I'm Afraid I Might Start Smoking Again...
Sound familiar?Why is this happening now, during this time of year when we're all supposed to by so happy and full of good will? Holiday depression can trigger thoughts of smoking for people who have recently stopped smoking, and for those who stopped long ago.
Seasons
This is the time of year when we go through numerous upheavals from our normal schedules, and our emotions are more in evidence. We must go through each Season of Life without a smoke to learn to feel comfortable with it. By each Season of Life I mean not only the seasons of the year, but each event at which we always smoked. The holidays, for most of us, are many of those seasons rolled into one. Think about it. I'm not talking just about the usual holiday trappings of decorating, baking and shopping. For a lot of us, this time of year brings poignant memories of loved ones we've lost. We think about the empty spaces in our hearts left by their absence. We think about how they enjoyed the holidays when they were with us.The holidays also often signal accelerated school activities. We're chasing our children to ball games, concerts, programs, parent conferences, car pools.
The weather is changing. Even if we don't notice too much, it is another adaptation that must be made.
How are we going to handle these parties we must attend? What if we drink too much and end up smoking? We need new clothes.
Now it's the cold and flu season, and we're coping with illness on top of it all.
AND another biggie...how can we afford all this? Money is tight and getting tighter.
Just a few days ago my community lost a teenager in an accident. James was 19 years old. His dad backed over him with an oil rig truck. His funeral is tomorrow. The reason I'm bringing this up is because whenever I think of James, something that comes to mind is this...
- About 6 months ago he came to me in the bowling alley, held out a collector coin and asked if I'd trade for $3.50 for a pack of cigarettes. Here's an example of the hold this addiction gets on its victims. One pack of cigarettes ($3.50) for a coin worth much more. And this was a boy who didn't have years and years of addiction to overcome. It hurts to think about the fact that it's now too late for me to help James quit smoking, but I can still set an example for other young folks.
- Ask questions, give answers.
- Ask if the world will end if I don't get that last string of lights up.
- Ask how smoking will help or change the situation.
- Ask if I truly want to smoke or if I'm romanticizing the thought of it.
- Review the reasons I quit in the first place.
- Think about the GOOD things NOT smoking is doing for me.
- Realize that, whether I'm laughing or crying, I'm facing emotion. Smoking has been dulling that emotion for a long time. Now it's not.
- Start thinking about what I'm going to do INSTEAD of smoking to deal with the emotion.
Remember living for TODAY?
I WILL NOT SMOKE TODAY!
~Gaylene~
Gaylene's Quit Smoking Story
