JUNKIE
THINKING: "One Puff won't hurt"
RESPONSE: "One puff will always hurt me, and it always
will because I'm not a social smoker. One puff and I'll be smoking
compulsively again."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I only want one."
RESPONSE: "I have never wanted only one. In fact, I want
20-30 a day every day. I want them all."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I'll just be a social smoker."
RESPONSE: "I'm a chronic, compulsive smoker, and once I
smoke one, I'll quickly be thinking about the next one. Social
smokers can take it or leave it. That's not me."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I'm doing so well, one won't hurt me now."
RESPONSE: "The only reason I'm doing so well is because
I haven't taken the first one. Yet once I do, I won't be doing
well anymore. I'll be smoking again."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I'll just stop again."
RESPONSE: "Sounds easy, but who am I trying to kid? Look
how long it took me to stop this time. And once I start, how
long will it take before I get sick enough to face withdrawal
again? In fact, when I'm back in the grip of compulsion, what
guarantee do I have that I'll ever be able to stop again?"
JUNKIE
THINKING: "If I slip, I'll keep trying."
RESPONSE: "If I think I can get away with one little "slip"
now I'll think I can get away with another little "slip"
later on."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I need one to get me through this withdrawal."
RESPONSE: "Smoking will not get me through the discomfort
of not smoking. It will only get me back to smoking. One puff
stops the process of withdrawal and I'll have to go through
it all over again."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I miss smoking right now."
RESPONSE: "Of course I miss something I've been doing every
day for most of my life. But do I miss the chest pain right
now? Do I miss the worry, the embarrassment? I'd rather be an
ex-smoker with an occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker
with a constant desire to stop doing it."
JUNKIE
THINKING: "I really need to smoke now, I'm so upset."
RESPONSE: "Smoking is not going to fix anything. I'll still
be upset, I'll just be an upset smoker. I never have to have
a cigarette. Smoking is not a need, it's a want. Once the crisis
is over, I'll be relieved and grateful I'm still not smoking."