The MENTAL draw to smoking analogs

[ClippinWings]

Very wise. Exactly how I feel. Wish I could "like" this a thousand times!

Well, I was a psych major before I realized I'd have a nervous breakdown if i couldn't help someone... LOL

Now I just build websites... But I'm still fascinated with how the mind works, particularly mine. So try to be logical and rational about why i feel or think certain things...

This issue, with the very famous experiments by pavlov and our knowledge of nicotine addiction, seems pretty cut and dry.

I have honestly found that laughing about it works... I was not joking in that part of my post... it is important to laugh at your self... and realize that until you re-train it... you subconscious is only doing what you taught it... and it IS out to get you LOL

 

[geekswife]

Thank you all so much. I greatly appreciate your honesty & willingness to share your challenges. I don't want to "just smoke one" because I know me... and I know one is all it would take. I know that first one would taste like ....., but I would still do it. And then another.. and then another. Just like when we all started smoking to begin with!

I'm glad to know I can come here once and awhile and just say, "hey, I need some reassurance" and you all jump in to give it.

Shorty, I also have a pack, unopened, in the console of my car. That goes back to my anxiety issue though... as long as it's there, I don't feel like someone took it away from me. This way, I have control over it and I'm making the choice to not use them.

 

[geekswife]

Very wise, indeed, ClippinWings! I was a psych major as well.. I think it all comes down to the old adage of "physician heal thyself." It's easy for me to tell others what to do.. not so easy to do them myself, lol. Absolute craziness!

 

[Angi2299]

ClippinWings - I agree about laughing at ourselves. I advocate it often, even in situations not related to quitting smoking. It is good to keep our sense of humor as it will help keep things in perspective.

 

[Angi2299]

Wow, maybe someone should start a thread "Who keeps a pack of analogs in the center console of their car as a safety blanket"? I too keep a half used pack there still and it has been 38 days since my last "smoke". I keep that pack there as more of a testament to strength...It is there....It is opened...I could have one anytime I want....I have not done it. Reassures me that I CAN DO THIS!!! Also, those analogs are probably pretty gross and dry by now. I probably wouldn't smoke them under any circumstance.

Geekswife - Welcome to a fellow Texan (just saw your location info)!!!

 

[hrtim]

I almost started this exact same thread about an hour ago.
I was a HEAVY smoker for many years.

My son gave me the extra ego-t and a small bottle of juice from the starter kit that his mother gave him.
That was last Monday. I started vaping that day and puffed on a few analogs for two days. Then I stopped the cigs.

So, for five days I've been a non-smoker.

Believe me, I KNOW how you feel. Earlier today, I really wanted a cig, but i'm determined to quit.
Problem is, my wife still comes out in my shop (the garage) and smokes. She's a very light smoker. Probably 3 a day.
Oh my god, they smell good for a few seconds until I tell myself that in actuality they REALLY STINK.

I have no idea how long the craving is going to last. Maybe forever. But, I am now a non- smoker. Period.

Hang in there. We'll make it through.

 

[kenetix]

I think sometimes you just have to buck up and face your fears. Do it once and you will see how strong you are and you will realise that what you are doing is breaking a habit. Habit to smoke after eating. habit to smoke in stressful situations. Habit to smoke when situation x happens. You have to retrain your body into doing something else and sometimes you just have to do it and face it head on to get over it. Ask the guy who was afraid of heights who joined the army who jumped froma plane or repeled over a cliff. Just face it and get over it. You will feel much better when you remove that mental crutch!

You might find that you enjoy sitting on your porch vaping. Or just sitting on your porch looking at the cars or birds. Never know until you try.

 

[northwestfarmtn]

"Who keeps a pack of analogs

I DO!!!! well not in the car but for the first week they stayed in my left pocket lighter in the right pocket now those same analogs sit next to the bed lighter still in pocket but I use that for other things.....

 

[shortyjacobs]

Wow, maybe someone should start a thread "Who keeps a pack of analogs in the center console of their car as a safety blanket"? I too keep a half used pack there still and it has been 38 days since my last "smoke". I keep that pack there as more of a testament to strength...It is there....It is opened...I could have one anytime I want....I have not done it. Reassures me that I CAN DO THIS!!! Also, those analogs are probably pretty gross and dry by now. I probably wouldn't smoke them under any circumstance.

Geekswife - Welcome to a fellow Texan (just saw your location info)!!!

lol, yup, half a pack, opened, and waiting in my center console. It's been a few weeks now, though, and I actually was surprised when I went digging in the console for something else this morning and saw the smokes, like "oh, funny, forgot I had those..."

 

[Shizzle]

i've been vaping for a year, and i still get the urge to smoke every so often -- it's less compelling than it used to be, but it hasn't gone away completely.

i think one of the things i miss the most is the smell of a lit cigarette...but i sure don't miss the dirty ashtray smell it left in my mouth, my hair, my clothes, my house, my car, etc!

 

[dlsw]

Wow, maybe someone should start a thread "Who keeps a pack of analogs in the center console of their car as a safety blanket"? I too keep a half used pack there still and it has been 38 days since my last "smoke". I keep that pack there as more of a testament to strength...It is there....It is opened...I could have one anytime I want....I have not done it. Reassures me that I CAN DO THIS!!! Also, those analogs are probably pretty gross and dry by now. I probably wouldn't smoke them under any circumstance.

Geekswife - Welcome to a fellow Texan (just saw your location info)!!!

My open pack is in the garage... I am so glad that someone started this thread! I have had some cravings that have kicked my ....!

 

[AttyPops]

Wow, maybe someone should start a thread "Who keeps a pack of analogs in the center console of their car as a safety blanket"?
<snip>

lol. My mom had a couple of packs in the freezer (so they would stay fresh!) for 6 months. Then she decided to give them away. She vaped for a while and then gave that up too. Now, folks, just so you know, she smoked for approx 60 years. She switched to e-cigs, then quit e-cigs too. She did it her way, the way she was comfortable with. Had her two ego units and two 510 super-mini's for when she wanted the "cig form factor". (and she dripped, no less, cuz that's what I showed her at the time).

There is no single correct way to quit. No single hardware combination either. Do what works for you.

 

[St. Nick]

For me, it's reality, I don't miss it AT ALL!!! I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop---but after being analog free since 7/18/11, no cravings at all. The smell on other people bothers me, the stink on my clothes bothers my nose, it plugs it up and my eyes water. This after 1 1/2 packs/day for 35 years. Go figure.

 

[Angi2299]

Yeah and won't it be fun to come back in a year and see how silly we all were with our newbie fears and anxieties.

 

[Cheechako]

I smoked for over 30 years, tried the gum and patches...always went back. I figured I would try the Ecig, what a difference! I still would like an analog once in a while but not the craving I had even on "Nicotine Replcements." I decided to smoke if I felt I needed to, went from 2-3 analogs a day to 1. The stink and taste are enough to discourage puffing on them and return to the mellow taste of vaping. Two weeks and it doesn't seem like a lifetime when I tried other things. Vaping seems to satisfy a lot of the cravings I suppose.

 

[geekswife]

I started with 2 unopened packs and 1 half pack. I threw the 1/2 pack away last Thursday. I carried the unopened ones in my purse everywhere I went (and I'm notorious for just grabbing my wallet as I run out the door, but now, I carried that stupid thing EVERYWHERE). I was going in to a store and my purse was over-flowing. I left one pack in my husband's car so they didn't flop out when I went to pay. The next day I was going into my kids school and needed to take my ID out. I didn't want them popping out there either, so I dropped the last unopened pack in the console & they've been there since.

I feel like I'm playing mind games with myself... moving them further and further away, a little at a time. Like that makes it easier, LOL.

Whatever it takes!

 

[northwestfarmtn]

I started with 2 unopened packs and 1 half pack. I threw the 1/2 pack away last Thursday. I carried the unopened ones in my purse everywhere I went (and I'm notorious for just grabbing my wallet as I run out the door, but now, I carried that stupid thing EVERYWHERE). I was going in to a store and my purse was over-flowing. I left one pack in my husband's car so they didn't flop out when I went to pay. The next day I was going into my kids school and needed to take my ID out. I didn't want them popping out there either, so I dropped the last unopened pack in the console & they've been there since.

I feel like I'm playing mind games with myself... moving them further and further away, a little at a time. Like that makes it easier, LOL.

Whatever it takes!

I found the tough thing was leaving the pack at home while out of town for a few hrs. Really was weird, I was like 30 miles away from them, for like 4 hr. havn't been that far away from them since i was a lil guy.

 

[St. Nick]

I'm so proud of us for actually DOING something to try and end our dependence on cancer sticks. Now that's courage---not trying to be melodramatic or anything, but a lot of us tried for years and years (and years) to quit or almost quit, and then out of the blue vaping falls in our laps. Then BAM!!!! Look at how our lives (and health) have changed soooo fast. You're right, Angie2299, it will be fun...............!!

 

[Merzeal]

I started vaping again roughly 2 weeks ago, and I've smoked a collective of maybe 3-4 cigarettes. I don't feel the need to deprive myself of urges, and most times I step outside, take 2 drags and realize it's nasty. You'll realize that punishing yourself by not submitting will make it worse, kind of like how prohibition spurred illegal imbibing of alcohol.

I don't believe in making myself miserable for an arbitrary dead line though, better to make a few mistakes and move on than drive yourself crazy with the "what ifs".

 

[chuckbtn]

Does it ever go away?

I just want to get to where I can get through the day without that magnetic pull... you know? Is that even possible?



I am only 2 weeks into vaping myself. I still catch myself reaching for the shirt pocket!!! it is just habit, we learned this behavior, now we just have to re-learn a new one!!

I do not have any desire for analogs, but do find myself repeating behavior i learned as a smoker. Now I just hit the PV instead of rocking the Zippo!!!

Good luck!!