Smoking ciggaretts to cope

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I quit smoking cigarettes when I quit smoking weed. I used to still bring a pack of cigarettes with me to places, because I though of it as a social lubricant. At a concert I was asked by a hot drunk girl if she could bum a smoke, and I gave her one. She noticed that I wasn't going to smoke with her. I tried to explain it to her, but I think she thought I was giving her laced cigarettes. So much for the lube.

Not true. Everyone knows some people smoke "to cope" -- I certainly do -- and the OP simply asked about people's views on that matter.



Ah, so you believe the topic is damned, eh?!

I disagree.

An NT would smoke for the same reason an autistic person would, and you've seen how well that goes for them, right?

lol...please don't try to use autism as a means for justifying this. There are other things you can do, IDK what would work for you but try to figure it out. Smoking is not evil but it is a huge waste of money and a huge health risk. I quit 5 years ago but even then I didn't know nearly as many shocking and disgusting facts about cigarettes as I do now. It can cause health issues that you'd never even imagine.

Very glad I was able to quit so easily.

I have found that the times in my life when I coped better socially was when I smoked. I found it very hard to quit as everytime I tried I became very isolated. I find smoking did really help me stand being round people, but now I choose to not be round people but have my health. On another board I made a thread about smoking and the users who did smoke had wives and jobs so i think it did help them to cope with the stress of social interaction.

I used this website to motivate me to quit and it was very helpful
http://whyquit.com/

No he did not, the intention of the thread was not what you assumed. Besides, he is a troll.




No, it is you refusing to deal with reality by trying to deflect with a lame joke.

That part I'll never understand, at all. It's like they want to encourage smoking, and getting other people to smell their smoke/become a smoker themselves. Spread the disease, so to speak. I can respect them for wanting to use it as a coping method which my grandmother has stated that she does smoke because it helps her cope, but when it comes to them having a willful disregard for the rights of others by smoking in the proximity of other people who dislike taking in any ounce of the harmful chemicals that cigarettes put out - that's where I draw the line. I, have seen how most smokers act and behave in public and in private... and I do NOT like what I see, at all. Whenever I see a cute, quirky (weird) girl walking nearby or driving a car, I would take a look at her... and then she holds up a cigarette for a puff - that's when I automatically think that's an ugly behaviour. I just can't stand looking at her because she smokes. I instantly get repulsion from it because my olfactory sense suddenly can reproduce the chemical smell of cigarette whenever I see one. Ick.

I am glad my grandmother actually smokes outside from time to time, but she also smokes while within the confine of her home, sadly. I know it's her home, but when there are visitors and with me living there from time to time, sometimes sacrifices has to be given - both on her part and on mine. There is a balance that can be established between each other.

There are other, safer things to use as a coping mechanism. I have my own coping mechanism that only directly effects me and will never be harmful to other people as long as I maintain a sense of respect for other people's rights as an individual. My coping mechanism does not cause lung cancer, does not cause intoxication which one can cause the death of someone if you're driving a vehicle, and does not cause liver damage. I do not drink, I do not smoke. I do not do illegal drugs, or overdose on either OTC or prescription drugs. I maintain my body in a clean way. I would expect other people to do the same in term of keeping their body clean of harmful chemicals. I know there are many processed foods that contain chemicals that can be harmful (for example HFCS in my case) but that is a different thing from what we are talking about here.

Ever since I established that coping mechanism (more of come to terms of acceptance of it) over a year ago, it has helped me tremendously through the most difficult time of my life. the discovery of being on the spectrum, The separation from my wife, ending up in jail for 36 hours, having to move out of the state, getting the AS diagnosis, trying to get my head straight again for many months, and the divorce a few months ago that we ended on good terms (not the best). I am still struggling with getting my head straight even now. It's almost a year since the mess started. I have improved since then but I still have a long way to go. Without that coping mechanism of mine, I would have been worse off in term of mental stability. My coping mechanism is not for everyone. There will always be some people that are repulsed by the idea of it, which is why I don't want to really have to mention it often.

The matter of possible trolling is irrelevant, and I just took the words at face value. Someone asked about views on smoking "to cope", and that set the stage for some discussion some of the self-righteous or others with whatever agendas then seemed to believe they should dominate!

Whenever I've quit smoking, after about two to three months of not smoking I lost my mind, crying all the time, lashing out at people, struggling to get through every hour of the day. It's not withdrawal because if it was it would happen right away, not after two months. There's actually something in the cigarettes that keeps me sane.

I've tried the nicotine gum but it doesn't replace smoking, just cuts out the cravings for cigarettes (which it does very effectively).

I would never encourage anyone to smoke. I would love to quit myself, but at the cost of losing my mind I am very hesitant, though I still plan to try again.

My main problem with smoking is that cigarettes are insanely expensive ($12 a pack). That's another instance of the self righteous thinking that people shouldn't be smoking anyway and therefore feeling no qualms about levying these huge taxes.

I quit once for 5 years and foolishly started again once when I was drinking. Once it was out of my system I didn't crave it like crazy. I have cut it by 2/3's by using those little snuffers. I just get my quick nicotine fix and put it out. I only smoke a whole cigarette at a time when I'm talking to someone else who is smoking. Quitting is very complicated not only because of the cravings ( I've known heroin addicts who told me they got off heroin more easily) but because of the automatic actions or body memory you have to reprogram.
As far as the cost, I live in the South so if I buy a carton of an off brand, they cost me about $2.87 a pack.

I smoke. I wouldn't argue with anyone about it being the best coping strategy in the world, but I do it. I think it's a stim for me. I at least think I have an oral fixation or have developed one.

I initially opted to avoid posting here, as I'm tired of confrontations about my "disgusting habit" but Astaut sums it up nicely.

I can deal with cravings, what I can't deal with is losing my mind after not smoking for two months. I once quit for 11 years, and I spent those years going from therapist to therapist trying to cope with my constant anxiety. I didn't make the connection then, but after I started smoking again I was much better mentally and emotionally. But having said that, I still want to quit and I guess I'll have to deal with being a crazier person...

Im the same, i just had to accept being a crazier person.

I read in a schizophrenia book that there is a chemical in cigarettes that effects dopamine transmittors and ameliorates negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The negative symptoms are similar to AS (lack of affect, social withdrawl etc) so I would not be suprised if the same chemical is the one which helps us.

Maybe you can try to find something else to replace smoking as a coping mechanism? Worth exploring, methinks.

There seems to be some misunderstanding here. LB is saying the wives and jobs appear to be evidence of certain smokers' coping, and that does not mean those smokers' wives and jobs are now being fogged with cigarette smoke.



That is very understandable and certainly reasonable. However, such disregard is not always willful. Personally, I used to think the smoke did not affect anyone else any differently than it did me ... and I did not find it objectionable. I now know much differently, of course, and I will now go out of my own way to keep my smoke from affecting (or even reaching) others.



That does not do for you what smoking does for me.

You have an interesting sense of smell. I smoke on occasion, but never found that unlit tobacco smells sweet.