The SmokeFree Star --- By Jeneene L. Brengelman

Addictions are primarily thought of in the physical sense...such as addiction to physical/chemical substances like drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Addictions are also emotional, primal, habitual, and spiritual.

Today, Jeneene deals with recognizing and becoming aware of some of the aspects involved in addictions so that by identifying what you're up against, you will be able to conquer the addiction with the help of your most effective weapon - YOUR BRAIN. --- Jeanette

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If you're trying to lose weight or change another bad habit, most of this is for you too. Just put "eat" or other comforting but damaging behavior in when I say smoke.

Smoking is an addiction, but those smokers who are only physically addicted don't find it too hard to quit. Patches help with that aspect, but they don't touch the more complicated emotional dependence that most smokers have. You've learned to use cigarettes in all aspects of your life, from surviving boredom to celebrating sex. The addiction is no fun to conquer, but this stuff can be much harder still (harder, but still possible and so very necessary.)

If you've ever tried to quit, you know that it isn't just a conscious decision. I spent a long time looking for a way to explain the workings of your unconscious mind in a way that makes sense and is empowering. Here's the result. Remember the tune?

The Horse Knows the Way

"The Horse" is what I call the part of your brain that controls hunger, thirst, and the need to reproduce. Nicotine addiction lives here too. The horse's purpose is to ensure the survival of your genes. This primitive piece of brain is not much different than the same part in mice, snakes, and all other animals.

The horse communicates with your whole body, and when it sends a message you hear it as a call to action. This was necessary for millions of years, when food was hard to find.

Every living being on earth is willing to risk its life to reproduce. But humans have learned to call being "turned on" a feeling and even to enjoy it.

In order to retrain your horse, you'll have to remind yourself that hunger and the urge to smoke are feelings too. Just feelings, not calls to action on which your survival depends. In fact, now your survival depends on retraining your horse. Yes, you can!

Remember when you first rode a horse? If you were like me, you held onto that horn at the front of the saddle. Even if I took the reins I still held that horn, which gave me no control of the horse at all. Most of the time in life we can live that way, and do. Your horse knows the way to do everything you habitually do. You've trained it!

It's exactly like riding a merry-go-round horse, you stay safe but you can't change course.

When there is an important change to make, the only way is to let go of the security of the horn (the old way) and take the reins, pay attention, and teach that horse the new way.

The Rider is the conscious mind, which can intellectually control your behavior -- just the first step in the change process.

If you quit smoking before by using will power, you tried to do it consciously. Because your unconscious controls your feelings, and hates change, you were in a constant struggle. You'll find it much easier to use horse power.

It takes about 28 days of powerful action (not smoking), repetition with intention (positive self talk), and reward (acknowledgment) to teach the horse the new way.

During this time it should be your first priority. Nothing else will change your life, or the lives of your loved ones as much as you quitting smoking and leaving the fear behind.

Next week: Retraining the Horse, part two

Questions?

--- (c) Jeneene L. Brengelman

" When the right times arrives, go into the garden with sharp shears. Speak kindly. Pray softly. Prune back. Now plow ahead."

--- (c) Sarah Ban Breathnach