You're not alone.
Posted on 08/15/2004 8:39:38 PM PDT by The Other Harry
I have three vices. Three main ones, anyway. I drink, I smoke, and I still suck my thumb (at age 56).
The drinking is my "presenting problem". That is the one most people who know me would refer to, and that is the one that I am currently trying to fix.
The funny thing -- which is not the least bit funny -- is that I can quit drinking anytime I want. I don't like AA meetings, rehab programs, or things like that. I can just stop cold turkey.
What I can't do is to sleep once I have stopped. I will lay awake for days at a time. It is, shall we say, unpleasant.
I have a prescription from my shrink for a sleeping med, but there is a great deal of debate among alcoholics about substituting one drug for another. I would rather not.
I would like to quit smoking also. It is a bad habit, and -- as my sister recently told me -- it is inconvenient. It did not used to be, but it is now.
That will be more difficult.
Smoking is far more addictive than booze. I once quit for a period of about two months, then I got into negotiations to buy a house. I literally could not think without a cigarette. I could not add up one and two and make them come up to three, much less do the math on buying a house.
I did not get the house, but I did start smoking again. I pretty much had to. That is pathetic, but that is how it works.
That gets me to thumb-sucking. That is not really what I do, but that is what I call it in my mind when I am talking to myself. I won't belabor what I really do. That would be too many lines.
This takes about maybe a few minutes a day, usually while I am trying to go sleep.
The way I figure things, I am not going to try to quit that one. It would be too difficult. If I can manage to quit drinking, sleep will be hard enough. I will need the sucking (which it really is not). Without that, I will be lost. I think I can get the first two, but not that. It harms no one.
I also think all three are related somehow. I have tried to discuss that with my shrink, but she won't go there. Perhaps another shrink would.
I bring all thjs up because I want to warn those of you who may be one the verge of these kinds of problems to be careful. You tend to get in deeper than you want to be or than you expect to be.
pinging...
Drink more. Smoke more. Then, you won't have time to fit your thumb in there.
No charge.
You're not alone.
Dude. Seek help.
Keep drinking and smoking and pretty soon you won't have to worry about the third item... or the first and second.
at age, 30 my only vices are FR and smoking, i dont drink or suck my thumb ;^)
I haven't been busted yet. The weather has been relatively cool, however, so I have not been spending a lot of time naked. We nearly got a hurricane, but we didn't. That would be Charley. We'll probably get Earl. They are coming up.
My main concern is the 10 y.o. girl next door. She sometimes comes around to sell me things. I don't care too much about the postman, but I think it would be a mistake to ever be accused of flashing the neighbor girl.
More blinds would be good. They are on the agenda.
I got her a dulcimer for her birthday. Not fancy -- cardboard --but enough to create some concern with her parents. I don't want to ever be accused of anything improper. I don't go there. Still need to be careful. That is why I have never gotten involved with the boy scouts, etc. There is someone with my same name who was a boy scout leader where I used to live. Even that stressed me.
You are a trip Harry! Thumb sucking is not what you really do huh? O--Kay! :-)
I try to be. I also try to be honest.
Thumb sucking is not what you really do huh?
Not exactly. If you want to know what I really do, I'll write you a book sometime and send it to you by email. It won't be interesting.
Time to go walk the dog. "Judging Amy" will be on at noon, and I like to watch that. The woman behind that show -- Amy Brennaman (sp?) -- is seriously talented. She appeared on a couple Lawn Orders before she started this. Might have been NYPD Blues. It does not matter.
I'd like to take her to dinner.
Harry you old dog!
For sleeping try this trick: take 2 generic benedryl 1 hour before you want to go to sleep. 1/2 hour later go to bed and read (or write poetry or cheat on your taxes, etc.) for 30 minutes and turn the light out. You are linking the feeling of being sleepy with a specific place and routine. Do it for a week or so and then go to 1 pill for a week or two, then none.
You won't get a substitute addiction with this but you might get cotton-mouth.
For the smoking, just get it down to 3 or 4 cigs a day and take the herb Lobelia. Leave it there for a few months and THEN decide what you want to do. Knowing you can have a few smokes should get rid of that fuzzy brain feeling and getting down to that point is actually 95% of the battle.
Now I DO know what you are doing thumbwise since a good friend of mine does it. I agree - leave it alone.
Health freaks always want you to do everything immediately. What nerve! Get 80% of your problems 90% solved and you are WAY ahead of the pack.
Good Luck!
As far as smoking goes I did a ton of nicotine gum. I used a lot more than the prescribed dose and I chewed it for a lot long than the schedule said. After I felt I had the psychological addiction under control I weaned off the gum. This is not the recommend course of behavior but I had a very high nictoin intake and was very tied into it emotionally. I found the 4 mg. dose ever 1 to 2 hours way to low to start with.
AA likes to make a big to do about prescription drugs and alcoholics. I think a lot of what they say is sweeping generalizations. I have never taken a drug that made me want to drink. Of course that all varies with the individual. I just don't take what the group says as holy writ. I would just make it a point to stay away from prescription tranquilizers. They are very hard to get off of and doctors love to hand them out to people doing alcohol withdrawal.
Over the years, I've gone through periods where I have drunk very heavily and steadily, then just stopped, and suffered no ill effects. Now I drink occasionally, maybe five or six beers a week, with a bender thrown in every few months. I know I could walk away from it forever with no problem. I never had a drop during pregnancy. Have you tried getting pregnant? That could help. You'll be so exhausted you can't help but sleep. Oh wait...you're a guy.
Nope! Can't help you there, either. I'm on a roll now.
As for smoking, I have been a pack-a-day smoker since I was sixteen, more than half of my life. I have tried everything but hypnosis in my quest to kick, to no avail. Having pins stuck all over my face made me smoke more than ever. Wearing a patch while smoking gives an interesting little buzz. The gum made me barf, which made me want to have a smoke. I took Zyban for about a month, and that actually worked. I did quit smoking. I also quit eating and sleeping. I spent most of my time wandering aimlessly through the house, crying incessantly, wishing I were dead.
Upon my doctor's advice, I quit using Zyban and resumed smoking. I did manage to cut back to five smokes a day while I was pregnant (again, no help to you) but I've never managed to go longer than 8 hours without a smoke. I even snuck out of the hospital during labor for a quickie.
If you can think of any way to help me quit smoking, let me know. I hate smoking. I hate the taste, I hate the smell, I hate the expense, I hate eating food and no longer being able to taste it. I'm down to pure addiction at this point. There is absolutely nothing pleasurable about it anymore.
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