forestgreen

Never thought of that.

I too felt all of these feelings associated with smoking,, abbynormal, the shame was the worst thing. I have never been ashamed of much, but when society gives you the flick so to speak, then this really hurt me to the core. I have looked at the research given out from sazerac for the reward system and the brain function.. I believe in getting rewards for something you are proud of, the only comment I need to make is; that in my day the rewards were given out for smoking in oh so subtle ways. Like role models on movies which convinced you that it was "cool" to smoke, women especially were given the tag subconsciously of being emancipated if you lit up especially with a long cigarette holder, then you were truly emancipated and sophisticated at the same time. That is no excuse, but in those days no education was readily available. Later on I developed the need for getting away from boring chit chat, which the cigarette gave me another excuse to use. Now, I know better of course, and I feel happier in society, and as far as boring chit chat is, I have taken the position of listening a lot more, and I think I have succeeded in this a whole lot. My life now is not boring, and I have so much to look forward to there is not enough hours in the day. I start buying candles tomorrow, no more cakes.

That sounds lovely. Will do that one thanks Doreensfree

The thing is rewards were cake or ice cream now I am loosing weight. Need to buy something else that is real or think of something else to make me smile.

True, my life is like a chess board at the moment, NP if I wait too long I will not make a move.

I agree about rewards, the only problem is I used this method, by buying a cake at the supermarket, but now I am trying to loose weight, I will have to give myself something in reality, or think of something, straight away, which is hard to do when you are in the throse of remembering your previous reaction...Joyful could equal "glad that's over with" , buying a small item, around $3 which equals one cigarette and the price of a cake. ??? ...I have already lost 2 kgms over 3 weeks. A bit slow but I think it will stick more for all of the time, and I ave been lucky enough to have done this before so my healthy eating is very good, except for cakes

Hey thanks abbynormal, I am mostly always a joyful person, so it left me wondering should I give this feeling of joy over to the gutter with the cig, or do I hang onto the joyful bit, I am trying so hard to be happy with myself and others while I kick (pun) the habit. I guess I will be standing guard and joyfully refrain.

Thank you so much everyone, for helping me to understand my own residue of emotions, more importantly that I am not alone in wondering what the! .....in my mind. This experience only left me wondering, but my action made me feel a whole lot better. I guess I have to watch this side of me a bit more especially now that, the hurrying in shopping and driving has started in the Pre-Christmas rush.

The other day I went to the supermarked in the parking lot, opened my car door, and there was a complete whole cigarette in front of me. What should I do! I looked at it for quite a while, a bit too long I am thinking. I was kind of overjoyed to see it. What! I said to myself is this feeling for, it was like when I was down to my last cig and then found one which filled me with such happiness that I had discovered this find. So I guess this feeling of Joy still is hanging around, lurking in corners ready to surprise me. I realized this was serious, should I pick it up, or what! No I didn't do any of those things, just kicked it away with my foot. Leaves me thinking still: Old habits die hard, but its the feelings that take a while to go away too. After all over 7 months now and it seems those residue of feelings are still around yet. I am hoping its still the Joy of discovery that is still in me, and not the yearning.

Thanks to all, I am glad I am not the only rebel in the pack. Pretty much a quieter (if that is possible) person to be around, I still get annoyed at some things, but I try not to hang onto the situation as much. The diet thing; I have only gained around 5 kilos and have upped my exercise, but after looking at the resources, will be planning my meals more, I know I have to do something, I had a dream recently, where I was eating everything in sight on the table, stuffing it into my mouth, I didn't like this dream at all. So meal planning and cleaning teeth after dinner might be the go. Not one Puff Ever for Breakfast Not one Puff Ever for Lunch Not one Puff ever for Dinner.

I have just read and viewed a video on your website from "Big Tobacco" It was mainly directed at our own Belief system which we have deep inside of us which have given us strong reasons why we chose to smoke. I can recall when all the bans came on about smoking in designated areas, where I felt utterly despised almost to a criminal status, this was one of my reasons to continue to smoke, I thought that everyone should choose what they want to do with their life, and not listen to the status quo. A bit of a rebel really. It was by accident that I came across a video during my first few months of quitting, which totally transformed my way of thinking. This was a Video by NASIA DAVOS, called:- "How to be a happy non smoker" presented by TEDxUniversityofPiraeus. Similar to the one on your website. It made me look at my belief system for many things which I had to unravel before I could understand just why I wasn't able to sustain my quit for longer periods. This false belief system, is perhaps the most crucial to my way of thinking. I wonder if there is another video out there which delves into your belief system of loosing weight, which is what I am now attempting, (once again) after 7plus months of quitting.

Thank you for the resources, I have studied a few, but got waylaid by Dave Allen on one of the video sites mentioned. He is certainly a breath of fresh air (pun) alongside the serious videos, It will take some time to get through them all so thanks again.

I am overwhelmed by your responses. Thankyou so much. It will take me some time to work out this website but I have a feeling that it will help me in maintaining my quit. Will be in touch thanks again

Just introducing myself to this forum, I have been 7 months and more quit, but have tried before this, I guess its working for me at the moment as long as I stay in touch with someone, who wants to converse.