Every smoker who is trying to get free from nicotine must come to terms with the fact that it is an inside job. Nobody and nothing is going to rescue you from your own addiction. While we do it ourselves, we do not do it all by ourselves. That is where support comes in. But support cannot do it for you.
I once worked for a famous man who had no less than six assistants. One of them carried a pitcher of water to the bungalow at the film studio where I worked with him. He was very charming and witty. After the first session I realized I had been “charmed” by him, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be of any use to his process of stopping smoking. I told him at our next session that I didn’t think I was going to be able to help him stop, that I thought he was hiring me to stop for him, not to empower him to take the process seriously and teach him to take the actions he must take. That caught his attention. Nobody thus far had ever denied him their services. But he got it, and he was able to stop and do the necessary work to stay off.
Your addiction is no respecter of persons. It is an equal opportunity destroyer. It doesn’t matter if you are a good person or bad, wealthy or poor, famous or not, a doctor, baker, or shoemaker. It will destroy your health just the same. Sooner or later you realize that in order to get free from nicotine, it requires you go through the withdrawal process to get out from under it. Bear in mind that nobody needs to be hospitalized, locked up, or retreat from life in order to get free. Nobody needs medication to take away the withdrawal. Most of the nicotine leaves the body within the first 48 hours. After that, it is a matter of learning to live with the desire to smoke as you gain time away from nicotine. And if you learn to go with it, how not to resist it, how to recognize your urges for what they are, and to take back your power. By choosing life over temporary relief you will overcome your problem. This is a simple, step-by-step, doable process for complicated and busy people.
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