Let\u2019s play a little game here, shall we?\u00a0 I am going to assume you are sitting down right now reading this on your computer.\u00a0 If for some reason you are not, just do the opposite of what I ask of you.\u00a0 So here we go:\u00a0 Try to stand up.\u00a0 Now tell me this, are you standing or are you sitting?\u00a0 If you are standing, may I ask you if you tried to stand up or did you just stand up?\u00a0 If you are still sitting, did you try to stand or did you just sit there<\/p>\n
The point I am trying to make here is, you never try to do something.\u00a0 You either do it or you don\u2019t.\u00a0 For this blog we are going to use the addiction to smoking to illustrate the simplicity in ending addictive behavior.\u00a0 The problem is not in the ending of the behavior. The problem is starting it over again once you have quit.\u00a0 Smokers quit smoking many times every day and then one final time when they go to sleep at night. The problem is they start again once they awaken.<\/p>\n
So how do we stay stopped?<\/p>\n
What can we do to not start again?<\/p>\n
First I am going to tell you what not to do.\u00a0 Oh you can if you want to but in all likelihood the following things will only be dead end streets down the same destructive path.<\/p>\n
First of all, forget the patch.\u00a0 The patch infuses the body with nicotine, the drug in cigarettes that is highly addictive and destructive.\u00a0 You are not doing your body many favors by eliminating the smoke from your lungs while at the same time dumping harmful chemicals right into your blood stream.\u00a0 There is a much larger reason to stop smoking than just eliminating irritants from your lungs.<\/p>\n
The next thing to put out of your mind is E-cigs.\u00a0 Ask yourself this question; Why am I considering quitting smoking?\u00a0 Take a good look at the answer.\u00a0 Is living a longer healthier life part of the equation?\u00a0 E-cigs have not been independently tested so we have no idea if inhaling nicotine is safe.\u00a0 Are we even sure that is the only chemical in them?<\/p>\n
Do you think you can quit?\u00a0 I mean do you think you are capable of quitting smoking cigarettes?\u00a0 This is a big question here and the answer may just lead you down another road.\u00a0 If you really think you are not capable of stopping and staying stopped maybe the question you need to go back to is; who am I?\u00a0 In fact if you have not answered that question and deeply pondered it, now would be a good time to do so.<\/p>\n
For anything we do in life we must have some form of belief that it can be done.\u00a0 We may not be fully sure we will succeed but we must believe on some level that it is possible.\u00a0 We may need to look outside of ourselves for assurance that it can be done. For quitting addiction, you only need to look so far as this column to see that someone has been able to remain drug, alcohol, and nicotine free for many years.\u00a0 If I can do it, you can do it too.\u00a0 We are made from the very same stuff!<\/p>\n
Sometimes we have to look outside our self for our inspiration.\u00a0 This is where semi-blind faith comes into play.\u00a0 Believe that the God in you will give you all that you need to end this habitual self harm.\u00a0\u00a0 See that others have gone before you and will tell you the great rewards they have had.<\/p>\n
Take note of the benefits you will reap from quitting like enjoying the taste of foods and drinks again.\u00a0 That is one of the first things I noticed when I quit, not only to mention the money saved. \u00a0Your health and wellness hangs in the balance here.\u00a0 Of course, in the eyes of God, there is nothing wrong with smoking, but is it bringing you where you say you want to go in life?\u00a0 Is this how you wish to treat the temple of your body?\u00a0 Is placing life-shortening chemicals in your lungs every 15 to 20 minutes the image you wish for others to see in you?\u00a0 Can you really say that while doing this you are acting out of self love?\u00a0 What would love do here and now?\u00a0 I think you know the answer.<\/p>\n
(Kevin McCormack, C.A.d ,is a certified addictions professional and Recovery Advocate. \u00a0He is a recovering addict with 26 years of sobriety. Kevin is a practicing auriculotherapist, recovery coach, and interventionist\u00a0specializing\u00a0in individual and family recovery. \u00a0Kevin has a passion for holistic living, personal awareness training, and physical meditation. You can visit his website<\/i>\u00a0Life<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0After Addicton<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0for more information.<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>To connect with Kevin, please email him at\u00a0<\/i>Kevin@TheGlobalConversation.com<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span>)<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s play a little game here, shall we?\u00a0 I am going to assume you are sitting down right now reading this on your computer.\u00a0 If for some reason you are not, just do the opposite of what I ask of you.\u00a0 So here we go:\u00a0 Try to stand up.\u00a0 Now tell me this, are you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[988,1726,1727],"class_list":["post-8398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addiction-and-recovery","tag-hitting-bottom-kevin-mccormack","tag-nicotine","tag-smoking"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8399,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8398\/revisions\/8399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theglobalconversation.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}