Honoring Your Heart And Lungs- Support To Quit Smoking

Today, I talk with Jessi Hartnett, a former smoker who transformed her struggle with addiction into a mission to help others quit. She shares her personal journey, from picking up her first cigarette at 13 to battling the mental and emotional cycles of addiction for 15 years. She discusses the deep-seated reasons behind addiction, including peer pressure, self-doubt, and the subconscious influences of media and culture.

Ms. Hartnett opens up about the turning points in her recovery, emphasizing the power of self-awareness, mindfulness, and shifting negative self-talk. She explains how practices like meditation, yoga, and personal reflection helped her recognize the emotional triggers behind her smoking habit. Through her own transformation, she discovered that quitting isn’t just about resisting cravings but about reshaping beliefs and building a healthier relationship with oneself.

Now an advocate for addiction recovery, Ms. Hartnett has created programs and written a book to guide others on their journey to quitting. She introduces her Honor Your Heart community, a support network designed to provide accountability, encouragement, and resources for those struggling with nicotine addiction. This conversation highlights the importance of self-love, inner strength, and the power of community in overcoming addiction.

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Exodus Strong Custom Link:
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Honor Your Heart- Quit Smoking:

-Use code 15OFF and the link below for 15% off

https://www.honoryourheart.net?aff=290ca17d55b89391aee43ace59dd7f760656bb652139ba81a02b008b2dac9cc5

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*Couple O' Nukes LLC and Mr. Whiskey are not licensed medical entities, nor do they take responsibility for any advice or information put forth by guests. Take all advice at your own ris...

Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Couple of Nukes. As always, I'm your host, Mr. Whiskey, and we cover addiction, recovery, and even addiction prevention a lot on the show, going into compounding factors of what can cause addiction formation, of how life can play out during addiction, and then recovery. 

We do it mostly towards alcoholism. We've addressed, you know, pornography for both men and women as well. And we've hinted at very slightly smoking, but we've yet to have an episode dedicated to that and to hear someone's journey with that and how it can differ and be similar to alcoholism or drug use.

So I'm, Very excited for today's episode and the fact that we have that topic being presented today, smoking and addiction. And everything we're going to talk about today is applicable to all forms of addiction really, but we'll be focusing on the guest's personal journey, which is smoking. Ms. Jessie Hartnett, so glad to have you here.

Like I said, to present something that I haven't been able to give my audience yet. So excited to hear about your journey of recovery. Because you have not only recovered and quit, you know, giving up your addiction, but you have created programs as well as a book to build community and engagement to help people also quit their addictions. 

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here and talk about my experience.  Yeah, so let's get straight into it with when did you first start smoking?  I started really young like a lot of people do. I was 13 years old. I grew up with smoking in the home so kind of had you know seen that  growing up and was trying to figure out who I was at that time and to become an adult and figure out my identity and so I ended up, you know Stealing some cigarettes and smoking with my friends and got hooked right off the bat  Okay, so I know like you said actually a lot of people when they're teenagers or even preteens from what I've heard from like I remember In high school, my teachers would say that they would have snuck a cigarette from their parents, you know, when their parents were out of the house kind of thing.

And they start young. And when you talk about that first experience, what I've heard a lot of people say initially, it's kind of gross. You want to throw up. It's bad. Was it that kind of experience for you? Definitely. Everything in my body was saying, don't do this.  I was feeling sick and it burned and it was, uh, nasty, but I think that the reason people push through that initial rejection is because they're really searching for some kind of an initiation, some kind of sense of belonging.

And, you know, traditionally, initiation isn't really a walk in the park. It's a, it's a hard thing to go through and you kind of push through the pain to prove to yourself that you can do it and to prove that you're worth being part of something to someone else. So, um. I was hanging out with older friends too, so I had a lot to prove at that time in my life. 

Yeah, can you kind of go into, was there even peer pressure from the older kids, or was it more like self induced pressure of trying to live up to an expectation that they hadn't even put on you?  I think it's a little bit of both. I think that the modeling is really important with parents and children, and so, you know, seeing people Smoke around me all the adults.

I kind of always seen it as a normal thing to do and kind of a cool thing to do when the people you look up to the most or are smoking then it seems like something you want to try out and  You know, it's not like they made me do it or anything It's definitely was my choice, but I think that that was my curiosity came from me And then also just, you know, having people offer it to you, it's, you don't want to say no.

So it's a little bit of peer pressure, I guess, but I would say mostly that it was, uh, me, I like to take responsibility for my choices.  Right. That gives you a lot more power over it rather than blaming and victimizing. And speaking of looking up to people who smoke  when you were growing up, was that around the time period where it was really glamorized, I know there was a lot of.

Periods in American history where it was on every poster on you know billboards on TV You know everyone was doing it was it that kind of time period or slightly after that not really I grew up in the 90s And so, you know, there was the Marble Man was still around a little bit But I think everyone was well aware by that point that it was really harmful I would you know cause cancer and things like that and it was still allowed like in restaurants when I was young so it was kind of  Just that borderline where it was going out of style by the time that I had come up and was ready to try it myself.

So I went in fully knowing that, you know, this is really harmful, um, but made that choice anyway because,  uh, it seemed irrelevant to me. All those, you know, when you're young, you think you're invincible and nothing bad's you. So it didn't seem like it mattered to me at that time.  For sure. I was actually talking the other day.

I had a guest on Mike Collins about we were talking about, you know, how bad sugar is for you and how it's so glamorized, right? I mean, everyone loves candy and cake and cookies and how studies are coming out more and more into kind of pushing away from that now. And he theorizes that there's going to be a time period where our kids or grandkids say, wait, you used to have candy bars and vending machines at school.

And I bring that up because it was kind of the same thing with cigarettes. He and I discussed how my parents, which were a couple of decades before the nineties, they had smoking lounges at their high school where they and the teachers would all sit together and smoke cigarettes right in the school.

And you talk about being able to do it in restaurants still. Now it's like the only place you can smoke on airplanes.  I know, and it's crazy, now it's like the only place left that you can smoke is the casino. Cause they don't want you to leave that bad, that they're willing to let you smoke inside. And, uh, yeah, it's crazy to see how You know, it comes and goes in phases, and it's not just cigarettes or sugar.

We've seen it with asbestos and other, you know, chemical products and on all kinds of stuff, even with, you know, I mentioned beforehand before we started recording about vaping and, you know, the different studies being done with that and how that, you know, really bloomed for a time period and it's kind of quieted down, still going on, but you talked about, you know, pushing through.

You know it's bad for you, it doesn't even feel good, but you have these expectations that you want to live up to, both external and internal.  What was the habit formation from there? Was it going from one a day for a couple days, to then two a day, to three a day? Did you end up becoming a chain smoker, or was it, like, what was your dosage amount, so to speak? 

Yeah, it's hard for me to remember exactly how it happened, like in terms of like day one, day two, but I, I know within a few months I was smoking half a pack a day and I pretty much stayed steady with that. Um, it's difficult to get when you're young. Cause you can't buy them.  So sometimes you have to go a little bit longer, but I would end up hanging around people just because they smoked or getting in situations that probably shouldn't have been because I wanted to get my cigarettes.

I ended up getting a paper route so I can make cigarette money.  Yeah, so I was pretty much hooked right off the bat as far as I remember. I don't know how  exactly that happened. It happened quick. I remember that much. So, and then I thought it was interesting what you were talking about with, uh,  kind of the history of smoking and how that's changed now.

And I just think it's crazy how that, that  long period where it was being advertised and was showing up everywhere that still has a ripple effect on today that, that, that lingers in like our subconscious, like the ideas that they put forward that like smoking relieves stress.  When we know it's a stimulant, but still that, like, that marketing is so good and happened for so long that people still think that smoking relieves stress.

So, uh,  we know better now, but we still kind of have those old beliefs that keep us interested and coming back to it. So I think that's kind of interesting, but yeah, I guess I was kind of a chain smoker at times. It depends, um, really what was going on emotionally for me and kind of the social setting as well.

And so that's what I was able to kind of figure out. Not until much later after like a decade of smoking was that I was smoking every time I had unwanted feelings  So whether it's like boredom or loneliness or sadness or anger frustration, you know, you name it anything. I didn't want to do a stress  That's when I would smoke So when I was in a particularly stressful time, I would end up smoking more and that became really tied to To, uh, like perfectionism.

I was trying so hard to do well in school and work really hard. And it felt like the harder that I would work, the more I would smoke. To kind of  balance that. So that's why I ended up kind of getting in these really unhealthy cycles with it.  Right. And you know, you remind me of my episode with Dr.

Kenneth Monaghan from Ireland. We talked about placebo effect studies. And like you're saying, it's not a, it's not a good de stressor, even like. Scientifically proven, you can look at it physically, yet if a person believes it, whether it's through marketing or just their own mind, then they're going to use that to de stress, and I actually thought of the military. 

We had smoking pits in areas for people to smoke, and there was a lot of people who smoked, people who had never smoked before, and they would just do it to get away from work, to de stress. I mean, the military is one of the most stressful environments you can be in, and when you have a lot of people smoking, it, higher ups from chiefs and master chiefs to even the captains sometimes, to these younger guys and gals, you know, it really kind of draws in this group setting, like, even like you were talking about in high school, when you see people smoking.

And, uh, a lot of times, it is in a group kind of hidden, like, I remember with my school it was, there was this one spot between the high school and the convenience store that there was woods, and the kids would all, like, go hang out there and smoke together, you know, so it definitely happens, and I was actually thinking, I've never thought about this, but you don't really see cigarette Commercials, you don't really see any commercials glamorizing it.

You see plenty of alcohol commercials and there's, you know, drink and drive responsible, you know, commercials. And there's, you know, I don't always have a beer, but when I do, you know, kind of stuff like that. Yeah, you don't see a drink. You smoke responsibly commercial. Really? You know, there's no like smoke responsibly because it's kind of different from alcohol.

But what we do see still is that like a lot of it. Especially on the male side of movie acting and TV shows, the main antagonist male, who's this really cool, tough guy, always has to have a cigarette, you know, a lot of times there's a lot of, I don't really see women in smoking, you know, projected as much into The media and typically it's a villain who's a woman who's smoking, so I've never really seen it in a positive light, but there's a lot of men, you know, and I've never seen James Bond, so I don't know if he's most, but those kind of guys will like have a cigarette or a lot of military guys or stuff like that.

So it's still kind of is glamorized, but much more. Subtly, and I know I actually have in my bathroom this vintage poster I got, and it's this famous movie actress saying, I love a man who smokes a cigarillo. You know, that kind of stuff. Yeah, definitely. I grew up with those movies, too. Like, right before I started smoking, I was watching movies like Fight Club and Pulp Fiction, and they, they have female actresses.

Uh, smoking in there too, like they're smoking pretty much those whole movies. So yeah, it's definitely something that kind of  seeps into you when you're young, I guess.  Yeah, for sure. So you talk about, you know, throughout your youth, smoking going from  pretty, pretty quickly getting more and more. And I've, I've known some people who in a span of a few minutes can go through like three cigarettes.

I don't even know how they. Go through them so fast, you know, and yeah, you'd like the next one with the one you're smoking, right? Right?  I've seen it to the point of desperation to and perhaps you have where people are trying to Find used cigarette butts off the ground that they can smoke with maybe if it's still good. 

Every every pack I bought was my last pack pretty much like so I wanted to quit right away Probably only you know, maybe a couple years three years into it and  I couldn't, that's when I realized like, wow, this is really, uh, an addiction here. Like I can't go without it. And I started, instead of buying cartons, I started buying packs.

And so I did that for most of the time I smoked. I would always buy one pack and every pack I bought would be my last pack. So, but then I, like you said, you run out and you get a little desk for it. You're like, oh, well, there's still that half one in the ashtray. So I can smoke that. I won't buy a new pack.

And, um, yeah, I've definitely played that game, but it didn't work. I'd always, I'd wait as long as I could, and then I'd end up getting another pack.  Yeah, I remember, um  I've always felt that way where I thought if I'd smoked, I'd be, I've never smoked, but sometimes I'm like, if I had a cigarette, I would look more photogenic and, um, it's funny because I come from the generation where a lot of women are like, that's a turnoff for them.

They're like, Oh, you smoke like, and that's good that people are getting more conscious of it. But I was going to say, so you talk about,  That feeling that a lot of, you know, alcoholics have as well, which is the, I can quit at any time, you know, this is my last bottle, this is my last pack, uh, but I've known people who end up smoking like two packs a day, it's, some people get really up there, and we actually see a lot of anti smoking commercials.

are the only ones I see nowadays. So  how did you end up getting out of this situation? Because you said it went on for several, several years. So what was, uh, was there a turning point, um, a moment where you felt like in your smoking journey, you hit rock bottom. You're like, I can't believe I'm this controlled by the substance. 

Right. So I smoked for 15 years. It took a long time. And  maybe the last five years I was. I mean, I was, I wasn't feeling well most of the time, but those last five years, I was really having a lot of physical symptoms, um, especially with my teeth in my mouth. I have like advanced gum disease and they had to do all these surgeries and it was just really getting out of hand.

I was getting expensive and very, very painful and even still I was smoking through that. Um, so it was, it was kind of insane what you will go through. I, I never thought that I would be one of those people. You see the people with the voice box and you're like, Oh my goodness,  that's not going to be me.

But it was kind of leading that direction that I knew I needed to stop and still was struggling. But I was, during that time I started practicing, uh, going longer and longer without, so I would go days without, I would go weeks without, I even went months without. And like I said, eventually I would end up going back because the feelings were too much for me to deal with.

The, the feelings that I perceived as negative. And a lot of that was just negative self talk, where I would talk myself down, like be really cruel to myself, and that's when I would end up going and getting a pack. So I kind of became aware that that was happening. Um, I was like, what's going on here? Like, why do I need this and started asking questions and being curious about like, what was going on and I realized that it was all in my head because the nicotine leans to your system really quick.

Just a few days. Um, I think it. There's still some for a few weeks, but like the bulk of the nicotine is gone. So it's not really a physical addiction for most people. It definitely plays a part with it in the early days, but it's, it's a mental addiction and I could clearly connect, uh, talking  harsh to myself and being mean to myself, to my cravings.

It became very clear to me that I was using it to kind of, um.  the negative mental state I was creating for myself. And so I started focusing on that and  started just like kind of questioning my beliefs. Like, okay, so I talked to myself this way. Would I talk to anyone else this way? No. So maybe I should try being kinder to myself.

Maybe the negative things I think about myself aren't necessarily true. Maybe I'm not weak, maybe I'm strong and started kind of placing that Kind of talking to myself, like telling myself I'm strong and, um, so I went for another run at quitting and then I happened, it was so lucky I happened into meditation and yoga and that really, really helped me get into my inner world and see what was going on and deciding that I didn't like this and that I could change it and so that's how I was able to finally stop for good was actually completely shifting thing.

Thank you. The way I treated myself, the way I viewed my emotions, and the beliefs I had about myself and about smoking.  And I know you're a wife and a mother, uh, did your pregnancy come after you had quit your addiction or sometime during? Absolutely after because I couldn't see myself caring for anyone because I didn't know how to care for myself  and I didn't think that I was worthy to be a mother.

Um, and I, so once I was able to kind of crawl out, I gained so much confidence and my, I really started feeling joy again and My possibilities just expanded. I realized that I had a lot of potential to do whatever I wanted in life and kind of got myself up for having a baby and went through that. I don't think it would have happened if I had stayed, you know, in addiction and hurting myself and being negative to myself.

It really takes a lot of, um,  Strength and confidence and, uh, adaptability. And so I got all those things from quitting smoking. I got that resilience that helps me go through pregnancy and childbirth and be a mother. I still go, all the things I learned from quitting smoking I use every day.  Being a mom. 

Yeah, I just bring it up because I know the other day we were talking about, and I believe it was actually, again, that sugar addiction episode, where we talked about You know, these examples of women who get pregnant and they just quit smoking that day, quit drinking that day. We've seen some like, just these  complete override of addiction, you know, just because of pregnancy.

So that's why I was curious where your pregnancy was in all of this, uh, because  it's not a guaranteed. So ladies, please don't go out there and get pregnant to quit your addiction. That is not at all what I'm advising, but you know, we have seen it where, you know, that kind of. That greater purpose or living for something greater, someone other than yourself, but you talk about the self talk, the negative self talk, which is a huge, you know, especially nowadays, more than ever, we've seen with the mental health crisis because of social media, the comparison games of who's living a better life, of who's happier, who's prettier, we see, I think, more negative self talk than ever before.

And so that's really important. So you talk about, You know, kind of learning to, I think one of the most difficult steps you talk about recognizing the causation of the smoking, which was dealing with those feelings. I think that recognition can be so difficult for a lot of addicts who. Don't want to admit or don't even know that they have some kind of emotional problem, whether that's suppressed Trauma from some kind of incident whether childhood or adulthood or if it's just whatever is going on in the world now whatever it can be depression anxiety and so that recognition can be very difficult and I'd love to talk About, you know, that individual journey of recognition and then also just like accountability by others.

Did anyone in your life ever try to hold you accountable to quit smoking before you recognized the issue, the cause and pattern there?  Yeah, I mean, I'd heard it a million times. Um, like, you know, a lot of friends and family and doctors and dentists and all these people were telling me all the time that, you know, this is stupid.

Why are you doing this? But that never worked for me. Like I said, that was never motivating using it. Shame and fear and guilt like was not where it's at because when I felt those things I wanted to smoke even more I went to a doctor's appointment and he told me hey You're at the social you're at the bottom of the social totem pole.

And I mean that just like crushed me  I lit a cigarette, of course Because that's the kind of thing that fuels people to hurt themselves. So  It's a very personal thing you can't convince anyone to do it Uh, you can't do it for anyone else. It has to be self motivated. And so finally I got to the point that I knew that's what I wanted for myself and that I could do it.

That was the big shift, was the belief that I actually could do it because until then I didn't think I, I could. I thought I was too weak. Um, so once I, I started talking to myself that way and it and believe it, then there was no turning back. Um, and it was helpful to have my husband rooting for me the whole time.

Um,  it, it helped me model the love that we have for each other and that he showed me the patience and forgiveness and that helped me show that to myself. Like he kind of taught me how to love so that I could learn to love myself. So I, cause I didn't really know how to. Love, right?  Love would have always been conditional.

So I was only worth love if I was perfect, if I did everything right. And so I learned that that's not where it's at, that you can love yourself just for being you, because it's, we all have a gift and a purpose in this life and have value just for being us. We don't need to earn it.  Yeah. I think one of the things you're talking about is that like certain situations and certain people do respond to that.

That criticism, that negative push of like they need that kind of,  I'll say some people need, uh, into their mind is a wake up call, you know, but I think when it comes to addiction and to smoking and to things that are commonly used to cope with negative emotions, and it's historically proven and known that people are using it to cope with negative emotions and whatever else is going on in their life, That is not necessarily the best tactic, because that can push them, like in your case, further into that pit of negativity, where they need that positive encouragement.

I think that negative kind of criticism push has its time and place, but definitely not in a situation such as addiction, where there's already so much.  Like I would say an eating disorder is another example of where you wouldn't want to push those negative emotions more because a lot of people with eating disorders are eating to find comfort, you know, or, or not eating to, to find comfort in, in their look.

So  anything like that, where you're kind of coping, whether it's a, it could be a proven, like we said already, a negative de stressor, but people are going to do it to de stress anyway. So you talk about kind of. I don't want to necessarily say replacing  smoking with yoga and meditation, but they played a big part in helping you kind of discover your emotions.

So what are you doing nowadays to cope with your emotions? Is it the yoga and meditation, or do you have other alternatives that kind of help play that role that cigarettes were playing?  Yeah, it's, it's not necessarily a replacement. It's about practicing self awareness so that you can  cut off the,  the trigger before it happens, you understand why you're driven to smoke and you can meet your needs where they actually are.

Instead of trying to use smoking to fulfill those needs, which it doesn't anyway, that's what shifting the beliefs is about. You come to see like, Oh, this thing doesn't actually. Uh, provide me friendship or doesn't make me look cool or doesn't relieve stress. So that's part of a letting go of all those beliefs that you have.

And  so, yeah, just being quiet with myself and meditation. That's really was a huge change for me because I had always been distracted. I used work as a distraction and I used smoking as a distraction. And then once I was able to sit with myself, I realized like, wow, there's some really. dark, horrible stuff in here. 

And it was, I thought meditation was gonna be all peaceful and, you know, it was gonna be like floating or something, but that's not what it was at all. It was, it was hell. And I had to really sit with myself and then get to know myself. And once I kind of came to accept all the, the. Parts of myself I didn't like and didn't want to see and didn't want to deal with and I realized this is just who I am and it's okay.

It's not all of who I am. It's okay to feel these things. It's okay to think these things. Um, I was able to see that really beautiful golden side that is completely calm and centered and has purpose. And so I try to tap into that as often as I can. They're, they're little moments. There's no way to live perfectly zen, and it's not sustainable.

You have these little glimpses of it. And so I try to, you know, make time in the day to have a prayer, to be grateful, to, um, just spend time in nature. It's really helpful, just a little time out in nature. You start to feel that calmness just come from the ground into you. And, you know, the, the,  Oneness of the world, like the connection that we have to all living things and the joy that we can experience.

Um, but it's tough being a mom. I don't have, you know, hours to sit around and think anymore. I kind of just have to get these little tiny moments I can and I can feel it come up. Like, so when I'm getting upset and I'm like, okay, I could, you know.  I don't know, overreact here and yell and be angry and, you know, overreact to the situation.

I just try to calm down and center into my heart, my heart space. Um, that really helps me just to put my hand on my heart and feel the beat. And remember, I have this beautiful life force in me and that motivates me to be my best self for my daughter and for, for me too. So I just kind of have these like little practices that I, I just squeeze in and the fly. 

Right. And we'll bring up your. Website and book now honor your heart and I want to talk about that because you know You just shared a little bit about some advice and your personal use of you know how you deal with those negative emotions that can You know trigger you to smoke or to want to start smoking again And you have on your website not just a book but a ton of resources in different, you know secrets to stop smoking so I want to get a little bit into that about You know, why you took your journey and your healing and recovery and, you know, turn it around and said, I want to help other people with this. 

Yeah. So I, I just kind of wish I had known this stuff earlier, kind of felt silly. I lived with a lot of regret and was like, wow, I've wasted so much time. And, but I've shifted that from that now I kind of see.  through is, uh,  happened for a reason so that I could learn, like, there's a cost to wisdom and it involves a little bit of suffering.

So now I see, like, the struggle as something that I can learn from. And I just want to share with people so that they can have the ideas and tools that helped me, because I really believe that when we all, like, we  Connect with our, our higher self and understand that we have purpose and  what we can bring into the world and we can just be ourselves and not try to like, you know, be competitive or, you know, please other people like we do what brings us genuine joy and we share that freely.

The world becomes a better place. So I'm just trying to Lift up people so that they can  be who they are, and when that happens, everyone benefits.  Yeah, so  your book, I mean, what exactly is it? Would you describe it as a guide for people who are trying to quit smoking or any addiction? Would you say it's for the loved ones of addicted individuals as well?

What can we kind of get out of it?  Yeah, it's a guide. It's not a memoir. It's a guide. So it's something for you to use and they're just ideas and tools for you to go as deep with as you want to. It's, it's kind of going to be a different flavor for, uh, listen to the other episode of the flavor. I like that.

Like everyone has their own kind of unique needs, their unique wounds that need to heal. And so this helps you reconnect with your heart and your, your higher self. So you understand how to meet those needs because I didn't know how to meet those needs until, you know, Well, well into adulthood, it's not something that we all learn as kids.

And so  I really wrote it for someone. Well, I wrote it for the older version of me, which was someone that had tried to quit using conventional methods and just wasn't getting to the root of why  they were smoking, instead of just trying to, like, push the smoking away. Like, if I just get rid of my pack and I never talk to any of my smoker friends and I close my eyes, then it's all gonna go away.

And that never worked for me. There's always a gas station around the corner. Um, it really takes understanding. What your unique needs are and knowing how to meet them. So that's what the book is all about getting to know you and that's you underneath all the baggage of  external expectations. It's what you actually need, you know, not the.

What everyone expects from you necessarily so like, you know, paying your bills and having a nice car and all that kind of stuff that we think we need it's about what you need to feel whole and to feel  welcome in the world,  right? And then one of the last things I want to discuss before we wrap up the episode is the honor your heart community.

That you have on your website. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what we can expect with that?  So i'm really excited about this. I'm, just um starting this now. I know everyone's not a big reader. So I a lot of people need  Kind of like you said that accountability, they want to be a part of something and have connection to other people to inspire them.

And so I'm starting a membership, um, in a couple of weeks here.  Uh, I guess it will already be. Going by the time this is aired, but, uh, it'll be a membership where you'll have an online support group. So everyone will be able to talk to each other, share what they're going through and provide, you know, comfort or advice or just root for each other.

Um, I'm going to be providing. You know, uh, essentially counseling by email, you'll be able to email me with anything that you're going through if you're reading, you come, it comes with the book, uh, both the, the ebook and the audio. And so if you're coming across this and you're like, I'm not really getting this because some of the stuff is really, really heavy psychological stuff that took me.

A lot of time to understand a lot of practice with, so I want to be there available to people to answer questions, to explain what I mean, and to help them figure out how it applies to their own life. So I'll be there, um, counseling by email. And then also we'll have a live event every month. Um, they're talking about the book or maybe doing some of the practices that are in the book as well, to help reconnect to  the, the parts for ourselves that we can't really touch unless we're quiet and still and paying attention. 

Right, and I really appreciate that because, you know, there's all these AA groups and there's groups for pornography, addiction recovery, for alcoholism, addiction recovery, for, for drug abuse, but we don't really see something like that for smoking and this kind of breaks into that niche, that group that is being underserved and you are providing that conversation.

community and accountability for them, especially for the people who show up to the group and they're like, Hey, I did smoke this week or this day. Then y'all can have a discussion of, well, why did you smoke? You know what led up to that? And you can help them maybe recognize, like I said earlier, going back, we talked about recognition.

Can be the most difficult part of the journey, and sometimes it takes that outside perspective and again, like we talked about, ultimately, it's your choice, but sometimes you need someone to say and for you to look at it a different way and say, Oh, maybe I am smoking to, you know, deal with these types of emotions, or maybe that event is the reason that I smoke because sometimes, you know, the people who are in the moment are going to just say, I just smoked a smoke.

You know, I don't know. Yeah, we live on autopilot. We just do the same things over and sometimes it's helpful to have questions.  For sure. And, uh, when I was on the Next Fix podcast, uh, for Addiction Recovery, we talked about, you know, living for the future and how as an addict for alcoholism, I'm sure it's the same with cigarette smoking, you know, your time window gets shortened down where, you know, your thought is, when is my next cigarette?

You know, when is my next smoke break? You know, or When you're smoking, you're not even thinking about, you know, what's happening later on today. You're thinking about, you know, smoking now. So, you know, it's great to have that community to kind of break into that and open up your perspective. And so we'll have the website in the description below for everyone to check out.

And like you said, by the time this episode airs, that community will be up and running. So y'all make sure to join that if you're. Struggling with smoking quitting smoking or know someone who is this is a great resource for them And like I said, I feel like it's an underserved community So I really appreciate you guesting on podcasts like this having these conversations Being vulnerable with your journey as well as putting out resources there and putting out different forms of resources to reach as many people as possible And I want to thank you again for your time today  Thank you for having me.

And, uh, it's always a two way street. I learned from people too. That's what I found is I'm on top, knowing it all. Like I, I need more interaction from people to help me go deeper with these things. So it's great to be part of this and thank you so much for having me.