22 octobre 2009
Health quit methods
Three Days of Natural Juices - Unless diabetic, drink plenty of natural acidic fruit juice the first three days. Cranberry is excellent. Acidic juices will not only aid in more quickly removing the alkaloid nicotine but will help stabilize blood sugars and avoid needless symptoms. Take care beyond three days as juices can be rather fattening. If diabetic, talk to our doctor about a diet rich in foods low on the glycemic index, foods converted to glucose more slowly, that will leave you feeling fuller longer.
Weight Gain - We would need to gain at least 75 extra pounds in order to equal the health risks associated with smoking one pack-a-day. Consider vegetables and fruits instead of candies, chips and pastries to help avoid weight gain. Engage in some form of moderate daily exercise if at all concerned about weight gain. Keep in mind that those quitting smoking can expect a substantial increase in overall lung function within just 90 days of quitting. It will aid in engaging in extended periods of brisk physical activity, shedding pounds, and building cardiovascular endurance. Stress
Related Anxieties – Contrary to popular thinking, smoking or chewing nicotine does not relieve stress but only nicotine’s own absence. Nicotine is an alkaloid and stress is an acid-producing event capable of quickly neutralizing the body’s nicotine reserves. It is like pouring a liquid baking soda solution on an acid-covered car battery terminal, or watching someone waste money on yard care by applying fertilizer (acid) at the exact same time as limestone (an alkaloid). We actually added the onset of early withdrawal to every stressful event. New quitters often discover an amazing sense of calm during crisis. In handling stress during this temporary period of readjustment, practice slow, deep breathing while focusing your mind on your favorite object, place or person, to the exclusion of other thoughts.
Quitting for Others - We cannot quit for others. It must be our gift to us. Quitting for a child, spouse, parent, friend, the fetus, employer or doctor creates a natural sense of self-deprivation that is likely to ultimately result in relapse. If quitting for another person, how will an addict's junkie-mind respond the first time that person disappoints us?
24 septembre 2009
Denial phase of emotional recovery after smoking
The denial phase of emotional recovery is associated with ending a long and intense chemical relationship. It is the flip-side of active dependency denial, which used distortion and blocking techniques to provide cover and insulation that enabled us keep our nicotine relationship ongoing, while suppressing most anxieties associated with doing so. Denial is the unconscious defense mechanism - just below the surface - that allows us to resolve the emotional conflict and anxiety that would normally be felt by a person living in a permanent state of self-destructive chemical bondage.
Most nicotine addicts we'll see today are well insulated by a thick protective blanket of unconscious denial rationalizations, minimizations, fault projections, escapes, intellectualizations and delusions. They insulate them from the pain and reality of captivity, or create the illusion that the problem is somehow being solved. But here, during recovery, those same anxiety defense tools will now distort reality to buffer and aid transition to a nicotine-free life. Although we may say we are ending nicotine use, on a host of levels the mind isn’t yet convinced. If convinced, why do so many of us initially treat recovery as though some secret or hide in isolation? Why do we need an escape path? If convinced, why take comfort in knowing where that one hidden cigarette rests or the location of that last pouch, tin or pack? Why not throw them out, along with the ashtray or spit can?
The denial phase protects against the immediate emotional shock of leaving the most intense relationship we may have ever known, while embarking upon a journey from which there should be no return. It’s a shock buffer that allows us time to come to terms with where we now find ourselves. It operates unconsciously to diminish anxiety by refusing to perceive that recovery will really happen. While a positive force in allowing this journey to commence -- including allowing you the courage to reach for this book – it can also forecast relapse. It hurts to recall the number of times I went three days and then “rewarded” myself with that one puff that spelled relapse. It almost seems as though I’d endured the worst of withdrawal just to renew and invigorate lame “it’s too hard” rationalizations for continued smoking. Clearly I hadn’t made it beyond denial. But if I had, next up would have been anger.
12 août 2009
Quitting “You”
The real “you” never, ever
needed nicotine. You were fine
on your own. The real “you”
never experienced the artificial
highs brought on by elevated
nicotine levels or the
devastating lows that often
accompany withdrawal. We
typically functioned more
towards the center without
such violent or disturbing
neuro-chemical mood swings.
So what if you never, ever
needed to smoke, dip, chew or
suck nicotine again? What if
your mind was once again
itself, filled with a constant
sense of calmness and getting
its dopamine releases the
natural way, from great food,
big hugs, cool water, a sense of
accomplishment, friendship,
nurturing, love and intimacy? What if days, weeks or even months passed comfortably,
without once thinking about wanting to use nicotine? Would that be good thing or bad?