A boot made me want to smoke.

[JB 883]

yeah bear with me on this...

 

My supervisor who happened to also be the most hated person working at our shop finally got the boot.

No, not like the kind of boot you put on your foot, more like the kind that is put up your butt when your services are no longer needed at work.

I thought someone was joking when he first told me. When i realized it was real, i cried tears of joy.

This happened just three months after my criminal neighbors moved out because they are running from the law. The head of household was some short fat guy from a state here in 'Murica where everyone has the same DNA. I know THAT narrows it down quite a bit...

 

You see, the thing i hate worst in life is being forced to deal with people I cannot stand. NOW the two people I hate most are OUT my life.

 

But anyways, in light of the supervisor getting DA BOOT, I told the guy who informed me of the firing, "If i still smoked, I would be outside right now sucking down a dozen cancer sticks in celebration!"

I have been having weird cravings to smoke lately. Not real bad like at three months but just, I don't know, I guess i need to really watch my step as to not lose my quit.

 

Bad events do not cause triggers for me. No, it is good events. I guess I smoked more to "celebrate" than relieve stress.

But yeah I didn't want A cigarette yesterday, I wanted to smoke a whole dozen at one time.

 

And in case anyone is wondering what it looks like when someone at work receiveth DA BOOT, here is a diagram...

 

 

 

 

[Reciprocity]

It's not that surprising really because most of us saw having a cig as a reward for whatever.

 

We're all humans as as such, rewards are important in making ourselves feel better, even when we feel good because of other events!

 

Feel sad - reward yourself to feel better.

Feel happy - reward yourself to celebrate the happy event.

Feeling anxious - reward yourself by disengaging  from the stressful situation for a bit.

 

That's the part of quitting that takes the longest. Breaking those invisible associations our brain makes with the act of smoking.

 

And yeah ...... you used to feel great lighting up a smoke in celebration of something but after this many months of abstinence, you'd probably choke and near puke after your first big drag on that first bad boy.

 

Now's the time to form some new associations in terms of rewards when something great happens. You'll just have to consciously think of what that should be for a little while until it becomes second nature to you.

[jillar]

It's totally normal jetblack. I always craved a cig more when good things happened then bad. Just be proud of yourself for not smoking. And congrats on getting those people out of your life...

[Whispers]

Its the trigger of emotions(good or bad) that makes us react and the old habit/addiction pops right back into our mind. I agree with jillar its totally normal, the difference now for us is we don't reach for them things anymore. Good job not smoking and add another notch in your belt JB   

[Phoebe2]

I look at it this way ... we smoked no matter what was happening in our lives. We smoked because we were addicted and after a certain x amount of time  our nicotine levels got critically low and our brains told us we needed a cigarette to boost us back up to 'normal' or we'd soon start to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Stress, whether it be good stress or bad stress depletes nicotine faster in the body so that's why we crave cigarettes more during these times. It's all about keeping the nicotine supply to 'what the brain thinks is 'normal'. 

 

But we don't need to keep our nicotine levels up because we have quit smoking. So now it's just an old trace memory of what we used to think were good reasons to have a cigarette.

 

PS Thank goodness those toxic people are out of your life. I'd be celebrating too if a certain supervisor got the boot

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by Phoebe2

[notsmokinjo]

Hey JB... the out of the blue craves are rather annoying aren't they. But you know what you held strong, your persevered and you kept your quit. As a bonus your life is also short two toxic people which has to feel great.

 

I think we are still in the re-wiring stage. For years we have rewarded ourselves with a smoke, or a chain of smokes. So we have to reprogram ourselves with a new reward system for when something good happens and we want to celebrate. So we need to find a new reward and a new celebration tool. I also think this is why the first year is so very significant, there are so many firsts for all of us to face and while in some instances we can prepare for a possible crave in others (like the booting) we can't because the situation that triggers them is unexpected. I also think even though the intensity of the crave is nothing like it was at 3 days or 3 weeks or 3 months its the fact that we haven't had a trigger then suddenly get smacked in the face with it.

 

So, as the others have said... these out of the blue urges to light up are normal in a quit... but facing them down creates a new pattern for for our psyche to deal with the joys and the stresses of life.

 

So glad you kept your quit and also happy for you to be down two major stresses and worries in your life.

[Doreensfree]

Smokers always find a excuse to smoke...the sky is too blue.!!!!....The grass is too green.!!!!....we found excuses in everything.....

It's a reward...oh no ...it's help us when were sad....err noo....it helps us when were happy...err no it calms us ...blah ..blah....

We smoked cos we are addicts...simple....

It just takes time to rewire our brains...that life is so much better and calmer without nicotine ...

But ..glad to hear your life has took a calmer turn JB ......

[Tyme2B]

Finally JB! Life is going well! 

 

[Tyme2B]

The Good: I’m alive. I’m not smoking and have no cravings at all, whatsoever to smoke after what I have been going through. I’m starting to feel better and the pain & shortness of breath is gradually easing on Anticoagulant Drugs. 

 

The Bad: I have Pulmonary Emboli in both lungs. Spent Thursday in the Hospital & a CT Scan found the source of this horrible pain & scary shortness of breath

 

The Ugly: Pulmonary Emboli can kill you. They are blood clots most commonly caused by a deep vein thrombosis that starts in a leg or arm. These clots can go to the heart, lungs or brain. Any age group can be a target. They CAN be deadly. Smoking IS in the list of Causes of Pulmonary Embolis. Smoking destroys the lining of blood vessels over time & allows clots to shed off from those blood vessels. I will be finding out the cause of mine at a Thrombus Clinic.

 

I have no desire to smoke at all. I am one month into my Quit. Just experiencing the pain & shortness of breath is enough to cause fear of a repeat...and these embolus issues do recur. No one is an exception unless maybe if you are on anticoagulants. Just DON’T SMOKE! 

Edited August 4, 2018 by Tyme2B

[Sslip]

Sorry to hear about the health scare Tyme2B, that is frightening stuff, but pleased to hear you are starting to feel better.

 

Wishing you the best of possible outcomes.

[Doreensfree]

Aww Tyme...I was very sad to read this....dam cigerettes....

Wishing for a good outcome for you ,when you visit your clinic...to stop it and cure it ...

NOPE...has never been more important.....

Stay close to the board ..you have friends and support here...

Keep us updated..

 

[JB 883]

Every time i hear about someone developing a serious illness due to smoking, I am all the more thankful that i quit on MY terms. I Quit while I was ahead.

I am wondering though about voluntary VS forced quits -

 

So we know the voluntary quitters go through withdrawals, craves etc...

Is it less so when someone gets really bad news from the doc (a "forced quit" if you will)?

I still get stupid desires to smoke sometimes, usually when something really cool happens.

 

As far as the workplace goes, it is now "cancer" free. I mean for real, that supervisor, holy turd-smoking hell, she was  PITA. Just like old, crotchety, micro managing, etc. Like a cancer of the morale.

 

I butted heads with her a few times. Whenever I used expressions like "getting chewed out" or "micro-manage" she got pissed like i was telling a lie.

I think a few of you know me a bit by now. Wouldn't you say i am quite tactful and p.c. in the delivery of my opinions? Can you imagine ME saying something in an abrupt way?

 

So what about voluntary Vs forced quits and the degree of withdraws?

[Giveintowin]

Good on you for sticking it through with your quit. Things both good and bad can be triggers for us. I’m a big fan of talking things through. You’ve done that! Well done!

[Doreensfree]

 

 So what about voluntary Vs forced quits and the degree of withdraws?

 

Forced quits ???...nobody can force anyone to quit ...it  has to be your decision..

I was advised to stop smoking ..like yesterday.... Or face amputation...

This news was enough for me to quit..but the withdrawals were still hard to deal with..i had anger issues .angry at myself ..angry at cigarettes..

I am so relieved I had the strength and the motivation and the help from some fantastic people ..to finally quit...

Many lose limbs ...because they just didn't have the tools or the knowledge or the belief they could quit...

I love being smoke free..!!