Posted by shar on September 11, 2003, at 0:48:49
In reply to A Few Sites That Are Worth Looking At :-) » galkeepinon, posted by galkeepinon on September 10, 2003, at 19:16:13
Please!! Don't take this personally!!!!!!!!!! But..
Ick. I'm sure these are wonderful web sites, and do a fabulous job of grossing people out in order to 'help' them quit smoking...but for me, horrifying pics never were very motivating.I remember in 8th grade, weeks after my father died of lung cancer being shown a film of black lungs and all that stuff, all the horrors of cigs, how it makes you stink, gives you bad breath, makes your house stink, etc. Somehow, that never made me think "wow, I'm going right out to quit!" it just made me think, wow, dad's lungs were black, I stink, my house stinks, etc. I bet there is a name for that kind of 'motivation' but I don't know what it is.
To me, and imo, it's not motivating, not scary (if it's there it's there...god knows what my other organs look like after 50 years of meds and other abuse), and I think (imo) the technique is bullying--adding to the guilt I do indeed feel about smoking (as if my head is not full of enough crud as it stands now). Maybe I equate it to something like showing a bunch of alkies what cirrhosis makes your liver look like, or what syphilis does when it's left untreated.
I'm not fooling myself that quitting will heal my lungs (they say something like 10 years later you're almost good as new). I don't think I have another 10 in me. And, unless things have changed significantly recently, lung cancer is pretty much untreatable and I've been smoking since the day my dad died which was 37 years ago. They can do stuff, of course, but the success rate is right down there. So, I figure if I can quit, feel a bit better for a while (like, not pant walking upstairs), etc., that's a good goal.
Obviously, other people appreciate those website, and I'm glad you posted them, and find it helpful. Just another case of to each her own.
Shar
poster:shar
thread:257888
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20030903/msgs/258974.html