My mood weblog

The first steps toward a solid quit include examining just what it is  that’s happening, just what sensations our bodies are experiencing at the moment that an urge for a cig is noticed. These sensations are also called emotions or feelings. It’s sometimes eaiser to begin by examining strong sensations like anger or hunger. I think most of us can easily conjure up the sensations that might go with anger just by remembering a situation that involved anger. The important elements to focus on are the actual physical manifestations i.e. tension in face, neck, shoulders and abdomen, breathing, and heart rate. The reason I suggest getting adept at recognizing the physical sensations that go with our emotions/conditions is that it’s these very physical sensations that are the items that we observe and then automatically connect to established ‘cures’. It’s these automatic connections that are the root of urges long after we quit. (I differentiate between urges, automatic thoughts, and conscious thoughts.  Conscious thoughts can be, and often are, critical or analytical. They are the fodder for the responses we choose. Automatic thoughts are those that, having been attached to specific events, will cycle through our minds each and every time that event occurs. Urges are the results of automatic thoughts)

If we spend enough time and effort examining what our bodies are telling us, and us that knowledge to create new responses to all the everyday events that were always our triggers, in time we’ll have established new patterns of behaior …new patterns of response. At that point we’re no longer stuck in the "we’ll always get urges/thoughts/desires(for a cigarette) mode".

So, maybe make a list of emotions (happy, sad, angry, bored) and conditions (hot, cold, hungry, tired) that you experience? Then start to define each in terms of the physical experience of it. You’ll be surprised how quickly this all begins to be a part of your thinking and awareness.