Q. HAVE YOU EVER GIVEN UP DRINKING OR SMOKING? IF SO, HOW DID YOU
DO IT?WHAT TECHNIQUES DID YOU FIND THE MOST HELPFUL?
I quit smoking onely after leaving the stress of my senior year in
college, with its heavy course-load and the chaos of sharing a house with
12 other girls. I no longer crave the quiet few minutes provided by
smoking a cigarette on the back porch.
Mary McCaffrey,
Medical Student
Stony Brook, New York
At age 56, I've never given any thought to givin up either smoking
or drinking because I have always indulged in thses pleasures in
moderation. A day without my Macanudo cigar or my Cream Sherry on the
rocks is unthinkable! Life is filled with all kinds of hazards, so one
might as well enjoy its pleasures.
Alan Caruba
Founder
The Boring Institute
I quit drinking 10 years ago. In the last five years of my
drinking, I had to have a drink every six hours. If I didn't, my mind was
disjointed. Finally one morning I reached the bottom.. On my third day in
detox, I heard one of the nurses say that alcoholism is a disease because
the body goes through chemical changes. It made sense. I realized it
wasn't a matter of willpower, it was a matter of having to stop
completely if I ever wanted anything in life.
Ben Peterson
Direct mail fund-raiser
New York, New York
Despite being college educated, I had held only menial jobs int he
10 years prior to my recovery. I tried limiting my drinking to weekends,
drinking only certain types of alcohol, not mixing, or waiting until
after 5 P.M. before indulging. It was not until I went to Alcoholics
Anonymous that I found a way to stay drug and alcohol free. Their
philosophy of doing it one day at a time has made it possible for me to
stay sober for the last 3,687 days.
E.G. Burkhart, C.S.W.
Psychotherapist
New York, New York
I gave up smoking almost two years ago, cold turkey. I found that
telling myself the positive things that would happen to my health has
helped me not to smoke.
The most profound question I asked myself was, why are you paying a
cigarette company to kill yourself?
Iris McLaughlin,
Research Assistant, Research
Institute on Addictions
Buffalo, New York
I stopped smoking five years ago. My husband had a heart attack and
stopped smoking immediately. I used to try to smoke outside so he
wouldn't see me. He told me to smoke in from of him so he could get used
to being around smokers. I did for about a week, then felt guilty and
gave it up cold turkey. I missed it at first, but it was a crutch that I
soon found I could live without. I am glad we now live in a smoke-free
house with our daughter.
Diane Riegger
Administrative Assistant
United Federation of Teachers
New York, New York
Learning how not to drink took education--and I could not have done
it without that education and without some tools. Before, I figured this
compulsion was something I couldn't do anything about; I was stuck with
it.
But I didn't even know what an alcoholic was, let alone know I was
one. Now, I know, so I do one main thing to stay sober: go to AA
meetings.
Jeff M.
Communications Manager
Minneapolis, MN
I gave up smoking for three years. Unfortunately, I started smoking
again. The only way I was able to stop was to get rid of as much stress
as possible. I was then able to focus on quitting... I only started
smoking again when I went through a divorce in 1986.
Steven O. Philippi, Driver,
U.P.S., Valley Stream, New York
PHOTO: Shot glasses
Tags:
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day at a time,
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one day at a time,
senior year,
smoking,
stony brook,
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