Cigarettes and Alcohol Addiction
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"Arnold" nos...@nospam.com
Anyone managed to give up cigarettes and alcohol and never looked back?
If so, I would be interested to know the techniques you used, coz I am struggling with 'will power'!
Ward Abbott pre...@terian.com
CHOOSE ONE addiction at a time. No one can do both at the same time.
My personal formula was to say, "I choose not to smoke". I didn't deprive myself of anything. You need to put this in the positive instead of saying....I can't have a cigarette. A little helper...no pepper, no spicy foods and change your behavior.
If you always had to have a cigarette while talking on the phone....then it is time to go for a "healthy" walk.
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
I just walked away from cigarettes and never looked back, but then, I drink, so........
kili
"Arnold" nos...@nospam.com
For me the two are closely related, I smoke a hell of a lot more when drinking.
I agree with the positive approach whereby you feel that you are not giving up something, but more like convincing yourself that 'I don't want to smoke/drink anymore'. The problem is I love it. Although, I can see why people thing that smokers and drinkers are just nuts and I agree!
I don't need a cigarette when on the phone, but I love spicy foods. Just out of interest, why did you mention spicy foods?
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"Arnold" nos...@nospam.com
Wow "kilikini", that's amazing. There must have been some motivation behind this?
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sf see_reply_addr...@nospam.com
I think giving up cigarettes will be harder than giving up alcohol.
Nicotine is an extremely addictive substance!
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact09.html http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4753 Good Luck and keep yourself going with this: http://www.quitmeter.com/
OmManiPadmeOmelet Ome...@brokenegz.com
I've never smoked, but I do drink and it was getting out of hand at one point. I found that the more I obsessed about it, the worse it got and the more I drank.
I finally quit worrying about and decided to go back to enjoying it.
My liver enzyme levels are now all back in normal range. Once I quit worrying about it and obsessing about it, I was able to get it under control... Now it's not killing me anymore and I can enjoy it again.
Hope that helps?
--
Om.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson
Ward Abbott pre...@terian.com
You have routines that "require" you to smoke. You MUST change that behavior. Spicy foods trigger nicotine cravings. You need to alter your diet at the same time you alter your behavior. BUT DON"T try to stop drinking at the same time. You can only handle one at a time. They say that smoking is the more difficult thing to stop....but I believe alcohol is more crippling.
TFM?® hornd...@tampabay.rr.com
Quitters never win!
But seriously, I gave up cigarettes hundreds of times.
Never thought about quitting drinking. It makes everyone else so interesting.
TFM?®
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
Money factor, maybe. I smoked on and off for 20 years, 2 packs a day and decided enough was enough. I wanted more money for beer. So, I quit and haven't looked back since. Don't miss it a bit.
kili
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
Take your milk thistle, drink all you want and don't obsess over it. That's my rule.
kili
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
Nope, for me it's alcohol. I gave up a nicotine and actually <gasp!> cocaine habit with no problems, no looking back. Alcohol I need for daily survival. I discovered back in high school as the major smart geek, that if I drank, I acquired a sense of humor which, thusly, accrued friends. I don't leave home without it.
kili <-----functional alcoholic and not ashamed of it
~patches~ noones_h...@thisaddress.com
When I was dating DH eons ago, I dabbled in smoking. Back then it was a cool thing to do. DH then current fiance hated everything about smoking and would regularly destroy whole packs of my cigarettes. At that time they were about $2 a pack. I decided the h***les and the cost of wasted cigarettes were not worth it and besides I was head over hills in love with him. I gave up the cigarettes and we've had peace & harmony ever since - at least on the smoking issue ;) To this day we don't even allow smoking in our house. I've never regretted quitting smoking. We have always used alcohol in moderation and I cook with a variety of alcohols. As a female, I am very careful to stay within the Canadian safe guidelines to alcohol consumption. It wouldn't bother me to go without drinking alcohol. It would bother me more to go without using alcohol in certain dishes but if I had to I would.
Do you mind if I ask you if you are struggling with one or the other or both? The thing is with either it is not just about will power as there are physical withdrawl symptoms to deal with. There are several herbs that will help with either or both. Camomile will help curb the jitters, anxiety, and overall restlessness from either withdrawl. Milk thistle should be used by anyone who consumes alcohol regardless of how much. There are other herbs that will help, just do a google search.
If you are/were a heavy alcohol consumer, alcohol abuser, or alcoholic you should seek medical help before quitting as there can be serious side effects. You will also need proper ***essment of nutritional deficits. If you were just drinking more than you were comfortable with, vit B especially thiamine is recommended as is zinc. A proper, healthy diet rich in fruits & veggies is recommended for overcoming either addiction. Other vitamins are recommended especially the anti-oxidants and vit E. A higher carb, lower protein is recommended for overcoming alcohol addiction. Caffeine should be avoided or eliminated during withdrawl as caffeine is a drug itself and will increase the anxiety. However if you are a heavy coffee or tea drinker, suddenly eliminating that will cause another set of withdrawl symptoms.
There is a lot of info on the web to help you with this.
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
I remember when you did that, Michael. Just keep up the no smoking. My husband has recently quit and I don't hear any more hacking in the middle of the night, thank God. It was awful. I still can't sleep with him because of his snoring or his flailing, but at least he's not coughing! LOL kili
Wayne Boatwright waynesg...@waynes.gang
On Sun 06 Nov 2005 03:24:18p, ~patches~ wrote in rec.food.cooking: Very interesting and good recommendations. We do smoke, but neither of us drink alcohol, although I do cook with it. I think we are just not ready to quit smoking. We have both quit smoking for short periods before, long enough to break the physical addiction, but it was easy to drift back to it.
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Wayne Boatwright *??* _____________________________________________ A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
It is.
kili
sf see_reply_addr...@nospam.com
Have you ever tried to quit? Didn't you notice there were things that triggered the desire to smoke?
OmManiPadmeOmelet Ome...@brokenegz.com
ROFL!!!
That was funny, thanks!
--
Om.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson
OmManiPadmeOmelet Ome...@brokenegz.com
Well, my liver is ok now, (one advantage of being a lab tech is I can do the blood tests whenever I want) but I DID take your advice to heart...
There is now a bottle of milk thistle in with the rest of my daily supplements in the basket next to my computer... ;-) Thanks for that.
Cheers!
--
Om.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson
OmManiPadmeOmelet Ome...@brokenegz.com
Wow.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone... I tend to get bitchy with my nerves on the ragged edge every time I try to give it up. I'm a much nicer person if I allow myself to drink. ;-) Funny isn't it? The drug companies would probably love to sell me something for that.
Cheers dear! <clink> I do not, however, drink and drive, nor do I drink before going to work...
--
Om.
"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
Milk thistle works! It's a shoe-in. I'm glad you're taking it. I take mine 3X a day without fail.
kili
"kilikini" kilik...@NOSPAMtampabay.rr.com
That's my hubby! LOL kili
"Sheldon" PENMAR...@aol.com
Giving up both addictions together would be a pretty rough row to hoe, so choose one at a time. Were it me I'd first tackle the smoking, a far more harmful/debilitating addiction. Unless you're a full blown fall-down-in-the-gutter everyday alkie you can easily cut down on drinking to a more socially acceptible level but not smoking, any level of smoking at all will eventually kill you, and a more horrible death you don't want to know about.. and no one who really smokes can ever just cut down, not for more than an hour.
I smoked for many years, tried every BS method ever devised... only thing worked was a stern warning from my doctor that if I continued I wouldn't last two years, and cold turkey (OB food). At various points in my life I also boozed too heavily (in the military, going through a nasty divorce, and a few others), but never so heavily that I couldn't function. It's been many years now since I've had more than a drink or three, that's it... most times one gl*** of wine with dinner or a 2ni, and not every day either. I think the smoking triggers the drinking much more than the drinking triggers the smoking... when you stop smoking I think your drinking will taper way off.
Give up the smoking, not tomorrow, right now, I know of what I speak.
Sheldon
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