The Benefits of Smoking

I’ve been thinking about taking up smoking.  First of all you get to take a lot of extra breaks at work.   Once I went out to the smoking area to read a novel while all the smokers were gathered for the forth or fifth time that day.  They confronted me and said I was going to get in trouble for doing that on company time.  It also gives you a cool exit line for when you want to get out of a conversation and it just won’t do to say “I’m tired of talking to you now”.  If you smoke you can just say, “I need a smoke” and walk off.  In fact I may start using that line whether or not I take up smoking.  The other thing is that it provides an activity that can be done when you are waiting for an appointment or a phone call or a light to change.  It seems to calm people down and I do get fidgety.  I get particularly anxious when I feel a weight of responsibility for others and the threats to their security are intangible.  I much prefer a physical challenge.  Smoking would give me something to do while I wait for answers.  If they could just solve the whole death thing and the standing out in the cold thing and the social pariah thing; I just might take it up.

There are some better ways of coping with anxiety.  The first one is to see it as a part of a healthy life.  The root of the word is to vex or trouble over an irritation.  This type of trouble is a normal part of living that Jesus was talking about when he said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I have to work at remembering this because I tend to see anything uncomfortable or inconvenient to me as a sure sign of the end times.  By the same token I tend to see your discomfort as an opportunity to build character. The truth is that stress is an everyday event and anxiety is the irritation that moves us to adapt. Fear is a response to a threat; it gets us moving and keeps us alive.  As anxiety deepens and becomes the focus it can immobilize and isolate.

 When we get stuck in coping mode the anxiety can become self-perpetuating. For example, my normal way of coping with an intangible stress is to plan.  I play a little game of chess in my head and try to get a few moves ahead of the issues.  It goes beyond coping when I start obsessing on the problem and working out all the possible contingencies.  Eventually I start working on it unintentionally very early in the morning.  I’ll wake up with my mind shifting into gear.  The drawback to perseveration at 3AM is that my emotions are fully engaged but my brain is still half asleep.  This leads me to catastrophic contingencies that produce worry and physical distress.  If this pattern were allowed to run amuck it would become an anxiety disorder.  An anxiety disorder can have many other causes and expressions but I won’t go into that right now, the thing that defines it is that the focus moves away from the problem at hand and becomes the avoidance or reduction of the symptoms.

 I’d rather exemplify Isaiah 26:3-4, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the rock eternal”.  If peace means calm contentment in the heat of battle then I don’t got it.  When I use that definition verses like this just make me wonder what is wrong with me that I can’t be more steadfast and trusting.  We should probably talk more about peace of another type, a stubborn trust in the face of contrary sensory feedback.  I am seeing peace as being resolute.  In the 1800’s they used a great word to describe this kind of stubborn resolve for a higher goal; indefatigable.  First I am going to learn to pronounce it and then I am going to be that when I grow up.

 Once I have the situation in perspective I can resign myself to the fact that this stress is a part of growth and change.  Sometimes we can go so far as to admit that this pain is something that God is allowing and using for good.  It is not essential that I experience a peaceful feeling, at least not right away.  The important thing is that I am resolute to keep moving in the right direction.  There are many times I will recommend that we “be still and know..” but this isn’t one of them.  Here is a short list of what I have found to be helpful so far:

1. Remember that fear is adaptive.  Fighting or fleeing can keep you alive.
2. Manage your anxiety level.  The folks that monitor flood control never let the water behind a dam anywhere near capacity.  They know that if they did that a light rain would overflow the dam and flood the valley below.  In the same way I need to watch the fuel, exercise, and interaction with God, family, and friends to release stress and keep the spirit, mind, and body resilient.
3. Practice perspective.  No matter how big the stressor is, I need to remember that my value is not tied up in the outcome.  I need to remember that God cares for the people involved more than I do.
4. Recover quicker.  Peak fitness is measured by recovery time.  I may slip into obsessive thinking or some other anxiety reaction, but I can learn to recover more quickly.
   1. Recognize it early.  Where is anxiety expressed physically?  Is it in my stomach, do I get a headache, do I lose sleep?
   2. Keep moving. If I believe that the goal is worthy than I will not let anxiety sideline me.  Peter reminds us to be strong and brave, but not to be fearless.
   3. Know the signs of being in the grip of the anxiety.  This is when there is a shift in temperament.  I don’t always see it, but my family does.  One early warning sign is an adversarial attitude toward the world in general and other drivers in particular.
   4. Know what it takes to bring you back.

 Whether managing stress preventatively or while recovering, I have learned that I need interaction (read that as accountability if you like). I am decidedly introverted, so I do get my battery charged in solitude.  I have also come to deeply value time spent with a few people or one-on-one to be essential for growing in perspective, wisdom, and hope.  Yes I still write it out, and pray it out.  But, I have also learned to talk it out honestly without worrying as much about being spiritual or stoic.  I still talk to God first, but sometimes he sends me to you.

 If you are interested in this topic and would like it expanded upon here then please comment below or email me about “this friend you have that has a problem with anxiety”.  Otherwise I could always write more about flooring.

 I need a smoke.