Any Advice? Just smoked my last Cigarette (I hope!) (chantix, depressed, smoking)
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Good luck. At 34, and after 17 years of smoking... I just made the real, final decision to quit (i've half-assed the attempt too many times). Here's how it's going to work for me: I made a $500 dollar bet with a close friend (smoker) who thinks I will break. We are both stand-up guys w/ integrity, so the honor system is in full effect. Bottom line, if I take one puff before 1/1/2013 - I'm out $500. Gotta walk into his house like Kramer with a stack of cash "I'm out... I'm outta the contest!". If (and when) I make it the year, he pays up. So, as you can see - this would be one expensive cigarette. Already this feels easier than "trying" to quit.
I've started with Nicorette, but I'm already finding that the mental battle I get in with myself ("i shouldn't have this cigarette, ok screw it, no I shouldn't, ok just one, etc") has already solved itself at the very first instant i get a craving. Because now with someone to answer to, and $500 at stake... it's just not an option. Here we go... it's gonna suck, but looking forward to the payoff
besides the physical cravings the mental junkie thinking is hard to get over. try to not pay attention to the rationalization your addicted mind tells you. keep busy, use nicotine gum, get the patch, take a shower, smoke a straw or scream, do what you have to just don't smoke. it does get better. a craving last about a minute and has a start a peak and an end. hang tough. it gets better. you will love to spend the 500 buck you will get this time next year. you can do it
Psychological tactics worked for me as well. When the craving struck, I would tell myself that the discomfort, which felt like burning inside my lungs, did not mean that I needed a smoke. Instead that feeling was my lungs trying to heal themselves. When you have a minor wound, it will often itch while it's healing, right? If you scratch the itch, you just open the wound again and make it even harder to heal, right? So I endured the discomfort knowing that it wouldn't last forever and that my lungs were going to be pink and healthy again soon and I would never feel that craving again.
It also helped with cravings to take several long, slow, deep breaths and to remember that a craving will be gone in five minutes. When you think about it, smoking cigarettes is just another form of deep breathing, isn't it? You take in a huge lungful of smoke and then let it out -- and that helps relax you. You can do the same thing by breathing in fresh air and letting it out slowly. It will help slow your heartbeat and calm you.
A lot of people see smoking as something that relaxes them, but what is actually happening is that cigarettes are a stimulant. If you pay attention to what happens to your body when you smoke after going without cigarettes for a while, you will notice that nicotine makes your heart beat faster and gives you a slight sense of dizziness and nausea. After you become addicted, smoking only seems relaxing because it gives you temporary relief from the cravings. 20 minutes later the cravings are back and you have to repeat the process.
But if you stick with it and beat the cravings for good, you will find that you are much more relaxed, you sleep better, food tastes better and you have more energy. You also have more money in your pocket and you'll smell a lot better. These are some of the real benefits of being a non-smoker It helps to think of all these good things you'll be getting if you quit and not just what you're giving up.
Psychological tactics worked for me as well. When the craving struck, I would tell myself that the discomfort, which felt like burning inside my lungs, did not mean that I needed a smoke. Instead that feeling was my lungs trying to heal themselves. When you have a minor wound, it will often itch while it's healing, right? If you scratch the itch, you just open the wound again and make it even harder to heal, right? So I endured the discomfort knowing that it wouldn't last forever and that my lungs were going to be pink and healthy again soon and I would never feel that craving again.
It also helped with cravings to take several long, slow, deep breaths and to remember that a craving will be gone in five minutes. When you think about it, smoking cigarettes is just another form of deep breathing, isn't it? You take in a huge lungful of smoke and then let it out -- and that helps relax you. You can do the same thing by breathing in fresh air and letting it out slowly. It will help slow your heartbeat and calm you.
A lot of people see smoking as something that relaxes them, but what is actually happening is that cigarettes are a stimulant. If you pay attention to what happens to your body when you smoke after going without cigarettes for a while, you will notice that nicotine makes your heart beat faster and gives you a slight sense of dizziness and nausea. After you become addicted, smoking only seems relaxing because it gives you temporary relief from the cravings. 20 minutes later the cravings are back and you have to repeat the process.
But if you stick with it and beat the cravings for good, you will find that you are much more relaxed, you sleep better, food tastes better and you have more energy. You also have more money in your pocket and you'll smell a lot better. These are some of the real benefits of being a non-smoker It helps to think of all these good things you'll be getting if you quit and not just what you're giving up.
Totally agree, and I am a perfect example of using cigarettes as a stimulant (funny the first time I heard that was from Woody Harrelson/Roy Munson in Kingpin... having already smoked for a few years before I saw it, I knew that was a true piece of script). I usually had a cigarette to wake-up or temporarily sharpen my mind during those tired/slow/"hit the wall" times of the day. After 20 minutes of what was essentially artificial & temporary gusto... without fail, I would be back to the whatever energy level I was already at before the cig. I work very long hours (sometimes upwards of 100/week) for a legal technology company. Although I love my work, this means I am in one place - a desk full of computers - for the entire work period. The value of that getting up to go get that cigarette 'burst' during long, high-pressure projects is hardly describable.
Just as I predicted before I quit, I'm finding the nicorette provides that same exact lift, without the smoke. But knowing that one of the main reasons I quit is to regain my natural energy - I'm careful of using too much nicotine gum, and already use about 1/3 of the recommended amount & frequency for a light smoker (which I was). I don't want to pick up another addiction after dropping the first.
Thanks for the tip about deep breaths. I do see the correlation between inhaling smoke, and just inhaling. Also... so true, the cravings are very short. For me, sometimes only seconds. You can feel the instant they start, and even more when they go away. Most of my cravings, I am able to beat by immediately doing some little activity or chore. Since half of my cigarette addiction is physical and revolves around anxiety doing something with my hands... I find just doing a quick task will get me past the itch. If it's a long, more difficult craving... pop a piece of gum. This post is a perfect example. Woke up from a nap, grabbed my laptop and piece of nic gum. By the time I click Submit, I'm all good.
Good luck. At 34, and after 17 years of smoking... I just made the real, final decision to quit (i've half-assed the attempt too many times). Here's how it's going to work for me: I made a $500 dollar bet with a close friend (smoker) who thinks I will break. We are both stand-up guys w/ integrity, so the honor system is in full effect. Bottom line, if I take one puff before 1/1/2013 - I'm out $500. Gotta walk into his house like Kramer with a stack of cash "I'm out... I'm outta the contest!". If (and when) I make it the year, he pays up. So, as you can see - this would be one expensive cigarette. Already this feels easier than "trying" to quit.
I've started with Nicorette, but I'm already finding that the mental battle I get in with myself ("i shouldn't have this cigarette, ok screw it, no I shouldn't, ok just one, etc") has already solved itself at the very first instant i get a craving. Because now with someone to answer to, and $500 at stake... it's just not an option. Here we go... it's gonna suck, but looking forward to the payoff
Good luck. I quit three weeks ago today, after 35 years of smoking.
I had auricular therapy. It was a one-shot deal, an electro-acupuncture treatment applied to several points on my ear. Sounds bizarre, I know, but my ex-husband, who has been addicted at some point to just about everything (pills, coke, alcohol, gambling, nicotine) quit smoking one year ago doing this, and if HE could quit...well, I figured I could, too. It immediately removes the physical craving. You are then left with working on the emotional and mental parts. He spends an hour and a half giving you (in a group) the type of thinking necessary to break those emotional and mental ties.
One of those things is NOT saying you're trying, which implies failure, or that you "gave them up", which implies sacrificing something that was good. You QUIT. You are DONE. Tell yourself those things, out loud, every day. Don't look at other smokers and feel jealous because they can have a cigarette and you can't. This guy said to look at other smokers and say, "Oh those poor bastards", lol.
Hey, the $500 at stake can't hurt, either! Do it! YOU'RE DONE.
Your method is called "white knuckling" and is bound to fail.
What worked for me: Hypnosis (focusing on how good I would feel, not negative stuff) and acupuncture - they put little metal things in your ears after the needles and it helps with cravings. It took about a week to be craving free for me.
You may not have been replying to my post. But hopefully I'm speaking for the thread starter as well! I can appreciate this... but I am a rare breed - and was born with white knuckles. I came from a difficult background, and every accomplishment in my life has come from pure, independent mental victory over the next challenge and those who said I couldn't do it. So... with all due respect, thanks for saying I'm bound to fail. You just made it one notch easier for me. We can definitely agree that focus on the positive will get you what you want.
Psychological tactics worked for me as well. When the craving struck, I would tell myself that the discomfort, which felt like burning inside my lungs, did not mean that I needed a smoke. Instead that feeling was my lungs trying to heal themselves. When you have a minor wound, it will often itch while it's healing, right? If you scratch the itch, you just open the wound again and make it even harder to heal, right? So I endured the discomfort knowing that it wouldn't last forever and that my lungs were going to be pink and healthy again soon and I would never feel that craving again.
It also helped with cravings to take several long, slow, deep breaths and to remember that a craving will be gone in five minutes. When you think about it, smoking cigarettes is just another form of deep breathing, isn't it? You take in a huge lungful of smoke and then let it out -- and that helps relax you. You can do the same thing by breathing in fresh air and letting it out slowly. It will help slow your heartbeat and calm you.
A lot of people see smoking as something that relaxes them, but what is actually happening is that cigarettes are a stimulant. If you pay attention to what happens to your body when you smoke after going without cigarettes for a while, you will notice that nicotine makes your heart beat faster and gives you a slight sense of dizziness and nausea. After you become addicted, smoking only seems relaxing because it gives you temporary relief from the cravings. 20 minutes later the cravings are back and you have to repeat the process.
But if you stick with it and beat the cravings for good, you will find that you are much more relaxed, you sleep better, food tastes better and you have more energy. You also have more money in your pocket and you'll smell a lot better. These are some of the real benefits of being a non-smoker It helps to think of all these good things you'll be getting if you quit and not just what you're giving up.
Absolutely true. Nicotine CAN be a stimulant and a depressant. The feel-good part only really lasts about 30 seconds. Then it's downhill and pretty soon you need another one.
besides the physical cravings the mental junkie thinking is hard to get over. try to not pay attention to the rationalization your addicted mind tells you. keep busy, use nicotine gum, get the patch, take a shower, smoke a straw or scream, do what you have to just don't smoke. it does get better. a craving last about a minute and has a start a peak and an end. hang tough. it gets better. you will love to spend the 500 buck you will get this time next year. you can do it
Thanks much! This is helpful. I'm definitely focused on the benefits I will reap, and you're right about keeping busy. E-cigarettes, hypnosis, nicotine gum, patches, needles.... they've got it all. But, at the end of the day it is mind over matter, and not accepting failure as an option.
Good luck. I quit three weeks ago today, after 35 years of smoking.
I had auricular therapy. It was a one-shot deal, an electro-acupuncture treatment applied to several points on my ear. Sounds bizarre, I know, but my ex-husband, who has been addicted at some point to just about everything (pills, coke, alcohol, gambling, nicotine) quit smoking one year ago doing this, and if HE could quit...well, I figured I could, too. It immediately removes the physical craving. You are then left with working on the emotional and mental parts. He spends an hour and a half giving you (in a group) the type of thinking necessary to break those emotional and mental ties.
One of those things is NOT saying you're trying, which implies failure, or that you "gave them up", which implies sacrificing something that was good. You QUIT. You are DONE. Tell yourself those things, out loud, every day. Don't look at other smokers and feel jealous because they can have a cigarette and you can't. This guy said to look at other smokers and say, "Oh those poor bastards", lol.
Hey, the $500 at stake can't hurt, either! Do it! YOU'RE DONE.
Exactly. There is no try. That's what feels so good about knowing that I wanted to quit this time. Every past attempt - I told people "I'm tryin to quit". Well, right there I was saying I'm going to smoke again... and even worse, knowing it myself.
Yep, I already feel sorry for those poor bastards. But, I also hope they find the day when they really WANT to quit. If not, no amount of external assistance is going to help,
Exactly. There is no try. That's what feels so good about knowing that I wanted to quit this time. Every past attempt - I told people "I'm tryin to quit". Well, right there I was saying I'm going to smoke again... and even worse, knowing it myself.
Yep, I already feel sorry for those poor bastards. But, I also hope they find the day when they really WANT to quit. If not, no amount of external assistance is going to help,
Same here. I really WANTED to quit. The idiotic remarks of non-smokers had nothing to do with it. Neither did the exaggeration hand-waving or fake coughs of people walking by on the sidewalk, hehehe.
Same here. I really WANTED to quit. The idiotic remarks of non-smokers had nothing to do with it. Neither did the exaggeration hand-waving or fake coughs of people walking by on the sidewalk, hehehe.
You really believe all those were "fake" coughs?
I don't have to see a cigarette near me to know that someone is smoking.
I really feel it starting to fill in my lungs as well.
I congratulate those who are really trying to quit and respect those who step out to smoke away from other family members who don't. I wish it were easy
enough for everyone to stop but knowing some family members who have tried, it's not as easy for some as it is for others - especially when they have
immediate family members who are puffing away everywhere and anytime they can. Those saboteurs
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