You may want to read through the 40 answers (and still growing, last one 16 days ago) that were posted on a similar question asked some two years ago:

http://questionland.com/questions/7491-quit-smoking-cigarettes-cold-turkey-what-was-it-like

I am going to assume you're talking about quitting smoking.

I started smoking when I was 16 and by 24 I was smoking 1.5 packs of delicious Kamel Reds per day and honestly felt like I might not ever be able to quit them. But I did, and July 1st will be 4 years without a single drag and I'm so over smoking. It's possible.

The first thing I did was spend my last 2 weeks smoking brands/types of cigarettes that I knew I didn't like. I know this sounds like blasphemy, but I can't stand Turkish Golds, so I mostly forced myself to smoke those. Then, during my last week, I rationed a pack out over 7 days and stuck to it. I still remember the last cigarette I ever smoked standing on the balcony of my apartment.

Somewhat conveniently, I got a really bad cold immediately after quitting and I spent the first 2 days lying on the couch not feeling like doing much of anything, let alone smoking, so that helped.

Then I would constantly remind myself that my craving for a cigarette would be over within 5 minutes and life would go on. I would also remind myself that the intervals between these cravings would eventually get longer. It was hard, but I thought of it as quitting cigarettes about 20 minutes at a time for the first couple weeks.

2 weeks in the ball was rolling strong and I started to become social again. It felt weird, but I was strangely okay with not smoking. I still love to join people on smoke breaks and be social, but I have absolutely no desire to smoke.

Another thing that helped me along (and feels sort of cheesy to say) were those websites that list, chronologically, all the good things that are happening to your body after quitting smoking, like carbon monoxide levels in your blood returning to normal within a day or two, which frees up red blood cells, which allows your heart to work a little less hard (disclaimer: not a doctor). Just Google for "effects of quitting smoking" and you'll find all sorts of charts.

It wasn't until about 3 months in that I felt like I really had hope of quitting forever. Every day was learning how to do things without cigarettes, and every time I would do something that I had previously done while smoking (ie: driving) I had to force my brain to forget about the smoking part. 3-4 months in, the only times I would get cravings (that would be over in 5 minutes!) would be when I was doing a new thing I hadn't "relearned" to do as a non-smoker -- which was an odd sensation.

About 6 months in I felt like I was getting over it and could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. I still had occasional cravings, but it was totally under control at this point. At the 12 month mark I felt like I was totally over it.

Since then I smoked 2 cigars at parties, didn't inhale (obviously), and felt pretty guilty overall, but I haven't taken a single drag off a cigarette or any other form of tobacco. About once a year I get a weird craving to smoke but overall I am totally over it. I occasionally hold cigarettes for friends while they dig through their bag or whatever and it feels weird to even hold one now a days. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would become nauseous and throw up if I actually smoke a cigarette at this point, so that is a good determent.

It's possible and you only have to do it once if you do it right. Good luck!

What did you quit cold turkey? Booze, smokes, an ex? This makes a difference in the advice.

I've only heard about the change from Mental Retardation to Intellectual Disability. A step in the right direction, but no big difference as far as I know. It's still just western medicine's best guess at some of the categories we fall into when majorly stressed and traumatized.

I think that if you are the kind of person who consistently engages in negativity towards yourself or others in a way the obstructs solving problems, then trying to restructure your narrative about a situation might be a good thing to do.

There is, however, a recent trend in our society where we are essentially being sold a concept based on "magical thinking"- basically, that we can cause concrete changes in the material world simply by how we approach our lives mentally and emotionally (this is the premise of books like "The Secret"). I think that this is actually a really harmful concept. For example, people with critical or chronic illness are often treated as though their illnesses are actually being caused by their own negativity, or that their physical condition would somehow magically improve if they were incredibly upbeat and positive about their situation. This is incredibly disturbing to me- essentially, this script suggests that if you are having problems, you should turn a blind eye to what actually ought to change, you should keep any and all negative emotions (grief, sadness, anger, frustration) about such problems to yourself and actually deny that you are experiencing them, and you should feel guilty about having any negative feelings about negative life events. I find this script incredibly isolating and blaming.

Apart from the issues I see with the whole "positivity" trend, I find that criticism and negativity have their place in identifying issues and problems, acknowledging them, and seeking out real, concrete approaches that might solve or ameliorate these issues. It is not helpful to simply be certain that "things will sort themselves out" or that "it'll all be for the best" when there are real injustices, real sufferings, and real problems to be approached. However, if you find yourself engaging in a consistent negative script (even in situations that really don't warrant it) that doesn't lead you toward action but rather just discourages you, attempting to "retrain your brain" (as Kristen suggests) may be useful to you.

I could see that that would be shocking. As usual, I recommend getting help from a team, because often one persons view is a bit limited. I haven't heard of anything about groups, but I will keep an eye out. You might check the NAMI website as well. Forming a group sounds like a great idea, if you can talk about what's going on for you and share some of the stuff that works for you it will be great for you and others who might be feeling isolated. The creative angle you are thinking of is probably something that would be awesome as well. I imagine most of us would be surprised to know how many of us experience symptoms of mental illness. Glad to hear your experience is nudging you in a creative direction.

I had a bad experience with anti-depressants so I always try to warn people about taking them. For me I ended up feeling much worse and I experienced severe withdrawals while trying to get off them.

A have a few problems with these drugs. First, there really is no way to measure the effectiveness of them directly. You can't measure serotonin before and after taking the drugs to see if there really is an improvement. Also, for many of the drugs the way they work really isn't understood. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence. When I wasn't feeling better the doctors just kept increasing the dosage and adding other drugs.

I have read some studies that state that 54% of people feel better after taking these drugs. That isn't a very good success rate. Placebos work around 44% of the time. I would rather take the placebo (or not take anything) than deal with the side effects and withdrawal.

The side effects for me were exhaustion, weight gain, sexual dysfunction and constant thirst. I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel better while experiencing all of that. Plus I couldn't concentrate at all.

It sounds like a lot of people here have had good experiences, and that is great. I just want to state that I know a lot of people that have had bad experiences. Even though I am still depressed I would never take any of these drugs again.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer gives a nice overview of the neuroscience behind how we make decisions, both good and bad. He also wrote a rather good article about self-control for The New Yorker a few years back, in which he concludes that the ability to distract yourself, or to shift your attention away from temptation, is the key to avoiding it. He argues that this ability may be genetic, but that it can also be learned. For issues re: bad romance, I'd recommend Love and Addiction by Stanton Peele. His books and articles about substance abuse are good too, although I think he's a bit too hard on twelve step groups.

Personally, I've found that the best way to avoid drinking too much is to avoid alcohol altogether. Controlling your diet is a bit harder of course, because you can't simply stop eating. What I do is keep track of approximately how many calories I eat during the day, and set a daily limit. I also weigh myself at least once a week to make sure I'm not gaining weight. The downside to this approach is that some people get bored with the whole thing and just give up. I just kept at it until it became a habit, like brushing my teeth or taking out the garbage.

HealOnCapHill has some good advice for specific things you can do, and you should definitely take his advice.

I just want to add that one of the hallmarks of people with the best self-control is that they use it the least. People with great self-control build their lives in such a way that temptation isn't in their face all the time.

We all have a finite amount of self control, it's like a bank account. On any given day, you have a set amount of times you can use your self-control, so the trick is to design a lifestyle that requires you to use it the least.

If you eat too many donuts and are trying to cut back, but you walk by a donut shop on the way to work each day, change your route. If you are trying to cut back on drinking, don't keep beer in the fridge. On nights that you decide to drink, buy a 6 pack, not a case.

If you need to get exercise, but often give up and quit, try this trick. Hop on the bus without any money. Well, just enough money to pay to get on the bus. Ride the bus for a couple miles, and hop off, and walk home. If you put yourself in a situation where you can't quit and take a cab or bus back, you'll force yourself to finish the walk and get the exercise.

Designing your life so that you have to exercise your self-control as little as possible is the best way to improve your self-control. The less you have to use it, the stronger it is when you need it.

This was basically the thesis of this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052REQCY/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title . I heard about it on NPR and bought it on my kindle, but didn't finish it because the whole point of the book is what I just explained in those few examples.

Bottom line: you can do it. Just design your life so you only have to say "no" a few times a day. That way, your willpower to say "no" will be strong enough to make it.

I'm coming from a slightly different place, I'm bipolar type II, but my doctor absolutely cracks the whip as far as my sleep schedule goes. He says that it's essential as far a maintaining mental health. I do my best to go to bed at the same time every night. And, no matter what, ABSOLUTELY NO NAPPING DURING THE DAY. When I sometimes slip and fall into a schedule like yours I have to get myself to set my alarm and get up no matter how tired I am. You're only miserable for the first day or two and then you're naturally falling asleep earlier.

I believe that some have suggested a light box. I didn't have any luck with it, but it does seem to work for some. What I wanted to mention about that is before investing in one I was able to rent one by the month through the hospital that my doctor was affiliated with. You may want to find out if that's a possibility for you.

The most important thing I wanted to say is that if my doctor is correct, and he does seem to know what he's doing, then your current sleep schedule is not your body doing what it seems to want to do and this may be contributing to your mood disorder.

I wouldn't worry about the sleep hours if you are getting decent sleep. But for the seasonal depression, a half hour or more spent in daylight (I go for long walks to achieve this) will work wonders. Even on cloudy days.

Auditory hallucinations can be common in schizophrenia. She is probably experiencing them.

It took me about 12 years to get straightened out enough to take my meds, and quite frankly, I am lucky I survived all the shit I did to make it to that point. Schizophrenia is particularly dangerous, because people are mostly out of their minds during the psychotic episodes.

I kind of doubt that she will be able to accept her mental illness and realize that she has it until she is stabilized on medications. The only thing that worked for me was getting the injection form of antipsychotic medication, because I couldn't NOT take it. Once I was on the injection of Haldol I improved quite quickly.

There are a lot of different depot (injection) forms of many antipsychotics. If risperdal makes her shake, then she should try something else. There are options out there. I'm a big believer in the injection form, because they are easy to take and they last like 3-4 weeks...enough time to take a lot of the crazy away.

I still have to take other meds to deal with all the other crap and to function like a semi-normal human, but the injection, for me, was really like the first brick in the wall to come down.

I'm a big fan of winter hibernation. If it's not causing a problem and you are feeling rested, don't worry about it. If you want some help with the overthinking, mindfulness practices have a lot of other benefits as well. I like to practice tai chi and chi kung before bed, I find it helps me shift down into relaxation mode. Lot's of people have similar benefits with yoga as well.

I think you shouldn't try to force yourself to wake by a certain time, but it sounds like you're not enjoying falling asleep. I've had sleeping problems my entire life; often I can't fall asleep until early morning (like 4 or 5am) because I can't stop thinking or worrying - then I'll sleep really late and miss appointments, be late for class or work, etc. It's always worse this time of year. Even though I'm only sleeping 8 hours and it feels like I'm letting my body do what it wants to, I do notice that I feel better - mentally and physically - when I am on a more "normal" sleep pattern.

Some things that help me:

I have a lamp with fairly bright bulbs attached to a dawn simulator alarm clock - it has a sound alarm too but I don't use it. It gradually brightens my bedroom in the morning, and can also be used to gradually dim at night which helps stimulate natural melatonin. I like it better than the light box I tried, even though it's not the same "lux" value. There's some good info at Light Therapy for Depression, and this circadian rhythm questionnaire can help you figure out what time is best for you to start morning light exposure if you're interested.

I also use Gentle Alarm for Android. Much better than a blaring alarm clock when you need to get up. Gentle Alarm has a setting that makes me do a mini puzzle in order to turn the alarm off, so I don't just keep hitting the snooze button.

Eating a breakfast with protein no later than 10am, and eating regular meals throughout the day really helps. I try to not eat at least an hour before I go to sleep.

I take my medication when I get up in the morning, because it has a stimulant effect and it can interfere with my sleep if I take it too late. Same thing with caffeine.

Exercise - either vigorous or a relaxing walk - during the day really helps. Even in the winter when it's grey there is still a lot of light around noon, so I'll go for a walk then when I can. I can't exercise any later than 5pm or I'll have a hard time relaxing at night.

Regular relaxation - taking short relaxation breaks throughout the day, like walking somewhere or stretching, help me not get too "amped up." I'm also supposed to try something like relaxation breathing or stretching as part of my sleep hygeine, but I usually just read.

Not staring at a computer or TV screen for at least an hour before I go to bed helps, and I have F.lux on my computer which changes the monitor settings so it's not so bright at night.

I used to fall asleep with the radio on a lot too, sometimes the TV. If you need some background noise try relaxing music, nature sounds, guided meditations (corny but as effective as the BBC), or use a sleep timer on the radio so it's not on all night. Even though the sound helps you fall asleep it supposedly will interfere with your deep sleep cycle, which can have repercussions on mood.

When I get really off track I do take Ambien or another sleeping pill, and my doctor says it's better to do that and get good sleep than get back on a bad cycle. When I'm good about my daily schedule I find that I naturally get sleepy around 11 and look forward to going to sleep, instead of wondering how long I'll be laying there trying to fall asleep.

Couple of simple suggestions here:
I find it helps if I drink a small glass of milk.
Some prefer warm milk.
But I find what really helps me is to read a prose book, paperback or otherwise, that I'm really enjoying. Do a couple of chapters while curled up in the couch or your easy chair, with no other distractions or noise. I find I get sleepy within about 20 minutes to a half an hour. Try it.

Once your sleep/wake schedule is out of synchrony it does take some work to bring it back into a more normal pattern. Day/night rhythms are always harder to recognize in the dead of winter where it gets dark so early and light so late. We are on the side of the winter solstice where days are lengthening but for the immediate time it is still fairly lopsided to the darker side. But just as pulling a late or all-nighter can be stressful when you have a good day/night slumber pattern, so may be getting back to that now that you have an alternate cycle in process. I want to bring your attention to a number of factors that can affect your sleep/wake cycles and make a suggestion on how to get back on a more conventional track.

Forcing yourself to rise is difficult to do, especially if it is going to put you at a situational deficit for the short window of time. Consider how you are winding down the day to get to sleep in the first place. Sometimes people try going from high speed activity to bed and find getting relaxed for sleep is something they are doing in their bed. Crawling into bed ready for sleep feeling weary and ready to rest is the best scenario, so getting to the point to approach that moment is important. You can wind down the sensory impacts of loud music, bright lights, television by lowering volumes, using lamp dimmers and turning to a period of reading for enjoyment. Enjoy a shower or bath for relaxing and change into sleep clothes and have a warm drink of something without caffeine or alcohol. It isn't silly to have a real plan to how you will eventually get to bed. When reclined in bed use some relaxation techniques to systematically tense and relax various parts of your body. Think about pleasant times and places, use some internal affirmations about being sleepy and enjoying your sleep and dreams, breathing exercises for calming yourself can help. All of these techniques will take some research and learning to find out how to do them and what works for you.

During your awake time in the day make sure you are getting enough light in your environment. A trip to Ikea or thrift stores can be easy ways to buy more lamps and brighten up your home during dark dreary days. Getting outside for even muted daylight is very healthy. On the tech side you can purchase artificial dawn generators/timers that hook up to a light where you sleep and slowly raise the light level so your eyes and brain register a "dawn" waking experience.

Also an aside about inside air quality - be sure to air out your living space regularly and look to eliminate sources of molds and mildew (that can really stress your immune system and tire you). On the other front if you are getting static electricity shocks from walking around your place the relative humidity is too low for good respiratory health and you need to get more moisture in the air.

Because you are on medication your off-norm schedule is also probably affecting your mealtimes and perhaps the time of day you take your medications which can affect your brain cycles of wakefulness.

As you plan to normalize your sleep/wake schedule try to make the change gradual so that you are only working on earlier to bed times and wake times that change by 30 or even less (maybe more) minutes at a time. You will be more successful at moving your brain and energy cycles with small nudges (your success will tell you what interval to use).

I think it works when part of a holistic approach. From the perspective that mindfulness brings to therapy, a great way to approach habitual negative thinking is to notice it happening. When you are thinking negatively, is it familiar?
I know, for myself at least, that lots of negativity is from the past, and that thinking "the same thing is happening again" often makes me feel resigned to let things go that route again. I think some good points have been made here about honoring negative feelings when they are authentic, and we do have the choice about where we want to encourage our mind and energy to go in the present. It is hard work, but at a certain point, what else are we going to do?

As a long term lifestyle solution, consider getting a dog. I used to have the same problem, could never sleep til 3, then overslept, had winter-funk type issues and was just out of whack.

The dog fixed it. Dog will let me hit the snooze button once or twice, but he gets fed at 8 AM and he knows what time that is. My dog forces me out of bed and keeps me on a fairly reasonable schedule, despite the fact that I'm naturally a night owl.

Funny thing about having a dog, you kind of sync your schedules without much effort on the human's part. The dog kind of makes it happen for you and keeps it even.

There are a lot of great dogs at the Seattle/King County Humane Society and Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue who would love to help you out.

http://www.seattlehumane.org/

http://www.spdrdogs.org/

Do you read or watch TV in bed? Or otherwise hang out in your bed before sleep?

What I've heard about mild cases of insomnia is to:
- Don't hang out in bed, only sleep in bed
- AM exercise is preferable to PM exercise
- Obvious caffeine avoidance in the PM, you could be more sensitive to it then you were in undergrad.

These would a few easy actions to take to try to induce an earlier bed time.

I feel your pain though. I currently work a second shift work schedule, M-F I do not need an alarm clock, Saturday and Sunday I do.

And spending all day and all night in the exact same artificially lit environment, emotionally 3am is just the same as 9am -- nice inside and only wanting to go outside when I need to.

If you're not too inconvenienced by your sleep schedule, you could try waiting out February to see what March brings. Our days should be noticeably longer and the morning birds noticeably louder then.

If you do want to go the alarm clock route to change your schedule now, I'd suggest one of those ease you into being awake alarm clocks. I've got an app for my phone, Sleep as an Android. It's more like your body eased you out of sleep than a loud noise interrupting your sleep, which for me just makes me want to sleep more out of spite.
[which is very easy to do if you don't really have to be awake AND you know you can stay up late with no repercussion]

I try and think of it in a constructive/non-constructive sort of dichotomy. I indulge in negative thinking only when I can make it work for me. For example, if I'm depressed about getting turned down for a job, I try and use that as impetus to improve my applications (or fill out more applications) rather than stew in black despair.

It's also easy for me to imagine worst-case scenarios and then let those fantasies play out and play out in a downward spiral. Like Russ said, I have to cut myself off and say "STOP" when I catch on to what I'm doing.

In my case, antidepressants also helped.

Finally, be 100% aware of the distinction between negativity and realism. In deference to Tom's answer, avoiding negative thinking should not impact your ability or willingness to recognize and call out Bad Things when you see them.

People can't necessarily "think happy" out of a chemical imbalance, but can fluctuate between different states which may or may not coincide with various attempts to "think happy".

Try to think positively whenever possible, but set your expectations reasonably. If you're constantly failing to resolve issues of the self, talk to someone else. Your failure to use their methods to make YOURSELF feel better is not a personal failing. Don't let them convince you otherwise.

Generally people who claim to "think positively" as a "solution" to all that ails them either don't have serious mental handicaps, are bragging to appear more in control over themselves than they may be, or may even be claiming credit for a shift of emotion that they have no control over (a subtle awareness of when they're shifting to a manic phase?)

My very unscientific observation, if this continues to bother you, please talk to a professional :)

"How do I interpret this? Car trouble? Squealing fan belt? Audio halcination?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareidolia

All of the above are likely.

Be there to be supportive and try to help her pick up the pieces of her fractured life when she is more stable and has appropriate medical intervention.

If you can somehow direct or request involuntary hospitalization to address her situation and get her back on course, do so. Read here on the resources available in King County, Washington. There will be similar services available in whatever county or state you live in or where she may reside. Of course, if she received treatment closer to your home you would be better able to monitor and possibly help her when she is more stable.

You are worried and seeking answers - getting professional help for her is imperative, as is you getting the relief from the wear and tear of the stress of concern - before you burn out. You'll need that energy later when she is on the road to managing her illness effectively.

Positive thinking has both a good side, and a very dark side.

The good side is that it provides a way for people who been through a lot of bad experiences to force themselves to see the good in the world, and in themselves, that they might otherwise miss. It can also temper the worst instincts of people who tend to expect the worst in people. Too many people are told that they aren't good enough, or capable enough, to achieve their goals. Positive thinking, as an approach to life, helps them get over barriers that aren't really there.

The dark side is that positive thinking is that it tells you to ignore anything negative, and accept the status quo. Worse, in the United States at least, it is closely linked with evangelical Christianity, the culture of salesmanship, and uncritical patriotism. A coworker once explained to me how slavery in colonial America was a benign institution that harmed no one. This insane distortion of the historical fact was a necessary result of applying positive thinking to his conviction that America is the greatest country in the world.

I know it seems ridiculous, but it really does work! That is kind of what cognitive-behavior therapy is all about.

It takes effort, but it is well worth it. Not that you should be oblivious to the realities of the world, but why be depressed/negative when it doesn't help?

This is my best understanding of how it works: basically when you counter a negative thought by ignoring it or trying to think of something positive instead, it actually creates changes in your brain! Think of it like every time you reinforce a thought or behavior you are carving out a pathway in your brain to make that thing easier and easier the next time and the time after that.

It really is all about the connections you are forming in your brain and how different neurons are firing.

I think the key to success with changing your thoughts is repetition.

That is why people with depression have the best outcome if they COMBINE meds with therapy. The therapy actually does stuff to your brain!

In fact, pretty much everything we do changes our brains.

Anyway, if you are constantly repeating negative thoughts to yourself it will just reinforce them and they will be easier and easier to have. If you repeat positive thoughts, same thing.

Think of all the people you know. Of the people you enjoy being with the most, what are the qualities that attract you?

Is it because they make you feel at ease, make you smile, accept you for who you are, challenge you to think and be a better person? What is a friendship? What is love?

Imbedded in these emotional concepts and bonds are unconditional acceptance and the unquestioning offer of support. This is the positive energy that gives us strength to grow, venture, learn and live on. It extends to every aspect of us, how we view the world, people, situations, and the unforeseen happenstance of life events.

In an extreme situation, a person is diagnosed with a disease - Cancer. One individual hears a death sentence, thinks "I am sick, and will suffer and probably die." Another person thinks "So what!, Now what? What do I do from here to survive, recover and live on?" Medical science now recognizes how one's mindset and human emotional well-being can affect the prospects of the possible outcomes of the physical treatment of disease.

An adult, a parent, looks at a child and says, "You are stupid and ugly, why did I get cursed by having you." another says to their child "Aren't you wonderful and smart, I am so proud of you and love you so much." We certainly know how these different scenarios could affect the internal development and self-esteem of children.

Now how do you talk to yourself internally? When you look in the mirror, are you at ease with the person you see. We all have challenges, troubles and battles to face. But do you recognize you successes, hear the accolades and accept the good words said about you. Being proud and believing in yourself is also part of the energy of realizing your potential. It is easy to give ourselves internal negative talk and sabotage our own prospects for success.

How to change?
Start with simple positive affirmations, thought to yourself and also importantly said ALOUD. Scripting encouraging, supportive, calming, and successful self talk can be a key. You can post them where you will see them daily - the bathroom mirror, for example, so you remember to address yourself with good words and thoughts each morning.

Also calming thoughts for rest and relaxation, pre-sleep suggestions to use when reclining for slumber. Placed at the bedside for recitation, especially internally with eyes closed before falling off. Tell yourself to have good dreams, to enjoy them, to solve problems, to remember your dreams, and to wake in the morning feeling refreshed and happy.

The negative side of thinking dwells on perceived injustice, bad treatment, ill thoughts, worse scenarios, "woe is me", "nothing ever works out right", etc. Yell "STOP" (in your head or out loud) and replace those thoughts with the positive side. Seem silly? It's a process. It's recognizing that it is not dwelling on what happened and how it didn't meet your expectations, but what you do from that point on. It is how you accept the situation and move on from there.

Believe it or not I am still looking for a therapist. I also forgot my login to this site. :)

Anyhow, any recommendations would be appreciated.