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Just One Hour at a Time
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Just One Hour at a Time
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Many smokers fail at breaking free because they sell themselves on the lie that the mountain is just too big to climb. Sadly, they've fed their mind such rubbish so long that it believes as much as their name. Still, it doesn't stop them from trying. Every few years they'll take a few steps, stop and decide that the mountain is still too big.
Are they too lazy to climb, afraid of heights or simply lack the desire I don’t think so. Most talked themselves into believing that there were just too many steps to take. Like their reaction to seeing long lines at an amusement theme park, they simply didn’t have the patience to wait in line to experience the unknown. Long-term smokers have very little memory of what a healthy body and an unaddicted mind were like. You can tell a 40 year smoker that within three months of quitting they could experience an almost one-third improvement in their lung function but if they can’t imagine what healthy lungs are like, you’ve wasted your breath.
If elephant was the best tasting meat in the world, and we told you that you had to eat an entire two ton elephant, you’d say “impossible!” Eating four thousand pounds of elephant is a far greater challenge than navigating the 72 hours it takes for your body to become nicotine free and and your withdrawal symptoms to peak, but it isn’t impossible. How do you eat a 4,000 pound elephant? One bite at a time! How do you make a 72 hour mountain climb? One step at a time.
We smokers are impatient people. We want results now! But it isn’t our fault. Our minds have been conditioned by our addiction to expect immediate relief from the anxiety of early withdrawal. Smoking nicotine was quick and dependable. Within 8 to 10 seconds of that first puff nicotine we could actually feel it arrive in our brain as that aaahhh replenishment sensation was felt. Every two hours the amount of nicotine remaining in our blood was cut by half. Within 20 to 30 minutes we would again sense our blood nicotine level falling to the point that minor discomfort arrived, and again we'd obtain almost immediate relief as new nicotine laden smoke was sucked into crying lungs. A pack-a-day smoker repeats this cycle of obtaining immediate relief about 7,300 times a year. Yes, we nicotine addicts are impatient people when it comes to bringing an abrupt halt to the symptoms of withdrawal but then we have good reason to be, as our drug was in charge of conditioning.
Those successful at recovery all learned to control their impatience by ignoring the size of the elephant or the height of the mountain, as they continue taking just one bite and one step at a time. There are many tasks in life that require baby steps in order to finish what we’ve started. You can’t build a beautiful wall with just one brick, receive a new baby after one month of pregnancy, obtain a college degree with just one class, or cook a delicious holiday dinner in a few short minutes. Imagine getting half the meal cooked and then leaving the kitchen or building half a wall and walking away. Going the distance in life is normal. Swimming half way across the river and stopping is not.
Do you dream of being free? Are you able to stop smoke smoking for one hour? If so, you have all the building blocks needed break nicotine's grip upon your life with the possible exception of an understanding of the law of addiction: just one puff of nicotine = complete relapse.
No subconscious crave episode lasts longer than three minutes but time distortion during recovery is as real as your name so be sure and look at a clock. Keep your eye on the path and try not to look ahead and do your best to enjoy the hour, don’t dread it. It doesn't have to be difficult and if you'll allow your dreams to flood your mind you may even find joy in it. The hour could be flat and level or it might be a bit bumpy. Your subconscious mind might sense your calmness and dreams and relax along with you, or sense fear and begin issuing forth anxiety command that beg you to throw in the towel.
Either way it’s just one hour, and so is the hour that follows. See each hour of freedom as the full and complete victory that it is. Slowly they'll build and within 72 hours your blood will be nicotine-free and your mind will have no choice but to begin sensing what it's going to be like taking a long overdue rest from an endless lifetime chemical cycle of nicotine, dopamine and adrenaline highs and lows.
With each passing hour you'll move closer and closer to that moment when the underlying current of anxieties (if any) begin easing off. Be sure and get plenty of rest as a tired mind is easier to betray. Also be sure and drink plenty of fruit juice the first three days (cranberry is excellent) to help stabilize blood sugar and don't skip any meals. Nicotine fed you with each puff by indirectly causing stored fats and sugars to be released into your blood. You may need to learn to spread your normal daily calorie intake out more evenly over your entire day. If you try skipping meals after ending all nicotine use you'll experience wild blood sugar swings and concentration difficulties that can making recovery miserable. Also, if you were a big caffeine drinker you need to know that nicotine doubled the rate at which caffeine was depleted by the body (203%). If you were not a big caffeine user you have nothing to worry about but if a heavy user (greater than 750mg. ) you'd be well advised to reduce your intake by roughly half but do not give up all caffeine as that can intensify recovery as well.
Some of us have spent a large part of our life learning to be good little nicotine addicts. Although it's not realistic for us to expect to learn to be a good little ex-smokers overnight, it is realistic to deeply believe that the next few minutes and that each is entirely doable!
Do you deserve to see what it's like being "you" again? If you don't remember what it was like inside your mind prior to nicotine taking control don't feel alone as can. Believe in your dreams and believe in you. Don't be afraid as you're leaving nothing behind and everything you did while enslaved you'll again do as well as or better once free! Baby steps to glory! Freedom is your birthright and there's only one rule no nicotine today. The next few minutes are doable and there's only one rule if followed provides a 100% guarantees of success - just one hour at a time, no nicotine today!
Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,
John R. Polito
Nicotine Cessation Counselor
Just One Challenge at a Time
