Speeding to recovery

I was snagged yesterday by Vermont's only state trooper, on a two-lane highway that maybe four other motorists have ever driven.

This morning, about 24 hours later, I was grinding molars, still stressing about my first speeding ticket in years.

That's $130 I could have spent on shoes or gas or physiotherapy on my left hand, which has become a muscled claw after a winter of relentless shoveling.

But then I got an email from Smokers' Helpline.

Help, just when I needed it.

The email was evidently one of the benefits I get from having signed up for the Driven to Quit challenge I mentioned in my first blog post.

The email started off talking about how to manage the triggers that urge people like me to smoke.

Remember the three "A"s, the email said.

Avoid.

As in, avoid stress.

But I could not ignore the gaudy ticket burning a hole in my glove box.

Alter.

"Don't reach for a cigarette as you usually would," the email said. "Instead, get up and brush your teeth. Alter your response."

If I brush my teeth every time I have a craving, and do so with the gusto with which I smoke a cigarette, I would very quickly scrape away my gums and resemble Skeletor.

But point taken.

So I ate an English muffin covered in peanut butter and gulped down a Coke.

Don't judge. It's a tasty stopgap.

The comforting ritual is also the chief reason I will be fat in two to three months.

Accept.

"For example," the email suggested, "You are at a BBQ and some of the guests are smoking. You may not be able to avoid or alter the situation, but you can use one of your coping strategies, like positive self-talk, to help you through the challenge. You could say to yourself: 'This is a challenge. It won't last forever. I will get through it.' Or, 'I will be a stronger person for handling it without a cigarette.' "

Talking to myself in public seems drastic, I thought, but when the urge to smoke becomes unbearable I should be prepared to do almost anything to stay quit.

But then, after licking some peanut butter off my gnarled left hand, I wondered how this "Accept" tactic would actually work ...

"Sir, I am Deputy Charles Smithson of the Vermont Highway Patrol. Could I please see your license and registration?"

"Ah, sure."

"Do you know why I stopped you today?"

"Nope."

"You were going 70 in a 55 zone."

"Oh, er, ... This is a challenge ..."

"What?"

"It won't last forever ..."

"Hands on the dash, sir. Right now."

"I can do this. I am a stronger person."

"What did you say?"

"No, I mean ... smokey smoke ... This is a challenge ..."

"Dispatch ... This is Car Zero One. What? No, I know I don't have back-up. Just clear out a cell, okay Darlene? I'm bringing in a possible DUI for resisting arrest. Ten-four."

Comments

[mairead]

You may find these two As more effective - Aware & Act. You are already Aware that your smoking is stress related & it is unrealistic to even attempt to Avoid it.
Plus you've also noticed that simply brushing your teeth won't relieve your stress. So take Actions that fit your situation.
If you are hunched over a keyboard (or a steering wheel) & crave a cigarette - try deep breathing & stretching (simply drop & roll your shoulders). Also remind yourself to take frequent "Breathers" to clear your head.
I found it very interesting that you "Ate your cigarette" because it "comforted" you. If you are eating for comfort not for nourishment, you only replace one bad habit with another. This can backfire because too many people use weight gain as an excuse to go back to smoking. - Mairead

"Within the mind of every smoker trying to quit rages a battle between the higher-order functions of the brain wanting to break the habit and the lower-order functions screaming for another cigarette, say researchers at Duke University Medical Center. More often than not, that cigarette gets lit."
"While scientists have thought that nicotine is the primary agent responsible for cigarette addiction, recent evidence suggests that conditioned responses to sensory cues also play an important role, McClernon said."

http://www.dukemednews.org/news/article.php?id=9098

- Mairead