Smoking freedom in 20 days: Day 19 How To Stop Smoking Cold Turkey
Don’t give in to rationalizations. The physical and mental pain of addiction withdrawal is real, and you’ll likely start telling yourself it’s ok to take up the habit again. Don’t listen to the voice telling you to start back up. Don’t give up on yourself when it starts to feel hard. Every bit of pain will be worth it in the end.
Whatever your addiction is, it is important to fully understand the pros and con’s of your addiction at all times. We all would love to live in a fantasy world where we could just magically stop any addiction at any time. But it doesn’t work that way because there is always something we like a lot that keeps pulling us back in.
One secret to success is to understand what your addiction trap is. An addiction trap is any activity you do which will lead you back into full blown addiction. So we need to be aware of and very afraid of any activity which will trap us and cause us to be enslaved by the addiction.
For example we have the sugar addict. Sugar addicts don’t necessarily eat large meals. But when they eat one thing with sugar on it, it leads to 2 things then 4 things with sugar in it and so on and so forth. So in this case the trap is baited with sugar. In this example let us look at how 2 different people’s plans might play out.
In situation #1 our dieter is determined not to overeat today at work. In situation #2 our 2nd dieter has a blueprint for success. The blueprint calls for a small bowl of bean soup for lunch along with some carrots. The question is, which person would you predict will give in to the always available cookies. Person #1 who is very determined or person #2 who is very determined and who also has a plan? Yes both people can raid the cookies, but your odds of resisting cookies double or triple when you have a full stomach.
In this case we have sprung the trap (which is the cookies) before we got in it by making a blueprint for our success. In this scenario the addict understands that if they don’t prepare a good lunch they will be in severe temptation. So when the cookies are available their hunger may start them down a slippery slope which they likely can’t handle.
It is a similar story with a smoking addiction. If person #1 is determined not to smoking on Friday night they may succeed. But if person #2 is determined not to smoke on Friday night and they have a fully scheduled course of action to get them through the night they have an advantage.
Here is a key point.
The more addicted you are the more you need to be prepared for your every move. In this example person #2 has a plan to play pool with non partying friends. Then they will hang out with Johnny who wants to support their dedication to change. Then they plan to go to bed at 1AM sharp.
In this scenario they now have some power and that power is their plan. And if they simply follow their plan they will spring the trap shut before they get caught in it.
Key point #2
U may need nonsmokers around you if you are going to stay clean.
In this last example our hero played pool with sober players. If they are a true addict they may not prefer to hang out with a nonsmoking crowd. We don’t really know these people as well as we know our normal crowd. Additionally they may be a little unsure about us.
So it is important to remember that it will take hanging out with these new people 5 to 8 different times before you can accurately know how well you fit in. It will also take 5 to 8 times for your head to clear up. What I mean by this is; even if your new friends are perfect for you and even if what they are doing is great fun you may not enjoy it at first. If your mind can only think about your habit it will be hard to make new friends. So since you have to make new friends to break your addiction you need to make it happen no matter what.
Addiction is slavery. It tells you what to do, when to do it, where to go and how to act. Even if you love your addiction I want you to tell yourself 20 times a day that addiction is slavery. At its worst, addiction drives you to destruction and at the very least, it enslaves you into a habitual trap that will keep you from any chance of fulfilling your life given purpose.
Addiction is slavery just like all sin is slavery. The reason the Bible is so against sin is because sin always leads to destruction. For many people there are sin’s which are trigger points to your main addiction. Many secular programs want to solve your main addiction while leaving other sin in your life. The drawback to that method is it doesn’t often work all that well, plus you will never find your God given purpose that way. Having said that if you find any program that helps you, it is a good thing, as long as it is not against Christianity.
The solution to help with addiction and to overcome sin in general is to put a priority on daily Bible study. Read a chapter from the New Testament and one from the Old Testament each day. Then put a priority on doing what it says to do.
Every person who makes it a priority to follow God’s ways will find fullness of joy in their life to some extent. Every person who makes it a priority to follow Jesus ways in full (which is to obey his ways and to spread the Gospel) will find fullness of joy.
Read Proverbs 14
Continue to read the Purpose Driven Life.
10. Checklist for avoiding relapse: Develop positive addictions. Exercise every day, pray every day, read the Bible every day, help others every day, fight to find your purpose every day, turn aggressively from smut every day, determine to treat people with love and respect every day, become more disciplined every day, develop more expertise in moderation every day, learn how to love and worship God more every day. Develop positive addictions.
10. Pray: Father help me to be moderate in all things (being moderate in all things will help you stay away from your main addiction).
If you would like to start living in God’s blessing pray: “Father – I plan to start doing things your way, obeying your commands, studying the Word. Please bless me when you are ready to do so. I am planning to do my part and I will patiently wait for you to bless me when the time is right.”
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Index
Day 1 Overcoming cravings
Day 2 Why can’t you quit
Day 3 Start a Journal
Day 4 Overcoming negative emotions
Day 5 You can’t increase your pleasure for the month by smoking
Day 6 Control your emotions and plan your day
Day 7 Learning how to worship God is a key to overcoming addiction
Day 8 Develop positive addictions
Day 9 How to get help from the Holy Spirit
Day 10 Have a list of coping statements
Day 11 Living water and how to live in God’s blessing
Day 12 Genesis can teach us about addiction
Day 13 Results of Adam and Eve’s actions
Day 14 How to pray to fight addiction and developing toughness
Day 15 and 16 self control
Day 17 Which prayers get answered
Day 18 The right church can help you
This is a reprint of an earlier article
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #1: Set a quit date.
Choose a date within the next week, so you have enough time to prepare without losing your motivation to quit.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #2: For some one of the main reasons you smoke is because that is one of the few things that you feel like you have control over. It is your choice, it is your thing it is who you are. But this is a cruel lie. smoking is a force and it is a driving force. How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #3: There are some addictions that we think we are controlling but those addictions are actually controlling us. Over time smoking causes a loss of control of many things.
So why do people somke after they have decided to quit? In most people there is a dueling of personalities. Your mind tells you that you have to stop smoking but your pleasure seeking flesh tells you that it will feel good.
Key Point #1 As long as you are ruled by the pleasure principle you will always struggle with addiction. The pleasure seeker is selfish, immature, demanding and short sited. How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #4: In the long run, pleasure which is from an addiction always has a price to pay which is much higher than what you want to pay.
John Howard Prin in his book Secret Keeping notes that “Because temptations can come in so many forms (smoking, overeating, or surfing internet porn) these dueling tensions can be triggered continually. The average persons dual-mindedness results from listening to both opposing forces and acting according to one, then the other, then the first one again, then the second again… on and on in an endless tug-of-war.”
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #5: Instead of being ruled by the pleasure principle strive to be ruled by the moral principle. The moral principle is wise and rational and it leads to real long term joy instead of fake short term pleasure which leads to destruction. This principle believes that rules like that of your country or laws from the Bible are there to make your life better. When you follow this principle you willingly give up your solution of choice (smoking) in exchange for another activity. How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #6: The reason you make this choice is because you now believe that choosing an alternative activity will give you the best life over the next 7 days and longer. So if you stay clean today and develop new activities you may have a hard day today but your week and your future will be better.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #7: Always choose the Wisdom of staying clean today so that you can have a good life all week, instead of giving in to the short term pleasure and destruction of smoking for one day. R Over time staying clean is a lifestyle which is always better.
Smoking is an escape for many people. One can escape from tension, anger, lack of success, pain and many other things. How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #8: We need to get rid of the escapist mindset because our one day of escape always ruins more than one day and it often ruins a whole week or longer. Along the same lines many have the philosophy that if it feels good do it. The problem is, that the feeling good of a few hours usually causes the feeling bad of a few days. Instead of having this damaging mindset, embrace finding your purpose, and living the right way which will lead to happiness over time.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #9: John Howard Prin in his book Secret Keeping wrote about his past addicted behavior. He said “Drinking in private both elevated my joys and numbed my distress, a dual benefit. Looking back , these fundamentals of addiction gradually became habits:
1st: Resentment. I was reliving all my past hurts. Another 30 years would pass before I could face these resentments and get rid of their corrosive power.
2nd: Isolation. My drinking intensified when I spent time alone. Solitary time was to become the riskiest situation for me to be in.
3rd: Drama and crisis. Overreacting, partly learned from Mom’s open display of temper and partly do to my brains overly sensitive conditioning, ruled me.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #10: We can see that being overly sensitive to emotional pain or failure is often a trigger to addiction. So first of all we need to be determined to be tougher and more emotionally ready for life’s constant problems. 2nd, negative emotions can lead us into addiction.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #11: we need to always work on getting rid of anger and other negative emotions which are often hidden triggers. Lastly we need to avoid circumstances which lead to negative emotions (if posible). Good planning and flexible planning can help you avoid circumstances which will trigger you.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #12: John Howard Prin also wrote “In time I learned that if my external motivation was strong enough, then my internal impulses could be curbed.”
For some people a great enough amount of pain or a change of thinking will cause them to change their behavior.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #13: If what you think about has changed, then your internal impulses can be controlled.
This is key point #2. You need to think about the benefits of quitting more often than you think about the experience of smoking. How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #14: Make a note to remind yourself to do this untill it becomes a daily habit.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #15: You need to think more about the destruction smoking cause you than you think about the pleasure/pain relief it gives.
#16: Addiction tells us that something we can do (indulging in smoking) can compensate for what is missing inside of us. It is a lie. Religion will tell you to quit smoking. To control the fire that burns inside of you. But I will tell you that you need to increase the passion in your life. Your life needs to surge with more passion for something then it ever has before. You were created to have a dramatic impact on this world. Most of you have never experienced the rush of knowing what God wants you to do.
How to stop smoking cold turkey tip #17: Solutions” Dedicate your life to Christianity. Study the Bible and pray, pray, pray. Pray about everything but especially pray that God will take away your anger and any other negative emotions that may be a trigger for you. Obey the Bible down to every last word. Don’t look at sin and don’t even consider commiting any sin. Pray always about finding your purpose and be determined to live in the glory of Jesus Christ. He will fill what is missing in your life but you have to be intense about doing what He wants you to do. God wants you to find your purpose and He wants you to spread the Gospel. If you spend all of your free time in a dedicated way serving God, then you will have more passion and joy than you ever had.