!It Isn't Your Fault!
When you started smoking it was a lark.You did it secretly cause you weren't supposed to do it.Yes? Maybe with a friend.You coughed,cleared your throat,it hurt your nose and it was unpleasant but felt so grown up to do it.
Did you then take the whole pack and sit down and smoke every cigarette one after the other?No, of course not.You tried it again at some point and again and gradually you did it more and more and more.You were limited by where you could do it, who saw you, how much money you had to buy a pack, etc.
So you gradually learned to smoke.How to hold the cigarette most effectively, how to look sexy, how much to inhale, how far to inhale, etc.At some point you became a regular smoker.At that point the addiction kicks in and you find yourself wanting a cigarette at certain times.Say after a meal, after sex, with a cup of coffee, with a drink, after a snack or a meal, while driving, with your boyfriend or girlfriend. And so it went.
Now when you try to quit you can't.You try cold turkey but it doesn't last.Why? Because you must de-condition yourself first.You had to condition yourself to do it, to enjoy it,now you have to reverse the process.This is where all the programs start to really mess it up for you.
1. Keep a journal.
2. Write down every cigarette you smoke.
3. Write down every time you get the urge.
4.Notice the triggers that make you want to have a cigarette.
See how endlessly it proliferates to occupy your time, keep you focused on having a cigarette. Now if a program wants you to quit, why would they give you a program that forces you to focus on WANTING each cigarette.
Or you cut down the number of cigarettes a day you smoke.That way each one you smoke becomes really extra special.The time you smoke, the setting, when you smoke becomes over cathected.
Or you use crutches like the e-inhaler.Now you exchange cigarettes so you can still hold one in your hand,still inhale,still keep the desire and feel you are lessening your dependence. Didn't work, did it. Or are you still using that trendy e-inhaler.
How about the gum, the sucrets, have you tried them? They work as a placebo for awhile but they just don't satisfy do they?So back you go. Meanwhile you have spent a tidy sum buying all these tricks, which is exactly what you were supposed to do. Shop and spend money.
Well because they haven't studied learning and motivation theory in any serious way.They were never certified Behavior Therapists, so as to apply the principles it offers. Because they are mostly hucksters wanting to make a buck off you. If you have a relapse they will never know, will they.
I'm sure you have other variations on this "trying to quit" that are better than these.Well, throw them all under the bus.They don't work so forget them.
This program is going to de-condition you BEFORE you quit. That's going to take 3 weeks. Then I am going to slide you off the program and that will take 3 weeks. 6 weeks total to quit.This is to make sure it will be easy for you and will keep you from substituting FOOD AND SNACKS for cigarettes.
That way you are not going to gain weight when you quit.This is the big reason people start again. The pounds start to pile on, that is intolerable, you would rather smoke than be fat. BUT when you start again the pounds don't come off.They kind of stop piling up but they don't come off.
If you like to drink I will incorporate that for you to make sure you can drink comfortably without wanting a cigarette. If you live with another who continues to smoke, no problem. Let them smoke. It will be awhile before smoke in the air becomes offensive to you.
And one of the great things you will notice is that you feel more alive now.You will feel like doing things you never used to seem to have the energy to do.
This program will work on a donation only fee. It will take 42 days, so I am requesting a donation of $5.00 a day or $35.00 a week X 6 weeks. That's $210.00 for 6 weeks, the price of a pack of
PER DAY!
Fair enough?
And you will receive $10 for each meeting you attend.This is to give you an incentive to be with us and not skip or you will lose $10 forever.
210 - 60 = 150
A total of $150 to quit. Less than the cost of a pack a day.
You will have the option to repeat the program as often as you want to stick with it,to ensure no relapse or to fix it if you do, for as long as I live in Springfield and do this course.
Clearly I expect no failures.
If it worked for me, it will work for anyone.I thought I would never be able to quit. It's been 60 years now.
The First meeting will be at
LINK: CIRCLE ON THE SQUARE
on April 15, 2015, Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.
LINK: CIRCLE ON THE SQUARE
on April 15, 2015, Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.
I hope to see you there.