cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Share your quitting journey

Mindful Quitting Technique

Giulia
Member
5 10 143

Try this only IF you're still smoking.  This is from a Roy Masters seminar.  It has to do with mindfulness/consciousness.

Sit down, light a cigarette, close your eyes.  

Take a puff of the cigarette but keep the smoke in your mouth.

Become aware of the taste of that cigarette.  Become aware of the poison of it.

The reason why you couldn't taste it before is because you inhaled it.  And the poison took the feeling of conflict away.

How does it taste?  (Probably not good.)

Blow it out and take another puff and hold it again in your mouth.  Taste it and know that it's poison.  Taste it but don't inhale it because when you inhale it the consciousness goes away, the awareness goes away.  You don't realize it's killing you because it's giving you a sense of false patience and peace.

Now if you remain conscious (in the sense of mindful), it will be hard for you to take the next puff.  Because it's very difficult to do the wrong thing while being conscious, if you're really aware of yourself.   The force of your consciousness won't allow you to put that  poison in your mouth.  Just be conscious every time you have a cigarette, and overcome resentments.  That same consciousness applies to resentments.  Resentment always creates anxiety.  And the next irritation turns things backwards.  Then you want to smoke to get rid of the pain of your conscience.  You need to get rid of the anxiety, the resentment. 

Consciousness decides what right and wrong is.  We know it's not right to smoke a cigarette but we aren't "conscious" when we smoke.  Once you're "conscious" it becomes much more difficult to inhale that poison.

Try it.  See if it helps.

10 Comments
YoungAtHeart
Member

I would think this might be very helpful, because you are not getting that hit of dopamine from your brain sensors that you do when you inhale.  A pure poison experience, I would think.

Nancy

Giulia
Member

Good point.  

marciem
Member

Well I'll be!  I never went to one of those seminars, I thought I invented this my own self.  I call it "De-romancing the cigarette",  (after a post I read I think at Whyquit.com called "romancing the cigarette") and to this day when those pesky thoughts of "that would be nice" pop up out of nowhere (almost never now, but you know...), I get a nasty taste in my mouth and sqwoosh my eyes up from the harsh feel and taste.  It really does work.  

Maybe I didn't come up with thinking of it of poison, but sure enough really internalizing and focusing on the taste and feel of those last few cigarettes

I often recommend it to new quitters (to use their memory, not to light one up) or those who have relapsed and are getting ready to quit again.

karenthill
Member

Good idea!  Two of the reasons I want to quit is the smell and taste.

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Being a full-time caregiver is certainly taxing, and I am sorry you find yourself in that position.  But - you will quit smoking for YOU, for your health.  It is a decision you will never regret!

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.


 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.

Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!


 Nancy

Giulia
Member

Yeah, Karen, but that's not the bottom line reason you wanna quit, is my guess.  The smell and the taste are not enough impetus to keep us quit (I'm guessing).  

I don't know about you, but my bottom line reason for quitting was because I knew it was doing me physical harm.  All the lists I made of all the reasons I should quit - didn't mean a thing until I actually "got it."    Quitting for smell and taste are good points to add to the quit-reason list, but ultimately we're quitting for a deeper reason. No?  

karenthill
Member

Nancy, thank you for your helpful comments. I quit smoking cold turkey the

first time over 30 years ago, so I know I can do it. It just seems harder

this time, because I don't have much to occupy my time...no family to

raise, no family activities as you have when raising children. I will be

using patches this time and have chosen June 3rd as my quit date. Have

read all the information in preparation for my quit date. My main problems

when trying to quit this time seem to be how grouchy and anxious/ nervous

I get. There's not a lot I can do outside of normal daily activities

because of my own health problems ...Post Polio Syndrome, Fibromyalgia,

MS, and severe arthritis. But I WILL do this!

Karen

On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 7:30 PM Youngatheart.7.4.12 <

YoungAtHeart
Member

How about getting some yarn, crochet hooks and watch a YouTube how-to lesson.  Or - maybe find some computer games to play?  Or get an adult coloring book and markers  - or a jigsaw or crossword puzzle book?  I gave you a list of 101 things to do instead of smoke to get you thinking, too.

You need to be distracted in the early days - so get your kit ready to go now!

karenthill
Member

I used to crochet a lot as well as do adult coloring. Severe arthritis in

my only good hand ( right arm paralyzed from polio)

prevents me from doing either one of those things anymore due to severe

pain. I did find a loop yarn that only requires pushing one loop through

another, so I do make lap Afghans and regular afghans for residents of our

local senior care homes and little ones for new borns at the hospital. But

even that I can’t do for very long at a time. I also play solitaire,

jigsaw puzzles and other games on my phone till I’m sick of them. So I can

be distracted by games. I’m going to start taking walks around our complex

when a craving hits. Our granddaughter, who just graduated from high school

here last night, will be staying with us next week, my first week quiting,

so that will help me. My husband is both deaf and blind ( not totally on

either) but we don’t talk or interact much. We’re both trying to adjust to

this new reality of our lives. We used to travel, but can’t do much of that

anymore either because driving hurts my hand and we can’t afford flying.

We are going to take a short trip the second week of June. I will drive,

but will have to stop and rest my hand a lot. I am going to do my best to

keep busy the first few weeks of quiting no matter how much it hurts my

hand. I’m hoping that since I’ve only been smoking for about a year this

time that quitting won’t be too bad. I’ve done it before.

Karen

On Wed, May 29, 2019 at 1:54 PM Youngatheart.7.4.12 <

Giulia
Member

Karen, I feel for you.  As we get older and with disabilities physical life becomes harder and harder.  We have to keep doing as much as we can to keep on keeping on.  Ellen (elvan) is great example of that.  As is Nancy (Yongatheart) and Dale (Jonescarp) and Thomas and Oldbones and jconfusion and Diane Joy and Lilian and all those who are survivors emotionally or physically on here.... there are so many people here who are struggling yet persevering DESPITE their physical and/or psychological or emotional challenges. We just have to buck up and keep on.  Otherwise - what?  We give up and take drugs and make excuses and crawl into a reality we really don't want.  Obviously we have fight those things we need to fight for yet accept those things we need to give up (or accept "gracefully" as some say).  I am much more of a fighter than an accepter, but I know the latter is the truth of where I need to grow.  And so I'm working on it.  Just venting myself here.  It's easy to give advice, very hard to take your own.  Just - trying to adjust to the new reality of our lives - as you so aptly stated.  For some that new reality happens in an instant, losing a leg in a battle, losing your home to a tornado...  For others it's just a part of the aging process and creeps in unnoticed.  Like, "Wow, I'm suddenly old and need a new knee or a new heart valve, or I can't see a well as I used to..."  Personally I find it a surprise.  Since my mind is like a 20 year old I always figger'd my body would be too!  lol

You've quit before.  You can do it again.  You have more wisdom now.  And wisdom is what it takes.

About the Author
Member since MAY 2008. I quit smoking March 1, 2006. I smoked a pack and a half a day for about 35 years. What did it take to get me smoke free? Perseverance, a promise not to smoke, and a willingness to be uncomfortable for as long as it took to get me to where I am today. I am an Ex but I have not forgotten the initial difficult journey of this rite of passage. That's one of the things that's keeping me proudly smoke free. I don't want to ever have another Day 1 again. You too can achieve your goal of being finally free forever. Change your mind, change your habits, alter your focus, release the myths you hold about smoking. And above all - keep your sense of hewmer. DAY WON - NEVER ANOTHER DAY ONE. If you still want one - you're still vulnerable. Protect your quit!