About 70% of people who smoke or vape say they want to stop. And many of them try only to fall back to their “old habit”. Why is that? Well, it’s not just an “old habit’ that smokers and vapers are up against. It’s a full-blown addiction which few want to see, much less admit.
So how do nicotine addicts recover from a problem they do not comprehend nor want to face? Thus, the appeal of “quick fixes” such as hypnosis, substitutes, other forms of nicotine, etc. They all appear to be the magic that promises to make the problem go away quickly without work and without feeling discomfort. In other words, us addicts want to get rid of our need for nicotine by satisfying that need with something else. It’s called “transference”.
If only transference worked there would be no more need for stop smoking or stop vaping products and programs! There would be no need for nicotine replacement “therapy”! I put the word therapy in quotes because I fail to see how one can recover from a substance if one doesn’t leave it to begin with. The promise of this way of thinking based on a false premise: if one substitutes something in place of nicotine then the urges will blow over after some time. But in my experience, my substitutions only served to make me into a fat smoker! After weeks of substituting, no amount of nicotine in another form, caffeine, donuts, pie, candy, gum, an extra helping of this or that ever made the urges disappear. I became so uncomfortable within my own skin, not to mention my bulging clothes, so obsessed with satisfying an undefined craving that nothing could fill, that I figured I was better off just going back to smoking.
Here is my bad news: The only way one can get free from nicotine dependence is by abstaining completely over time. The only way to get free from the desires to smoke or vape is by experiencing them. And over a relatively short time, they go away by themselves. Don’t believe me? I am living proof, and thousands of people I have helped stop will testify that I ain’t lyin’. And we found a way to not be miserable or deprived!
So how long will the urges last before they go away? Let me put it this way: If I could give you a finite answer, for example, if I told you the number of times you will continue to have urges is around 1,000, would you do it? That’s about give or take how many you will have. And the good news is that they will gradually lose their hold over time, especially if you learn how to embrace them, not run from them. But (here is the critical part) you will need to accept that you are an addict. Why? So that you stop holding onto the magical belief that you will ever be restored to not being a nicotine addict! Once you accept that you will never again be restored to smoking or vaping in a reasonable way, then you will be 100% recovered. So, still looking for magic, or are you ready to get real? Call me! 512-758-1910.
Good News! Soon I will be making an announcement of two new developments: I am updating my website for a better experience and I have created an on-line video 5 day program so that clients can stop on their own daily schedule and get the follow up they need for 90 days after stopping.
I am giving away my new course to the first 5 people who express an interest in stopping in exchange for feedback about their experience. So if you love an smoker or vaper, let them know of this offer. Stay on the lookout! Contact me at carol@chooseasmokefreelife.com.