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Apr 4 03 2:00 AM
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Jan 31 01 8:11 PM
As teenagers, what most of us thought would be a brief rebellious experiment was quickly transformed into a powerful lifelong chemical addiction as regular nicotine feedings soon became mandatory. New studies confirm that for some it only took a couple of nicotine laden cigarettes before the shackles of slavery started to close.
What seemed like innocent stealing of a little more of our brain's primary reward neuro-chemical soon resulted in dopamine pathway de-sensitization and up-regulation. Two, five, eight nicotine fixes a day. When will enough be enough? "Tomorrow, tomorrow" or "I love being addicted" became our lifetime cry! Welcome to the realities of true chemical dependency. A world built upon lies.
Science calls our lies denial. Denial is an unconscious defense mechanism - just below the surface - for resolving the emotional conflict and anxieties that naturally arise from living in a permanent state of self-destructive chemical bondage. Three primary areas of denial relied upon by nicotine addicts are dependency denial, cost denial and recovery denial. Truth is sacrificed for peace of mind, to remain hostage in an artificial world of "nicotine normal," or to justify relapse.
Most nicotine addicts we'll see today are fully insulated by a thick blanket of unconscious denial rationalizations, minimizations, fault projections, escapes, intellectualizations and delusions that hide the pain of captivity or create the illusion that the problem is somehow being solved.
The average addict musters the confidence to seriously challenge their addiction about once every 2.5 years. It's then that roughly 1 in 20 will succeed in breaking free for an entire year. These horrible recovery statistics eventually result in half of us dying by our own hand, with male smokers losing an average of 13 years of life expectancy, while females lose 14. Our intentional self-destruction is undeniable evidence of dependency denial's depth. It insulates us from the extreme price being paid with each and every puff - a little more of life itself.
Welcome to WhyQuit, we've been waiting on you! Aside from this article, we've put together an array of quality tools capable of dramatically increasing your odds of long-term successful recovery. They include mind-expanding motivational pages, the Net's largest collection of original quitting articles, quitting tip lists, two free quitting e-books ("Never Take Another Puff" and "Freedom from Nicotine - The Journey Home"), 64 video and audio lessons, and highly focused group support.
According to the World Health Organization the next three years will cost 15 million of our brother and sister addicts their lives. Once residing here on Easy Street with us, we hope you'll share what you've learned as failure to either self-discover or be taught the "Law of Addiction" is a horrible reason to die.
Taking back control, restoring self-respect and self-confidence, being truly honest and feeling totally free, so fresh and new, clean and proud, smelling oh so sweet, while healing and growing healthier day by day, the real you is just dying to come home. Is it time to end the suicide march or were you born to die an addict's death? It's your birthright to be free. Isn't it time you claimed it? Isn't it time to meet the "real" you again? The key to your cell and to trading places, by placing your dependency under arrest, is in understanding the core principles of dependency, withdrawal and recovery, while following just one simple rule - never use nicotine in any form again - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF, DIP OR CHEW! Breathe deep, hug hard, live long, John
Taking back control, restoring self-respect and self-confidence, being truly honest and feeling totally free, so fresh and new, clean and proud, smelling oh so sweet, while healing and growing healthier day by day, the real you is just dying to come home. Is it time to end the suicide march or were you born to die an addict's death? It's your birthright to be free. Isn't it time you claimed it? Isn't it time to meet the "real" you again? The key to your cell and to trading places, by placing your dependency under arrest, is in understanding the core principles of dependency, withdrawal and recovery, while following just one simple rule - never use nicotine in any form again - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF, DIP OR CHEW!
Apr 4 03 3:14 AM
Apr 4 03 4:06 AM
Jun 11 03 8:24 PM
Jun 16 03 2:59 PM
Once again it is important to reiterate:
There is no Nicodemon
Jun 20 03 9:42 AM
Jun 20 03 7:43 PM
Glad you found it helpful, Mercie but I think if you looked back through Freedom's older Nicodemon threads you'd find that many of the suggestions came from input by members, who I'm sure would be wearing warm smiles now if they only knew that they had been able to help you in the wee hours ; ) Many of the above reasons and much of our own junkie thinking have their foundation in the fact that every two hours the amount of nicotine remaining in the human body is cut by about half. They call it nicotine's half-life and regardless of where we were or what activity we were engaged in, when nicotine feeding time arrived, it was time to feed that endless need. If we were alone and a bit bored (in the wee hours) when feeding time arrived then we sold ourself on the belief that we liked smoking to relieve our boredom. If we were talking on the phone at feeding time then we convinced ourselves that it was something we like to do while communicating. If we elevated our sagging blood serum nicotine level by smoking in the bathroom, yard, car, during work, play, in the garage, after meals or even after romance, then it was easly to sell ourselves on believing that smoking nicotine went well with these activities or locations, when in truth it all boiled down to the fact that every 20 to 30 minutes a reminder urge would come calling, and our only alternative was the prospect of facing early chemical withdrawal. Mercie, the only way to make your sensors so that they are no longer fidgety for nicotine is to continue this amazing temporary journey of re-adjustment to the point where engaging life as "you" begins to bring with it longer and deeper periods of freedom from want. It's the comfort periods deepen with time and the health rewards along the way are freedom's amazing bonus! Unless consciously fixating on a thought of smoking, the next crave trigger challenge will last only a few minutes, Mercie, and be entirely doable! Be sure and look at a clock as time distortion during recovery is very real. Also be sure and keep your memories of what it was like living life as chemical slave vivid, alive and in the forefront of your mind, as the dreams flowing from those simple truths are the wind beneath your wings. We're here if you need us and there will always be just one rule - no nicotine today, NTAP! Breathe deep, hug hard, live long. John
Jun 22 03 10:31 PM
Aug 8 03 2:14 AM
Sep 19 03 3:18 PM
Sep 19 03 3:27 PM
You are welcome TD. I found a piece I wrote back in February that further elaborates on the concept. Hope you find it helpful.
Joel
Earlier today I referred to the use of the term "Nicodemon." My comment was that when I see terms like "Nicodemon," or "Hellweek," or "Nicomonster," I generally assume that the person writing has been on other sites and have picked up lots of cute terms and conventional wisdoms about quitting smoking. This concept always makes me nervous though, for somehow many people have trouble separating fact from fiction in things that they read elsewhere.
Nicodemon seems to give the impression of an evil persona associated with the chemical nicotine. Nicotine is no more evil than arsenic or carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide--all chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Although nicotine is unique among the thousands of other chemicals that comprise tobacco smoke because it is the addictive chemical in tobacco.
Even so, the idea that nicotine is somehow calling to a smoker who is off smoking for weeks or months is quite inaccurate. It is the person himself or herself whose own mind is creating the desire from triggers that he or she is experiencing. Those triggers are also not evil, they are just life events being experienced for the first time.
I think the problems I have with the terms is they make nicotine seem to have more power than it actually does. The personification given to it can make an individual feel that nicotine has the potential of tricking him or her into smoking. An inanimate object such as a chemical has no such power. As John has said often nicotine has an IQ of zero. People do not overcome the grip of chemical addictions by being stronger than the drug but rather by being smarter than the drug.
Lets not give nicotine more credit than it is due. Lets not make it some cute and cuddly or evil and plotting entity--it is a chemical that alters brain chemistry. It is no different than heroin, cocaine or alcohol. These drugs don't have cute names given to them either and giving them to nicotine can start to make it seem different than these other substance--more trivial or less serious in a way. Nicotine is not more trivial than other drugs of addiction and in fact kills more people than all other drugs of addiction combined.
I think the only place where I think I have ever appreciated the term "Nicodemon" is in this one string. Because in this one post the lies that people make up in order to secure their continued use of a deadly drug are all dispelled in one quick swoop. It has a short, simple and catchy title that seems to fit the logic used in this piece very well--Nicodemon Lies. But anyone reading this whole article and the associated links quickly will realize that these are not the lies of a demon, these are the lies made up by an addict rationalizing, legitimizing, defending and protecting his or her drug use. They are the lies that people make up and tell themselves to defend the otherwise un-defendable.
People cannot rationalize the reason that they smoke with truths; they can only do it with lies. More important for people here though is that a person cannot secure his or her quit by telling himself or herself lies either, but he or she can secure his or her quit by telling himself or herself the truth. The truth is that the only way to keep yourself smoke free is to simply accept the truth that to stay smoke free you must never take another puff!
Feb 23 04 7:02 PM
Mar 2 04 11:45 PM
Apr 15 04 10:16 PM
May 8 04 5:49 PM
"It's something to do with my hands - So is playing with a loaded gun and they both have the same potential for harm. If you really need something for your hands, try doodling with a pen, playing with coins, squeezing a ball or using strength grippers. You might get ink on yourself, rich or strong wrists, but at least you won't be destroying your body and substantially shortening your life. "
Mar 10 06 2:00 PM
Mar 24 06 6:07 PM
I'll cut down or quit and smoke just one now and then - You are addicted to a substance that is five times as addictive as cocaine. You may be strong enough to cut back a bit but you'll remain addicted, the decay will continue and a recent study indicates that your health risks will remain unchanged. If you were a pack-a-day nicotine smoker and after quitting you decide to smoke just one cigarette, you might as well get ready to smoke the other 7,300 for the year too as full and complete relapse is virtually assured. The Law of Nicotine Addiction is simple - one puff of new nicotine and it's over! Your addiction has permanently transformed your brain into a highly efficient nicotine processing machine. It may take a few cigarettes or even a few packs before you're back to your old level of intake or higher, but just one puff of nicotne awakens and revives thousands of feeding memories and re-establishes at least one nicotine feeding cue.
Apr 11 06 2:50 AM
Jul 19 06 6:13 AM
# 21 - It's too late now to heal these lungs -
Nonsense! If you have not yet caused permanent lung damage you should expect to experience an almost one-third increase in overall lung function within just 90 days of quitting! It's amazing how much damaged lungs can repair themselves unless disease or cancer have already arrived. Even with emphysema, although destroyed air sacks will never again function, quitting now will immediately halt the needless destruction of additional tissues! You only have two options - decay or heal. Which cigarette in which pack will carry the spark that gives birth to that first cancerous cell?
Aug 29 06 12:23 PM
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