Halloween Brews

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pittzburghkid	Halloween Brews		Lead	[-]
10/27/09 11:06	Tags : None I have been completely clean for a week now. I have a few social events that I cannot not attend Halloween weekend. I am worried that I will lie to my self that I can have a few while I smoke and drink like a few of my friends are able to do. Encouragement or advice appreciated.
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LadyQuig		#1	[url]	[-]
10/28/09 01:38	Not A Puff Ever. I broke that rule during many quits, for years and years, Pittzburghkid. Thought I could just have one to get me through a tough time. I am living proof of what happens .... I sure enjoyed that one (as I hacked & coughed my way through it).... and the hundreds upon hundreds of others that followed, fully bound by the addiction again after that first puff. Good reading: http://ffn.yuku.com/topic/197 You have a whole week in now- completely clean! I guarantee that you don't want to go through THAT again, right? Almost certainly, you will not have just a few..... and it will be quite a long time before you gather up the energy and desire to try for another quit.... I say, DON'T DO IT. Open this website and read, read, read- saturate your mind with all the education here and I promise you- you'll get through another week and it will be more comfortable than the first week was. Give it a try, you'll see!!! Three weeks, five days, 6 hours, 6 minutes and 50 seconds. 787 cigarettes not smoked, saving $231.17. Life saved: 2 days, 17 hours, 35 minutes. Cathy Last Edited By: LadyQuig 10/28/09 01:43. Edited 2 times.
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Joe J free	Trust in yourself	#2	[url]	[-]
10/28/09 07:26	Welcome to YOUR Freedom from nicotine Pittsburghkid. The only person who can decide to again allow nicotine into your bloodstream and brain is you. Millions of ex-smokers successfully go on with their daily activities after deciding nicotine no longer has a place in truly living life. You can do anything - and I mean anything - as an ex-smoker who is recovering from nicotine dependency that you could do while you were still caught maintaining active dependency. Everything other than ingesting nicotine by any means. It is a good idea to use caution in situations where alcohol use is involved as it is known to reduce a person's inhibitions and ability to make sound judgements. Here is an article or two from Joel Spitzer, Freedom's Director of Education on the subject. Alcohol and quitting Can people quit smoking and still drink alcohol? and a few others that may help you see that getting rid of nicotine and learning to control this dependency allows us to live our life more freely not less. No restrictions, no limits, no reservations, no nicotine. "Take it ONE DAY AT A TIME" Getting on with the rest of your life after quitting. - Lots of great stuff to reference and learn here! Getting vigilant and staying vigilant with the concept of addiction Holidays What is the Use in Quitting Now? Life goes on without smoking No thank you, I can't have a cigarette On a personal note, when I decided 'No More!' I made a decision to not give up anything I enjoyed or liked in order to quit smoking / ingesting nicotine. I decided to get rid of something I didn't like that was slowly killing me. On day three my wife and I bowled in our couples league and I found I could be in an environment where I used to use and others still did and still have an adult beverage and not use. On the first weekend of my new life nicotine free I drove three hours to visit my daughter at University for Dad's weekend. I chose to spend the weekend with her and her friends, did what we always had done with the exception that I no longer chose to smoke even though others sure continued to do so. Did I have some challenging times - yeah I did. Did I have to step away a few times, go outside to breathe deep and clear my head? Yep, it works well to stop and reflect on what's important - like being able to breathe deep and smell, spend time with my daughter without the constant distraction of having to plan an escape to use and then see the disgust she had for my continuing to serve my addiction. Unlike previous visits I didn't get locked out of her Sorority house standing in the rain because I HAD to be outside having yet another dose of deadly poison. I looked at each of the triggers and urges as opportunities to set the record straight and recover my life as it was always supposed to be - with me clean of nicotine and free to live as I choose - not dictated by maintaining an addiction dependency and living my life based on how many doses I still had in a pack. This is your time PghKid. Break free cleanly and completely. Get your life back on your terms. NTAP for the rest of today. It's all you really need to do to Become a successful an ex-smoker. JoeJ Free, an addict & an ex-smoker who last administered nicotine 4 years, 9 months, 17 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes and 30 seconds Ago (1751 days). Not needed, wanted or missed 45549 deadly dose delivery devices, and retained $12,247.86. Reclaimed 316 days, 7 hours and 29 minutes of precious remaining life time. Last Edited By: FreedomNicotine 10/29/09 11:13. Edited 3 times.
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elmagno	Great 1st Week!	#3	[url]	[-]
10/28/09 10:52	Hey PK, Very Loud and Long congratulations on completing the most important week of all! I'm with you on the drinking, since half of all relapses involve the sauce. That's a big, risky number, especially to a nicotine susceptible guy like me. The way I did it with alcohol was to make sure there was no nicotine available to me within (literally) ten miles! Of course not everyone can do it this way (I'm obviously not a Manhattanite), but I really am only pointing out what a huge risk factor I consider it and what lengths I will go to preserve my quit. Whatever you need to do, do it--it's worth it. Now after more than five months quit, alcohol is fine. Just go easy, be cautious and, of course, really enjoy your new smoke-free life. Elmagno
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Vienna		#4	[url]	[-]
10/29/09 06:37	I am a big beer drinker and I had huge concerns my first week about socializing with alcohol and my ability to sustain from smoking. So much so I cleared my whole social calendar for a month in anticipation of alcohol use and nicotine cravings. This included a couple birthday parties, a ZZ Top concert, Halloween and a weekend in Greece. On the first Sunday (Day 6) I was invited to watch NFL at a bar with some friends. I was feeling pretty good for day 6 so I decided that I would go for a short while at least with the intent on leaving as soon as I had any inkling of smoking. My resolve has been extremely strong so it turned out I had no problem at all. In fact watching other smokers at the bar showed me nicotine addiction in a new light as a non-smoker and further strengthened my mantra of NTAP. As you quit one day at a time, you can also face these social encounters in baby steps. It is important to face your triggers and get through them as this breaks your mental addiction, however not facing a trigger is better than relapsing. Try going out for one drink with the plan to leave immediately if you encounter a strong craving for example. Keep a number of someone handy and promise yourself if you have to have a cigarette, call so and so first (by the end of your phone call your craving should be gone). If you set up a game plan for what to do in case of an attack before you go out, it will be easier to handle sketchy situations. Another idea is to have some drinks at home first or somewhere without access to cigarettes so that you can judge how much alcohol you are able to have before you begin to lose your judgement (If that makes sense). Which may also help you learn how to drink and not smoke but in a safer situation than a social event as you begin to break the alcohol trigger. Chris 1 month 1 day
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Joe J free		#5	[url]	[-]
10/29/09 07:31	"Do whatever it takes to quit smoking" Walking among the addicted Is relapse a natural part of the addiction process? There is no legitimate reason to relapse
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JohnPolito		#6	[url]	[-]
10/29/09 07:57	Sadly, Kid, researchers tell us that alcohol is associated with 50% of all relapses. Clearly, your concerns are justified. While we don't need to give up anything when quitting, alcohol is a go slow exception where trusting our instincts might just save our quit and life. As suggested, have a plan and a backup and don't hesitate to use both. Strategies may include those reviewed by Vienna, including breaking the challenge down into small tasks: having a drink at home first without smokers around; drinking less; spacing drinks further apart; putting non-alcoholic drinks between beers; or setting a limit and sticking to it. I'm with Vienna. It's important to confront and reclaim all aspects of life, that is, if we want all of them back. Alcohol is an inhibition lowering substance. Early recovery benefits greatly from clarity of mind and purpose. Unless dealing with co-dependencies, there comes a point where our recovery progress, skills and comfort level can easily handle working with diminished inhibitions. But as Joel's Can people quit smoking and still drink alcohol? article notes, that point can differ for each of us. We're told that this year addiction to smoking nicotine will claim five million. JoeJ has given you some quality reading. What's different this time is understanding the Law of Addiction, that while we may well walk away from relapse thinking we've gotten away with it, that a chemically dependent brain would soon be begging for more. Freedom is the best gift we've ever allowed ourselves. Hold it close, Kid, and protect it above all else. During the heat of battle, remember, the next few minutes are all that matter and each is entirely do-able. Breathe deep, hug hard, live long, John Last Edited By: JohnPolito 10/29/09 09:01. Edited 1 time.
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