insurgentrat [she/her, it/its]

haruspex of the modern age

Not the poster but jellybeans were great for me. Just a pure sugar hit to self sooth. It’s ok to have a vice for a while as you quit.

Also, you reminded me that one of the biggest hurdles I need to get over personally is not completely giving up after the first slip.

This is a huge and necessary step mentally. It’s not a given you will use the drug again, but you might. If you do there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. any break is progress and helps to decondition your brain. Stumbling is part of life, we learn to walk by figuring out all the different ways to fall over.

Even if the worst happens and you resume the addiction, take a compassionate and critical eye. What worked? what didn’t? how can you do better? You’ve got some past attempts under your belt already and those are not failures they are valuable lessons. You know yourself better, you know some of your triggers, you will do better this time.

You should notice your confusion, read the article, and realise the headline is deeply misleading.

They are only counting walking for transportation. Not e.g. shopping, recreation, during work etc.

In general a good reflex when hearing something outrageous is to believe your own doubt as to the truth, and investigate. Media flourishes selling outrageous half truths and nonsense. 7bicycles was also deeply irresponsible copying this headline without context.

He’s 17, could just be messing around with jokes to test the waters for what’s ok to say politically.

Be nice, kids are impressionable and need good adult rolemodels. Maybe he’s a tool now idk but if his memory of communists is helpful and earnest people then he’s more likely to become sympathetic later.

Oh also with your upcoming new lease on working lungs take up running. It’ll help them heal and it is such a psychologically awful activity for the first 15 minutes while your body goes “ok we are doing this I guess” that it makes for a personal Mount doom to melt down all the emotions and stresses you don’t want to handle.

I jest a bit, but some sort of intense exercise that gives you a reward for not smoking (you can do it now), a chemical buzz, and a way to work out the nervous energy or stresses that lead to you taking up a drug habit initially can be good. For me that is running because it’s cheap (shoes, optional), I can do it whenever I feel ansy, and I get a hit fast. My mate stair climbs, my wife lifts weights. It’s good to have a way to release happy chemicals and something to say “Ok yeah I got a pang of nostalgia and a craving but I will have to give up my hobby of X if I start smoking again” which helps move the needle against it a tad.

First week is awful. Avoid stressful situations, focus on why you want to quit and remember that the cravings are lies. This shit doesn’t calm you down, it works you up and then undoes that. How you feel right after a smoke? You will feel like that 100% of the time once you quit except you can actually breath now.

Have stuff you want to do after quitting as motivation. Savings —> some treat, be able to run up a flight of stairs, whatever.

I found the easy way to quit smoking a helpful tool for understanding what my motivations and expectations really were.

Also personal advice? spend day 3 and 4 stoned. It takes the edge off the peak.

There are literal terrorist cells on Facebook…

4Chan has an insane reputation but outside of a few boards it wasn’t really worse than reddit, Facebook, or twitter (which is to say, social media is a pretty mixed bag) and posters were a fair bit funnier.

I am kinds baffled by the idea of 4Chan as this hive of scum and villany. As if Nazis don’t recruit on Facebook, or reddit didn’t have jailbait, theDonald, and xpeoplehate as massive prominent subs.