Shoestring Theory

Currently documenting the house that is eating our lives, we will return to regularly scheduled programming in a couple of more months

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Breaking Pavlov’s smoke

April 22, 2008 at 5:42 pm by thetheorist

Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (photo from nobelprize.org)

There exist certain cues throughout my day that kick off the urge to smoke. Some activities are SO heavily associated with smoking that it’s hard to imagine one without the other (morning coffee). Smokers are but one of Pavlov’s dogs. If I want to quit smoking, there are certain aspects of my life I must reclaim. I must learn how to enjoy them smoke-free.

  • Eating
  • Drinking coffee
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Talking on the telephone
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Driving
  • Gaming
  • Sex
  • Going Outside (really, I’m serious)
  • Playing pool

I will try to fill out some explanations for each of these, particularly so those of you who are non-smokers may understand why they kick off the urge to smoke.

Pavlov's dog
One of Pavlov’s Dogs (photo from Wikimedia Commons by Robert Lawton)

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  • 1 ksliberal Apr 23, 2008 at 8:02 pm

    Keep on keepin on (as the old hippies say). It’s tough to quit; I’ve been there. I went about it differently, but was finally successful. Good luck!