Quitting Pornography and Tobacco Journal

[Someone here]

This is for my own benefit. There is not much to read in this journal.  This is just for my own personal development. Not for a reader other than me .

I'm realizing an increasing dependency on cigarettes, sugar,porn,music,video games to regulate my mood .I feel like absolute piece of shit whenever a day passes without some or all of these things .I'm confident to say I'm addicted to them .

This journal is just a public recoding of trying to quit these things for an entire year ..starting from today 14/11/2024 until Christmas of year 2025 . Then I will see where I will be moving from there .

I'm also going to stop posting in the main  forums. I will only stick to the journaling section until December 2025.

I'm not gonna quit music and video games as I do need something pleasurable to regulate my mood . I'm not ready for a complete monk mood .

So I'm going to quit cigarettes and pornography. 

There we go .

Today is day 1.

I will keep a day count here .

Edited November 14 by Someone here

[Someone here]

Day 1 done.#

[LSD-Rumi]

sorry to intrude on your journal but make sure to use nicotine patches or gum to decrease physical withdrawal symptoms.

[Someone here]

13 hours ago, LSD-Rumi said:

sorry to intrude on your journal but make sure to use nicotine patches or gum to decrease physical withdrawal symptoms.

Thanks for the advise .you are welcome to comment on the journal. But actually I don't want to substitute one addiction for another .I'm still going to use sugar and videos games as I mentioned. Because they are less harmful than porn and smoking. 

Edited November 16 by Someone here

[Someone here]

Day 2 done #.

[Someone here]

Relapse . I watched porn today for 2 hours .

Back to day 0.

But I didn't smoke . I think it's better to keep a separate record for each. 

Porn: day 0.

Smoking : day 2.

Edited Sunday at 07:18 PM by Someone here

[Someone here]

Smoked two ciggies Marlboro Red while taking a walk in the darkness of my town.

Back to zero . This shit is more difficult than I have thought . At this point I have no doubt that I have neurological addiction. Its not just a vice or something that I enjoy doing .it's something my whole freaking life depends on . 

Porn :day 0.

Cigarettes : day 0.

Edited Monday at 05:28 PM by Someone here

[Beans]

Keep at it. Effort is the Siamese twin of success. 

[Someone here]

18 hours ago, Beans said:

Keep at it. Effort is the Siamese twin of success. 

Thanks for the uplifting comment . Appreciate it .

[manuel bon]

i believe in you, you can do it!

[Princess Arabia]

Hence there's no one in that body. It's a program. Not saying you can't quit. Plenty people have quit. It's just it's not happening now. Those people that quit was still the program running. It's obvious, and I see it everyday with everyone, including this body. Don't fight it. Don't tell yourself you have a problem. Don't say you have a neurological addiction. You're energizing the program even more. I'm speaking to the I AM right now, not someone here. I suggest you not even keep a record of it because that's also strengthening the smoker. It will be on your mind day in and day out. 

There are ways but I'm in no condition to tell you what those ways are. It will happen on it's own. It's just certain things don't help and I can tell you what doesn't. You have smoked way less, because you are trying to quit, that's the program. To quit totally, the program will have to stop running - on it's own. Keep at it, but without strains. Don't force it, just become conscious and aware of what's happening. Keep seeing yourself as a non-smoker while you're watching yourself smoke. Sooner or later I believe it will fade away.

[Someone here]

On 20/11/2024 at 4:28 PM, manuel bon said:

i believe in you, you can do it!

Thanks man . Appreciate it . Though you're putting pressure on my shoulders. I've to not disappoint others not just myself. 

On 22/11/2024 at 5:18 AM, Princess Arabia said:

Hence there's no one in that body. It's a program. Not saying you can't quit. Plenty people have quit. It's just it's not happening now. Those people that quit was still the program running. It's obvious, and I see it everyday with everyone, including this body. Don't fight it. Don't tell yourself you have a problem. Don't say you have a neurological addiction. You're energizing the program even more. I'm speaking to the I AM right now, not someone here. I suggest you not even keep a record of it because that's also strengthening the smoker. It will be on your mind day in and day out. 

There are ways but I'm in no condition to tell you what those ways are. It will happen on it's own. It's just certain things don't help and I can tell you what doesn't. You have smoked way less, because you are trying to quit, that's the program. To quit totally, the program will have to stop running - on it's own. Keep at it, but without strains. Don't force it, just become conscious and aware of what's happening. Keep seeing yourself as a non-smoker while you're watching yourself smoke. Sooner or later I believe it will fade away.

Hi. Thanks for the advice .and I always appreciate you commenting on my threads and posts ..you're such a brilliant person and compassionate as well . 

Help me to understand..how is it that I should continue smoking and not being assertive about quitting ?

Shouldn't i use willpower? I literally have my wall with this sentence written on it "I will not smoke". That's a decision I must made..being enforced by the force of will. Which is a good thing. Could you explain? 

Also..any advice in quitting "you know what "?

 

Edited 8 hours ago by Someone here

[Someone here]

Porn : day 0.

Ciggies: day 2.

Cell phone is a disaster . Everyone is glued to their fucking smartphone like a treadmill . I really wish to quit it but its toooo much.

[Fearey]

Trying to kick multiple bad habits at the same time exponentially increases the difficulty. It might prove more beneficial to work on one until your cravings for it is gone, then focus on the next.

Working towards kicking bad habits on a permanent basis is a great move for ones long-term health and stability. Hope you succeed.

Edited 6 hours ago by Fearey

[LSD-Rumi]

@Someone here I would suggest using an antidepressant like prozac temporarily, it will kill your libido and help you manage the psychological withdrawal symptoms of dropping smoking.

[manuel bon]

1 hour ago, LSD-Rumi said:

@Someone here I would suggest using an antidepressant like prozac temporarily, it will kill your libido and help you manage the psychological withdrawal symptoms of dropping smoking.

I think the best way to stop is without taking these things... but of course it's a tool that probably can help, imo tho it's better to just continue naturally

[manuel bon]

4 hours ago, Someone here said:

Though you're putting pressure on my shoulders. I've to not disappoint others not just myself. 

I didn't want to put any pressure on you, sorry for that.

Even if you relapse it's not something to be disappointed about, take note of that, and keep going with your journey. 

[Princess Arabia]

5 hours ago, Someone here said:

Shouldn't i use willpower? I literally have my wall with this sentence written on it "I will not smoke". That's a decision I must made..being enforced by the force of will. Which is a good thing. Could you explain? 

That message on the wall is not a good idea. The subconscious doesn't recognize negatives, as in, no, don't, not; all it hears is smoke. "I will not smoke" is equivalent to "I will smoke" to the subconscious mind. Saying I am a non-smoker or i have quit smoking (even if you still smoke). Try to keep it in the present also. Will power is what the ego uses to try and control reality. It ever works for long. It will go back to doing the same things. 

Understand that some people have successfully quit because that's who they are. They could probably quit anything cold-turkey that they set out to do because that's how they treat everything. How we do one thing is how we do everything, is a famous quote.

Quitting smoking is a hard task because the nicotine in so addictive. Someone did suggest the patch (which is not an addiction, BTW, it's just a tool). 

Maybe try to cut down as in if you used to smoke a pack a day, (20), try 15, then 10, then 5, then 3,2,1,. These are just suggested numbers. The point is to reduce it everyday. Keep them at a distance, so you have to walk for them etc. Cold turkey might not be for you. Replace it with something else. Maybe gum or some kind of licorice. Black seed oil reduces the cravings. The last thing you want is a cig after taking a hit of that oil (trust me). 

Whatever you do, don't say to yourself you're trying to quit smoking. The mind doesn't want to be associated with being a quitter. Same thing as losing weight. People gain it back because the mind thinks it lost something (lost weight), so it looks for ways to gain it back. (Not in all cases, it just makes it harder). Like I said, I'm not here trying to tell you how to quit as much as I'm suggesting what really doesn't work or what makes it more frustrating. 

Study yourself and notice things you used to do or ways of being like 5-10yrs ago that you don't do anymore or different personality. Not by force, they just simply fell away. It's because your identity changed, at the core, different beliefs, different patterns developed because of different circumstances and where you placed your focus, attention and energy. That's how it works. Just telling yourself you won't do this or that is usually a lost cause because those things weren't being done consciously, they are from a program, so the program has to change first. 

The bit about smoking less everyday, is similiar to changing a program but it's still not a embedded program as much, but it helps. Maybe get a pack you dislike to smoke like really harsh or really soft, whichever you really hate, and start from there. 

I'm throwing out different tactics for you to try but the mind stuff is more Universal, so to speak, and relates to more than smoking, so I'm able to recommend them. As far as porn goes, idk, maybe get a gf or try to focus on other things. I'm not an expert on those things, I can only guide on what usually doesn't work. Try to see yourself differently, maybe, feel the love that you are, know that you are already that. Nothing will satisfy that emptiness inside if you're not devoting your life to yourself, your beingness. The I AM awareness. It is all that matters. Feel into it and acknowledge it everyday.