General / Off-Topic Quitting Smoking Diary
- Thread starter JeffRyan
- Start date
totally agree in that you cant scare a smoker into quitting, (until it takes the death of a close family member that dies because of smoking) we all want to quit smoking but its just not that easy, I understand how hard it is for a reformed alcoholic to stay off the waggon as its just as hard for a reformed smoker not to have the urge to light up.
its the same for any addiction.
Ian Phillips
Volunteer Moderator
Hi Jeff,
I don't smoke - any more - because I too stopped many, many years ago, and here is the way I managed to do it.
To say that I had a habit is very true. Once, at work, I left my desk to go for a cigarette and a colleague quiped that it must be 11:00. HUH? Their answer was that, every day like clockwork I went for a cigarette at 11:00, and you know what - it was true. Habit, like clockwork, 11:00 am, cigarette, every day.
So, after thinking about stopping for what seemed like years, I woke up up one morning with a mouth that tasted like dry, singed rubber and decided to stop. The 'trick' that I used was that I changed my mind - literally.
I told myself that I was not a 'smoker who was going to stop smoking' (because you keep telling yourself that you are actually still a smoker who has just stopped), but that I was a non-smoker, and that my body (ie those addiction feelings and unconcious habits) simply needed some time to catch up. Every time I felt like a cigarette I would tell myself that I was a non-smoker and that this feeling was an old habit that no longer applied to me. That was about 25 years ago.
Since then I have smoked half a cigarette. The first two weeks were the hurdle that had to be gotten over (it's Grand National week :smilie
, and I was still telling myself years later that I was a non-smoker, as those ingrained habits take years to die away. I always told anyone that 'I don't smoke', never that 'I have stopped'.
So I hope my story can help you in your efforts. I have lost a brother to lung cancer, and the father of a friend has just this week been started on Chemo for his lung cancer, so it is a subject that affects me closely on a daily basis.
I don't smoke - any more - because I too stopped many, many years ago, and here is the way I managed to do it.
To say that I had a habit is very true. Once, at work, I left my desk to go for a cigarette and a colleague quiped that it must be 11:00. HUH? Their answer was that, every day like clockwork I went for a cigarette at 11:00, and you know what - it was true. Habit, like clockwork, 11:00 am, cigarette, every day.
So, after thinking about stopping for what seemed like years, I woke up up one morning with a mouth that tasted like dry, singed rubber and decided to stop. The 'trick' that I used was that I changed my mind - literally.
I told myself that I was not a 'smoker who was going to stop smoking' (because you keep telling yourself that you are actually still a smoker who has just stopped), but that I was a non-smoker, and that my body (ie those addiction feelings and unconcious habits) simply needed some time to catch up. Every time I felt like a cigarette I would tell myself that I was a non-smoker and that this feeling was an old habit that no longer applied to me. That was about 25 years ago.
Since then I have smoked half a cigarette. The first two weeks were the hurdle that had to be gotten over (it's Grand National week :smilie
, and I was still telling myself years later that I was a non-smoker, as those ingrained habits take years to die away. I always told anyone that 'I don't smoke', never that 'I have stopped'. So I hope my story can help you in your efforts. I have lost a brother to lung cancer, and the father of a friend has just this week been started on Chemo for his lung cancer, so it is a subject that affects me closely on a daily basis.
Its quite simple.....You have to really want to give it up to succeed without to much suffering....Otherwise its hell.....
Im a smoker.....If i could take a pill tonight and wake up without the urge to smoke or as if i never had i would.....But i actually like smoking so failure is inevitable if i tried to stop...Besides most of the substitutes cost more and are taxed more the the cigarettes...
Good luck though .....I really hope you manage it...Those electric s are actually really good if you do get a weakness at all. I used them on nightshift when i couldnt smoke.....its not the same but they do take the urge away.
For someone who really wants to give up i can see these being very helpful
Im a smoker.....If i could take a pill tonight and wake up without the urge to smoke or as if i never had i would.....But i actually like smoking so failure is inevitable if i tried to stop...Besides most of the substitutes cost more and are taxed more the the cigarettes...
Good luck though .....I really hope you manage it...Those electric s are actually really good if you do get a weakness at all. I used them on nightshift when i couldnt smoke.....its not the same but they do take the urge away.
For someone who really wants to give up i can see these being very helpful
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Yes, it's the essential condition. If the envy is really there, so it's almost won. However, it will be vigilant, one or two years. Do not lower our guard
check out this website. My last cigarette was Dec 23, 2011 and the first month I was almost constantly checking the banner to see how many cigarettes I avoided and how much money saved
http://sincemylastcigarette.com/
Nice!
Well done, another day down
And detoxification, has cost 5 euros (reading paperback Allen Carr).
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Again, very well done. Keep it up
