GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or thinking of quitting, please -- join us! We kindly ask that politics be left out.
You can also click the GUS tag to view all diary posts, or access the GUS Library at dKosopedia for a great list of stop-smoking links. Check it out! http://web.archive.org/.... A message to ALL quitters. You don't have to avoid GUS if you have a failed quit. We won't give you a bad time and we consider the failed quits as "practice" for the real quit.
If you can spare a few hours, please consider hosting GUS. It doesn't have to be a permanent slot; it can be a one-time deal or just an open thread! As you can see, we have very few regular diarists and really need some help keeping GUS going. Can you lend a hand?
Not sure where to start? Just ask for help in the Butt Can (Tip Jar). Seriously, it doesn't have to include specific elements or require all sorts of fabulous diary formatting skills. The regulars will make sure stuff gets carried over from diary to diary, so if you want to just tell your story or provide an open thread and host for a few hours, that's cool too. You do not need to be perfect, you do not need to become a regular (though it would be nice), and you would make some quitters very happy.
I've wandered into GUS diaries a few times, and had intended to do the same a few days ago. I learned something I didn't know before, and wanted to share this new information. For some reason, the request for diarists convinced me that what I had to share could be a diary. So here I am to share. I have two pooties, and will include their photos. That's obligatory, right? Pootie #1 is Baby Bear, and #2 is MsChif.
I smoked for 40 years. Sorta biblical, huh? I was sure I wouldn't get lung cancer, as no one in my family has ever had any kind of cancer. And I didn't get lung cancer. But I did get emphysema. You hear that possibility more now, but during the time I was smoking it was never, or rarely discussed when trying to convince people to quit smoking, or never begin. With that diagnosis, I had to quit smoking, like immediately. And I wasn't a light smoker. I smoked at least two packs a day. Longer days required more cigarettes. I wasn't emotionally in a place where immediate withdrawal was an option. So I bought a supply of nicotine gum. I haven't smoked since, but have been chewing nicotine gum for 10 years. Nicotine gum controlled me in the same way cigarettes did. Running out caused major panic. Being old, I don't see as well as is safe to drive at night. And there's nothing that could force me out of the house at night other than running out of gum. Could I plan better? Of course. But that doesn't mean I did.
So two Wednesday nights ago I decided that it was time to stop the nicotine gum. I waited patiently for the need to climb walls. It never came. I waited for the pacing. It never began. No crying. No anger. No binge eating.
I'm still chewing gum, but not nicotine gum. Need to stop that soon.
So, what does this mean? Certainly nicotine addiction is physical. But part of the addiction has to do with routine? I know it took several weeks to rid myself of my smoking rituals. I smoked as soon as I opened my eyes, and the last thing before I closed my eyes. I smoked when on the phone (I still have a landline). I smoked as soon as I swallowed the last bite of a meal.
Without the nicotine gum, why don't I feel deprived or panicky?
My guesses:
1. Nicotine gum doesn't have as much nicotine as cigarettes. Or hardly any.
2. Smoking requires more involvement. Lighting, inhaling, exhaling, ashtrays, lighters.
We're all different. We all deal with addiction differently. I know I'll never smoke again, because I can't. Physically impossible. And, I don't think I need to buy nicotine gum anymore.
I wanted to share this with people who are having difficulty. Maybe nicotine gum will work for you as well. I probably hung onto the nicotine gum longer than was necessary. But the fear of running out was just as dire as the fear I felt when I ran out of cigarettes. My story is offered as one person's story. I'm well aware that each of us is different. Each of us in our own way, in our own time.