GUS (Gave Up Smoking) is a community support diary for Kossacks in the midst of quitting smoking. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are quitting or even just thinking of quitting, please join us! We kindly ask that politics be left outside. You can also click the GUS tag to view all diary posts, or access the GUS Library (the archived version for now). Want to make sure you never miss us? Follow (♥) the GUS tag to keep GUS in your Stream and easily find the link to the latest one. It's just that easy!
A message to ALL quitters (and would-be quitters): You don't have to avoid GUS if you have a failed quit. We won't give you a bad time or nag you. We consider the failed quits as "practice" for the real quit.
It's been dark out for a while now.
This time of year, it feels to me as though it barely gets light before the sun starts drifting down toward the horizon. I hoard daylight hours as best I can---trying to run errands and spend as much time outside as I can during the day---but for those of us this far North, there's only so much we can do about the short days and long dark nights (or, if we want to be honest, dark late afternoons and nights).
It's just a fact of life. Thanks a lot, Axial Tilt.
Especially if you work during typical business hours, it's almost impossible to get everything done without having to do at least some of it after work most days. This time of year, it just seems harder to make plans or get things done after the sun has gone down; it already feels far later than it is even if you get out of work on time. For me, it's like fighting an instinct to just go home and find a nice warm cave to hibernate in until the sun starts setting at a reasonable hour once again.
Meh.
I know I'm not alone in this feeling. Quite a few people I know seem to hole up for the duration, or downshift into a sort of low-key Winter Funk.
For some of us, though, the phenomenon is a little more serious, with its own official name and everything: we get SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). If you don't know what's going on, it can feel overwhelming, since the likely root cause---lack of light---is something you can't easily avoid, and you may not even know why you feel "off," or even recognize the pattern until it recurs a few times. You just know that everything feels a little dark and depressing and you catch yourself acting like a morose cave-dweller and turning down social invitations or feeling overwhelmed at the ever-earlier end of the day.
For a long while I didn't recognize it myself...I mean, I knew something was off, but I put it up to homesickness around the holidays (when I was in college and living overseas), or work stress (when I was working long hours or swing shifts early in my career, and then later when I was working even longer hours in a windowless office that had been converted from a storage closet), but eventually it lined up with some run-of-the-mill clinical depression and I finally figured out what was wrong.
Until I did, though, I tried like heck to self-medicate my way out of it, mostly with nicotine, or ignore it altogether. I cannot count how many nights I spent in one apartment or another, with nothing but the glow of a TV or computer screen, a few thrift shop lamps, and a carton of smokes to stave off the darkness. That worked out just about as well as you can imagine. Eventually that approach was ditched for one that actually, y'know, worked, and the nicotine part was ditched permanently.
I'm holding my own against it these days, although mid-to-late December is always a particular challenge on the light-deprivation front. The days are going to start getting longer next week, and creep back toward the comfort zone (though we'll still have a few months more of this too-damn-dark-too-early thing to contend with).
I try to remember to flip on lights and spend as much time outside as I can while the sun is up. Even though some days are otherwise freezing and inhospitable, the feeling of sun on your face (and the resulting lift in mood) can make it worthwhile to spend a bit more time outside. And I try very hard to force myself to ignore my instinct to isolate and hibernate, and say "yes" to activities, plans, and anything that jostles me out of that dark little cave my brain wants to hang out in until spring arrives. It kinda sorta works. Do any of you get SAD? How do you cope?
SHAMELESS BEGGING: Hey! It appears we have some---okay, lots of---holes in our schedule, and since things always get a little bit hectic around the holidays that is likely to continue. If you have some spare time, we would be super grateful if you could host an edition of GUS. No expectations of fancy content or formatting, just tag the diary GUS and the regulars will make sure schedules and lists and other content get carried over to future diaries.
It's nice to have a place for quitters and supporters to check in and hang out, but we're down to a small handful of people keeping it going and could really use an assist! Thank you!
Who's Your Little Buddy?
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Have you had some experience with the effects of smoking, and want to write a GUS diary or host an open thread? Please sign up in the Butt Can (Tip Jar), and name the day and time that works for you. The weekly GUS Diary Schedule is below, with regular hosts in bold. There's an open slot just calling your name!
Wed PM: Vacationland (today, but not on 12/24!)
Thu AM: anodnhajo
Thu PM: Open
Fri AM: flumptytail
Fri PM: Open
Sat AM: Open
Sat PM: Open
Sun AM: gchaucer2
Sun PM: Open
Mon AM: aoeu
Mon PM: Open
Tue AM: gchaucer2
Tue PM: Vacationland (Next Week Only!)
Wed AM: Open
...and coming soon, the ever-delightful effervescent!
If you can spare a few hours, please consider hosting GUS. It doesn't have to be a permanent slot; it can be a one-time deal or just an open thread! Not sure where to start? Just ask for help in the Butt Can (Tip Jar). Seriously, it doesn't have to include specific elements or require all sorts of fabulous diary formatting skills. The regulars will make sure stuff gets carried over from diary to diary, so if you want to just tell your story or provide an open thread and host for a few hours, that's cool too. You do not need to be perfect, you do not need to become a regular, and you would make some quitters very happy.