Cigarettes are driving me nuts :(

[Eazy]

Hey all, I started smoking cigarettes about a year ago, but only started smoking them daily since about 6 months, but I'm sick of smoking them (literally) They have manifested many health problems and I do not like them (puking tar, coughing up nasty shit, spitting constantly, chest discomfort)

I cant forget the psychological effects; I've developped an addiction to them , which leads to addictive personality that makes me feel like a "junky". When I do not smoke it makes me deppressed and iritable, I kinda formed a weird bond with them , since they are "always there" when I need them.

I've decided to quit, its not the first time, the longest I had stopped was 4 days... So far I havent smoked a full cig since saturday (4 days ago) and it feels good in some ways. Its hard seeing cigarettes and most of my friends are smokers , I dont go to the smokers area at my school anymore since its too hard to be around smoke.

How long will it take to get rid of this addiction?
Does anyone have any helpful tips on how to help my situation , I'm starting to feel pretty deppressed, even though I have a girlfriend that loves and cares for me, its hard on my brain knowing a part of my daily routine is in need of leaving.

 

[Lazyscience]

you only smoke to feel the same satisfaction that a non smoker feels all the time.

think about it. you just smoke to relieve the withdrawal effects of nicotine.

do you remember your first cigarettes? i bet they were disgusting and you had to force yourself to become addicted.

 

[craigyt2k]

You have made a healthy decision, sometimes its tough, other times its easier, very hard habit to break so all i can say is good luck, i am a smoker myself and also want to quit.

I quit for months and loved it,thought i was ok just having the odd one, before i knew it i was back to square one.

Exercise is a good boost.

Your right about the addictive personality part, i am the same, that does get easier. keep it up and keep us updated.

 

[Legerity]

Smoking is a tough one man, I still have not been able to stop after numerous quit attempts. Smoking seems to be somewhat unique in that they provide just about zero pleasurable effects other than relieving the craving. The comfort for me comes from having the habit and knowing that I will be able to satisfy a craving at regular intervals. It's really a terrible thing, and I know that I feel better when I'm not smoking because I don't have to deal with the constant cravings and the self-consciousness of knowing that I smell like smoke.

There are so many illusions around smoking and they can be very convincing when you are not smoking. That other people are enjoying it, that they relieve stress, create social bonds with other smokers, etc. None of this is really true. If anything they just seem to provice some sort of unhealthy comfort through dependence, and maybe to help decrease the intensity of our emotions by replacing oxygen with smoke. A very crude form of mood regulation.

I've always found that becoming more health-conscious in other ways like nutrition and exercise helped me to stay motivated, because smoking wouldn't fit in with that type of lifestyle. But then as soon as I would start to smoke again I'd let all the other health changes fall away too.

You can also try interpreting the cravings of a sign that you are ridding yourself of this habit. Each time you have one and are able to sit through it without giving in to it, your mental strength will improve and you'll have more confidence in your ability to do so in the future.

Anyways, maybe I should be doing this for myself Good luck!

 

[Eazy]

do you remember your first cigarettes? i bet they were disgusting and you had to force yourself to become addicted.

I remember them, they were gross and I hated them! (Though I enjoyed smoking cigars)

What got me hooked was taking puffs from cigarettes when I was drunk, and then later on smoking cigarettes when I was high (felt so good at the time)

Thanks for the support, would restarting smoking cigars be helpful? I know its not the best alternative but cigars arent really addictive

 

[Lazyscience]

what? cigars are packed with nicotine too.

just remember that smoking is a trick. you get fooled into thinking cigarettes relax you because when you smoke you temporarily relieve the withdrawal symptoms of the nicotine and you feel better for a while.

 

[calmAnimal]

^ false cigars are addictive just not the same as cigs.


my hope:
i had over 3 weeks w/o a cig. i was really proud of myself, this was the longest time i had put together by far since i started 6 yrs ago. the only time i came close was when i was in jail for a week. i had wanted to quit for awhile but didnt. i was sucking so much wind, i was disgusted with myself. i'm a well built 21yr old male who should not be so outta shape. so i stopped and started doing alot of cardio and was really happy about how much stamina i was getting. also chewing gum really helped with the mental cravings.


the experience:
then i was stressing about this girl and my upcoming bid and i had one. i told myself that would it be an isolated event and i wouldn't start up the habbit again but of course i did. (and it proves that "one more" mentality is a complete lie) i bummed a couple more over the weekend and then bought a pack yesterday. i have finished this pack in 24 hrs. its disgusting. i can't go an hour w/o having one. my throat feels so shitty after it took over a week to heal. im pissed but now that i my sentencing date got delayed another 2 months, so hopefully i can quit again tommorow. i'll let ya know how this works.

 

[AnyCouponWorks]

you only smoke to feel the same satisfaction that a non smoker feels all the time.

think about it. you just smoke to relieve the withdrawal effects of nicotine.

do you remember your first cigarettes? i bet they were disgusting and you had to force yourself to become addicted.

let me guess - you've read Allen Carr The Easy Way to Quit Smoking?

OP - Lazy is absolutely right. i smoked for 8 years and was one month tobacco free on 2-12-11. Feels amazing.

 

[ocean]

Cigarettes are so hard to wuit-
I imagine the answer to your question on how long it takes depends on how long you smoked and how heavily.......
The physical symptoms when I quit (though have gone back) started to lessen after day 4 or 5 though- by one week it was mostly mental.......
Lots of luck with quitting! It is a nasty, smelly habit!

 

[Ds]

cigarette cravings last about 5 minutes or so, if you can replace that time with something time consuming you will have less cravings. your body will still want a reward everytime you do something. i suggest that you try the gum, or the longenzs, now days they are pretty cheap (generic brand).

you can start working out hardcore, run, run, run, pushups etc (to the point your sick). and i bet you wont smoke for that day.

 

[^Xayo]

Get a ton of chewing gum, everytime you want a cig throw in a gum. I nearly made it like that but I loved the feeling of smoking too much

 

[Lord]

man cigaretes drive everyone nuts, it's like, oh, it's wearing off after five mins time to resist having another... 5 minutes later you have one. and then you repeat. mild stupid ass fucking drug shitty yet addictive man fuck that.

 

[oliphill]

Still a slave to nicotine and it pisses me off! Given up caffeine though which was easy. Surely if I can quit all the drugs I did I can give up cigs!!?

Soon.

 

[debaser]

^ Tomorrow I'll quit, for sure, lol.

Seriously, I quit almost three weeks ago. This thread makes me proud of it, but it's an every day battle. Each day gone by without smoking is a victory.

 

[malakaix]

Ah cigarrettes!

I've been on and off them for a few years.. i quit for almost a year then fell back into it, i attend alot of gatherings and music events where the majority of people smoke.. for me.. it has ALOT to do with the fact that i'm multi-tasking.

I socialize better with people when im doing something else at the same time, this can range from drinking a beer, setting up equipment, using a computer, driving etc. When none of these options are available, cigarettes usually fill that space.. and an addiction quickly forms. I'm a social person and if i can't communicate to the best of my ability it makes everything really difficult.

Apart from nicotine i've managed to quit everything else, even caffeine. I had one horrible experience with drinking far too much coffee in a single day a year ago, and since then avoid it like a plague.

 

[Mariposa]

I have also been able to quit caffeine. Mostly. I used to drink 4-5 cups of coffee in a day before my doctor ordered me off caffeine.

What I have not been able to fully quit is nicotine. It drives me nuts for all the reasons others have specified.

I'm getting hypnotherapy for smoking cessation next month - appointment already made. I really hope it will work.

 

[Eazy]

Im proud of you guys for quitting, today I wont smoke and Im starting to feel better in my head, the temptation is always great when I see cigarettes everywhere but I think about something else and it passes.

I regret ever touching these devil sticks... haha. I will keep you guys updated.
Thanks for the support

 

[oliphill]

^ Tomorrow I'll quit, for sure, lol.

You just made me feel a bit stupid! I said that same thing for years in regards to other drugs. No time like the present, I don't know what to say, I wanna quit, but don't feel ready to now, so I guess it is better to me say I am gonna carry on smoking now, rather than quit now!

 

[dtr]

hey hey
i quit yesterday. I think its important to have a good reason. For instance i do muay thai and im not gonna get anywhere unless i quit. This is the longest time i've been free from cigs by choice in like 5 years. Its my birthday today, and this is the present im giving myself. It really isnt that tough...
good luck bro i know we can do it!

 

[SourCream]

Nicotine really is evil. I have found myself in what almost seems like a unique thing when it comes to tobacco addiction.

The thing with me is that I do not smoke cigarettes, however I have been smoking joints now for about 16 years.

I fairly recently bought myself a Volcano vape hoping to finally stop smoking tobacco, but what I found was that no matter how stoned I get, I still REALLY crave joints.

This is also hitting me pretty hard, cause I am smoking daily, even tho some days I actually do not feel like getting stoned, I feel as tho I need that joint.

It's a weird situation. It was pretty easy for me to convince myself I hated cigarettes, and once I had done that I stopped immediately. Trying to convince myself that I hate joints, might be near in impossible!