Overcoming an Addiction Trigger

[Scootypuff]

I hear you bro, my primary trigger is drinking. I don't drink that much anymore, but I really have to be careful because more that a couple beers really brings out my primal smoking urge. Beer and a cigarette was like peanut butter and jelly to me. I'm not about to give up craft beers anytime soon so I'm still looking for that "perfect" craft vape to go with it!

 

[Magnushawk]

I hear you bro, my primary trigger is drinking. I don't drink that much anymore, but I really have to be careful because more that a couple beers really brings out my primal smoking urge. Beer and a cigarette was like peanut butter and jelly to me. I'm not about to give up craft beers anytime soon so I'm still looking for that "perfect" craft vape to go with it!

I love craft beers. If you find something that goes really with them, please let us know. I'd appreciate it. I'll do the same. I'll have a few with the games today so if I find out anything significant I'll post it up.

 

[Ronan]

My experience has been all about triggers. When I started vaping I tried attacking them. I went to a bar and had a few drinks. I drove my car (different day!). I woke up. I ate. So far so good...

I live in NYC and ride the subway a few times a day for work. Exiting the subway is a major trigger. I do service calls so finishing a call and going back outside was a big one, even if it only took 20 minutes.

I'm a musician, (drummer anyway). Taking a break from a jam session is another trigger. I guess that's my version of the shooting range. I do it a lot, I like it a lot and it's conducive to smoking.

I haven't been shooting in a while but I think I would have more trouble after the range. Nothing used to make me want to smoke more than taking things apart at the bench. I think an intense gun cleaning session would be a powerful trigger. I'm 38 days in so I'm hopeful that I will just vape like crazy next time I pull the gun tools out.

 

[pixiedust]

Since I last posted about the 'phone trigger' issue, I figured out a way to avoid it. I never ever smoked analogs in the house, so every time I would have a phone call, I would take the phone outside, or into the garage and light up..Well, breaking the association between talking on the phone and smoking was as easy as NOT going outside to talk on the phone! I have no craving for analogs, the smell of them sort of makes me sick now, and the coolest thing is- I feel good about myself. I smoked for 30 years and always felt self conscious and somewhat embarrassed about doing it. All the times I tried to quit and wasn't able to just made me feel like a failure.

At this point I KNOW I will never go back to analogs, and that is a fantastic feeling!

 

[jameth]

I'm only 4 days in, so far my main trigger has been while visiting with friends, whether they smoked or not, going out for a smoke and bull....ting was an easy thing to do when there was nothing else to do.

 

[texasgranny]

Triggers....yep they still pop in daily.

But the vape keeps me strong as well as the fact that I can now make it to the mailbox
and back without having a ambulance present for the trip.

The only time vaping is "weak" for me...is when I am outside. I don't understand it
but the overall experience is not the same as when I am inside. Strange.

Casino trip....it's time for 36 nic and 10 prefilled cartos. ( for the first 4 hours)

 

[StarrzChylde]

It's the same for me. As long as I am inside, sitting at my computer and vaping away on my ego... I'm fine.

As soon as I hit outside, the urge is there and REALLY strong. The only urge that is stronger than that is on my drive to work in the mornings and on my lunchbreak. It's like I am terrified to go without.

So, yeah., no matter how far you are into vaping. The urges still rear their ugly heads. You just have to keep going strong and resist.

 

[Stownz]

Yep, 36mg/ml stuff is a great emergency. Crank the voltage up too, really slams your lungs.

 

[Rosa]

Camping is a big trigger for me. The camp fire smell is so strong, when I smoked it was the only time of the year when it was totally normal to walk around smelling like smoke - plus, it's like a week of beer, hot dogs and a smoke filled camp fire.. no ashtrays, no cig butts 'cause you just toss them in the fire when you're done.

Last summer I went camping and ended up running all my batteries down with two days left to go before I would be able to recharge. I bought a pack of smokes and smoked those for the last two days of the trip... they gave me such a migraine and they tasted like burning shoe rubber. They tasted exactly the way I remembered them but I just didn't realize how chemically they tasted until I had gained some perspective from vaping.

Now I don't know what I'm going to do for the next camping trip. Smoking just wasn't so great after all but I'll still miss it when I'm camping.