Originally Posted by
SuficintCrlsns 
Hi all,
I have successfully quit drinking and am over one year sober. Now its time to lick my other addiction. I have used chewing tobacco off and on since I was 18, I'm 47 now. I had quit for a few years and started up again when I stopped drinking, I guess to lessen the blow and at least have something I could turn to. As bad as chewing is, it was by far the lesser of the two evils.
I feel like sometimes chewing worsens my anxiety and in the times when I was without it for a while, I had a calmer mindset, at least before my drinking got really out of control.
I guess I will take the same approach as when quitting drinking and the times I stopped chewing before. A) Chew paper or 'jerky chew' to get over the physical part of the addition B) Treat myself with foods that I love, like ice cream, in exchange C) Try to do more meditation
Anyone else who stopped smoking or chewing have any words of wisdom to help out?
Thanks,
SC
All addictions serve an emotional purpose. You have replaced drinking with chewing as an anxiety reducer. I replaced cocaine with Sees dark chocolate to some extent. I get the same rush of contentment when I
decide to go to Sees as I use to get when I decided to score cocaine. Anyway, I'm getting off track there but the bottom line is we need to find more direct healthy behaviors that empower us to regain control over our emotions (feelings) that make us feel anxiety. Exercise works for me and is certainly better than candy. Find something else that work for you that is less harmful.
The bottom line is controlling and managing our emotions how we feel, specifically about certain circumstances in life that tend to make us feel overwhelmed, helpless powerless, trapped and out of control. The antidote is to recognize the trigger behavior or circumstance (themes in our lives) regain control or reverse the helpless-anxious-frustrated feelings with a more direct high value behavior that empowers us!
What all humans really seek is a sense of control. People like to feel in control. We are biologically wired to seek control. What we really seek is not a drink, a drug, porn or a bet, but a sense of empowerment, especially in the face of feeling overwhelmed, helpless, trapped and powerless (out of control). The root of all conflicts in life is that we want to be in charge. We want to eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge, we want to be God. We want to call the shots. Exactly how we choose to empower ourselves and regain control of our emotions (feelings), our life, is what needs to be discerned, understood and then managed.
Shalom