New Lifestyle change

[paul m]

HJello Saweet. Good luck with all of your stop smoking and drugs withdrawals. It must be tough. I'm glad Zeus likes the car. Take Care. paul m

[Atlantis]

Hi Jackie,
I was looking for an online GA support group and I found a link but i was re-directed to an online gaming site

I never gambled online before, my gambling of choice was with the VLT's in the bars, but i would never try the online gambling, I am sure I would love it and be hooked right away...

Well, i just wanted to say a quick hi, ttys.

[Woody]

Totally off topic, but I was doing my normal walk last Thursday night I a came across this couple walking there dog. It was a cross between Doberman Pincher and a Great Dame. The thing was so big, that you could have put a saddle on him and could have gone for a ride... if he did not eat you first!


Sorry if the pic is big ... it will not let me resize

[saweeet]

i suggest never trying online gambling, its really bad and addicting.

My choice of gambling is casino's, and it helps that I'm an hour away from the closest one. VLT's i only go to if i'm in a manic stage but because i live in a small town i try and avoid them, cause my family knows lots of people in town. Its not hard for them to find out.

ttyl

[Atlantis]

Hi Jackie,
How are you doing with the NA? What about the cigs?
I wouldn't even be able to think about quitting smoking right now, but maybe when i feel better and get stable on my meds i can attempt it, even my doc said, nope, NO quitting smoking now..sigh

[paul m]

Hello Karen. I could never quit smoking until I got things under at least partial control either.Even then I would quit for a year and then become seriously manic and smokes were the first thing I bought. Take Care. paul m

Hello Saweet, How are you doing. Take Care. paul m

[Sweetest1]

I went for hypnosis to quit smoking after 20 years.
Worked like a charm for me. Except that a month later is when I had my break down and had to go off work and started rapid cycling.
I've always wondered if the two were connected...

Rebecca

[Woody]

My Pdoc's attitude was similar. I would tell him that I wanted to quit and he would go into his little spill that on the health side of things it would be great if I did, but that right now was maybe not the right time to do so. When you are good and ready, you will know and things will flow in accordance. That is my way of looking at it anyways.

In the '80 I did both meditation and hypnosis (self-hypnosis) I was quite into it at the time and as of late I have been thinking about getting back into it but it has been difficult partly because I have so much chaos between my ears and partly because of some of the medications that I am on.

I did not realize it at the time, but in a lot of ways, I helped myself get threw those years by practising both. It help calm me, it help slow me down, it helped me sleep. A lot of the technique in hypnosis and meditation overlap and in some sense you could probably say they are two different side of the same coin.

Rebecca, a qualified practitioner would be able to hypnotize you and question your subconscious to see if the two where related (quitting smoking and Dx). Chance are they are not. If they had hypnotized you because you where lets say afraid of the dark and did not question your subconscious as to the reason why you where afraid of the dark and then deal with that reason, then you could have a suppressed problem and it could eventually manifest itself in a different matter.

The problem could still have links to quiting smoking, but I would guess that it is more on a sublime sense then anything else. One thing that comes to mind is something that is listed in the 'patch' booklets that you get when you try to quit smoking. One thing that they mention is that nicotine by itself can be a mood stabilizer. So this could be a factor. Another one is the habit of smoking. I do not know about you, but if I got all frustrated, my first reaction was reach for my pack of smokes and go outside and puff away. Same thing if I was angry about what ever... and the list goes on. So in a sense, you might have been self medicating and you did not know. Just like when I did my meditation and self hypnosis, I was medicating, but did not know.

[Sweetest1]

I didn't mean that I thought the hypnotist gave me a break down, but that the withdrawal from nicotine did.

Rebecca

[paul m]

Hello Rebecca. Nicotine does have a calming influence for many people. I think breakdowns are usually a combination of factors. But cigarettes do act as a drug. For example

When I smoked if I hit my thumb with a hammer, a cigarette would always ease he pain, if I had a arguement with the wife, a cigarette helped calm me down, fight with the boss, cigarette time.

So, I'm with you, that nicotine withdrawel was probably partly to blame. Take Care. paul m

[Sweetest1]

It's a great coping skill, as you say, Paul, it also causes your body to release dopamine. So when you quit you go through nicotine withdrawal, but your brain chemistry changes too because there is less dopamine up there. I think it was a huge HUGE factor. That and a job change, the only two factors it took. AAAhhhh if I could go back and do it again...I'd still be a med-free working smoker. LOL! What do they call that "anal-rectal glaucoma"?

Rebecca

[paul m]

Hello Rebecca. I seem to remember smoking had some down sides to it as well. However I have always said that if I was told I had X number of years to live, my first stop would be for smokes.

Anal ..... , that would sum it up neatly. Take Care. paul m

[Woody]

If your going to smoke, smoke cigars or even the pipe ... there are less chemicals added to them. OK that is the positive... what is left is that no one wants to be you when you are smoking ... I will let you decide for yourself if this a positive or a negative

[Atlantis]

Here are some interesting facts about nicotine:

"cigarette smokers have half the risk of developing Parkinson's disease as nonsmokers"

Other diseases for which smoking and nicotine appear to be protective are ulcerative colitis, Tourette's Syndrome, and possibly rheumatoid arthritis and colorectal cancer.

http://www.forces.org/evidence/hamilton/other/nicotine.htm

The above site has links to numerous studies showing the positive beneifts of nicotine...

Nicotine itself is actually quite benefical, if the docs could find a safe, healthy delivery system.

p.s. I am not trying to say that there are benefits to being a smoker. I just wanted to share that there are alot of studies showing the benefits of nicotine, it's too bad we can only get nicotine in the form of a cigarette because we all know cigarettes have no health benefits!

[saweeet]

so i've been seeing my addictions councilor a lot lately.

She has made me an appointment with Mental Health, as she is concerned about my safety and wellbeing.

I have gone back into a deep depression, and haven't been able to function much when i'm not working. The anniversary of my brother in law death is coming up, and because of this, it has cause me to go into an emotional down hill spiral.

Some positive notes are i started bootcamp on monday, and it has helped me to get back on track with working out.

I threw away my pipe and pot yesterday, and hoping by taking the means of which i smoke it away, may help to stop me from going futher.

And i am down to 5 smokes a day.

Some positive things, and some negative things.

have a good day

jackie.