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I have quit twice with the patch but both times got stressed out at work during the 3-day withdrawal after quitting the patch and ended up lighting up on break. Before I knew it I was back to my old habit both times. I initially thought I would just smoke that one to make it through the day, but that wasn't enough. This weekend I am going to attempt again and then in a few weeks schedule a few days off work to quit the patch. My job is very stressful and cannot perform satisfactory if I am in withdrawal, so cold turkey isn't an option for me. By the end of the patch, I no longer crave cigarettes out of habit, I just can't do my job and be in physical withdrawal. If you can make it through the first few days of the patch, you are pretty much home free as long as you can cope with the withdrawals when you quit the patch. Basically what the patch does is breaks you of your mental addiction before the physical addiction so its easier to fight the cravings when you quit the patch.
Good luck.
I can relate to what you said. Whenever I've tried to quit, my brain sort of just shuts down. I cannot think straight and there's no way I'd be able to do my job.
Originally Posted by Jack Kronk [URL="//www.city-data.com/forum/mental-health/32346-how-quit-smoking-cigarettes-post17793746.html#post17793746"]//pics3.city-data.com/trn.gif[/URL] What about this:
Suppose you smoke 20 cigs per day. I have a 20 week program that I believe will work.
Start week 1 smoking exactly 19 per day, every day, on purpose. Start week 2 smoking exactly 18 per day, every day, on purpose. Start week 3 smoking exactly 17 per day, every day, on purpose. etc. etc. Start week 19 smoking exactly 1 per day, every day, on purpose. Start week 20 smoking exactly half per day, every day, on purpose. At the end of week 20, quit.
Cheers, Jack Kronk
The person I know used a method somewhat like this one (it takesless time, it drops a cigarette a day, instead of a week, you could use either) quit and has been smoke free for over 8 yrs. He said to make sure you take a chew or nicotine gum or losenge in place of each smoke you give up each day, like on the third day when you smoke 17, you have to make sure and chew or take 3 losenges to replace the 3 smokes you just quit. He gave up the chew in a week and a half when he got to 0 smokes and it was all chewing, said he dreaded doing it even towards the end, when he was smoking only a few cigarettes and having to chew 17 or 18 times the rest of the day. I myself am starting this and I have smoked off and on for yrs. and since I have tried to stop, I have tried about everything but this and hypnosis and have done ok for a month or so, but always pick one back up, and within a few days it is back on again, it is truely the worst habit I ever picked up.
At its simplest, quitting smoking is when we decide not to put another cigarette in our mouths.
We follow through.
But as you can see from all the good advice here, it's become not that simple any more. A whole industry and products have sprung up to help us get off cigarettes. Of course! It's the American Way to sell more stuff to help us end our bad habit.
Me? I attended a Smoking Cessation Program sponsored by the American Cancer Association. It was multi-weeks of learning the why of smoking, both mental and physical and how to deal with the withdrawal. Most went cold-turkey.
My view is that when we know why we smoke this helps us pattern our behavior to make permanent changes.
Mind over matter.
The biggest and hardest part is making up our minds, really making up our minds with steely resolve that we will not ever again be a slave to a poison. Without that complete determination and commitment no lotion, potion, patch, pill, electronic cig or hypnosis will do the trick.
Me? I went cold turkey.
Ten days of pain to gain a lifetime of freedom and good health? No more hacking cough, stinking breath, clothes, car and house? No more bad headaches? No more colds that turned into bronchitis? No more midnight trips to the gas station store to buy another pack of poison?
A guy I used to work said being locked up in jail for a couple months had this as a silver lining.
I found the best way for me to quit smoking was to just not buy them any more.
(I'm not saying the rest is a cakewalk... but there is a line in the sand.)
My DH smoked 2 paks a day for over 50 years and cigarettes just got so expensive and his health was not good so he quit. He has a very strong will. One day he stopped and never smoked again. He was no fun to be around for a good 6 months but it's been 4 years now. I smoked 1 pak a day for 35 years and coughed up some blood a couple of years back. I tore something from coughing but it put the fear of God in me and I quit that very day. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I guess nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy--so they say. Honestly I just think you have to want to stop and just do it. Good luck, and remember you are worth it!
I've been an avid smoker for 15 years and would like any suggestions on smoking cessation that have worked for any of you. I'm tired of the smell and what it can do to my health. Thanks!!
The best way to quit is go cold turkey...That what I've heard from the ones who had quit successuflly...but they say it works...
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Was just talking to my mechanic yesterday and he had an electronic cigarette. Said he hasn't smoked a real cigarette in 14 days, (or was it weeks). Anyway, my friend for over a decade also used the electronic cigarette....
So, does anyone have any thoughts on the electronic cigarette?
My past attempts:
Cold turkey. Lasted one week. The anger I felt was unbelievable. I was ticked off at everything. And I mean, every. thing.
Patch: Lasted two weeks. The patch made me nauseous for the first hour. (I started on step 2 since I didn't smoke enough to start on the 1.) The patch would itch for about 15 minutes after putting it on. I was doing ok. I would walk around the building or climb the stairs up and down at work, (would do over 600 stairs on my lunch), try to read a book, anything. So weird not smoking on my breaks.
The ONLY thing I could not get past was that inhaling part. I didn't have a problem with something to do with my hands, no big deal. I didn't have a problem with the nicotine, had the patch, I tried to draw in deep breaths of air to simulate the inhaling....but it was that nicotine hitting my throat that I missed and could not get over.
I was also very, very, very depressed in my first week...very. It had a lot to do with what was going on in my life at the time but I got through that week. The second week I was ok except for that hit to the back of my throat. If I could have put the patch there, I would have done it.
So, I'm thinking that maybe, to finally be successful, I would try an electronic cigarette.
I just don't know...yah, I know, everyone says go cold turkey. Listen, I just started a few jobs and I do not need to be losing them because I'm ticked off or upset as quitting did to me in the past.
I don't even need a whole cigarette. Just maybe a puff of something once in awhile...maybe it would work?
I am trying to find something that would help me be successful. Should I try this again, I don't want to fail and I know cold turkey isn't going to do it for me simply because of that need for the hit on the back of my throat.
That sounds weird, perhaps, to some but that is the ONLY thing I could not get past.
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Excellent forum! Thank you.
