Outside Perception

 So I’ve been sick again, “deathly ill” is a phrase I used to hear as a kid in regards to the older family members I have a good idea of what they mean by that now.  I see people get sick, sniffles maybe a fever for a day or two then they feel better the worst is over, and in a few more days they are fine.  I, on the other hand get the plague, I can’t breathe, I cough constantly till I can feel my ribs creaking, my eyes water so much I can’t focus and wonder if they fell out,  If I stand I get dizzy the world spins.   I’m like this for a week at a minimum. Then about a week till I actually am back to normal.  Some of this has to do with my warranty being expired, I have some medical issues. I can’t change which parts of me are defective I can however retire from Smoking again. Retiring from smoking fixes a lot of problems for me,  lowering some numbers that are to high and raising some that are depressed. It’s hard as many of us know. I figured I’d share some thoughts about this with all of you, share my ideas and maybe read about some of yours.  So here are some things I have tried, thoughts I’ve had.  Mostly though I figure the more the merrier. so here we go some tips for you Smokers looking to Retire.

1. Don’t quit, Retire.  It puts less pressure on yourself.  If you cheat it just doesn’t seem as bad. Figure out what happened to cause you to backtrack and avoid that in the future, but go back to retirement as quick as possible. When you get the impulse to smoke say “no” even if only to yourself it helped me eventually the urges got quashed almost before I could think the word no!.

2. Don’t combine Retiring from smoking with other stuff like going on a diet, or changing  jobs try to stay unstressed. Especially don’t combine it with things Lion hunting or Velociraptor reconstruction. Oh and Diets? just say no to diets.

3. Brush, floss your teeth it sounds kinda silly.   To me however it always feels like there’s some nasty stuff coming out of the cells in my mouth and EWWWW!!!!! so this helps me.  I also tend to get some citrus fruit rather than gum it seems to help me more plus its healthy. I LOVE clementines,  they are portable and simple to peel. They make a nice distraction from smoking if you’re bored for some reason.  try peeling them as one piece and then rebuilding it. I once used a Clementine peel as a yo-yo for 20 minutes.

4. Stay away from other Smokers.  This is kinda tough but for a little while you really have to do this.  I’m usually good after day two with this since I think the smell we have is nasty, yes I know I smell like it too but you don’t notice when its you.

5. Get some regular exercise, do not overdo it your body isn’t ready for it.  If your going to join a gym or something with a trainer let them know you quit smoking recently.  If you’re gonna do it on your own just take a walk around the block or up and down the stairs.  You can do this also to distract yourself if you get an urge to smoke.

6. Get rid of all that cool smokers stuff.  Yes we all love that cool Zippo lighter  that sings the national anthem you got, or the ashtray you made yourself in shop class all those years ago but get rid of them. They aren’t helpful in any way.

7. Drink Juice and water, stay hydrated.  Doing this will help with the cravings and help keep any weight gain your worried about down.  Look up emotional hunger if you want to know more.

8.  Talk to your Doctor they will  help you there are a lot of ways they can support you let them. I’ve tried the medication it worked great for me.  Other people I know who used it had problems.  Partner with your Doc they want you to quit it makes their lives easier too.

9. Enlist the help of others.  Let people know what you’re doing.  For example I let my cigarette suppliers at the local 7-11 know I was retiring.  Khan and Ashley have been very supportive they wont sell cigarettes to me  they even threatened to deny me my coffee if I slip up.

10. Don’t give up.

Seems simple huh, and yet people quit smoking all the time and go right back to it.  I’ve done it so have friends of mine and family.  On the other side of it I know many people who quit with no help, just stopped.  I’m sure most people are in between the two extreme’s.  Barring a time machine and going back to when you started there isn’t much you can do but not give up.

Some other things I do I have a list of 5 reasons I keep in my wallet to remind me why I retired.  I save half of what I would have spent to get myself a nice treat as a reward for doing well.  It seems to me that even after we stop we all could start again so its a good idea to keep something to remind yourself very sharply on what caused you to finally stop smoking.  Me I use the medical bracelet from my hospital stay as a reminder.  It’s an ongoing battle but one we can win.

 Other Idea’s by all means comment. what worked for you what didn’t?