Smoking and Writing.

[Commonmind]

I used to drink quite a bit, especially in the evenings while writing - two or three glasses of wine and a few thousand words were very routine for me. I found that I had soon associated the two things so closely that any time I wrote I wanted a glass of wine, and vice versa. After realizing how harmful this could become I decided to stop drinking altogether (it's been some time, actually) and my writing has been better for it.

Now that I'm a father I've found myself more concerned with my own health. I want to be there for my son as much as possible and see as much of his life as I can. I'm already in very good shape and I exercise religiously, but I'd been smoking for about nine years and decided to quit. I noticed, very quickly, that this was much more difficult than giving up the sauce, and that the mental "buzz" I used to get from smoking is much more difficult to let go than I originally thought.

Have any of you experienced the same? I've been trying to get a good thirty minute walk in before sitting down at the desk, hoping to unleash those endorphins before I work, but it's a very laborious substitute

 

[Kissmequick]

One day I'll gove up, oh yes I will! *shakes fist at sky*

I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes when I get a bit bogged down writing, all it takes is a quick *thinkstick* , a ponder as I smoke and I'm away. I've tried all sorts, but I just can't seem to kick it, and there seems no other substitute.

However, I'm sure after a week or so your muse will return, and probably sharper than before, so go to it!

Good luck.

 

[mosaix]

Perhaps a bit of a giggle will help you along.

When I was eight (53 years ago ) my cousin and I found a packet of cigarettes on my front path. We immediately retired with them to the garden shed. We had no matches but decided that we had to do something with them.

Well we couldn't smoke them but we had heard of sailors chewing tobacco - so we ate them!

Needless to say we were very ill and needless to say aversion therapy kicked in and has stayed with me ever since. I can honestly say that giving up cigarettes was one of the easiest things I ever did.

 

[Commonmind]

Kissme: I had quit about three or four years ago for around eight months, and I remember being a lot more productive during that time. So, either it was a coincidence, or you're right - the muse is better at her job when she's not swatting away the noxious clouds

Being a full time musician made quitting the first time really difficult, as most of the venues we played allowed smoking indoors. Ironically, about a month after I gave in to my urges and started again, they passed a law in my state and almost all of the places we were playingm at weekly were rendered non-smoking establishments.

I hope this time I'm more successful.

Mosaix: lol, quite possibly the funniest thing I've read in a while. Thank you sir

 

[mosaix]

Commonmind - you know that if you need some support in this then the Chrons is the place.

Just focus on your son and your future together and the fact that you don't want him to pick the habit up from you.

Either that or try eating a packet.

 

[Commonmind]

HAHA. Thanks Mosaix, I appreciate the support I think I'll do just fine this time 'round, for the very reason you mentioned: the future - I want to be there for him during all those milestones in his life.

And I would try eating a packet, except that I threw them all in the rubbish so I wouldn't be tempted at all. It was a good idea too, as I had a run in with an irate mail carrier this morning and probably would've lit up directly after I returned from our little affray. It seems that it's okay for her to throw packages over my privacy fence, even if they state plainly that they should be "Handled With Care," but it is not okay for me to forget to put a stamp on my letters if I, as she so eloquently put it, "want them to get where the hell they're supposed to be going."

 

[Zubi-Ondo]

Common - I quit about 10 years ago now. It was nearly the most difficult thing I've ever done. I saw a hypnotist about 6 weeks before I quit, and I never thought that it had had any effect. Recently, I've realized that it could very well have helped. I noticed that smoking was part of my routine - Eat, smoke. Drink coffee, smoke. Drink booze, smoke. Get pissed (no, I mean angry), smoke. You name it. I started cutting down. I was a pack a day smoker, and got it down to 7 a day. That was the wall. I stayed there for a year. Finally, I saw the hypnotist, went on a trip for work (out of the normal routine) and used the patch. (I actually got sick the first night because I used a whole patch which is meant for 1 pack a day smokers, so I started cutting them in half.) I came back from that 2 week trip a non-smoker. I remember pacing in my hotel room the first 4 days with a rubber ball. I kept bouncing it, and bouncing it, and bouncing it...

DON'T GIVE UP TRYING!

- Zubi.

 

[quidscribis]

My sister quit about, um, 12 or 13 years ago (I've never smoked, so I have zero experience with this) when her daughter was 4 or 5. Long story short, she was a mom on welfare, and what with inflation and welfare not being much money, she could either buy her cigarettes, or she could feed her daughter. She opted to feed her daughter.

She wrote up all the reasons why she felt she should quit smoking, put them on post-it notes, and put them all over her house. It helped.

Good luck.

 

[dustinzgirl]

I can't quit smoking but I don't smoke in the house. However, I have a trailer-office thingy that I smoke in and use my laptop. LOL. I'm much more productive, otherwise I'm getting up every hour for a cig. I wish I could quit, but I just can't deal without my smokes. Sad, ain't it.

 

[Pyan]

I smoked 20-30 a day for over thirty years, but gave up four years ago, using nicotine gum. Now my doctor tells me that my health is back to about 90% of what it should be for my age, and I'm amazed at how much better I feel for it.
Keep trying, Common...quite apart from the health benefits, there is an extra incentive in that you re-discover the wonderful taste of food....

 

[Commonmind]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone

Zubi: I actually can't use the patch, as it tends to make me so anxious it thrusts me into panic attacks. I'm having to gradually cut down on the number of cigarettes I'm smoking per day, much like yourself. So far it's working out well. I only had three yesterday, two the day before, four before that and so far I've had none today. It's taken me the better part of a week and a half to get even slightly close to finishing off a pack.

Great One: I've yet to rediscover the taste of food, but I have noticed my sense of smell is much improved - which, for better or worse, is a welcomed side effect.

 

[dustinzgirl]

I don't understand how someone can just give up smoking. I've smoked since I was like, 14 or so. So basically the greater part of two decades. Ain't that a bugger? Anyhoo, I couldn't smoke when I was pregnant because I threw up at the smell of well, dang near anything. So that was probably for the best. I have smoked in the house, but quit doing so because its not good for the kids although I do still sneak one out the bathroom window cuz I have no willpower. I've tried welbutrin cuz its supposed to help you stop smoking but it just made me throw up all the time so, eh. If I bought the patch and all that, then I wouldn't be able to afford my cigarrettes and if the patch didn't work I'd GO FREAKING NUTS. This is probably the worst drug I've ever done, the most addictive, and trust me kids, in my short but chaotic little life I have done A LOT of other drugs. None were as hard to stop as smoking, and everything but smoking I just quit cold turkey and never had a problem with them. But I go a day without my smokes, and I'm a basket case, snappy, mean, and very unhappy. Heck, I can even go two or three days without caffeine--I get a wicked headache, but I can go without it anyways. But my smokes, aw heck no. And nothing I've tried has helped. I don't want to smoke, but I don't want to not smoke either. Its nasty. And, for the sake of going against everything I believe in, cigarrettes should be outlawed.

PS: We roll our own cigarrettes now, cut the cost in half.

 

[Ursa major]

If I bought the patch and all that, then I wouldn't be able to afford my cigarrettes and if the patch didn't work I'd GO FREAKING NUTS.

Perhaps someone could buy you some patches for Christmas, Dusty. I know it doesn't sound that festive, seasonal, or religious, but it might work (perhaps in conjuction with a serious New Year's resolution).

 

[Green]

After smoking ten years, 20 a day or more, I managed to completely quit after trying patches (three and a half years and counting). I got them on the NHS, so they were about £6.50 for two weeks' worth (ish).

Cheap, and perfectly suited for me, as they made me forget to smoke. I know the US doesn't have an NHS (seriously guys, what's that all about?), but is there no kind of subsidised incentive scheme for this kind of thing?

Zyban (or whatever it's called) also worked perfectly for me... until I just decided I wanted to smoke again. Seriously, as soon as they invent the cheap, healthy cig, I'll be back on the Number One like I never stopped.

 

[dustinzgirl]

After smoking ten years, 20 a day or more, I managed to completely quit after trying patches (three and a half years and counting). I got them on the NHS, so they were about £6.50 for two weeks' worth (ish).

Cheap, and perfectly suited for me, as they made me forget to smoke. I know the US doesn't have an NHS (seriously guys, what's that all about?), but is there no kind of subsidised incentive scheme for this kind of thing?

Zyban (or whatever it's called) also worked perfectly for me... until I just decided I wanted to smoke again. Seriously, as soon as they invent the cheap, healthy cig, I'll be back on the Number One like I never stopped.

I live in America. Its waay more than 12 dollars (US, 6 GBP) here....more like 30-50.

Anyways, I could make excuse after excuse after excuse, but I think the real reason is that I just don't want to quit smoking because I'm an addict. Its that simple.

 

[Commonmind]

The (un-poetic) reason I quit smoking is because I don't want to die.






Sure, there's a bit of Schroedinger's Cat to that whole idea, but I'd rather be sure there were no dead cats in the box than be living with a box containing two possibilities.

 

[dustinzgirl]

The (un-poetic) reason I quit smoking is because I don't want to die.






Sure, there's a bit of Schroedinger's Cat to that whole idea, but I'd rather be sure there were no dead cats in the box than be living with a box containing two possibilities.

I think the only thing that will help me quit smoking is having my appendiges chopped off like in Stephen King's Cats Eye. I totally need that kind of motivation.

 

[Daniel Hetberg]

Concerning the productivity thing... I myself don't smoke, but some people in my office do. While they might be faster workers than me, their regular smoking breaks give me ample time to catch up

Apart from that potential extra x% productivity, there's really many reasons to quit smoking... like adding that non-smoker part of the population to your potential list of partners. For a non-smoker, there's probably few things that are more disgusting than kissing a smoker and feeling like you licked clean an ash tray. And all the other reasons already mentioned.

 

[Commonmind]

Ironically, I rarely smoked while working. I found having a cigarette actually reduced my productivity, as it would often make me feel lethargic and sluggish after the initial "buzz" was gone.

It's been a few weeks since I've started trying to quit, and I'm doing well. Though I still smoke between 2 and 5 cigarettes a day, it's made quite a difference in how I feel. For one thing I'm not as winded after my daily walks and I find that after lifting weights, which I usually do four times a week, I'm substantially more energized - where before I often felt as if I had been hit by a car. I think the next step for me is working on the oral fixation and getting rid of the rest of my triggers, namely the routine smoke before sitting down to read or write.

 

[quidscribis]

I don't know how much you used to smoke, CommonMind, but 2 to 5 cigarettes a day is not very much at all. If cutting it to lower amounts before quitting altogether works better for you, that's all that matters. Good luck and keep it up!