Amnesia and smoking

[numinicious]

I has a question. Okay, I lie. I has two questions. :)

Scenario: I have a character, Person A. Person A is a smoker, about 1-2 packs a day. He began smoking ~5 years ago, maybe more

Comments

[azurelunatic]

I know smoking is something that builds very strong body-habits. At a moment he might have ordinarily smoked knowing who he was and knowing he was a smoker, he might well reach for his pack of cigarettes and lighter. I don't know if he'd realize that this is what he was doing, but a gesture like that has passed deeper than conscious thought, and he might figure it out from that. Or if he doesn't figure it out, he might reach for his pocket, look vaguely confused at finding nothing there, and touch his mouth (in a way that approximates how he used to smoke).

I rarely wear a watch these days, and haven't for over five years, but I still glance at my wrist for the time. I took off a necklace that I'd been wearing 24/7 for almost seven years; it's been off for almost a month and I still reach to hold it and I feel a little lost when it's not there when I try to touch it.

[azurelunatic]

That is to say, anyone who smokes as a response to stress or something is going to connect "I am stressed" with "I need a cigarette", and thus "I am stressed" is going to trigger the physical habit of grabbing a cigarette, especially since he went through so many.

[numinicious]

I'm a smoker myself, so I know that half the addiction is simply the act, but I was more curious about a situation where, if he had no cigarettes, no lighter, freshly washed clothing and absolutely no recollection of ever having smoked, etc., if he would associate his stress/irritability with withdrawal.

Hehe, your image of a guy patting his pockets confusedly definitely helped. :)

[azurelunatic]

I guess it would depend on whether he figured out that he smoked, or how good his self-assessment of physical needs is. If he doesn't figure out that he's addicted, I don't think he'd figure it was that, especially if there are so many other good reasons to be cranky, like not being able to remember anything.

[numinicious]

That was my thought too, perhaps he would associate the crankiness with the fact that his entire memory was wiped. That would make me cranky, for sure.