As I was getting ready for work this morning, I had some thoughts after reading through other people's blogs as they were struggling through difficult situations in life, and maybe the thoughts of smoking reared their ugly heads again. At times I wish I had blogged or at least kept some sort of journal, so I might have a more definite timeline. But I know I definitely went through a fair stretch of time where I was feeling anxious all the time, and as a smoker, I had never considered myself to have any problems with anxiety. And from the reading on this site, I chalked up the extreme anxiety to what people refer to as learning to cope with life without hiding behind a cloud of smoke. I'm not sure naming the anxiety made it go away any quicker, but it felt good to identify the cause. Soooo...today's thought as I was brushing my teeth... had to do with most of us (I know there are a few others) on this site probably fit into a category that could be termed "seniors". And even though we may have been hiding from our emotions behind a cloud of smoke, we've all been around the block a few times. After we finished smoking, we eventually had to deal with life's ups and downs, like it or not. And we have developed coping skills. (sure, we smoked first, but then we probably got to work solving the problem). I had a friend awhile back who would often say "I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday". And neither did we. Don't know if this will help with anyone's anxiety, but that's my thought for today. = )
