I suppose that sounds like a rather obviouse question. To withdraw means to put distance between you and that from which you wish to depart. In our case it describes the states through which we pass as we put distance between us and cigarettes. However, I believe that there is another meaning for the term which applies to addiction in general.
To me, my addiction is a physical manifestation of my internal condition. It is in essense a form of acting out that is tied to the drama that rises and falls within me as sure as the sea dances with the moon.
Most of us know that we smoked when our internal alarm screamed, fear, lonliness, boredom, anger, resentment or any number of other states of being. And if you think about it, the primary reaction to any of these states is to seek a defensive position. It is to withdraw within. "I want to protect myself from these uncomfortable feelings". "I hurt". I seek a mental fetal position. In short I withdraw inside myself in order to, convince myself that I am safe from the onslaught of yet another emotional body blow. (tough business this being a human).
In the case of our shared addition, what we are seeking is to withdraw within ourselves by getting a nicotine buzz. In that way we are not really dealing with the issue at hand, but instead rocking ourselves into an emotional sleep to the strains of the nicotine waltz.
That is why we must always be aware of ourselves when the world rocks our boat and sets us up for yet another ride on the emotive roller coaster. We must always remember that difficult emotions such as resentment, and anger are the paving stones on the road to addiction. There are times for internal contemplation, that is different from withdrawing. But we must not always seek to withdraw, we must instead overcome these states by expanding our individuality into the world. We are who we are, we need not be ashamed of what we feel...
nonic
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]12/25/2006
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 416
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 12,480
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $4,368.00
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 77 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18
-
Quit Meter
$70,224.00
Amount Saved
-
Quit Meter
Days: 1448
Hours: 23
Minutes: 56
Seconds: 58
Life Gained
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Quit Meter
6688
Smoke Free Days
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Quit Meter
200,640
Cigarettes Not Smoked
