Emily Browne Quits Smoking

'Lost' Episode

It was as if Emily Browne was starring in an episode of 'Lost,' with all of her recalling and flashbacks of the past with her best friend. She remembered she used to be thin and stinky. In stark contrast, today she is overweight, but fortunately no longer stinky.

Like a Secret Love-Affair

Much like an alcoholic, Emily Browne used to pre-plan cigarette breaks; looking forward to where and when she could meet up with her vice. It had been like a secret love affair. She remembered she had been at the beginning stages of having a smoker’s cough every day. Needless to say, the cough did not make her feel like the sexy, sophisticated vixen she thought smoking portrayed when she began the habit. A discomfort had grown inside Emily Browne and it deepened each time she lit-up.

Nowhere to Light Up

With all of the laws dictating where Emily Browne could NOT smoke, she began feeling like a low-class closet smoker. Why, there were whole cities Emily Browne could no longer visit because they had banned smoking. Plus, horror of all horrors, her favorite place in the world, voted in a law saying it was illegal to light up anywhere at Pacifica Beach. Can you imagine?

Might Become a Criminal

Oh dear, poor Emily Browne, her world was getting smaller and smaller. She became more and more anxious. She worried, that unknowingly she might light up in a place where smoking was prohibited and immediately become a criminal. One thing Emily Browne knew for sure, she did not want to have new girlfriends in small spaces any time soon. Finally, she decided to quit putting off 'one day' and set the date.

Like 'Basic Instinct'

Emily Browne had quit smoking several times, and similar to the plot in 'Basic Instinct,' she was like a moth to the flame, and had gone back to the deviously obsessive and seductive habit. A few of the times Emily Browne quit, she became so nasty that people closest to her begged her to start smoking again. She knew it was bad when she even got on her own nerve.

Time for Sex Addicts

Emily Browne decided this time she would put together a plan by building from past failures. For instance, keeping all the nasty butts in the Mason jar with water was pretty disgusting to look at, but not effective in the long run. The thought of replacing cigarettes for sex crossed her mind. But, substituting sex for cigarettes was likely to wind her up at the Sex Addicts 12-step meeting and she didn’t think she could find the time or the energy.

So, she decided to use a system which had garnered great success in other areas of her life. Emily Browne sat down and wrote every last thing she thought about smoking; then added what she logically knew was the real truth.

Emily Browne's Truth Versus the Real Truth

1. Me: Cigarettes are my best friend.

Reality: If my friends were serial killers,I would dump them.

2. Me: Cigarettes help me to remain calm.

Reality: Not any more, I’m worried about a visit to the big house.

3. Me: I look sexy and sophisticated when I smoke.

Reality: It was then a lady with wrinkles on her wrinkles, yellow nicotine stained fingers, and a strong whiskey voice sat down. It was at that moment, her dream fell like a bad soufflé.

4. Me: Cigarettes help aid my composure.

Reality: Even if I have half a pack, I am worried there isn’t enough. That I’ll be trapped in a situation where I cannot get one, and then where will I be? Jonesing is not sexy either.

5. Me: Cigarettes are my reward after I’ve cleaned a room.

Reality: Yes, sit right down and stink-up that clean room.

6. Me: Cigarette's taste great after sex.

Reality: Well, now I am having a hard time catching my breath and not coughing during sex.

7. Me: It's fun to smoke and joke on the phone.

Reality: My voice is getting huskier, I am coughing more often, and my throat hurts...so, the smoking and joking times are getting less and less.

8. Me: There's nothing like a good cigarette and a sit at the beach to get back to nature.

Reality: They have now cramped my style, if I light-up at the beach, I am a criminal. Hmm...too bad I'm not an illegal alien, then I could get away with it.

9. Me: Cigarette's are great with a good cocktail.

Reality: Not anymore, they have banned smoking at bars in my state...so, I can smoke outside and be in fear for my life, but my drink has to stay inside. I can't drink on the street, it's illegal...again the illegal alien thing comes to mind.

Disillusioned Thinking

The list became quite long and Emily Browne was surprised at how disillusioned she had been in her thinking. Not only that, Emily Browne realized had she been on the Titanic, she would have gone down with the ship because she would have been in the kitchen frantically looking for plastic to keep her cigarettes dry.

Many nights, upon running low on cigarettes, Emily Browne would dash out in her robe and slippers to the local convenience store to feed her addiction. Yet on the other hand, if someone had asked to her to make a late night run for something she would think they did not value her safety.

Preparing for Success

Something Emily Browne had learned is one habit is replaced by another habit, so she decided to consciously choose the habit that would replace cigarettes. Her choice? Drinking a huge glass of pure water and if the urge to smoke had not passed, she would nibble on fresh fruits and vegetables.

The day before “the Big Day,” Emily Browne went shopping and prepared healthy snacks. Emily Browne also let all her family and friends know what was going on, just in case she got witchy again, they would not take it personally. Plus, with no secrets, she could not smoke in front of anyone, either.

Talk to the Powers that Be

The night before Emily Browne’s quit smoking date, she got on her knees and talked with the 'Powers that Be.' Emily Browne said in her prayer that she could not give up her precious friends by herself, that she needed help. She asked for the craving to be removed from her body and mind. Before falling asleep that night, Emily Browne said, “Tomorrow I am waking up a non smoker.”

The Grace of God

The next morning, Emily Browne knew something was different. She truly was a non smoker. It seemed as if the smoking was a distant, faded memory. Her boyfriend remarked how jubilant and vivacious she was. When Emily Browne did get a slight urge to light up, she drank a whole glass of water really fast and was satisfied. Plus, she realized the urge to smoke would only last a few minutes, tops. Then, it would go away.

When certain things triggered her psychologically to light up, her list would come to mind and she would remember the real truth.

Then, suddenly it came to her, “As God is my witness; I never have to smoke again.”