I've noticed in my first year that when things come up for the first time as a non-smoker, that I go through all the stages again a week prior. I have the anger, the frustration, the self-persecution which brings on depression/sadness, all these emotions rolled up in one that in the past drew me back to smoking. They had me running back to smoking again. This time I recognize what the addictive brain is doing. Some of you call this as bad habits returning, signs of spiraling down. But there is a difference in how you handle it.
The anticipation of the event usually outweighs the actual outcome. With the holidays approaching, many of you are going through them for the first time, myself included. I've learned throughout this year now that the signs/stages reappeared again in the same way for the fourth time, that it is my addictive thinking kicking in. I realized that because I acknowledged it the second time it happened. Ah-ha, this is exactly what I felt like the last time.
I'm not saying to over think your quit, but pay attention to it. Some people don't have the strong emotional ties to smoking. I write these blogs because I did have very strong emotional ties and am learning to recognize them and deal with them accordingly. I write blogs like these to help others to sit back and think about what they used smoking for and see the patterns they made. We can't break the ties that bind us without first breaking the cycle that created it.
