Craving Buster Technique

[Giulia]

(Note:  this piece was first published in a blog by @aztec  back in 2012 called  Craving - EX Community    The original author april_ac was from another site.  Thank you Aztec for bringing it here!)

We interupt todays broadcast..for a test! (TRY THIS!)

Ok...especially you newbies...I want you to REALLY try this.

Don't give me that "AWWW Man!!" It's not a hard test!! More of an "exercise"!

I want you to stop what you are doing right now....and look around the room. Look at everything. Take your time. (Don't read any further until you do that.)

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Now...I want you to look around the room AGAIN...and this time find all of the things that are RED. FOCUS on the things that are RED. REALLY look at them! (Don't read any further until you do that.)

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This time....look around and find all of the things that are BLUE. Again...FOCUS on only the stuff that is Blue. REALLY look at them! (Don't read any further until you do that.)

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Now....look around the room ONE more time. (Don't read any further until you do that.)

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Did the things that were Red and BLUE stand out to you the most?? Probably! Know why? Because THAT is what you were FOCUSING on!

Do ya see where I'm going with this??

WHATEVER you focus on the MOST....is what will be stronger...stand out more....become MORE dominate. JUST LIKE CRAVINGS!! If you FOCUS for too long on the craving...it GETS STRONGER.

So...SHIFT your focus AWAY from the craving!

What do you mean you can't do that....that it's too hard??? You just DID IT in that little mental exercise a minute ago!!! How much were you focusing on smoking while you were looking around the room...focusing on the Red and Blue stuff?? Probably not much...if at ALL!

It DOES work.

While I don't crave cigarettes anymore...I do have other areas of my life where I use that exercise. Sometimes it's needed to RE-focus on the GOOD things I have...when I'm feeling down. It gets my mind AWAY from the "pity party" state.

Make this work for you. It's your quit....It's your life.

And it's worth fighting for!

Thanks for playing along!! You may now go back to your regularly scheduled programs!

[mariebode]

I’m new to this site. I was smoking 2 packs a day and have been trying to cut down one cigarette every few days. It seems I have hit a plateau. I am down to 15 a day and can’t seem to get past this number. Any suggestions are welcome. My quit date is March 1, 2018. I am trying to keep busy and won’t allow myself to smoke in my car. My worst cravings come in the morning when I get up, after meals and in the evenings. I have been knitting to keep my hands busy. I live alone with my dog and two cats. Help!!!

[gulshanmb]

Hello. Quitting does seem impossible at times but its all in your brain!! It can be done. To assist you Quit, try Bupron XL 300mg tablets, They work wonders in killing the craving. Supplement the Nicotine fix either with patches or Nicotine gum.

Please consult your physician prior to starting the medication.

This really worked for me. I have been on these for almost 2 weeks. Within the first couple of days, i was able to reduce from 20 sticks a day to around 5. I am smoke free now. I am still continuing the medication and taking Nicotine lozenges as and when required.

Hope this helps.

[Giulia]

mariebode‌  Cutting back from 40 cigarettes a day to 15 is great.  If you haven't  yet, fill out your quit plan (click on upper right). 

Read through the material on that side of the site.  Get to understand your triggers better.  Look at the videos they offer.  There's good information there.  

And there's good information here on the community support side of the site from those of us in all stages of the journey.  I was never one to be able to cut down.  I'm a "all or nothing" type.  Set my quit date, did my homework, smoked as many cigarettes as I had left the night before and then that was it.  But there are many who can and have achieved success  by the cutting down route.  JonesCarpeDiem‌ is one who used that method.  Follow him and read his comments. 

Morning are the worst for a lot of us.  It's such an automatic ritual after years and years to wake up, grab that cigarette with that first cup of coffee.  (But it's also the fact that the nicotine - which is the physically addictive part - has been depleted during the night and is screaming for it's replenishment.)  That's why it's suggested to totally change the routine.  And for me the after meal cravings were the hardest to overcome.  Well and the "reward" cigarette.  And the....   What you come to realize when you study this addiction enough and your particular relationship to it - it's the addiction itself that dictates our needs and seeming wants.  The minute you start breaking up the behavioral patters, you on the path to recovery.  

How do you get past the 15 cigarettes a day plateau?  Well you might do what JonesCarpeDiem‌ did:  just wait an extra bit of time, 15 minutes or so, after each craving to light up.  That will begin to knock down the amount of cigarettes you smoke in a day.  Simply by delaying each one.  When you get down to five, it's time to GO FOR IT.  

Knitting is great to keep the hands busy, but you also need something to keep the mind off of the elephant in the corner.  A lot of times exercise (if physically able), will help enormously with that.  Just getting up and going outside will help to change perspective.  Stick around.  There's much to learn and a lot of really great, caring people here to learn from.

[BHnCA]

The “elephant” reminded me of something my therapist said when i was seeing him for anxiety - “It’s impossible to think of two things at the same time. If you’re focusing on an elephant, for instance, but look at a zebra, instead, then your focus will move to that zebra.”  I used this tactic when learning how to stop obsessing about certain things. I plan to rely on it, too, for helping ward off cravings when my quit day gets here. I will, also, have my puzzle books out, right next to my sketch pad & pencil, because once I start sketching something I get lost in the process. 

[lyndafitz]

Excellent suggestion!

Lynda Fitzgerald

Author, LIVE Series

www.fitzgeraldwrites.com

Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse any typos or "auto corrects."

[Giulia]

BHnCA   great suggestion.  And we want to see your sketches!  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/118579-share-your-art-with-us?messageTarget=all&start=125... 

[BHnCA]

OK! But I have a feeling they will be more like a jumbled doodle collection. LOL.

[Giulia]

Hey, it might spur someone else on to try doodling as a craving buster technique!

[cameormelton]

Awesome! This will help me in so many areas of my life that I'm working to  change. Thank you!

[jmschrage82]

Thank you for this.