Help me quit smoking

[Swimmingdancer]

Well... my boyfriend said he'd be willing to quit with us too but not tomorrow. It would be really helpful to have him on board...

I also think it's important for me to have some plans of stuff to do to keep me busy and keep my mind off smoking and help with stress, like plan some outdoor activities, massage, acupuncture, stuff like that. I can't get any appointments for stuff that requires appointments in time for tomorrow or this weekend. If I am just doing all the stuff I usually do I will associate everything with smoking and I will also be able to smoke easily. I feel bad now because I was saying we should do it sooner, but if you have to do it on a Friday maybe next Friday would be better for me. I do think if we set a date that we are going to quit is helpful and not quite the same as the usual "I'll quit later..." thing.

To be honest I can't imagine myself or my life without smoking and quitting smoking completely terrifies me, but that is not really the reason I am suggesting not doing it tomorrow.

Note to self:

 

[neversickanymore]

OK sounds good... think we all can have everything in place for next friday.. quitting with your man, huhh.. could be the best thing ever, could spell doom, you guys could kill each other gum, candy, list of reasons, picture of an old hag with a cig, reminder that cravings go away.. I will post all my ideas on this thread later..

 

[neversickanymore]

NSA awaiting launch date.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

OK sounds good... think we all can have everything in place for next friday.. quitting with your man, huhh.. could be the best thing ever, could spell doom, you guys could kill each other

I know, haha, we might be irritable towards each other, but I don't think I can realistically quit if he is smoking around me so he hasn't to either quit or not smoke in my presence.

Yes, let's definitely do next Fri, May 10. That is our quit date. Anyone else who wants to join us can too! I think it is a good motivator to do this with others here that we can check in with. Thanks for being my quitting buddy!

Things to stock up on:
- gum (I'm going to get some with Xylitol, a sugar alternative that actually is actually good for you)
- healthy tasty snacks
- vitamins/supplements that are good for detoxing

Other ideas:
- do laundry so stuff doesn't smell like smoke
- ?

For me, starting tomorrow:
- stop smoking inside starting tomorrow
- wash and hide ashtrays
- put cigarettes away (instead of having them sitting right in front of me)
- make acupuncture appointment
- remind myself of all the reasons I want to quit
- try to count how many cigarettes I smoke each day (to make myself more aware/mindful of it)
- check in here on BL leading up to the quit date

Also: If after the quit date we slip up we should come to each other for support instead of feeling ashamed and like we can't tell each other. Giving into a craving and having a smoke after quitting doesn't mean we have to go back to zero, give up and go back to smoking again.

 

[herbavore]

I'm going to subscribe to this thread not only to cheer you two on but to see neversick's never ending stream of pictures!

 

[weekend addiction]

I have never gone more than a day without smoking so I don't even know what the WDs will be like for me, that's kind of scary. How much have you cut back by?

I have reduced my nicotine intake to varying success over the last week. So I decided one afternoon since it was 4 and I hadn't craved a smoke to just go to work without any cigs. BAD MISTAKE. On the day I was shaking I hadn't had a cigerrette since midnite the night before. At around 6 pm I started shaking, feeling very anxious, loosing my mind. Really fucked up my performance at work.

 

[spork]

I've been cigarette free for 7 years now, but the way I finally did it for good isn't something I really feel comfortable posting about here. PM me SD if you want to know.

One thing that I will say is that it took me *SEVERAL* tries to finally quit for good and though setting a date does work for some people, just making the jump and quitting NOW worked well for me.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

I have reduced my nicotine intake to varying success over the last week. So I decided one afternoon since it was 4 and I hadn't craved a smoke to just go to work without any cigs. BAD MISTAKE. On the day I was shaking I hadn't had a cigerrette since midnite the night before. At around 6 pm I started shaking, feeling very anxious, loosing my mind. Really fucked up my performance at work.

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. Have you been able to keep to your new lowered intake since then?

...though setting a date does work for some people, just making the jump and quitting NOW worked well for me.

Yeah, I think the setting a date thing could work because I'm making a commitment to other people, and it gives me some time to prepare physically, environmentally and mentally. We'll see

 

[Mehm]

You only have to quit for today.

 

[spork]

Another thing is mindfulness (gosh, what doesn't it help?). When I first started mindfulness one of the people in my group said that the only instance she knew of that she was practicing breathing skills was when she was smoking cigarettes. When thinking about it more, it kind of makes sense how a stimulant can actually relax you because you're just noticing how you inhale and then exhale. When you're craving a cigarette, try to really notice your breath and it might help you overcome the craving.

 

[AnyCouponWorks]

i highly recommend the book "the easy way to quit smoking" by alan carr.
it is more or less quitting cold turkey, but this gentleman slowly reminds you in a subtle way that you do NOT enjoy smoking, and in fact likely hate it, but are continuing to smoke out of addiction to nicotine in a way no different than the drug addict who still uses just to stay well. he helps you to look at it in the most profound way, as one of the greatest scams on society - as a child, did you crave nicotine? werent you a whole, happy person before you were a smoker? youre only smoking to feed an addiction to a chemical that has been conveniently packaged to enslave you.

i prefer the book on tape, (give it a chance, at first the voice and such sounds and seems silly). you will find as you listen, your cravings simply evaporate, and you start to deeply enjoy NOT smoking, even more than you enjoyed the cigarettes themselves.

i used this book on tape (CD) three years ago and still thank the friend who lent it to me. i have shared it with many whom i love and they have all quit with NO DISCOMFORT, but rather, deep satisfaction and a feeling of pure freedom.

i constantly see folks smoking, and feel truly heartbroken for them, as i know 90% of them are trying to quit, or in some stage of reevaluating their habit, but they are stuck.

this coming from a gal who swore she would smoke her whole life, cuz she "loved it so much"

please give it a try. quitting smoking for good is something that cumulatively feels better and better as the days/weeks/years pass.

 

[Bagseed]

if you have a hard time quitting, i suggest to look into e-cigarettes (portable vaporizers which deliver nicotine). over 5 months ago i borrowed one from my friend, used for couple of weeks and then quit the nicotine alltogether. i still have cravings, but the e-cig made the initial weeks of quitting much more bearable. i started smoking at the age of 14 (now 21) and my habit grew pretty big the last 2 years (up to 10-15 hand rolled cigs of strong tobacco a day (especially when going out)).
They are no wonder-cure but imo they provide a good substitution for the first weeks/months (depending on how addicted you are).

my last real cigarette was at december 28.

 

[Swimmingdancer]

You only have to quit for today.

That is a wise thing to remember with any addiction. The addiction gets scared if I think "I can never smoke again for the rest of my life" and is less scared if I think "I am not going to smoke today" (or even better "I am not going to smoke this hour")

Another thing is mindfulness (gosh, what doesn't it help?). When I first started mindfulness one of the people in my group said that the only instance she knew of that she was practicing breathing skills was when she was smoking cigarettes. When thinking about it more, it kind of makes sense how a stimulant can actually relax you because you're just noticing how you inhale and then exhale. When you're craving a cigarette, try to really notice your breath and it might help you overcome the craving.

So true. I have actually been doing this a bit already, trying to be more mindful of my breathing because I definitely feel like part of why I smoke is to breathe deeply (I know that sounds ironic).

i highly recommend the book "the easy way to quit smoking" by alan carr.
it is more or less quitting cold turkey, but this gentleman slowly reminds you in a subtle way that you do NOT enjoy smoking, and in fact likely hate it, but are continuing to smoke out of addiction to nicotine in a way no different than the drug addict who still uses just to stay well.

It's true, I don't even enjoy smoking anymore. I need to accept that instead of remembering it with rose-tinted glasses like it was a long time ago when I first started. I read The Easy Way to Quit Smoking about 10 years ago, and I remember at the time thinking Carr was a jerk, a poor writer and deceptive, but maybe my response to it would be different now and I wouldn't care so much about those things - I have certainly changed a lot in those 10 years. If it works who cares what I think about Carr and his opinions, right? And I don't think I even finished the book because I thought it was annoying. But I now think part of the principle is that it is trying to hypnotize you into quitting. The audio book would be cheaper than going to see a hypnotist. I might give it a shot

if you have a hard time quitting, i suggest to look into e-cigarettes.

Thanks Bagseed, I have some e-cigs. I might give them another try.

...

Just an update: I haven't smoked inside today or yesterday, which may not sound like much but it is a big deal to me. I have been smoking less per day than usual, but not by a huge amount.

 

[panic in paradise]

i highly recommend the book "the easy way to quit smoking" by alan carr.
it is more or less quitting cold turkey, but this gentleman slowly reminds you in a subtle way that you do NOT enjoy smoking, and in fact likely hate it, but are continuing to smoke out of addiction to nicotine in a way no different than the drug addict who still uses just to stay well. he helps you to look at it in the most profound way, as one of the greatest scams on society - as a child, did you crave nicotine? werent you a whole, happy person before you were a smoker? youre only smoking to feed an addiction to a chemical that has been conveniently packaged to enslave you.

i prefer the book on tape, (give it a chance, at first the voice and such sounds and seems silly). you will find as you listen, your cravings simply evaporate, and you start to deeply enjoy NOT smoking, even more than you enjoyed the cigarettes themselves.

i used this book on tape (CD) three years ago and still thank the friend who lent it to me. i have shared it with many whom i love and they have all quit with NO DISCOMFORT, but rather, deep satisfaction and a feeling of pure freedom.

i constantly see folks smoking, and feel truly heartbroken for them, as i know 90% of them are trying to quit, or in some stage of reevaluating their habit, but they are stuck.

this coming from a gal who swore she would smoke her whole life, cuz she "loved it so much"

please give it a try. quitting smoking for good is something that cumulatively feels better and better as the days/weeks/years pass.

That sounds very useful, 'will power' is entirely lacking of motivation, there is no rhyme to the reason with will power.

Everyone should give themselves a chance to be who they truely are, the stress that accompanies the physichal addiction once alleviated is worth being rid of in itself, and ability to utilize your own time rather than spending it smoking, thinking about smoking, going to get tobacco to smoke,
and working to purchase cigarettes is a sad waste of you.

 

[rickolasnice]

My friend (used to be quite a heavy smoker) successfully quit a few months ago using e-cigarettes..

I'm gonna try again soon.

 

[Abject]

I think an e-cig could be a great help to you.

 

[spork]

Just an update: I haven't smoked inside today or yesterday, which may not sound like much but it is a big deal to me. I have been smoking less per day than usual, but not by a huge amount.

Don't be too hard on yourself, doll. You're taking positive steps and should be proud of that. The small steps add up. I'm so glad you're doing what you need to to get rid of this nasty habit.

 

[neversickanymore]

smokers lung VS non smokers lung

 

[Swimmingdancer]

Thanks neversickanymore but unfortunately scary photos have zero effect on me. Also, it's misleading the way they advertise those photos. The black lungs are not what all smoker's lungs look like, they are from a person with severe emphysema. Smoking is one of the main causes of emphysema, but not all smokers have/get emphysema. (Conversely not all non-smokers have healthy lungs either). I know this is a thread where we trying to encourage each other to quit smoking, but misleading stuff about any drug just bugs me (*I know it's not your fault, these kinds of photos are very widely promoted just as "smoker's lungs vs non-smoker's lungs") and goes against my principles about total honesty when it comes to drugs. I don't think scare tactics are that effective in getting people to quit smoking otherwise no one in Canada would smoke. Here's a few examples of the warnings that are on our cigarette packs - the warning takes up 3/4 of the pack:

Don't be too hard on yourself, doll. You're taking positive steps and should be proud of that. The small steps add up. I'm so glad you're doing what you need to to get rid of this nasty habit.

Aw thanks. Haven't smoked inside today either. I've also been often smoking only half a cigarette at a time. Brainstorming ideas of things to help with quitting like acupuncture, oxygen therapy (to detox faster & remove carbon monoxide from the blood), cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness techniques, etc.

 

[neversickanymore]

Thanks neversickanymore but unfortunately scary photos have zero effect on me. Also, it's misleading the way they advertise those photos. The black lungs are not what all smoker's lungs look like, they are from a person with severe emphysema. Smoking is one of the main causes of emphysema, but not all smokers have/get emphysema. (Conversely not all non-smokers have healthy lungs either). I know this is a thread where we trying to encourage each other to quit smoking, but misleading stuff about any drug just bugs me (*I know it's not your fault, these kinds of photos are very widely promoted just as "smoker's lungs vs non-smoker's lungs") and goes against my principles about total honesty when it comes to drugs. I don't think scare tactics are that effective in getting people to quit smoking otherwise no one in Canada would smoke. Here's a few examples of the warnings that are on our cigarette packs - the warning takes up 3/4 of the pack:

Rationalizing? The picture was for me

sorry its greenbacks

yep philip m or rj will miss having two of their loyal slaves..

Oh and a picture of what it does for us...

These photos aren't that widely circulated..