Junkie Thinking

[MarylandQuitter]

What are some other excuses to smoke?

 

Excuses to smoke

JUNKIE THINKING: “One Puff won’t hurt”

RESPONSE: “One puff will always hurt me, and it always will because I’m not a social smoker. One puff and I’ll be smoking compulsively again.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I only want one.”

RESPONSE: “I have never wanted only one. In fact, I want 20-30 a day every day. I want them all.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I’ll just be a social smoker.”

RESPONSE: “I’m a chronic, compulsive smoker, and once I smoke one I’ll quickly be thinking about the next one. Social smokers can take it or leave it. That’s not me.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I’m doing so well, one won’t hurt me now.”

RESPONSE: “The only reason I’m doing so well is because I haven’t taken the first one. Yet once I do, I won’t be doing well anymore. I’ll be smoking again.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I’ll just stop again.”

RESPONSE: “Sounds easy, but who am I trying to kid? Look how long it too me to stop this time. And once I start, how long will it take before I get sick enough to face withdrawal again? In fact, when I’m back in the grip of compulsion, what guarantee do I have that I’ll ever be able to stop again?”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “If I slip, I’ll keep trying.”

RESPONSE: “If I think I can get away with one little “slip” now I’ll think I can get away with another little “slip” later on.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I need one to get me through this withdrawal.”

RESPONSE: “Smoking will not get me through the discomfort of not smoking. I will only get me back to smoking. One puff stops the process of withdrawal and I’ll have to go through it all over again.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I miss smoking right now.”

RESPONSE: “Of course I miss something I’ve been doing every day for most of my life. Bud do I miss the chest pain right now? Do I miss the worry, the embarrassment? I’d rather be an ex-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to stop doing it.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I really need to smoke now, I’m so upset.”

RESPONSE: “Smoking is not going to fix anything. I’ll still be upset, I’ll just be an upset smoker. I never have to have a cigarette. Smoking is not a need; it’s a want. Once the crisis is over, I’ll be relieved and grateful I’m still not smoking.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “I don’t care.”

RESPONSE: “What is it exactly that I think that I don’t care about? Can I truthfully say I don’t care about chest pain? I don’t care about gagging in the morning? I don’t care about lung cancer? No, I care about these things very much. That’s why I stopped smoking in the first place.”

 

JUNKIE THINKING: “What difference does it make, anyway?”

RESPONSE: “It makes a difference in the way I breathe, the way my heart beats, the way I feel about myself. It makes a tremendous difference in every aspect of my physical and emotional health.”

http://www.quitsmokinghelp.ca/mustread/junkiethinking.html

[Ladybug]

[sgt.barney]

JUNKIE THINKING: " I'm not an addict ”

RESPONSE: Yes. You are.

 

 

 

Easy Peasy

[Leanna]

I LOVE this MQ.

 

So true. I especially love this:

 

I’d rather be an ex-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to stop doing it

 

Yes, I would rather deal with the temporary withdrawal than ever smoke again! Blowing your quit is not worth it!

[Doreensfree]

A great reminder.....my junkie brain found any excuse to smoke.......

[Nicole Diver]

Oh my. 

I think I sabotaged my previous quits with all of those.  Before I understood this addiction.

 

Now, every now and again I think about it, but I can honestly say I can't REMEMBER exactly how it felt to smoke.  I honestly can't.   I just tried and it's gone.  And good riddance!

[sgt.barney]

 I can't REMEMBER exactly how it felt to smoke

Congratulations.

 

You have arrived at The Destination.

 

 

 

Easy Peasy

[...]

JUNKIE THINKING: " I'm not an addict ”

RESPONSE: Yes. You are.

Easy Peasy

This is, by far, the HARDEST one for me to accept.

 

I hate that word being applicable to describe any part of my being. To me, it's a sign of weakness. Something I can't control. And that's not acceptable to me.

 

I went to New Orleans the other day and I could see the junkies sitting on the street. One looked like he had inhaled far too many cans of paint. And I thought, that's not me. I'm not like that AT ALL. I am coming to terms that it could actually be me. Cigarettes are legal. If they weren't , what would I do to get one ? I think I would have done just about anything.......

 

I don't know. I still have a hard time with calling myself an addict.

[...]

Calling me weak......ok.

 

Stubborn, hard headed.....ok

 

An addict......that's to the core

[sgt.barney]

Say it with The Sarge, Tiff :

 

" I am an addict "

 

Say it every day.

 

Out loud.

 

 

 

 

Easy Peasy

[MarylandQuitter]

You know what, Tiffany?  When my Dr. called me an addict I was pissed.  He wasn't buying what I was selling and laughed when I asked him if he was serious when he called me an addict.  How ignorant I was.

 

Once I accepted that I was a nicotine addict and would be for the rest of my life, it became okay for me to think about smoking.  Thinking about smoking and wanting to smoke is different for me.  I think about smoking everyday but I don't want to smoke everyday.

[juanrmartino]

IM GONNA PRINT THIS ! AND PUT ON MY BED ROOM THANKS

[Tink]

Bump

[Blackstorm]

It is so true!

[atmos]

Truly agreed...

[MarylandQuitter]

[Sazerac]

Topical.  

[sgt.barney]

Topical.

 

Indeed

 

Easy Peasy

[MarylandQuitter]

It's the same issue that always repeats itself.  Perhaps this is the tree in the road that stops Tiffany from taking this to the next level.  What do you think, Tiffany?

[...]

Topical.

 

Can you please elaborate on this ? ^^^^^

 

It's the same issue that always repeats itself. Perhaps this is the tree in the road that stops Tiffany from taking this to the next level. What do you think, Tiffany?

My thoughts ? I don't understand why we have to keep discussing this.

 

Ok, I'm not the junkie sitting on the side of the road in NOLA.

 

The tree sitting in the road was my refusal (remember, it's a choice) to quit smoking. This does not qualify me as an addict. Nor does it you. But if it works for you to call yourself that, then by all means, do what works for you.

 

I'm not going to try to convince you that you're not. Just don't smoke.

 

But I will say this..... I will NEVER address on here if I'm struggling again. Because all you're going to do is tell me I'm struggling cause I refuse to admit that I am some sort of addict in denial. It can't be something as simple as I am addicted to nicotine and still trying to process through it. No, it has to be that I HAVE TO HAVE A LABEL ON MY HEAD. And somehow, this label will take away any struggle I am going through. I call BULLSHIT.

 

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I smoked, I made that CHOICE.

 

My thoughts.

 

And obviously, it's going to be an ongoing thing to change them.

 

So I get to choose on here if I want to label myself as an addict or sit back and let y'all label me as hard headed, stubborn or an addict in denial.

 

Do what y'all need to do.

 

Oh and by the way MQ, I thought I was taking it to the next level. I haven't smoked.

[Sazerac]

Can you please elaborate on this ? ^^^^^

 

My thoughts ? I don't understand why we have to keep discussing this.

 

 

 

It is topical because we spent two pages talking about Addict and Addiction on your thread.

This sent me searching for posts about Addiction, Junkie Thoughts, etc.  so I could learn more.

 

You will see that I bumped a few threads that were relevant to the subject.

 

This is not just about you, Tiffany. 

 

It is about the whole subject of Addiction, a discussion essential in dealing with an addictive substance.

Opening up the conversation separate from your quitting thread may be helpful to everybody.

 

S

[...]

That's fair. Thank you.

 

I may have taken it personally cause we just had this same conversation on another thread. I apologize for that.

[Sazerac]

I'm not intentionally dogging you around. 

[sharonsiff]

Tiffany I do hope you call out, on here, if you have a day where it feels a struggle. Remember not everyone thinks you have to have the addict label, before you can have a successful quit..I'm living proof that theory is tosh.

 

All you have to do is what you're doing, not smoking, so you're no longer a smoker anymore...twenty two days you've been doing that..rinse and repeat.

[Sazerac]

I assume we all can agree with the Fact that Nicotine is an Addictive substance

Here is The American Society of Addiction Medicine's definition of addiction from their website.  ASAM

 

 

"Short Definition of Addiction:

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

 

Long Definition of Addiction:

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Addiction affects neurotransmission and interactions within reward structures of the brain, including the nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate cortex, basal forebrain and amygdala, such that motivational hierarchies are altered and addictive behaviors, which may or may not include alcohol and other drug use, supplant healthy, self-care related behaviors. Addiction also affects neurotransmission and interactions between cortical and hippocampal circuits and brain reward structures, such that the memory of previous exposures to rewards (such as food, sex, alcohol and other drugs) leads to a biological and behavioral response to external cues, in turn triggering craving and/or engagement in addictive behaviors.

The neurobiology of addiction encompasses more than the neurochemistry of reward.1 The frontal cortex of the brain and underlying white matter connections between the frontal cortex and circuits of reward, motivation and memory are fundamental in the manifestations of altered impulse control, altered judgment, and the dysfunctional pursuit of rewards (which is often experienced by the affected person as a desire to “be normal”) seen in addiction--despite cumulative adverse consequences experienced from engagement in substance use and other addictive behaviors. The frontal lobes are important in inhibiting impulsivity and in assisting individuals to appropriately delay gratification. When persons with addiction manifest problems in deferring gratification, there is a neurological locus of these problems in the frontal cortex. Frontal lobe morphology, connectivity and functioning are still in the process of maturation during adolescence and young adulthood, and early exposure to substance use is another significant factor in the development of addiction. Many neuroscientists believe that developmental morphology is the basis that makes early-life exposure to substances such an important factor.

Genetic factors account for about half of the likelihood that an individual will develop addiction. Environmental factors interact with the person’s biology and affect the extent to which genetic factors exert their influence. Resiliencies the individual acquires (through parenting or later life experiences) can affect the extent to which genetic predispositions lead to the behavioral and other manifestations of addiction. Culture also plays a role in how addiction becomes actualized in persons with biological vulnerabilities to the development of addiction.

Other factors that can contribute to the appearance of addiction, leading to its characteristic bio-psycho-socio-spiritual manifestations, include:

The presence of an underlying biological deficit in the function of reward circuits, such that drugs and behaviors which enhance reward function are preferred and sought as reinforcers;
The repeated engagement in drug use or other addictive behaviors, causing neuroadaptation in motivational circuitry leading to impaired control over further drug use or engagement in addictive behaviors;
Cognitive and affective distortions, which impair perceptions and compromise the ability to deal with feelings, resulting in significant self-deception;
Disruption of healthy social supports and problems in interpersonal relationships which impact the development or impact of resiliencies;
Exposure to trauma or stressors that overwhelm an individual’s coping abilities;
Distortion in meaning, purpose and values that guide attitudes, thinking and behavior;
Distortions in a person’s connection with self."