Jeremy Herndon Blog

I have never been into the smoking of any tobacco product but I certainly know enough people that have held on to this nasty habit for many years. My grandfather always smoked a pipe and I have always enjoyed the smell of a good pipe in the air, but as far as cigarettes goes I have never enjoyed the smell of them indoors or outdoors. My best friend has been a smoker since Junior High and has tried to kick the habit so many times that I have lost count at this point.

I am happy to say that he has now found a new product called the Electronic Cigarette that he is trying out lately. He says that by him using this Electronic Cigarette that he has cut back on the regular cigarettes and hopes to soon cut them out totally by using this Electronic Cigarette that many people are turning to with huge success.

It would be nice see him really put down those coffin nails once and for all. I worry about his health, big time. We have all lost loved ones from lung cancer and I couldn’t bare losing him from this horrible disease.

Tonight a group of my friends got together to eat dinner at our local Applebee’s restaurant.  That’s one of our favorite places to eat, the food is always good and it is always reasonably priced.  The only thing that we don’t like about it is that it has a “smoking” section.  We always ask for a seat in the “non-smoking” section but we still smell the cigarette smoke, which is just plain and simple nauseating to smell.  Never mind the health consequences of smoking and second-hand smoke, it just plain and simply smells nasty!  We were surprised that last night they allowed smoking; there are times when I’ve gone there and it was all non-smoking.  Maybe that’s only on Sundays.  Next time we think we want to go there, I’m going to call them and ask them when they have smoke-free dining.

I think that one of the hardest addictions to kick is the caffeine addiction! I love my morning cup of joe! I just can’t seem to get started without it! My doctor says I really should cut down on caffeine, that too much is unhealthy for me. So I have been slowly cutting back. I’m down to only one cup of joe a day. I’m pretty proud of that accomplishment! I’ve tried to switch to decaf for that one cup, but I get a terrible caffeine withdrawal headache that just does not go away – even when I take headache medicine! My wife tells me that every time she has tried to quit drinking tea that the withdrawal headache lasted for two weeks! I don’t think I can deal with that for two weeks and still go to work! Wish there was an easier way!

The shark experts claim that the chances of being bitten by a shark (and killed) are slim.  They claim that you are more likely to be struck by lightening than attacked by a shark.  Yet, every year I hear news stories of shark attacks happening! 

I know lots of people are fascinated by sharks; I think I’ll just stay out of the water thank you very much!

I was really surprised last night when I tried to call Matt last night and found out that he had checked into a Florida drug rehab last weekend. In a way, I was glad to hear that he had done that because he wasn’t getting serious about his recovery on his own.

Substance addiction truly is a terrible thing, and kicking the habit by oneself, going cold turkey, is not an easy task. There are so many obstacles in the way of recovery. There are many complex issues that need to be addressed. For example, what was the basis for the addiction? Was someone trying to escape reality because they were unhappy, were they just doing it for fun and then got hooked, or was it because they were in physical pain and had prescriptions written and then developed a resistance to the medication?

Along with this physical dependency comes many emotional issues. The dependency affects the entire family and social life of the patient. One way or another, the patient is getting some kind of release for taking the substance. The biggest challenge is to get them to substitute some thing different so that they can feel a similar release that does not destroy them or their lives.

Often times the change involves not just counseling to help the patient with esteem issues, but also involves relationship counseling. Sometimes the patient needs to remove certain people from their lives in order to make the recovery successful. And the patient needs to learn new coping mechanisms, new communication styles.

The biggest hurdle, though, in my opinion, is getting the patient to acknowledge that they need and want to change. Many of the patients are perfectly happy in their addictions, and have no desire whatsoever to change anything in their lives. They just don’t realized (or care) how selfish they are and about the pain they are causing the people who care about them. And that’s really sad because so many people in their lives are very badly hurt by the problem. It is a long and difficult journey, and I wish Matt great success in his attempt at recovery.

I’ve heard that September is National Recovery Month. Maybe there will be a media blitz to bring the problems to light and create some interest and understanding into the many complex issues with addictions and recovery.