It Amazes Me The Lies People Tell Themselves To Keep Smoking

[whognu_1-2007]

I get private requests to help people be accountable. Many of these people have quit and moved on with their lives as non smokers. that is my greatest hope and reward.

This morning I got a PM about how this attempt was just not working out.

"I Am Overwhelmed By Stress, Financial Difficulties, Health Problems."

(There is only one way I see to respond to this and help someone be accountable to themselves)

You are smoking and you are overwhelmed and you think that continuing to smoke is the answer.

Smoking only makes you want to keep smoking. It doesn't relieve anything, It doesn't stop life from happening.

Financial difficulties and yet you can still afford to smoke?

You are lying to yourself and choosing to continue to kill yourself.

[ShawnP]

So true... these are my statistics alone. 

Shawn - Free and Healing for One Year, Seven Months, Five Days, 19 Hours and 38 Minutes, while extending my life expectancy 40 Days and 14 Hours, by avoiding the use of 11696 nicotine delivery devices that would have cost me $3,205.19.

[IrishRose]

The truth of the matter.

[jinni]

Direct and truthful.... thanks!

[Nyima_1.6.13]

Amen! Stop believing the addiction and start listening to your EX community friends and your mentor! Gnu the man!

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

This has really got me thinkin. Was I wrong all those years ago when I just bit my lip & did what needed to be done to protect my quit? Maybe I should have started smoking again when I buried my dear sister or my two good friends Ronnie & Willard. And it wouldn’t have been too stressful to buy cigarettes when I was out of work for that year & a half. I’m sure my wife & two daughters would have understood missing a house payment or eight. These knee problems would be a good excuse to start again whatcha think. It would surely relieve all the stress in my life right now.

Maybe I’m too far removed from the beginning of my quit to really understand what a grip this addiction can hold on someone…NAAAAAHHH!

Keep on keepin on,

M n @

Have been making the right choice for nine years, three weeks, one day, 8 hours, 8 minutes and 52 seconds…53…54…55…56…

[Thomas3.20.2010]

I'm amazed when U hear that somebody smokes because their smoking related health problems cause them stress - thus, smoking helps them deal with the stress!!! Crazy talk!

[Patty-cake]

I agree. It is about making choices. Making good choices when life is tough vs making bad choices.

When life seems overwhelming, choosing to feed the addiction seems like the right choice. We all know where that gets us. It's when life is overwhelming, that it's time to take our lives back. Time for us to make better decisions and change the path we're on.

[nanawendy]

It amazes me when I hear someone say they can't quit because of health issues and finanical issues. DUH !! Smoking makes those health issues worse  and I don't know anywhere that you can get free cigarettes.  Junkie Thinking !!

stopped my junkie thinking 9 months 3 weeks 20 hr 55min 34 sec

keep calm and carry on

Wendy

12/31/12

[Michwoman]

I can't stop banging my head against the wall because it hurts!!

[LouiseR]

Amen to all of the above.

[cory-3-10-13]

So true Gnu...but when you are in the grips of addiction, it is hard to see what is real and what isn't...the truth is obscured by smoking. You are right, addicts will tell themselves any lie to get that nicotine in their system. It makes me really sad and I want to help, but unfortunately I can't change people's thoughts. I can only offer what I know to be the truth and hope like hell it gets through, over and over and over, ad infinitum. And I can be thankful, that I finally saw the truth. Thanks for everything you do, bringing the truth. (((((GNU))))))

[gatosdiablos]

It sounds like your PM friend isn't getting the help they need to understand or address the ADDICT in them.  Perhaps that DEMON could benefit from medication or supplement? Support the quit better so instead of reacting, they could PRO-Act?   Sounds like they are tortured at the moment.   Maybe there is another way to dial down the nicodemon so they can hear and take in the other support offered here?  Don't get me wrong, let's call it what it is.  ADDICTION.  Stinkin' thinkin.  A cop out.   But until it's addressed and acknowledged, the rest of this good stuff can't get it.   How can we help without alienating?

[marilyn_marmac]

The only thing stopping us is the lies we tell ourselves. However, like Cory and gatosdiablos said, when you are an addict, it's sometimes hard to seperate the lies from the truth. Add to that the different health, mental and emotional states, personalities and the fact that some people just cope different than others.

All you can do is give your best advice. You are inspiration to most of us but the truth is, you don't really know the people that are requesting your help and you don't know what other issues they may have going on. Find peace in the fact that you help many but accept that there will be those you can't help.

[whognu_1-2007]

i actually get to know quite a bit about most people who approach me privately. until they are ready to stop making excuses, nobody can help them quit and i know that.

i won't however tell them to keep doing the same thing

[ninepatch]

We need to keep telling these struggling people the truth.  Only the truth will set them free.  It needs to be drilled into their thinking until it actually sinks in.  I know because I was someone that procrastinated quitting because of every excuse in the book.  It wasn't until I actually stopped making excuses and listened and let it sink in that I was able to let go. If you are here to quit smoking and are reaching out for help. Listen with an open mind to what you are being told.  Truth can be painful sometimes but we are all grownups here and we are all struggling for that one very special quit.  The one quit where we never pick up another smoke as long as we live.  It can be done.

[smorgy8513]

Want to hear one of my past excuses?

Dad died of lung cancer 2 years after he quit smoking.....so quitting smoking might mean I will get lung cancer!      How dumb is that?     And he had it throughout his body so it had started years before!

I am an addict.     I have used every excuse, reason in the book to continue my addiction.

This is me today:

  Two months, two weeks, four days, 1 hour, 42 minutes and 8 seconds. 1186 cigarettes not smoked, saving $406.23. Life saved: 4 days, 2 hours, 50 minutes.

[mustangsally3]

I'm still protecting my quit and have no desire to smoke and still struggling but am trying to problem solve and rise above before my depression takes over.

Carolyn