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Attachment to caffeine and nicotine
Hi everybody,
I just joined the forum and have a question that has been on my mind recently. I have struggled for quite a while with being dependent on caffeine and nicotine. I go back and forth between stopping, starting, stopping, to the point that I am getting disgusted with myself.
Basically what I'm wondering is if I cannot prevent myself from craving something, then would completely eliminating be the only option? Certainly smoking has a negative impact on my life, and I am preparing to quit again. But when it comes to coffee, just how bad is this? Recently I've reduced my intake to one coffee in the morning, but it is still a dependence. I can't wake up and function without having it, it makes me a bit edgy, but I still have an attachment to it that I cannot let go of and give so much importance to this morning ritual.
Should I even bother worrying about this, or should I just be grateful that I cut down on the caffeine and focus all energy on smoking which is a more significant problem?
I'm not sure if there is one obvious answer to this or not, I'm just curious what you all think.
Thanks!
Brian
I just joined the forum and have a question that has been on my mind recently. I have struggled for quite a while with being dependent on caffeine and nicotine. I go back and forth between stopping, starting, stopping, to the point that I am getting disgusted with myself.
Basically what I'm wondering is if I cannot prevent myself from craving something, then would completely eliminating be the only option? Certainly smoking has a negative impact on my life, and I am preparing to quit again. But when it comes to coffee, just how bad is this? Recently I've reduced my intake to one coffee in the morning, but it is still a dependence. I can't wake up and function without having it, it makes me a bit edgy, but I still have an attachment to it that I cannot let go of and give so much importance to this morning ritual.
Should I even bother worrying about this, or should I just be grateful that I cut down on the caffeine and focus all energy on smoking which is a more significant problem?
I'm not sure if there is one obvious answer to this or not, I'm just curious what you all think.
Thanks!
Brian
0
Comments
Sorry I have no advice as I'm in exactly the same position as you. I go through a pack of cigarettes a day and drink 4 bottles of diet coke to boot, since I stopped drinking alcohol. It makes me feel pretty worthless. Sometimes I wonder if the only way to avoid these attatchments is to become a monk. The temptation is everywhere.
Not sure whether you were looking for an answer reflected of the Buddhist philosophy, then again that would be somewhat implied...
1st. Know that smoking is seriously bad for you. Please don't let anybody tell you otherwise; my grandfather smoked till he was 90 etc.. It's a medical fact that there's an incubation time for smokers (depending on the amount u smoke) which in the long run will affect your health.
Quitting is not easy, but there are ways... if you'd look through it from a Buddhist perspective: you are clearly clinging to your addiction (various interesting topics on this forum on that), and if you inspire to live the Buddhist way, this may fire u up (pardon the pun) to quit... even if you do it by gradually quitting.
2nd. Coffee is not all that bad for you, although enormous amount can lead to stomach related aches etc, just unpleasent, but caffeine is also known to be addictive. As long as it not an addiction to you, you in the clear from a Buddhist's perspective imho. And hey... many of us enjoy coffee
Hope this helps !! Best of Luck !!
Thanks for the reply. I know how you feel, I'm also up to about a pack a day and it just doesn't feel right when you are trying to grow and become more conscious. Good for you for quitting drinking, there is also a lot of temptation in society for that. Addictions really force us to look at ourselves if we are going to overcome them...
Palzang
Palzang
you can do it. For me it was my children that ultimately inspired me enough to finally just do it. My daughter caught me smoking out on the porch...after I told her I was done with smoking, and she said to me "Mom, smoking will kill you". She was right. She was sad, rational and right!!
Find someone you really respect/love and talk with them about your smoking. I know that motivation initially came externally, but hey, whatever works!
Good luck!!
A
Nicotine is a powerful physical addiction. Make no mistake, quitting smoking is rough. You WILL feel bad for a period of time. For me, accepting that was the key to quitting. You must completely accept the reality of the situation, and be willing to go through it in order to put it behind you. It comes back to being mindful in the present moment.
Remember. Everybody quits smoking. Eventually.
In late 2001 and into 2002, I cared for my father as he died a slow, painful death from lung cancer. When it was all over, I was still feeling enormous stress, and my own smoking was out of control. At about 2:00 AM on February 28, I had smoked three packs that day and was still going. Lamenting my weakness, I felt something rise up inside me. I hated my smoking. I hated cigarettes. My habit was making me feel awful and ruling my life. Suddenly, I'd had enough. I allowed myself to become angry, and heard myself shout out, "I QUIT!" I smashed up all the cigarettes I had left, about half a carton. I threw out all the ashtrays, and bagged all the lighters.
I was done. After fifteen years, I had had enough. I never "tried" to quit smoking. "Trying" to quit is a game, a fantasy. When I quit, it wasn't something I was doing, it was something I had done.
The key, for me, was not quitting, it was accepting the consequences of quitting. I knew life would suck for a while, but it would pass. I looked at it like being sick. When you're sick, you don't get the option of changing your mind and going back. You have to go forward. You must go through the experience of being sick to get to the experience of not being sick. That may seem obvious, but why is it so much harder to see when it is our addiction, rather than an involuntary illness?
You can't "quit" if you're still thinking about quitting. That is wishy-washy mentality, and it will never work. When you truly quit, you put "quitting" behind you and resolve to press onward.
Surrender to health. Give in to well-being. Accept the consequences of eliminating harmful habits. If you can do that, you've already succeeded.
"No! Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try." ~ Yoda
~ AD
If I ever felt a craving, I just sucked in deep breaths of air in the way that one draws in on a cigarette. I was surprised at how easy it was. I think we pay too much attention to other people telling us its really difficult or that its an addiction. Be strong, you can do it easy peasy !
Caffeine makes you more tired in the end because its a stimulant and its not good for people of a very nervous or emotional disposition.
Kind wishes,
Dazzle
Palzang
Nicotine is addictive... very addictive
I think about that experience and the Buddhist point of view. I have since learned there are many other ways that I can overcome problems such as this (and I continue to experience temptations just like everyone else).
Mindfulness is important. What do you tell yourself about smoking? Some people believe smoking is their friend. Some people tell themselves they "have to have a cigarette or they will die". Or they may tell themselves that smoking calms them down. Or this can be combined with I need a smoke to calm down. Or smoking and having a coffee goes together or waking up, you need to have a cigarette. Thoughts like this can hold you in the cigarette addiction. Of course, these are all lies. Educating yourself about cigarettes can help you overcome the lies you tell yourself. Question the things you tell yourself. Don't accept them at face value ever when they relate to smoking.
Acceptance is another important factor. Desires can convince you that you will never win. They can be persistant. The harder you fight them off, the stronger they become. The minute you forget about them and you feel you have them licked and when you seem to be at your most vulnerable, they will pop up again ready to battle with you, to tempt you, to seduce you. The harder you resist them, the more tricks they try. Rather than battle with them, can you stand beside them? Can you allow them to be without reacting or buying into the struggle?
Another method I am finding quite effective, metta meditation for others. How has the cigarette habit effected people around you? What if your children or other people you influence have taken up the habit? If they have, extend loving kindness meditation towards them, so that they may overcome this habit. This can be very effective FOR YOU. You may also meditate on some of the most seriously afflicted people you can find who are effected by cigarettes. Extending loving kindness towards them has benefits for all. When I do this, I find I can easily remember them when I think of how they are negatively effected. Thinking of myself, not as effective. I can trick myself into forgetting.
This last method, is one I have only recently discovered, but I am finding it to be the most effective approach to take with craving.
Namaste.
@AriettaDolente: That is great that you were able to stop after being up to 3 packs in a day. This quit attempt I am trying to do what you have mentioned, acceptance. Accepting my feelings and anxiety as they arise rather than run away from them. I'm tired of having these emotions run my life and determine my actions.
@Allbuddha: Since beginning to meditate I have still yet to give much attention to metta meditation. I have always focused more on mindfulness. But I think that it may be a very helpful tool for me in my attempt to crack open all the walls that I have been building.
Find your reason to quit and let that be your motivation.
Do you have kids? Then quit so that you can watch them grow.
Married? Then quit so that you can grow old together in GOOD HEALTH.
Broke? Then quit because it will save you a lot of money. Donate part of the money you are saving to the poor or an animal shelter.
Have a family member that died because of their addiction? Then quite because you don't want to end up just like them.
I use to smoke well over a pack a day of unfiltered cigarettes for close to 10 years. It got so out of hand that I was rolling my own tobacco to keep costs down. I smoked all the time: Waking up, in the bathroom, eating breakfast on the drive to work, at work, at brake, at lunch, at break again, leaving work, driving home, stuck in traffic, walking in the front door, while having dinner, after eating dinner, while watching TV, getting ready for bed, sleeping in bed, waking up in the middle of the night to smoke some more... it was brutal.
When I found out my wife was pregnant, I quit on the spot. No frustration, no withdrawal, I just quit. And my motivation was strong enough that I didn't have to "go back" to anything.
I hope you can find the strength somehow, but more importantly the key motivator to get you off your addictions.
Good luck.
Thanks for the inspiration, and I want to say good luck to anyone else trying. Having someone to help support you makes a huge difference. I smoked for almost 10 years, and once I stopped I realized that most of the habit was just that, a habit. I had grown so accustomed to have a smoke when getting out of the car, or on breaks between classes, etc. It was the routine that made it so much harder. I really didn't realize how much of a grip cigarettes had on me. Shame on the tobacco companies for profiting off of people's destructive habits.
If lowering your caffeine intake is a big problem, do it gradually, reducing your intake by about 10-20 mg a day. I would suggest the same for quitting nicotine.
Try quiting those drugs slowly. I mean, that you should start reducing little by little the usage. If you quit abruptelly, then you'll have those nasty drug-quitting effects, to call them that way.
Well, another advice is changing the routine. Guess you programmed yourself to drink coffee at a certain hour in the morning, so drink coffee an hour later or so.
Or, you should try to replace slowly nicotine and coffeine with something that is healthy. For myself, I had a Coca-Cola addiction, but, I slowly replaced it with milk and home-made juice (no kiddin here) b ydrinking one day cola, the other milk.
So, you get the idea, right ??
Oh, one last think. Don't think going to smoke or drinking coffee. If you don't give them importance at all, maybe you'll manage to quit this nasty addiction.
...I guess that's less serious, huh?
Also, I think you have yet to experience the benefits of quitting, for whilst everyone can tell you how tough it is to quit, eventually you will also reap the benefits of having overcome your addiction (and it saves a big buck!)
All the best!
/applause
Mtns
I don't mean disrespect but I think that was somewhat of an irresponsible statement. Tobacco is a big part of the problem but nowhere near the vast majority of our problem
Only 20% of American adults smoke nowadays. Far more than that are obese, eat horrible diets, allow themselves to become sleep deprived, and don't exercise. A lot of these people also drink or do other drugs, besides nicotine, to excess.
I would love to see everyone stop smoking tomorrow, but it would only go so far.
The consensus of Alcoholic's Anonymous is that of complete elimination .. of course, I understand that you are talking about smoking, but addiction principles tend to be universal.
Here's an intriguing story about quitting an addictive substance:
My husband and I stopped being friends with a couple when they became addicted to heroin. About 20 years later, we ran into them and they had quit doing heroin.
He had tried to quit several times and each time found the withdrawal symptoms to be overwhelming ... in desperation, he would go looking for his next "fix". Finally, he gathered up 3 month's worth of survival gear and had a friend drive him up and drop him off in the wilderness of northern Canada at the start of summer. Expecting the worst, he was amazed to find that he had NOT ONE SINGLE withdrawal symptom!
What does this say about the role of urges/withdrawal symptoms in maintaining habits?
A lot, apparently, as I quit smoking after 30 years (and many attempts to quit), using his story as my motivator. Refuse to participate in that urge ... recognize it, then drop it with "I don't do that anymore" and take a sip out of your water bottle instead.
I hope you find this useful.
That is so cool.
I have to disagree. Easily 75% of the patients I see on a daily basis owe part of all of their illness to tobacco in some form. I just call it like I see it. Also, only 20% *overall* of Americans smoke. In my area it's closer to 50% of those over about 15 years of age.
Mtns