Coffee & Cigarettes?
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Donald Brent
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 6:57 am
Has anyone tried simultaneously stopping smoking and drinking coffee while starting this program? I'm sure the caffeine is part of my anxiety and have cut back trememdously. As far as smoking, I've been trying to quit for years, with no success. I have a VERY high-stress job runnning my company with extreme deadlines. I wonder if this is the right time to try again. It's an endless circle: Anxiety makes me want to smoke more, and smoking, of course, causes more bodily sensations which leads to more anxiety!!
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Christian73
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:41 pm
Hey Donald:
I feel your pain. I smoke and drink coffee. While I haven't quit either, I have significantly cut down on the amount of caffeine I drink by changing my coffee at home to 1/2 caff. Perhaps this will help you, too.
I feel your pain. I smoke and drink coffee. While I haven't quit either, I have significantly cut down on the amount of caffeine I drink by changing my coffee at home to 1/2 caff. Perhaps this will help you, too.
"You don't have to believe everything you think."
Bumper sticker in my therapist's office
Bumper sticker in my therapist's office
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Teddybear605
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:56 pm
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Donald Brent
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2008 6:57 am
Couldn't agree more. I keep reminding myself of the "Progress not Perfection". This is used in the AA meetings, and my friend has been a "recovering" alcoholic for about 20 years now. He uses it every day, has stayed sober, and has been very supportive in my efforts to quit. Thanks for YOUR support as well!
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Mary Wargo
- Posts: 274
- Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:37 pm
Donald Brent- Trying to change several things at once for me is a disaster, although with the smoking I had to stop the morning coffee as it triggered the urge to smoke. Tea for some reason doesn't do this so I still have my morning tea. If you work on the coffee first it may be easier to start the quit process of smoking. You might also do better with this farther along in the program when your anxiety calms down. I hope you have been using your relaxation cd cause it sounds like you have a very stressful job. ???
Quitting smoking is so hard. Esp when you
subconsciously rely on it to calm you down when
in reality it's just adding more fuel to your
anxiety levels.
Try to find a smoking cessation class or group
This would be beneficial to you because it is hard
to do on your own when you become addicted.
Good Luck!
subconsciously rely on it to calm you down when
in reality it's just adding more fuel to your
anxiety levels.
Try to find a smoking cessation class or group
This would be beneficial to you because it is hard
to do on your own when you become addicted.
Good Luck!
hi donald,
im so glad you addressed this topic, when i first started the program i didnt find many people in the chat/forums who were struggling as i have been with quitting smoking. and actually i had sort fo drifted away from using the program for a couple of months, and after analyzing it, i realized that i was stuck at the exercise and diet phase//in other words, i felt like i wasn't going to be able to move forward until i really started attacking the physical aspects, taking control of my health and stopping to do myself harm, especially with the cigarettes. i also have known for awhile that alot of my anxiety is in the form of worry and fear of what could happen to me physically because of my bad habits, and my reluctance to really CARE for myself (ironically we often care so much for others,and dont take care of ourselves, right?)alot has transpired in the last few months. my mother passed away in february, she had been very ill due to smoking related disease (emphysema, congestive heart failure). thankfully i was able to use the skills i learned in the first part of the program to get me through the initial stages of stress and grief. but the nagging issue in the back of my mind was, how can i continue to do this to myself????? i have a small son?! i had tried to quit at new years, and was looking for someone else in the program who wanted to do mutual support but didnt find any takers, and i dindnt really look that hard i guess. (i was also kind of surprised that ADDICTION to cigarettes hadnt been addressed as much as other things, like sugar- i mean for me stress and smoking just went hand and hand!)). anyway,three weeks ago i quit(24 days, yeaee!). cold turkey, no patches, no gum, no nothing. (tried all that stuff before with greater or lesser success). and while i too had thought of quitting all the "bad stuff" at once, i knew that it wasnt going to work for me, so i decided to focus ALLLLLL my energy on NOT SMOKING, and so far, it has worked. when i want to have a coffee, i have it.and i feel GOOD knowing that i didnt have a cigarette. everyday when i walk down the street and see someone puffing, i feel GOOD that its not me (even my jealousy seems to have diminished, like im not saying to myself, its not fair, I want a cigarette!)and of course i feel physically so much BETTER!!! (mentally too, cause it helps my self esteem/ im not beating myself up with every damn cigarette!) so basically what im trying to say is, maybe take it ONE step at a time, and when you have some success with one thing, it will give you the incentive to tackle the next one.i have also tried to add in good things, like i got a juicer and have been making myself fresh vegetable/fruit juices everyday...)AND i made a doctor's appointment. (i have been so scared to do that---ah "what if" thinking...)the next step will be initiating an exercise regimen...im so un-disciplined that the thought of this is overwhelming, BUT i really feel like if i don't- im not going to get the full benefits of this program, it will be kind of half way, you know??? so donald, if you need any support on quitting- ill be checking in ok? good luck to you and me, and everybody else who is struggling with addictions and trying to figure out how to take care of themselves!
im so glad you addressed this topic, when i first started the program i didnt find many people in the chat/forums who were struggling as i have been with quitting smoking. and actually i had sort fo drifted away from using the program for a couple of months, and after analyzing it, i realized that i was stuck at the exercise and diet phase//in other words, i felt like i wasn't going to be able to move forward until i really started attacking the physical aspects, taking control of my health and stopping to do myself harm, especially with the cigarettes. i also have known for awhile that alot of my anxiety is in the form of worry and fear of what could happen to me physically because of my bad habits, and my reluctance to really CARE for myself (ironically we often care so much for others,and dont take care of ourselves, right?)alot has transpired in the last few months. my mother passed away in february, she had been very ill due to smoking related disease (emphysema, congestive heart failure). thankfully i was able to use the skills i learned in the first part of the program to get me through the initial stages of stress and grief. but the nagging issue in the back of my mind was, how can i continue to do this to myself????? i have a small son?! i had tried to quit at new years, and was looking for someone else in the program who wanted to do mutual support but didnt find any takers, and i dindnt really look that hard i guess. (i was also kind of surprised that ADDICTION to cigarettes hadnt been addressed as much as other things, like sugar- i mean for me stress and smoking just went hand and hand!)). anyway,three weeks ago i quit(24 days, yeaee!). cold turkey, no patches, no gum, no nothing. (tried all that stuff before with greater or lesser success). and while i too had thought of quitting all the "bad stuff" at once, i knew that it wasnt going to work for me, so i decided to focus ALLLLLL my energy on NOT SMOKING, and so far, it has worked. when i want to have a coffee, i have it.and i feel GOOD knowing that i didnt have a cigarette. everyday when i walk down the street and see someone puffing, i feel GOOD that its not me (even my jealousy seems to have diminished, like im not saying to myself, its not fair, I want a cigarette!)and of course i feel physically so much BETTER!!! (mentally too, cause it helps my self esteem/ im not beating myself up with every damn cigarette!) so basically what im trying to say is, maybe take it ONE step at a time, and when you have some success with one thing, it will give you the incentive to tackle the next one.i have also tried to add in good things, like i got a juicer and have been making myself fresh vegetable/fruit juices everyday...)AND i made a doctor's appointment. (i have been so scared to do that---ah "what if" thinking...)the next step will be initiating an exercise regimen...im so un-disciplined that the thought of this is overwhelming, BUT i really feel like if i don't- im not going to get the full benefits of this program, it will be kind of half way, you know??? so donald, if you need any support on quitting- ill be checking in ok? good luck to you and me, and everybody else who is struggling with addictions and trying to figure out how to take care of themselves!