision to change my entire lifestyle might eventually come between me and my best friend at some point in the future. I have no intention of dumping her because she still smokes, or anyone else for that matter. I know from my previous quits that being a

I made some cartoons & posters =D

[img]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y137/sammijofl/breath.jpg[/img]