I hear ya on the ailing parent issues DJ. Going thru that with my MIL right now.
Hang in there as best you can. Smoking isn't going to make anything any easier, we all know that. Keep using your coping tools. Ice water, gum, candy, an inspiring post. Anything that distracts you. You know you can do it. You just have to find your own way of beating the Junkie down and kicking his ash to the curb!
Thanks for the feed bad. I'm stay on the sight because I envy the ones that make it. I've had a lot of family
things with my mother the last couple of years. The last quit I was seven weeks when it all started with my mother. Falls breaks that was not fixed, dementia now 24 hour care insists in staying in her own home. Along with other family members. Just a lot of pressure with family. Wanting to quit knowing that I've been put over the edge with all
of it. So still staying here knowing one day I will do it. DJ
Feeling worried before a quit is completely normal and actually to be expected. You're fighting an addiction and that's hard! Work your way through the program and get as much information as you can from the support group. The more you prepare your mind the better you will be. Quitting is about fighting the physical addiction, changing behaviours, finding new ways to cope/replacements and about making a commitment to yourself. Yes, it will be hard; you will have doubts but in the end the fight will be worth it.
If you are not ready to quit now, that's ok, but how will you know when you are ready?
I would like to reply to this even though I an still smoking and tried so many times to quit. I get myself before I even start a quit because I worry about doing it, if I can what will I do without them. Even hating smoking and wanting to quit so bad can get past the worry about it. How do you do that. I have tried everything they make to quit. I know that I defeat myself before I start. Can you give me some ideas how to get though it? DJ
Hi Vincenza In your post you said : "Both depression & anxiety are characterized by negative repetitive thinking. Although the specific content may be different, the underlying processes may be similar."
It struck me that it seems to me that to succeed in stopping smoking for good requires just the opposite type of thinking. i.e. "positive repetitive thinking". Where you view smoking cessation as a wonderful new world, where we are discovering the truth about cigarettes. Where withdawal is viewed not as some painful experience to be endured but a wonderful time of renewal, a time to feel and to witness your body's amazing ability to renew itself.
Where smoking is not something you miss or you had to "give up" but something you did when you were blinded by addiction, an addiction that you are so happy to no longer be a slave to. Something you that did in your past, that when you think about it, it brings a smile to your face and you shake your head and you Thank God you discovered the truth when you did.
People who are depressed or sad often worry. In fact, worry is one of the most common symptoms of anxiety in depression. People who worry all the time may meet the formal diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
GAD is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive or unrealistic worry over many issues including work, school, health and family. The intensity, duration or frequency of the anxiety and worry is far out of proportion to the actual likelihood or impact of the feared event. In addition, people with GAD may experience:
Both depression & anxiety are characterized by negative repetitive thinking. Although the specific content may be different, the underlying processes may be similar.
Do you frequently worry? Does it (or did it!) influence your smoking habits?
In your post you said : "Both depression & anxiety are characterized by negative repetitive thinking. Although the specific content may be different, the underlying processes may be similar."
