Originally Posted by Stanley Nickels (Post 5070560)

This comment made me LOL. However, it's fairly resonant in your instance SR. Make this place, and this thread specifically, your resource when you're craving, losing hope, etc. I'm a newbie here, but the subject is something that transcends well past this board, and certainly applies to many more people.

Personally, I have my reservations about my own behavior. I don't smoke or drink-- until the weekend. And then, for whatever reason, it's a near guarantee that I'm going to end up drinking in excess (Friday nights especially), swear off drinking the next day, and reluctantly going out (peer pressure) Saturday evening and repeating. It's truly a drain on my body, and my wallet. That might be what eventually knocks the habit.

The truly strangest thing is, I'm the guy that all smokers hate: the drinking smoker. I rarely, if ever, have any inclination towards cigs during the week-- the smell actually disgusts me-- yet, get me in the mindset of partying, and I crave to no end. I literally smoke as much in a couple hours as some do in a day. Mind-boggling. But it does lead me to believe that everything is related to will-power and mind-over-matter behavior. I'm trying to curb this behavior, since drinking in moderation isn't apparently in my nature-- but I don't want to risk losing my best friends in the world, who center most of their actions on activities involving alcohol. It'll be tough, but it's got to happen. Something's gotta give: health or my "fun" Fridays.

I think those smoking commercials ("Become an Ex") are the absolute truth: if you can re-learn to do certain simple tasks without alcohol, cigs, drugs- whatever your vice-- you can re-learn to do anything. My personal goal is drinking IN MODERATION (the litmus being no hangover), and not smoking again. Ever.

So, best of luck to you, SR and DP. Use this thread ad nausea to vent, or whatever. Know that we're behind you, and we, for whatever it's worth, expect you to keep up with this.

Originally Posted by Bugeater (Post 5071743)

Good luck SR, I'm currently trying to quit smoking which means...you guessed it...no drinking in the meantime. That's what tripped me up last time I quit.

Originally Posted by Bowser (Post 5070356)

Yeah, but at least you guys have those topless barista places up there.

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs (Post 5071869)

The trick to stopping anything... is you have to figure out if it serves you or not. If it serves you well, continue. If it doesn't serve you, then you have to begin to place the feeling of PAIN to the action that you wish to quit.

For example, you want to stop drinking, for me... easy, I linked MASSIVE amounts of pain to drinking. The cost of the drinks, the cost of a DUI, the hangovers, the knowing that I act like an idiot when Im drunk, that you sometimes post stupid shit while drunk.

Ok, drinking has never been a problem for me, I hate the hangovers... but I used the same approach to quit smoking cigarettes.

And Claythan used the same approach to stop blowing guys.

Your mind is driven to seek pleasure and eliminate pain. So, as long as drinking or smoking is pleasureable in your mind, it will be nearly impossible to quit.

You have to change your neuroassociative conditioning. And for some, its very difficult.

Originally Posted by Bugeater (Post 5071892)

Oddly enough, it's because of pain that I'm trying to quit smoking, I've been fighting severe pain in my neck and shoulders for almost a year now. Last spring a spine specialist told me I have no excuse for complaining about the pain as long as I smoke, and I scoffed at it because it seems doctors like to blame everything on smoking. Nevertheless, I finally decided to give it a go since nothing else is helping, and sure enough I'm only one day in and I do seem to be feeling some relief. We'll see if that continues...

Originally Posted by NewPhin (Post 5073395)

Expect for things to get worse again before they get better. Quitting smoking can get pretty painful as your nerve endings come back awake and your cilia regrow. It made no sense to me at the time, but I remember getting sick all of the time, having a sore throat, coughing up tons of stuff, draining sinuses, being short of breath, and basically feeling like a had an upper-respiratory and a sinus infection for a few weeks when I quit. Then you'll start to feel much better.

Originally Posted by Simply Red (Post 5073374)