I decided over a month ago (10 Aug was day one!) to quit one of my habits/vices that was degenerating rapidly and almost uncontrollably into quite a serious problem…
I decided NOT to tell anyone of my plans - I find that people, whilst outwardly supporting you, feel a tad jealous of your willpower and subtly try to get you to fail…almost a power thing…if they get you to light up / have a little dop, then somehow that’s a mini victory…maybe I’m being unfair?
Breaking any habit is never going to be easy…just keep reminding yourself of WHY you want to quit. Visualise yourself achieving your goal and just how good it’s going to feel.
Pulling smoke into your lungs cannot possibly be nice. The relief you feel when the nicotine is released into your blood, however, can certainly alleviate the stress built up from abstaining.
But knowing that a chemical is the boss of you has to be bad for the psyche
Good luck on this mate, know you can do it.
disclaimer: I have never smoked*. Both my brothers smoke and they struggle. I read Alan Car’s the Easy Way and recommend that as a good source. “Smoking is the crutch you lean on and the reason for needing a crutch in the first place” - cyghost’s brother.
So, hows are you guys hanging on? I’m a bit concerned about Faerie…
I’m doing a lot better now at day 6, the first 3 days were hell but now the small victories are starting to come… I wake up and after nearly an hour I suddenly realise: “Hey, I haven’t thought about cigs at all!”.
I’ll admit I went drinking last night and had some urges, but held strong and stayed clean.
I think I’ve reached the point where I believe this is only going to get easier. For a while there it felt like I’d never see light again.
I’m doing okayish, I did have half a smoke at 2am this morning (a nippy dug out of a forgotten ashtray on the outside patio - disgusting, I know, I know…), but have been good otherwise. I will not comment at this stage about my state of mind though… I contemplated taking one of my son’s ritalin this morning thinking it might focus my mind on work, but then figured it would most likely go Murphy on me and focus my mind on smoking instead…
I’ll tell you what though, keep at it. I was in agony for the first couple of days but I’m seriously starting to feel a LOT better. You know, at the end of it all, a couple of days of discomfort is worth a longer life.
I’ve been tempted a LOT, especially as I’ve seen a couple of parties and a LOT of booze in the last couple of weeks. BUT, even though I’ve ached for a drag, I haven’t done it yet.
My SO and I were smoking close to 60 a day each when we both went cold turkey about 5 years back! It has not been plain sailing and we have both been tempted but so far so good. Those who are in the process of quitting accept that it is a lifetime task, the temptation never completely goes. I have a friend who stopped twenty something years back who still claims to have the urge to smoke in some circumstances.
Quitting when I did possibly did a fair bit in saving my life as when I had some fairly serious surgery my lungs had cleaned up to the extent that the cardiothoracic surgeon was surprised when told that I had been a heavy smoker. Quitting is well worth the discomfort and battle in so many ways, health, having better taste and smell, clothes not stinking of smoke are a few. I hope I smell as good as my wife does now!!!
Now to get our kid to quit!!
People always say “I’m X years clean and I don’t think about it at all”.
Well, I may just be coming up to the 2m mark now, but I still have these random cravings that hit me out of nowhere. I would’ve thought they’d be “toned down” by now, but still they hit me full force and I just want to head for a shop that sells cigs.
So, long time quitters, at what point does this get better? I won’t lie, the exercise is starting to seem futile to me.
