Karaoke Forums

Back on topic...For me I can quit anything except for cigarettes...That is my heroin...In fact I have quit everything on the list at least once some of them for good except for sex and cigarettes...And yes I smoke after sex...Rich looked once and that's what he told me!!!!

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Will sing or fish for food!!I'm not quite right!!

my eyes were open...dang wrong thread

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[scroll]we're men, manly men, we're men in tights[/scroll]

Well it's been over a week since I've had a drink. I use to drink almost everyday. But for some odd reason I don't miss it. I was never a violent drunk, in fact the opposite.  
It was the next day, feeling like death, that the serious nature of what I was doing set in. So on my 50th Birthday, I made a choice. It was either sex(not likely), smoking, drinking, or overeating. I made the choice of alcohol. I'm not saying that I'll quit forever, I just want to lose the daily craving for it. Evading a DUI is just like a roll of the dice, sooner or later, you're lucks gonna run out. I have too much at stake and have too large of a presence in my community to jeopordize it. It's not that I worry about being able to get out of a ticket or jail. I've just become conscious of all the people that I will let down if it ever happens, most importantly myself, for not keeping check on it.
Next is smoking, of which most of it is done while staring at this screen for hour upon hour, day after day.  
Overeating, well poverty has a way of taking care of that....  
Since I've been doing Karaoke, all my free money goes to my new addiction.  
But it's worked out pretty good so far, I've dropped from 220 down to 200 in two months time, so that's a good thing.

James
Maninblack

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I serve no man and am loyal to only one God.

Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

Whoa the things you learn on this site!

Jian is right-handed! Cool!

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

I'm gonna quit smoking every Tuesday until I finally give up.

Until you give up what? Quiting?


Ya know.. screw stopping smoking.. my daddy always said it was bad to be a quitter;)

I agree it is bad to be a quitter. When I quit being able to breathe without coughing until my lungs hurt is when I decided to stop smoking.

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

Hey, mine too.

Left hand give me the pain and strain.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

i don't believe you!  i'll have to see pictures for proof so i can study them....strictly in a scientific matter of course!

now on topic, my dad quit drinking AND smoking at the same time.  man did it suck being a kid at that time, but he's a better person now for having done that

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All work and no play make Homer something something

[quote="no vocals @ Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:22 am

i don't believe you!  i'll have to see pictures for proof so i can study them....strictly in a scientific matter of course!

now on topic, my dad quit drinking AND smoking at the same time.  man did it suck being a kid at that time, but he's a better person now for having done that[/quote]I'm sure it was a charater building experience for you too.

I don't seem to be able to give up anything.  I don't do illegal substances so I don't have to worry about that.  Many of the things on the list are not problems for me so I don't have to worry about giving them up.

But eating has always been a problem.  I love food.  Trying to moderate my intake is the big thing.  Of course I could offset some of that with excercise.  But that's a religious thing with me.  I view my body as a temple.  And it's against my religion to desecrate my temple with sweat.  LOL

Smoking is a big deal.  For 40 years I've been trying to get a little more maturity in my voice.  I want some character.  Smoking has helped give me some of that.  Of course breath control is something of a problem.  But the fact is that against all logic I like to smoke.  So that's a real problem for me.

Sex.  I was married for 32 years.  I didn't have much choice in the matter.  It wasn't that I had to give up sex with other women.  It was that eventually I had to give up sex with all women.  Including the one I was married to.

As a single guy again for the past two and a half years it somehow seems a lot more equitable and democratic to me that now every woman in the world has a chance to say "No", not just one.  Of course "No" is still "No" no matter how one looks at it.

I would say that all in all, giving up having sex with a woman is the hardest.  Men and animals are not an option and Jian's solution, while practical, is just not very fulfilling emotionally.  For me, the emotional part is just as important as the physical part.

Having bared my soul far more than I set out to do, I think I'll just sit over here on the sidelines an watch the game continue.

Larry

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I have been trying to give up polls.... just can't kick them....

Man, in this day of PC, maybe the pole would prefer to be called "horizontally challenged".

Maybe I shouldn't personify inanimate objects.

i like to draw little faces on my hands and pretend their celebrities

(dang, now everyone is gonna do it!!!  thanks jian)

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[scroll]we're men, manly men, we're men in tights[/scroll]

I can tell you that from person to person, even one individual during different times/situations in their own life..  There is no answer to this.  Many variables behind dependency/ addiction/ compulsive behaviour/ situational or exogenous factors etc.. There were times I could not quit smoking, in 1986 due to illness I had no trouble quiting, however even today, the temptation is there... I quit cold turkey at 4 packs daily non-filter ciggies. Yet for me at THAT time it was easy, some never can... I might never have been able to quit under different circumstances either, than there's the question "Quiting for good" ? Nicotine craving lasts along time.. but if a person isn't ready to quit, "willingly" doesn't matter, because ALL these substances "do something" for the person who's "addicted" "Dependent", etc.. Also quiting smoking, WILL likely make overeating a tougher situation to deal with, quit cigarettes, and plan on putting 20-30 lbs on within a few months... MANY MANY factors, even among the same individual at different points in their life... I know this, I've been addicted to all of the substances you speak of. Some simultaneously, others at different times.... I was hospitalized at least 10-15 times for hard substances in the 70's-mid-80's... Yet I quit alcohol on my own in 1980.... For some strange reason, (and the doctors said it was very stupid of me to do it alone) I had NO trouble the final time I decided I was sick of being sick... seizures, blackouts, DT's, etc...  I HATED the stuff, but needed it.... yet for some reason I was able to quit at least 1 1/2 qt's a day of Rye or Scotch or Rum (that includes the two six-packs I'd use as a chaser each day....I'm factoring in one beer= 1 shot harder alcohol}...roughly 1 1/2 qts religiously, and I was able to quit cold, yet at least 5 other times I had to be hospitalized....and I'm an alcoholic...so HOW these strange things work ?  We don't know.... It REALLY depends !  If you REALLY are ready to quit Nicotine is going to be a long haul, yet not as acute as many other substances, just a nagging ongoing withdrawal....Stuff such as sexually compulsive need is often a behavioural problem, sometimes hormonal too, yet if a person is a true nymphomaniac, or Satyr... They have to live with the problem making behavioural changes... These problems seldom "Go away", people learn how to cope with certain problems, and like all dependent behaviour, life-style itself needs to be modified, it's seldom a simple act of giving up consumption of the substance... A person who is sexually compulsive, doesn't have to abstain from "sex" to remain compulsive.... They still might be chronic masturbator's... and addicted to pornography.. NO addiction is easy to give up... there're layers and layers of other situations that have existed sometimes preceding, or often develop as a result of behaviour, brain chemistry is the biggest factor..

All of these substances; or behaviours

Tobacco products    
 
Alcohol    
 
Overeating    
   
Sex (I said willingly give up, remember)    
 
Controlled substances (Assuming you have heard the info from other people)


Vary in intensity from individual to individual, time of life, etc.  Nicotine withdrawal is physically very real, but the craving and psychological desire for the stimulant, and behaviour associated (hand-mouth pattern) lasts a long time.

Alcohol withdrawal can be more acute and life-threatening, yet doesn't last as long, of course depending on physical addiction (in cases where a person isn't diagnosed necessarily as anything but situational heavy drinker (who's substance addicted), and not chronic alcoholic, assuming a person's physically addicted due to short term heavy abuse (alcohol can addict in three days, of course so can nicotine too) alcohol withdrawal is more dangerous than nicotine addiction, yet since other meds are used during detox, alcohol detox is seldom painful..When you go into detox, you are given certain medications such as librium immediately for a few days at a high dosage so you don't experience acute withdrawal such a grand-mal seizure.... Nicotine withdrawal really sux however, although not as physical threatening. there's aggitation, bad headaces, not knowing what to do with oneself, need to hold something, I drank ALOT of tonic water plain when I quit smoking the first time... Quinine satiated the hand mouth need, and is also a natural heart relaxant...(never knew that at the time, so again I found a substitute med of sorts) (caffeine addiction is no piece of cake either btw...horrible headaches, insomnia... I go thru that every few months still  LOL ) So while alcohol and a few of the opiates can be dangerous, someone that binges heavily for situational depression who's self medicating, and isn't necessarily  an alcoholic, or longer term Opiate addict... once addiction (withdrawal period) is over, often the individual won't crave the substance after that short-lived binge. and if needed withdrawal period. Not all addicted to alcohol are alcoholic.  Yet they have of course been drinking "alcoholically" end up addicted... Actual alcoholic is usually a different set of physical circumstances, and it's a different type of evolution in terms of brain and body chemistry... Amino acids usually change in the alcoholic whether they ever drink again or not once they've had a first drink, even sober, it's a progressive illness...yet it's a more insidious illness/mind F*** thing for an alcoholic than the heavy binger who stops, and at times never starts again after detox.... The whole mind, and body craves it, the wet drunk can go sober, but will still have dry drunks, and the mind will always be abit wet......

Noone who's a compulsive person will ever minimize just how tough it is to moderate food intake... because food is often used to not just "fill a void", but the compulsive overeater can't easily moderate something that "tastes as good" as a 1/2 a sandwich. Moderation is VERY tough, that's why a person usually over-eats to begin with... You must eat, so dieting is hell too....

Most people that become "hooked" are often compulsive, or dependent personalities so whether the dependency/addiction is psychological/physical...WHO KNOWS... It's all hell when a person is self-medicating themselves...and gaining something positive using ANY substance, EVEN addiction to another person, or the person needing an endorphan boost (certain foods, alcohol, and most of these drugs).... For an addictive personality, obsessive person, or individual looking for the quick fix, or PRN med.... just in need of a good feeling.... "Sexually compulsive behaviour" is often that too, a displacement mech.... Looking for an external fix, to take care of a far more profound problem that plagues the individual..

Controlled substances depending on what they are, can be tough, but withdrawal although dangerous in the case of benzodiazepine tranqs, and opiates are dealt with like alcohol...other meds are used inpatient, so they are easier in terms of what you feel during physical withdrawal..Usually NOTHING...until you get  home, and have to cope with not being quite so numb.. and deal with feelings... THAT'S the tough part, the behavioural aspects... amphet's according to some doctors aren't as tough to get off've as something such as Quaaludes, Methedone, alcohol, benzo's, barbiturates... Heroin also doesn't necessarily addict when used a bunch of times...so even that depends, I never was addicted to smack... Yet of course it can be very addictive to some....


I'm not just speaking from text-book and counseling knowledge, I'm speaking as a person who's been addicted to all above substances...quit 4 packs a day cold turkey (bronchial pneumonia) 1986 never touched another cigarette since that day, Yet still crave them.. quiting the last time for some reason was VERY easy for me, unlike other times, I actually didn't have a problem, because I couldn't breath. The thought of cigarettes when you have bronchial pneumonia really aren't favorable...Since I was sick for weeks,  by the time I got over the illness, I just didn't have a strong craving, yet I miss them.. but not badly enough to startup... I have time behind me, that helps... Alcohol, serious abuse, for years...can't drink at all, quit august 1980 cold turkey alone... Smack, barbs, quaaludes... quit earlier in the 70's, medical intervention, acute liver damage.... Benzo's are tough, but often times shorter 1/2 life benzo addiction "Alprazolam  (Xanax) addictions, are treated with a Clonazopam/Alprazolam switch 2/3 ratio.... and than the person is weaned from the Klonopin...over a LONG time period, so it's not a tough thing...

I've been thru it, at times it was tough, at other times surprisingly easy, not sure why.... Yet that's my truth...  There are certain times of course it's VERY tough to quite a habit/dependency.... These aren't the times to be trying either...


Good luck,  some can do it, some can't....  Some think they can't, but they don't really want to... they are gaining too much from what it is they are told they shouldn't be doing......and if you quit,  are you ready to make the behavioural adjustments ?  You can't just expect something to fall from the sky, and fill that void left after you stop.... that takes work... Also, are you prepared to put on a few lbs ?  It almost ALWAYS happens especially if you aren't on a good workout plan....

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Chuck, please give me a lecture on the meaning of your latest avatar and signature.
I'm not comprehending it yet. Is it an artsy thing? I'm very challenged in the artsy department.

Me too, Don. The first picture is called paisley highway, the second is basketball earth. I was just doodling in my graphics software. I can't do this on paper, I haven't had a steady hand ever.

I think it might be an OCD thing, I was trying to burn something out of my thoughts and this did the trick.

The born yeterday thing is  to help me remember not to take things quite as seriously as I used to.

OK, I got it!  I don't feel quite as dumb now.

I feel dumb all the time...So this is nothing new for me.....

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Will sing or fish for food!!I'm not quite right!!