Help, I'm stopping smoking! I need your support!

[shinyjourney]

Hi,

I know how it is hard to quit smoking, i quit 2 years ago from 1 pack vs cold turkey...
My motivation was sport. I would go back to sport and couldn't run a mile without feeling bad. The three first days are the worst but i still craving cigarets for one month after that!
You have to have a deadline in your head where you know after this deadline, it will be easier.
But the thing i can tell you is that now i just realize REALLY what is a cigaret, it's just poison. I know that we all know this, but really if everybody was really AWARE of what comes into our body when we smoke, nobody would do it.

Freedom is your goal, now you are addict and nothing worth freedom!

When you want a cigaret, stop thinking about the good reason why it would be great to smoke, but immediately stop your thinking and think about all the bad things it does to your body!

It's the same for food addictions and all the addictions in general, it's hard to resist when you think about how it would be great to have this cigaret. And you cannot resist because in your mind, you really FEEL the sensation you are looking for and that make the resistance harder to do.

Just think about all the great things it will bring you to your life, and i loved when your son told that you could do it. maybe it's a good thing to think about when you're about to fail.

Virginie

[StuartPE]

I know it's a cliche, but Don't Give Up Giving Up. As the ad in Australia says, each time you quit, you get a little better at it.

I think there's a lot of power in this. The hardest part about quitting anything is thinking about the last ever one. Don't think like this. Just don't smoke and take each day at a time. Quit as many times as you need. I quit about 5 times. This time it's been a couple of years. Is it for good? Possibly.

[shinyjourney]

Hi stuart, you're really right!!

To fail means to learn about our behaviors and habits and it is weapon we can use for the newt time!!!

You're so right!!!

[Tim Brownson]

Originally Posted by Radicalmommy

I noticed too that every time I tried to quit smoking I almost always get sick with some kind of fever or flu. That was a always a good reason for me NOT to quit. This time I'm not sick at all but strange I got my period again after just 2 weeks and I am extremely tired. Even so I jogged over 2 miles (without stopping) and walked one this morning which I haven't done in over a year. Also I only got 5 hours sleep, maybe that's why I'm tired but I think it has more to do with my period than sleep. I notice around this time ( my period )I feel like it's a struggle to do anything.

I took a nap after I wrote that. (just 30 minutes) I feel like I have more energy now but I made a cup of coffee and started complaining about everything. Here is an example of what I just can't bear without smoking!

My mother said we should take the kids to the dollar movies tomorrow but we can't get any of that "expensive" popcorn. She is a frickin loon and I told her so. It costs $4 to get in, one large popcorn is $6.50 (yes the outrageously expensive kind) and a huge drink is $4.50 but you get one refill which is just perfect for me and my 3 kids. So what the hell is she talking about? Oh, my God she might be out 15 whole bucks. I told her to get away from me, that her stupid cheap god-damn attitude was too much for me to take without a cigarette. I'll take my own kids to the movies without her.

You see how I just want to explode right now without a cigarette to calm the insanity of having to live with the insane.

I should not drink coffee. Coffee makes it worse. Maybe I should take another nap. So smoking is definitely a way to deal with this crazy family. (and I don't mean my kids. My kids are great. It's everyone else I can't stand.)

Hanging by a thread, right now!

A few pointers Sandra that may help

Use positive language - every communication is a communication with yourself. So when you say "this is hard" your unconscious sets to work on making it hard as it doesn't want to make a liar out of you.

Smoking only makes things easier because it returns the body to homeostasis. The withdrawal symptoms that can kick in in less than an hour want to be eased. Therefore, smoking during pressure situations removes the w/s and you think you are actually relaxed. You're not, you're just back to a normal state.

As Andrea alluded to, replace the behavior! Nature abhors a vacuum so simply quitting and doing nothing else in its place is really tough. Meditation would be cool as long as you are not highly Type A, in which case DON'T it will drive you nuts.

As others have said, if you slide back, worry not! You are just one attempt closer to your goal, it's not a failure it's a learning experience!

[joelr]

When I was 23 I started dating a smoker and by 24 I was weekend smoking and then smoking 5 or 6x every day.
Luckily my exercise was limited to just weight lifting so I had lot's of room to make changes.
Once I decided I was getting too overweight I started doing daily cardio and re-vamped my whole diet. That lifestyle change made quitting really easy.
After doing cardio and eating a healthy meal I couldn't bring myself to smoke anymore.

Maybe 2 or 3 times I was hit by really strong cravings so I allowed myself to smoke 1/2 cig. That happened once a day then every other day, then 2x week, then 1x week, etc.

Each time I was more and more repulsed and finally at one point when I had a craving the repulsion beat the craving and that was it.


10 years later I has a short spell of smoking black&mild cigars and used the same method to quit. The lifestyle change is important. Otherwise everything is the same except there is a lack in your life. Something has to fill it.
A habit of getting a quick nicotine buzz that releases dopamine needs to be replaced by a new habit.

Otherwise it takes much more willpower.