I am at almost 14 days again.
I have a question:
It’s been really challenging and I have been leaning on comfort food and treating myself (maybe a little too much) also smoking a ton of cigarettes. But when it comes to protecting and continuing sobriety are those crutches okay to lean on right now?
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Those first two weeks are tough and i heard someone here say anything that isnt illegal is ok in the early days. But it sounds like indulging in these other vices are bothering you so worth reevaluating
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Its all relative really. It all destoys you. I agree with @Cjp if its giving you negative feelings, its time to reevaluate.
Also want to add, everyone processes protecting sobriety differently I feel, for me its staying away negative people/places.
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When i quit drugs and alcohol in the very, very beginning like 17 years ago, i also smoked cigarettes. I initally was going to quit smoking at the same time, but honestly that would have been a mistake. Trying to quit drugs and alcohol is hard enough, then to add on quitting smoking… wouldve been too much. My sponsor at the time told me not to jump ahead too quickly. Focus on quitting the drugs and alcohol first. Then once that is well taken care of, then work on other aspects that need to be taken care of, like smoking. I most likely wouldve relapsed looooong before i got to 3 years clean at that time if i quit everything all at once. I did end up quitting smoking down the road. Its been like 12 years of being smoke free. But i do think quitting everything at once would have been setting me up for failure honestly. I say this as what i experienced obviously. But there are people who have quit everything all together. I think it depends on you as an individual and what works best for you. I just know that i couldnt do it.
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Yes. My drinking was so bad that going back would have been suicide. And I’m absolutely no minimizing suicide. I ate ice cream, and lots of it, every night for first four months. I also smoked. I’m at 22 months. Diet started to clean up at 4 months, got to a very healthy weight quickly and still ate ice cream, just not every night. Tackle alcohol and if you can smoking, though if you can at least cut back on smoking, I would consider that a success. Congrats!
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There is good advice here alanamaryb. I can’t help but think it varies from individual to individual. If you need to lean on smoking cigarettes for now it’s probably ok. Most importantly you are sober for two weeks. I find this interesting:
I know I personally quit a 44 year smoking addiction 10 years before quitting weed/opiate addiction. I’m wondering where else you seek advice. Twelve-step or therapy perhaps? There’s going to be some discomfort quitting either habit. Do what you can handle. I think if you are maintaining sobriety and find trying to stop smoking gives you more anxiety than you feel you can handle than hold off on that. Wish you the best. Congratulations on 14 days👏
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Lean on whatever stops you picking up
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I work in a detox facility where smoking is prohibited. It seems counterintuitive but actually the success rates of staying abstinent from whatever DOC people come for are higher when there’s no more smoking as well. And smoking is a deadly addiction too, although many people somehow don’t seem to realise that.
That being said, do what works for you right now. You’re aware of what’s happening. That’s good. Make sure to stay sober, and slowly start working on other addictions and addictive behaviours as well. Wishing you all success.
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Im 146 days… right at the beginning i ate lots of sugary things and allowed myself to do so…it was kinda anything but alcohol to fill that gap, whatever worked…food wise after a couple of months i found that i started to naturally phase out the sugar cravings…must have been part of the recovery of my body and im much less that way now tho sometimes i still go to the sugary things if i get cravings, i think for now dont put too much pressure on yourself and listen to your body, that said i smoke my vape ridiculous amounts before and now but at least im not drinking. Wish you well 
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Maybe try a wee walk or some exercise with your comfort food ,i was a heavy smoker and everyone at meetings in those days smoked i waited for a year sober then i was going to the gym regular so the cigs were not helping my keep fit regime so i decided to quit not easy in the beginning like everything else took time but that was over 35 years ago now and in that time meetings are no smoking now , you can change your crutches to suit your sobriety
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When I went through the Priory we had a ‘smokers lounge’ it was the only place we could smoke indoors and it was always packed. The Psychologist who looked after me told me not to quit smoking until I was ready to ,but, definitely not while I was in treatment. That was almost 19 years ago, but, I’m meeting a ‘smoking cessation counselor’ this Friday so we’ll see where that goes.
I know for me smoking helped I had something to do with my hands other than holding a bottle I also ate massive amounts of chocolate which although it helped didn’t do anything for my waist line.
Really it each to their own, my first sponsor said “if it works keep doing it & if it doesn’t work don’t do it”, basically keep it simple, consultations on the 14 days, here’s to many more sober days.
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I quit the rubbish one thing at a time. First smoking, and then alcohol.
You have to be careful not to swing between addictions tho. I wasted a LOT of time thinking of managed to quit either thing, but really I was just replacing backwards and forwards. Don’t waste your health in this manner.
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I leaned on a lot of chocolate, gelato, good home made breads and lots of butter. And pastries. Ya. I substituted a bit of food indulgences for awhile. As long as I wasn’t drinking. I was successful. I gave myself time. Because quitting drinking was god awful hard.
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Congratulations on your 2 weeks!!
That’s HUGE!!
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