I found a book to help me along in my recovery process. It is called: Yes! You Can Stop Smoking - Even if You Don't Want To - Recover from Nicotine Addiction. This book is by David C. Jones.
So far I am pretty impressed with this book because it is educating me about the nature of addiction - specifically nicotine addiction. Right up my alley.
Right from the start Jones dives in about the stages of recovery - basically what the mind goes through while quitting smoking. He is pretty on target of what I have been feeling mind-wise. It is easy to find information about what happens to our bodies - but our minds are a whole different manner.
So the first stage he identifies is the Fear stage. From what I get, this is the early stage of the quit and lasts from the time we identify that we need to quit smoking to about two weeks in. This is what keeps us from taking the initial dive into a quit and keeps us smoking, giving up within two weeks and keeps us from staying quit. Remember when I spoke of how I was worrying about craves I didn't even have yet, the future cravings? That is a prime example of the Fear stage.
The Fear stage has a whole grocery list of fears that try to trick us into giving up on the quit or not even trying in the first place. The fear of pretty much anything: success, failure, withdrawal process, anxiety etc. Jones' solution to the stage is to talk about these feelings with a trusted confidant and accepting the feelings for what they are to take away their power.
I can defiantly say I am still in this stage and I can say it does take a lot of work to beat the fears that come along with a quit.
The second stage is the Adjustment stage, and can last a few months to a year. This is the withdrawal process that we all feel. Physical and mental challenges our bodies and brains that leave us feeling a whole spectrum of emotions and ailments. We learn how to do day to day activities without cigarettes. Our bodies are clearing out the poisons and healing themselves.
The adjustment stage might have the highest probability of relapse because of the gain in confidence. This false sense of security can make us feel like we can handle just one cigarette. Withdrawals and cravings become severe in thirty day intervals that can blindside someone in recovery. Emotions can be extremely vivid during this stage and the inability to deal can cause a relapse.
The best part about the adjustment stage is that I will start to gain self esteem and gratitude for my quit. The biggest help for this stage is having a good support group, good friends and keeping a daily journal (Yay for me!)
Now I think the adjustment stage starts at day 1 as we struggle to learn how to live a non-smoking life, struggle with withdrawals and celebrate each day we stay smoke free.
The next two stages, Anger and Growth, work together and last up to eighteen months of a quit. There are some main points about anger and growth that really scare me. If I do not handle my emotional issues correctly I will smoke again. This is what happens and every smoker knows it, they have done it. We get upset, stressed or angry. What do we do - grab a cigarette. When do we really resolve HOW we got upset, stressed or angry in the first place? How do we resolve our emotions without smoking? How do we take that time to cool off and deal with our feelings without the mental break a cigarette provided us?
So these past issues are going to pop up and we have to learn how to deal with this emotional pain, take responsibility for them and then choose not to smoke as an immediate solution to these problems. (That is the Growth) This is really stressful for me. But on the other hand this emotional growth is an exciting adventure to become a better person.
The last stage of addiction is the Maintenance Stage. This is the rest of our lives. Jones speaks of having healthy coping skills, spirituality, short and long term goals and non-smoking friends. He kind of describes a non-smoking utopia. Since I am not here yet, I am willing to be extremely judgmental and probably misunderstand what he is trying to say. I know many smokers who have these attributes. It almost sounds like he is ball-busting the smokers and making people who do not smoke into saints. A little to high nosed for me. But they always say that former smokers are the worst critics against critics so who knows how I will feel when I am actually here, right?
Jones gives a two year goal and he says, "it takes two years to make a complete transition from a smoker who is not smoking to a non-smoker who feels like a non-smoker." Two years to change twenty-four years of an addiction - yeah I like those odds.
No comments:
Post a Comment