There's been quite a bit of "slipping" going on lately, so I'm re-posting some excerpts from my 6 month ramble about what really happens when you "slip." Some might think that one or two here or there is OK, but that's a VERY slippery slope and often leads to relapse. Please don't!
I think some people don�t understand why coming back from a slip is any harder than starting a quit - but it is! Many people think that "just one" is an innocent occurrence. That is probably the nicodemon�s most dangerous lie! "Just one" makes you want "just one more" and "just one carton" and so on.
Imagine you have a screaming child and you give that child what she wants... you are reinforcing the screaming and she knows that all she has to do is scream and throw a fit to get her way. This is what happens to the addicted smoker. Everytime the "child" screams, we gave it what it wanted to shut it up. But if you stop giving her what she wants when she screams, yes, she will scream more for a while, but she will eventually quit acting out as often because it�s not working. This is basically what happens when we quit. BUT, let�s say after a few days or weeks or months of not giving her what she wants, that child screams... not as loudly as she once did, but she screams anyway... and this time, you give into her. You have just ignited a "spontaneous recovery" in which the child has now learned that all it takes is a little more screaming to make you give in. Then, the child will start all over again with the screaming more and more and you�ve started the whole process all over again! Not only that, but you�ve also set a precedent for it, for both her AND you, and it will be MUCH harder to say no the next time. THAT�S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SMOKE!!! Your brain is that screaming child and it acts the SAME way! Except, we�re not dealing with a little, innocent child here... we�re dealing with one of the most addictive drugs there is and smoking it can KILL you!!! Giving in to a screaming child might mean a few more headaches... giving in to this addiction can cost you YOUR LIFE!!!
If you smoke, you literally have to start over from the very beginning. Except now, you�re not pumped and excited over your new quit! Your momentum is shot, which can be downright devastating for some. Your determination and desire aren�t as high as they were when you first quit. That sense of pride that you felt for your quit is gone. You feel guilty, ashamed and angry with yourself. You�re not rejoicing in your newfound freedom and getting excited every time you realize a new benefit of quitting! You�re exhausted because you�ve been fighting for so long! You�re not a newbie at the SSC who is making new friends and learning new things! You�re beat emotionally and are in total despair! You have to go through a mini hell week... or for some, a full-blown hell week all over again because of intensified cravings due to the nicotine and all of the other harmful chemicals that are back in your system! You start to think that maybe this quitting thing just isn�t for you. The junkie convinces you that you�re just wasting your time and energy.
Whatever it was that caused you to smoke is still going to be a trigger that you haven�t mastered yet. Not only that, but now it�s going to be an even more difficult trigger to get through because you�ve set a precedent for smoking, so abstaining from it the next time will be much harder! You haven�t strengthened your coping mechanisms by smoking... in fact, you�ve weakened them and will have to start all over again building them back up. You�re not getting all of the praise and support that you got in the beginning because instead of just starting your quit, you just blew your quit and people in your life may be thinking, "I KNEW this wouldn�t last!" Or "Oh great! All that money we wasted on NRTs was for nothing!" Or "YIPPEE! My smoking partner is back!" And that can drag you down mentally and emotionally and make recovering so much harder! Instead of being motivated and determined, you�re tired, mad at yourself and starting to feel a little bit hopeless... and where did you turn when you felt this way before? To the cigarette... your old "friend" who is just waiting for you to pick it back up again so it can slowly kill you and steal your money! And all too often, that�s where the person turns and is right back in their addiction.
Can you see why recovering from a slip is so difficult?!?!? Yes, it IS possible, but it�s NOT easy! Please, if you haven�t made that mistake yet, don�t! The story I described above does NOT have to be yours!
Crave the Quit!
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 712
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 17,800
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,940.56
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 50 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34
