My intention is to stop smoking as of tomorrow. I'm a little bit nervous about giving up something else so soon after giving up alcohol, but at the same time the smoking really isn't doing me any favours. If someone or something makes me angry or stressed, the first thing I'm going to want to do is roll a cigarette. However, if I keep the Serenity Prayer in mind, I'll know that I can't control what other people do or some of the things that happen to me, but I can control how I react to it (and I'll hopefully have the wisdom to know the difference!). In the beginning I might reach for a cookie, which is not ideal, but not half as bad. One can't expect to be perfect. Althought I want to. Really badly. It's one of my major character defects, but one that serves me quite well at this moment in time. I'll have opportunity to adjust my expectations as I gain more experience in this living-life-sober kind of thing. Oh, did I mention I went back to being vegetarian on thursday last week? I already feel so much better, and I also feel as if I've regained some of my own identity that I so freely gave away to alcohol fuelled self-centredness. I was veggie for 9 years, then ate meat for 4 years, and now I'm back again.
All is good. I'm full of gratitude... to life, to my sponsor, to my partner, to my boss, to my friends, to my mum and dad, to AA...
I quit smoking about 14 years ago and I was smoking at least a pack/day at the time. When I quit, I bought a huge bag of suckers that I substituted for cigarettes. That seemed to satisfy the oral fixation of smoking. I also would take deep breaths through tight lips to replicate the sensation of smoking and the relaxation effect.
ReplyDeleteTry those and see they help you.
Best of luck!!