Something worth celebrating
I don’t tend to blow my own trumpet about things, but this is one that I feel I should be proud of: in the middle of January 2022 I celebrated the milestone of having been a non-smoker for 10 years.
It might shock some people but during my twenties and thirties I smoked cigarettes. With hindsight it is a foul habit that I wish I had never started: but I did and I smoked for nearly two decades.
I did try giving up, but both times I managed it I slipped back in the habit. The first time because I had made it through a majorly stressful period in my life and felt I could let myself “celebrate”; the second time was because I had injured myself and felt like I needed the escape of smoking.
The third and final time I gave up, in 2012, took me a while to complete as it started at Christmas in 2011. What happened was I had the flu, proper flu, and I was staying with my parents. I never smoked inside my parents house, and this stay was no different. However, being that ill I didn’t smoke for most of Christmas Day.
In the evening, I was fighting the nicotene withdrawal. I decided to have a cigarette. My parents said it would be ok to smoke inside as I was ill. I was adamant I wouldn’t, so I sat in the un heated conservatory and had a cigarette. It was terrible, and that was when I really made the decision to stop.
Why did it take me until middle of the following month to stop? I had bought a box of 200 cigarettes for the Festive season, and I had only just started it and I was going to smoke them all.
And I did smoke them all, but I severly cut down, and started playing with altering when I would have a cigarette. I went from smoking 15-20 per day to 3-5 per day. I also thought about what was triggering my desire and tried to reframe it.
I managed it through will power, determination and reminding myself it was disgusting. I gave myself Reiki every day and found that that helped soothe my mind throughout.
Three weeks after giving up, I had a craving and bought a massive box of nicotene chewing gum (vile stuff) and that was the only substitute I used.
Why do I think it worked that time? I really, truly, finally wanted to stop. So I did. The reiki I gave myself supported it and calmed my mind, but I knew I wanted to stop smoking.
I have also had the occassional craving, and actually writing this is triggering something. When I do come across those situations I use it to look at what the circumstances are and why it’s a trigger for that addiction. And , for me, that takes long enough that the craving passes. I also have a mouthful of water too, just to metaphorically wash the taste away.
That’s me blowing my own trumpet about being a non-smoker for a while, and a brief tale of how. I am really pleased to have stopped, and I will support people who want to give up, but I will try to not preach or lecture people.
Thanks for reading this, my lovely Interonauts.
Tim
COMING UP IN 2022
SMFR Therapy online classes. Group classes are running every Wednesday between 5pm-6pm. More info here.
Online yoga classes. I am continuing my Tuesday morning zoom classes (9:30am-10:30am). More info here
In person yoga classes. These are back! Different day to previously, and a different time (Wednesdays 1pm-2pm). More infor here.