@k7-issues Sounds like a plan to me!! xD
How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis
Well, I've made it through another crisis. First, I discovered my bank account was overdrawn nearly 300 bucks. Next morning I awoke drenched in sweat to discover the thermostat in my bedroom had broken and the heater could no longer be turned off. So my room turned into an over for half the day while I waited for maintenance to come by and fix it. I broke down and went across the street to buy a pack, then proceeded to smoke about half of them. Meanwhile, my roommate and I tracked down the communication error between us that had led to so much money coming out of my account, discovered where the money that was supposed to be there had gone and phoned the back. The money will get deposited today or tomorrow, and the back agreed to wave the overdraft fee after an impassioned plea. Maintenance came by and fixed the thermostat in the early afternoon, and after having one more cigarette, I feel like I'm ready to be quitting again.
Just in case RARE happens to be feeling particularly sympathetic to my plight, here's a few ideas how they might be able to bolster my spirits, and maybe a lot of other people's as well.
- Unlikely, but if the Final Beta software has a command line argument (or something) to spawn into a local, single player instance, you could publish that and let people goof off a bit on their own while we wait for release day.
- Alternately, and equally unlikely, you could re-open the Final Beta servers for, say, 12-24 hours sometime this weekend, but only if that wouldn't muss up something you're already doing with them at the moment or cost a lot of extra money/work/whatever.
- This would be a lot easier... you could hold another event giving the opportunity to win an Ebon Flintlock and make sure more people know about it.
- If nothing else, one or more of you could stop by this thread once or twice a day to say hi and see how it's going. Such a level of interest would go a long way to helping me wait out that last few days till launch even if there's nothing else you're able to do.
- Of course, you could also try to come up with something and surprise me, and perhaps other members of the Quittin Crew.
Thanks again to everyone for their support, even if I don't get any favors from on high. One way or the other I'll make it through this, and this community, the game it's based around, and the people that made that game, have all been essential to the process. Thank you all.
@deusnecrotis Yesterday I started smoking my pipe, I buy and sell antiques so I had 3 meerschaum pipes laying around and picked the one worth under $100. I love it, I know it's still tobacco but I can not inhale and still smoke. A month supply (of cheap) pipe tobacco costs 2 packs. Now I just gotta figure out how to smoke a Turkish man's head carved out of clay with an amber mouthpiece out in public, let alone carry it around (I need to buy a pipe... lol.)
@deusnecrotis that sounds stressful good job on keeping your head. If I bought a pack it would be gone today.@senilegold lol that sounds like my kind of pipe. I recommend smoking it with a "What, this pipe? You mean yours doesn't look like this?" kind of attitude.
Thanks, yeah it was pretty tough for a bit, but my roommate helped me through the worst and there's only 3 days left (almost exactly right now) till I can play again. That being said, the last time I can remember individual minutes lasting this long was when I was a little kid trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve ;)
@deusnecrotis This forum will be a ghost town come the 20th.
Except I had no legit way to clean it so who know's where it's been and I could only touch the Amber with a flame because that melts. I feel like that dude from inglorious b******s though except it's small, but girl's tell me they don't care that much about size.@senilegold yeah, I would tend to agree, except I'm sure there will still be some people carrying on about various complaints that have not been "fixed." I for one intend to complain loudly if there's not a way to pick which song you want to play besides just randomly start-stopping till you hit.
As to the other point, could you dip the amber end in a boiling solution of alcohol and water? Just a random idea, but it might work... or dissolve it... anyway best of luck :D
@deusnecrotis don't know I about what effects amber just that as a resign it can consume chemicals so if your putting your mouth on it I wouldn't. I never had to clean any of the amber I ever owned so who knows but I test amber sometimes with chemicals if I'm not sure (those usually aren't real or "Baltic"amber but melted resign. One of the pipes had a bakelite tip, that's a plastic that predates our modern plastic that causes cancer when you make it or burn it. The third pipe is the one that made me buy all 3 it's from 1890's and was made buy a guy who made Pipes for American presidents so I ain't smoking that as I hope that despite 5 years of trying to sell it at full price I might one day actually get money for it.
@senilegold well you could always try making a pipe out of something... A few times I used tin foil to make a temporary pipe which can be used to smoke the last little bit out of ashtray butts, when I ran utterly out of money and ciggys at the same time. In the end, though, yeah, sounds like you need to get a new pipe. Worry not, though, they can be had fairly cheap if you're not terribly picky.
EDIT
btw that last pipe sounds pretty neat, what's it designed like?@senilegold I've actually smoked a corncob pipe before, it had it's own special sort of flavor that I rather liked... never got one of my own though.
I Just want to share some of the lessons I've learned from my experiences trying to quit.
Vaping didn't work for me. I always felt like I was just kinda "warming up" for the real thing. I kept my vape on my desk and got used to always having something to puff on. When i eventually relapsed I was smoking twice as much as I used to. I also ran into the issue of the vape not working and "oh, guess I'll buy a pack then."
I'm using the mints now because, like a real cig, they have a time limit. With gum, you could chew forever. A vape never goes out. You know?
When you do slip, DO NOT feel guilty. Guilt will most likely make you want to smoke more. It's a viscous cycle.
While you're successful, try to avoid other smokers. If you do spend time around other smokers, try to notice how AWFUL they smell. You don't notice it when you smoke but OMG it is bad.
You can use family or loved ones to help inspire you to quit but ultimately you can only quit for yourself.
One thing that motivated me to quit was driving home from work I really just wanted to get home. Checked my pack and didn't have enough for the night. Thought to myself, "Am I really going to make a separate stop JUST to get cigs? Hell no, I'm going home." I realized how much I was allowing cigarettes to run my life. No matter what I was doing I was always considering when I would get my next fix. "another hour and I can go take a break to smoke."
You can game so much harder if you don't have to go outside every hour or so to smoke.
Avoid alchohol.
It can be good to make your quitting day a day you can easily remember. So down the road you can easily say "it's been 3 months" or "smoke free for 4 years".
Do whatever works for YOU. Everyone wants you to quit. Even other smokers. If they give you a hard time or try to get you to slip up it's only to make them feel better about their addiction.
I'm here if anyone needs a hand.
@im-axis-rahl yeah the vape I've been using is not really the greatest, but I think that might actually be good... I'm getting the nicotine my body wants, but at the same time I don't really enjoy it and so far have been slowly using it a bit less each day... we'll see if that trend keeps up. Keeping an eye on it. Sometimes I do feel a bit guilty for a bit after slip-ups, but I've gotten pretty good at not letting that get to me. Also, luckily enough, I don't enjoy being drunk and as such basically never drink, so no worries there, and my roommate is very supportive and is a non-smoker, which helps a lot.
Anyway, thanks for the replies. I'll muddle on through this one way or another :D
@deusnecrotis My friend, you shivered me timbers in a beautiful way reading that. I felt my jolly roger become jollier and the crooked veins leading to my black heart pumped a thick dollop of life perpetuating blood into its rotten core and for a second (just a second) it was made warm and the skull on me flag smiled. I too am beating addictions and addictive behaviours and using High Seas Piracy as a means to do it! Smoking and binge drinking both be jealous mistress's but I'm married to the Sea now! Fair weather and good fortune to us both me hearty!
@deusnecrotis said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
Quick update, I am have now pre-ordered and am downloading :D
EDIT
"I am have now..." can't tell I was excited, right? lol
You see, we all make progress in different ways!
I'm glad you're still keeping your spirits up @deusnecrotis. Especially after having some stressful events compile on one another like that... It's not easy to keep your head above the seas when things like that happen.
I'm glad to see everyone coming back here and supporting one another and keeping spirits up. Who would've ever thought that a simple thread on a video game forum could give so many people motivation to keep going and accomplish something as difficult as quitting smoking. Not only is it providing the motivation, its CONTINUOUS motivation.... And that's not easy for a smoker to come by when they try to quit. In a smokers life, a lot of the people that tell them they have their support just don't understand how hard it is, and what kind of support they need to provide. It's mind boggling that we're all a part of this and now, a part of each other's lives in a small kind of way.
I decided to take a break from the forums a couple of days ago, and just for sh*ts and gigs, I stopped smoking everything, all at once. I've checked back on the thread every day, a few times a day to read and even re-read most, if not all of these posts..... I still haven't taken a puff. I want to pull my hair out, and I'm super grumpy all day long (even toward my daughter sometimes, which sucks). But I still haven't smoked, and it's been about 3 days. For me, right now, the hardest part of this is my daughter. I take care of her all day, every day... So I can't afford to be angry all the time. She doesn't need to see her daddy like that, especially when she doesn't understand why or where it's coming from. Her reactions to me and my mood alone are making it extremely hard to keep this streak going.... Now although that sounds really negative, it's not. I'm just grumpy all the time and she doesn't understand why. But watching a 2 year old be confused and clearly worried about her dad like that isn't easy to deal with, as a parent. It stresses me out, and makes me feel guilty that I'm somehow making her think she's done something wrong. But it's an eye opener for me, because seeing how she's so worried about me now, makes me see that I can't even imagine how she's going to feel or what she'll be thinking if daddy gets sicker and doesn't come home from the doctor one day.
There are more important things in life than a little stick of tobacco that burns away in an instant. There are more important things to focus on than "feeling" like you need to smoke, or getting angry because you've gone a little while without. If I can do this, so can the rest of you. Because we're the same, and we're in it together. We want to quit smoking.... We're F***g pirates! And we do what we want!
@k7-issues said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
@deusnecrotis said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
Quick update, I am have now pre-ordered and am downloading :D
EDIT
"I am have now..." can't tell I was excited, right? lol
You see, we all make progress in different ways!
I'm glad you're still keeping your spirits up @deusnecrotis. Especially after having some stressful events compile on one another like that... It's not easy to keep your head above the seas when things like that happen.
Yeah, it can be, but it's been noticably easier this time, having this thread to come back to in difficult moments.
I'm glad to see everyone coming back here and supporting one another and keeping spirits up. Who would've ever thought that a simple thread on a video game forum could give so many people motivation to keep going and accomplish something as difficult as quitting smoking. Not only is it providing the motivation, its CONTINUOUS motivation.... And that's not easy for a smoker to come by when they try to quit. In a smokers life, a lot of the people that tell them they have their support just don't understand how hard it is, and what kind of support they need to provide. It's mind boggling that we're all a part of this and now, a part of each other's lives in a small kind of way.
I'm glad too! This turned into so much more than I'd hoped when I first made the post!
I decided to take a break from the forums a couple of days ago, and just for sh*ts and gigs, I stopped smoking everything, all at once. I've checked back on the thread every day, a few times a day to read and even re-read most, if not all of these posts..... I still haven't taken a puff. I want to pull my hair out, and I'm super grumpy all day long (even toward my daughter sometimes, which sucks). But I still haven't smoked, and it's been about 3 days. For me, right now, the hardest part of this is my daughter. I take care of her all day, every day... So I can't afford to be angry all the time. She doesn't need to see her daddy like that, especially when she doesn't understand why or where it's coming from. Her reactions to me and my mood alone are making it extremely hard to keep this streak going.... Now although that sounds really negative, it's not. I'm just grumpy all the time and she doesn't understand why. But watching a 2 year old be confused and clearly worried about her dad like that isn't easy to deal with, as a parent. It stresses me out, and makes me feel guilty that I'm somehow making her think she's done something wrong. But it's an eye opener for me, because seeing how she's so worried about me now, makes me see that I can't even imagine how she's going to feel or what she'll be thinking if daddy gets sicker and doesn't come home from the doctor one day.
I have no kids of my own so it's kind of hard for me to fully understand, but i do sympathize. It's hard to know how much such a young kid can understand, but maybe you could try some kind of very simplified explanation of what's going on. Something like "Daddy's been sick, and now I'm getting better but I still feel sick and that makes me feel kind of sad and angry and tired all at the same time," or whatever you think might get the message across that it's got nothing to do with her and that you're getting better. Then whenever she looks particularly troubled, repeat what you've told her, but maybe just a bit differently to help her gain more understanding. I had to do this with my niece and nephew when I lived with my sister and smoked. They were 5 and 6 at the time and I had to try to explain addiction to them... took a while, but eventually they went from "eww stinky uncle" to "we hope you can quit, unkie" which was pretty gratifying.
Anyway I'm rambling now. Hopefully it's been of some help to you :D
There are more important things in life than a little stick of tobacco that burns away in an instant. There are more important things to focus on than "feeling" like you need to smoke, or getting angry because you've gone a little while without. If I can do this, so can the rest of you. Because we're the same, and we're in it together. We want to quit smoking.... We're F***g pirates! And we do what we want!
Here here! All in favor say "ARR!"
@k7-issues man, it's awesome that we can return to this forum and get motivation and suport to quit, a lot of times people want to help but they dont fully understand what its like.
Its hard to handle that bad mood, especially when it afects people around you that you care about. Hopefully, the game comes out in more or less 24h, and I hope it helps with the mood :)
I wish someday we'll look at this topic again and it will be full of people telling how sucessfull they've been!!
We're scurvy pirates indeed, nothing can hold us back!!Offtopic: i just walked by a "kraken rock pirate cafe" while writing this, might stop there some day xD
Me and a friend I met here started a group and I remember you guys in here talking about playing together at launch, if this seems like a fit I would like to play with all the fellow quitters too.
https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/37898/athena-s-armada-recruiting-fun-skill-based-pve-pvp-pc-and-xbox@senilegold said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
Me and a friend I met here started a group and I remember you guys in here talking about playing together at launch, if this seems like a fit I would like to play with all the fellow quitters too.
https://www.seaofthieves.com/forum/topic/37898/athena-s-armada-recruiting-fun-skill-based-pve-pvp-pc-and-xboxWe should have named ourselves the quitting crew lol
Would be happy to have you guys though :)@khaleesibot I was just wondering... what would you guys think of turning this into a mega thread or a sticky or something like that? We could maybe even expand it from just an addiction support thread to a general "Pirates Through Thick and Thin" thread where all members of the community can come to help one another navigate the rougher waters to be found in the mysterious realm of "Aye Arr El" ;)
@mrguymm said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
@khaleesibot I was just wondering... what would you guys think of turning this into a mega thread or a sticky or something like that? We could maybe even expand it from just an addiction support thread to a general "Pirates Through Thick and Thin" thread where all members of the community can come to help one another navigate the rougher waters to be found in the mysterious realm of "Aye Arr El" ;)
I think I was looking for 'hamburgers' and found this in the Search results instead. You guys seriously have no clue how happy to discover it. Coasting on my emotions for the past four days, hitting massive highs and massive lows, i thank GOD for posts/threads like these, reminding me what genuine community is all about.
Thank you for creating this @MrGuyMM, and thank you for reinforcing the TRUTH of the title with your follow up posts. Any good news updates? How are things working out now?
@captnjaq said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
@mrguymm said in How SoT is helping me through a real life crisis:
@khaleesibot I was just wondering... what would you guys think of turning this into a mega thread or a sticky or something like that? We could maybe even expand it from just an addiction support thread to a general "Pirates Through Thick and Thin" thread where all members of the community can come to help one another navigate the rougher waters to be found in the mysterious realm of "Aye Arr El" ;)
I think I was looking for 'hamburgers' and found this in the Search results instead. You guys seriously have no clue how happy to discover it. Coasting on my emotions for the past four days, hitting massive highs and massive lows, i thank GOD for posts/threads like these, reminding me what genuine community is all about.
Thank you for creating this @MrGuyMM, and thank you for reinforcing the TRUTH of the title with your follow up posts. Any good news updates? How are things working out now?
Hi there matey! Sorry it took me so long to get a reply out, been ages since I was on the forums. I'm glad you found some comfort here though, and I'm gonna try to pop in a little more often from now on.
To answer your question, sadly things got pretty rough for a while around here and I temporarily gave up on quitting. Things are stabilizing again though, and I think I am pretty close to ready to give it another go. I want to thank you for taking the time to reply, hearing from folks like you encourages me to get back on the path, and I wish you all the best in whatever life has in store for you. Cheers.
When I was quitting nicotine, I used the e-cig to help it along. I also watched some videos and did some reading about the research the tobacco companies did to get humans to buy their products.
Watching rats all tethered down in a ring and a dome being lowered over them and only cigarette smoke being pumped to them until they start to die was quite heart wrenching and eye opening.
Think of cigarettes the way they do at big tobacco. “The best possible nicotine delivery device.”
136 out of 139
Available on:
