Category: Diary of a Nicotine Addict

Exploring the journey through addiction & recovery

Little-Known Reasons to Stay a Non-Smoker

~ JodiLea ~ 3 Comments

Periodically I remind myself of the reasons I quit smoking. New reasons come along as time goes by and I add them to my list…

These reasons aren’t the usual major health concerns, but they certainly are “perks” to enjoy!

  • My clothes don’t get ashes or circle burns on them.
  • My lipstick stays on.
  • My purse isn’t full of loose tobacco.
  • Hubby kisses me more often.
  • My car smells nice.
  • I never have to “bum one” from strangers.
  • No over-full ashtrays to deal with.
  • I love that I don’t have to quit anymore.
  • Have I mentioned I smell pretty?

Do you have silly reasons to stay a non-smoker? Please send them to Not Pretending (to be sane), so I can add them to the list!

Enjoy your day  🙂

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Diary of a Nicotine Addict: 2 Years and Counting

~ JodiLea

This addict diary series began in May of 2011 when I quit smoking. Every now and then I post an ‘update’ for self-therapy and interested followers…

Dear Diary & Dearest Readers,

Well, I have wanted to smoke lately. This is a warning signal that I’m becoming increasingly stressed. In the past, I would try to hide from stress with a martini and a cigarette (or two… or twenty…).

Once an addict, always an addict. My knee-jerk reaction to stress is nicotine. My brain knows it won’t help, but cell memory (and The Bitch) are calling me.

Don’t pick up that phone!

Whatever stress I have will pass – but one cigarette will lead to a thousand more. And I know what I’m talking about. I have personally researched this more than a few times, and I hope that you, smokers and non, can benefit from my experience.

Any new non-smokers struggling with The Bitch? Don’t be Pocket Watch discouraged to hear she shows up even after 2-years. Her evil powers diminish as you gain time, but she keeps trying anyway. She’s a very stubborn Bitch.

Remember the “STOP THINKING!!” technique?  So simple, and it really works. Try it yourself sometime to stop thoughts you should not dwell on. You don’t even have to throw a tantrum for it to work, but it is cathartic.

And fun too.  🙂

Stay tuned for uncommon reason’s to stay smoke-free…

An Open Letter to My Addiction (a.k.a. The Bitch)

~ JodiLea ~ 5 Comments

Dear Bitch,

Two years and three months have gone by without smoking a cigarette. My lungs can take some hiking now, and my asthma is like a childhood memory.

I smell pretty now – instead of like an ashtray.

I rarely think about smoking anymore, and when I do, I think how great it is to be free from nicotine.

And, then, from out of nowhere comes a flashback of lighting up and taking a drag. My subconscious grabs this image and decides, “a cigarette would be so good now!”

But I am wise to the sneaky-assed tactics you use to manipulate my mind. You are clever, I’ll give you that. You have all my buttons memorized and on your speed-dial.

English: Image of the insulaYou can even get me to question what I know is the truth. How you torture me!

Is your real name Insula? I have read that damage to the Insula in the brain will stop addiction to cigarette smoking. Well. Isn’t that special?  Deep down I think I suspected this all along…

In order to get rid of you once and for all, I must have a lobotomy.

You truly ARE a Bitch!!