Fall Is Upon Us – Here Come The Seasonal Triggers
Seasonal triggers are a very real thing. What are they you ask? As the calendar flips to the month of October it’s now officially fall. The leaves will begin to turn, the winds will start to blow, hunting seasons, high school football, yard cleanup, and winter prep begins. Even if you’ve been quit for a while you need to prepare yourself for these seasonal triggers.
Every time you encounter a new situation in your quit there is potential for a rough time. Your brain has been wired for many years to associate dip with certain things. Like Pavlov’s dogs when those things occur and you DON’T have your dip you may start to crave – even if you’ve been quit for hundreds of days. There are essentially 4 types of quitters when it comes to seasonal triggers:
- New Quitters – If you’re just now quitting these seasonal triggers will be part of your daily challenges. Stick close to the site, talk to your group mates and you’ll get through it.
- First Fall Quitters – If you’ve quit for some time now but have not dealt with a fall being quit then this may be rough. You may have craves like you haven’t had recently. Get re-engaged in the KillTheCan community. Do what got you here… post roll, talk, drink water, chew gum, etc.
- Second Fall Quitters – If you quit last fall then this will be your second fall being done with the bitch. However watch out… this is the first one where your quit has legs under it. Last year you were in the throws of early withdrawal. The “seasonal” part of these triggers were irrelevant cause EVERYTHING was a trigger. You may ask yourself “why am I feeling like this… I’ve been quit a YEAR!” The short answer is that while you were indeed quit last fall you had too much other stuff on your mind. This is the first fall where your quit isn’t “new” and you’re probably not actively “worried” about it. Keep on guard. You’ve done it before and you can do it again.
- Multi-Fall Quitters – You’ve been through this before. Fall at this point is just fall. It’s a great time and while you may remember yourself as a dipper during this season it’s nothing more than a memory. That said, you always need to keep an eye out. Even if you’re 2, 3 or more years quit the bitch can still bite you.
Enjoy the season folks – the Nic Bitch is out there but as always she can be beaten back. Keep on keepin on!
