- With Mayo Clinic behavioral counselor
Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
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Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
Jennifer Kern is a tobacco treatment specialist, certified through the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center.
Her counseling work addresses various aspects of tobacco addiction, including the love-hate relationship many tobacco users have with their smoking or chewing, education about nicotine addiction, and effective strategies to help with quitting.
In addition, she explores the importance of getting emotional and social support when stopping tobacco use, and offers ideas and suggestions about how to ask for and give this support.
Being bilingual, she enjoys counseling in both Spanish and English. She holds a master's degree in psychology, with interests including spirituality, psychosomatic illness, depression and anxiety, maladaptive coping behaviors, and overall health behavior change.
"As a former smoker, I am personally familiar with the complexity of dealing with the 'tobacco shackles,' " she said. "I am committed to helping others conquer this addiction so they may regain their freedom and possibly even save their own lives."
Latest entries
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Jan. 9, 2010
- Helping others can help you become a non-smoker
Dec. 24, 2009
- Finding inner talents can aid the quit smoking process
Dec. 15, 2009
- Focus on gratitude, not craving a cigarette
Nov. 24, 2009
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Quit smoking blog
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Aug. 7, 2009
Blog: The language of going tobacco-free
By Jennifer A. Kern, M.S., C.T.T.S.
During my first visit to Beijing this week, I'm discovering a whole new life on the other side of the planet. I don't speak Chinese, but I've been told that there are no past or future tenses in this language. In China, there's only the present.
How can that be? How do they express what they intend to do someday? How do they describe what has already occurred?
Being somewhat of a polyglot, I've noticed that when speaking in other languages my way of thinking subtly changes. I've discussed this with other multi-lingual people who describe having a similar experience. Variations in word choice, verb conjugation, and sentence structure call for a different way of putting thoughts together, in order to effectively convey a certain meaning.
Learning about the lack of verb tenses in Chinese sparked within me a curiosity about how their thinking might differ from ours. It also led me to wonder how the language we use around quitting smoking would be different if we could only speak in the present tense.
Many smokers talk about having cheated, slipped, or failed ... all in the past tense. I also hear people who are planning to quit smoking talk about how they could quit, when they will do it, or what would make it a good time to start ... all in the future.
If we only had the present tense in English, those who are quitting smoking would speak about it as if it were happening now. Being a non-smoker would be immediate, current, in the moment, today, this very minute.
Imagine how your thinking about quitting smoking might change if your words implied present moment action, rather than crafted, vague, future-focused ideations. How would you feel if your thinking reflected that you are smoke-free today? What choices would those feelings lead you to make?
How might your life be different if language permitted you to think and speak only in the present tense about being tobacco-free?
5 comments posted
November 17, 2009 6:55 p.m.
Hi, I'm a student at Metro State of Denver. I'm researching a new product possibility; the product would be a "Quit Smoking" aide that offers a stepping down approach. I am a former smoker myself but I'm addicted to Commit lozenges and they contain nicotine. I would still buy them if they had zero mg of nicotine but they don't offer that. I would like to market a product that does. Anyways, I made this survey for my research project and it would really help me if anyone could take it [smokers, former smokers, and non-smokers are all welcome] Thanks so much. -- Casey Here's the link to the survey. http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/206243/r2zgt
- Casey
September 28, 2009 2:50 p.m.
What an incredible concept. As a fan of Ekhart Tolle I will definately embrace this one!
- Germaine
September 13, 2009 2:46 a.m.
In reading the above about the present tense, I found it interesting that the thinking reflects that you are "smoke-free" today. I had my last cigarette on Aug 31... I know the day by day philosophy...however, I did the hour by hour philsophy. It worked well, now I am doing the day by day. Michael if you're out there how did you do? Keep trying, it gets easier.
- dc
August 28, 2009 4:42 p.m.
Best of luck, Michael. I've been smoke free for 3 weeks - it's not easy but I am assuming if you can quit drugs and liquor, you'll be just fine! Distraction is the best thing when quitting because you have to unlearn your habits - I had many of them associated with cigarettes. Took a couple weeks and I'm probably still fighting the habits, but I'm winning. Again, best of luck!
- CW
August 11, 2009 8:33 p.m.
I was a addict to illicit drugs and booze for twenty seven years I got clean & sober by staying in the moment its been 11 years now. But I havent stop smoking...yet I chose a date the twenty second of august. I will apply the same logic...it works
- Michael
5 comments posted