Cognitive Quitting - Julie's Story

Julie's Story

I spent my entire adult life fighting my addiction to nicotine. I quit for years, only to capitulate to what felt like "need". I remained a "smoker" in my mind, and any excuse in my life would send me right back to the NRTs (lozenges and gum) and eventually to cigarettes. I was in a self-defeating cycle in which I never got past the addiction to nicotine. It was frustrating, and I felt like a failure and a liar.

I came to this quit with the determination that this was it- I was done. I was fearful. I didn't want to fall into the trap of substituting other things for smoking- food, alcohol etc- that I've fallen into before. But I wanted nicotine out of my life- not just cigarettes. That meant a new mindset, because obviously the old one wasn't working for me.

As always the first few weeks were easy- the sense of freedom and success took me past the initial struggle. Then I hit my famous "wall"- I felt overwhelmed and unable to focus, and was panicked. Luckily, at that moment, I was in a chatroom on the Quitnet. I started talking about my symptoms to a guy who "walked me down from the cliff". He explained that what I was going through was normal, and that there are simple techniques to help me through the process. Something that was clear, direct and stopped the panic without false aids, narcotics, food or anything. It had to do with paying attention to myself. So simple, but something we all struggle with in life. He paid attention, and he stayed with me through the process. Steve worked with me for a very short time to get the techniques down, and I was amazed by the results.

Nine months later, I know clearly that I will never go back, it's just not an option. I directly credit my success this time to cognitivequitting, which has given me simple techniques to deal with stress in life way beyond quitting.

Julie DeVita
Fitforlife2010 on the Quitnet

Back

Home

Contact