giving up smoking and my mind is playing tricks on me

guitarted said:
Hopefully, I will post in this thread one year from now being one year smoke free.

I try to go for a run or eat some sunflower seeds when i have the cravings. I got a bunch of nicotine gum as well.
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Hopefully?

It sounds like you're giving yourself the option to fail. Bad thinking.

If you believe you can or can't do something in either case you're probably right.

Forget the cravings, there are no friggin cravings. Every night you go to bed you go 6-8 hours without a smoke, no withdrawl and no craving. Throw away the nicotine gum, you're trying to get nicotine out of your system. It's just BS.

You folks that keep telling this guy that quitting is HARD, aren't doing him one bit of good. It's easy to quit, it also happens to be very smart.
 
Just take it one day or minute at a time.
Don't listen to your head!! Tell it it is lying!!
When I quit, I used patches for 2 days, then went cold turkey. It WAS actually easy for me this time, because I was truly READY! I am serious. You CAN do it!! If I can quit, then YOU CAN quit and stay quit!!
 
Keep with it guitarted. In three days I'll have a month (small world dwain). I can't imagine what a pack of smokes costs cost in Saudi Arabia but in my neck of the woods a pack of Marlboros just broke the 7 dollar barrier. That was it.

Save the money, buy a knife (BM 530 in my future).
Try to get out the habit of smoking.
When you feel like having one...don't. Repeat...forever.
It sounds overwhelming, so try to avoid thinking about the "forever" part. Each "one" gets easier.

I know I've got only a month...but I have had to kick other "habits" too. It gets better.
 
Guitarded.. I am in your shoes now.. I stopped smoking since January 18, but started again on Sunday, when my gf for 4.5 years just took her stuff and left. Man, everytime I stop smoking, something messed up like this happens and I just start again. In the time that I stopped I was drinking a lot of OJ. That seemed to really calm the cravings (I saw it on a Florida orange juice commercial). Right now, I am just so mad at myself right now for letting my gf leave like that. I feel that I f**ked up really bad. Tomorrow I will go to a MMA class and beat the shit out of the heavy bag. I will try not to buy any cigs tomorrow and begin the journey to quit smoking once again.

I previously tried the patch and gum but both those raised my blood pressure too much and I couldn't sleep at night. I've been smoking for 15 years now and now is the time to quit... just can't let the girl get to me.. I gotta be strong and you do too!! When you get that feeling to smoke, drink some OJ right away!!
 
A lot of people take Zyban (wellbutrin) to help quit smoking. It is actually a mild antidepressant but it kills the cravings and hunger pangs so you will probably lose weight while quitting.

I substituted cinnamon altoids when I had a craving for a smoke - lots of cinnamon altoids... I also broke out one of my old yoyos and got back into doing some tricks.
 
Zyban worked for a few people I know. I'm going to see my doctor about some of the side effects, because I am doing my PhD now and I need to constantly think about my work the majority of the day. I guess the trick for most of us is to find the most suitable substitute. Cinnamon flavored candy works too.. I am chewing dentyne cinnamon gum right now and don't really feel the need for a smoke. I guess it's another alternative to cigs.
 
I quit 10 years ago and have never looked back. I had smoked a pack a day for almost 20 years. I used the gum and found it helped a lot. In the 10 years since I quit, I figure I have saved around $12,000. If I took all the knives, guns, tools, bikes, golf clubs, home electronics, etc that I have been able to buy in the last 10 years with that money, it would be a very impressive display. I think it could make a very good commercial for not smoking. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Every year spend smoking is a year spent not living life to it's fullest.
 
I quit on Friday the 13th of May, 1983 after trying for several years. No pills, no patches, no tricks the only thing that works is to change the way you think about yourself and smoking. Picture yourself as someone who does not smoke-at all-ever. Never allow yourself to feel like you could have just one to celebrate how good you have been. You are an addict to the most addictive substance on Earth and it will kill you and it won't even get you high.

If you can never take that first one, you will whip it.

The nicotine is the least of the addiction to break. Withdrawal only lasts for a few days. The habit is the bitch to beat. It takes a couple of years to get used to not doing it and having to watch yourself.

After 24 years (almost) I still have dreams where I am smoking or trying to quit. I don't have cravings on a conscious level, but there must still be something there or I wouldn't dream about it.
 
Im on day 5 of dropping a pack-2pack a day habit. Changing habits is the hardest part. SO many things assoicated with smoking for me, but now I know what to avoid for awhile. If history is any indicator, 1 cigarettt now will lead to being back where I started in 2 weeks.

Im amazed at how much chemicals in our brains influence our thoughts (and actions).

I found this post, reading it has helped get past this tough moment.
 
PhilL said:
Hopefully?

It sounds like you're giving yourself the option to fail. Bad thinking.

If you believe you can or can't do something in either case you're probably right.

Forget the cravings, there are no friggin cravings. Every night you go to bed you go 6-8 hours without a smoke, no withdrawl and no craving. Throw away the nicotine gum, you're trying to get nicotine out of your system. It's just BS.

You folks that keep telling this guy that quitting is HARD, aren't doing him one bit of good. It's easy to quit, it also happens to be very smart.
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Absolutely!!If you feel like a smoke go for a run.Damn hard to smoke while your running.I quit a 35 a day 17 year habit,cold turkey,shortly after finding out i was to be a father.Made the decision i was going to be in my daughters life a long time and not be a burden on her life or miss the majority of it.Not saying you should get someone pregnant(could be fun trying)but have been ciggy free four and a half years now.What made it easier for me was taking up martial arts/self defence shortly after quitting.Not much fun being out of breath and having the crap kicked out of you,but once you find your feet,stop wheezing and get some confidence it just gets easier.Be strong,believe in yourself and find an avenue for stress release....best of luck
 
Well done!

Drop ten or twenty cigarette butts into a jam jar and add a few inches of water. Screw the lid on and shake. Leave to "mature."

Whenever you fancy a "nicotine nipple", unscrew the lid, stick your nose in and take a deep sniff.

Realise that that is how you have smelt to other people ever since you became addicted... :barf:

Again: Bloody well done!

maximus otter
 
Irie2 said:
If history is any indicator, 1 cigarettt now will lead to being back where I started in 2 weeks.
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For the record when I quit, I had been smoking for about 40 years, I'd average about 2 packs a day, cigarettes were around $6.50 a pack, (here in NYC). Yeah I could have got them for less, but I figured I should pay as much as possible for my stupidity. I figure since the time I quit (three years) I've saved over $10,000. I didn't quit for the money. I quit because it was killing me, and it made me feel stupid every time I lit up and sucked that poison into my lungs.

Smarten up. Do whatever it takes you to quit.
 
I went through a program called Smoke Enders sponsered by one of our local hospitals. Have been off a 2 + pack a day 26 year habbit since January 9, 1989...8:15 p.m. One thing they taught that every time you have an urge to light up is to take several deep breaths...and concentrate on the deep breaths....breaks the urge.....that helped me alot.....while ther ere other things they taught, one incident that happened during the program was I met a fellow want-to-quit attendee....he under 45 yrs. old, had owned and sold a successful business...was financially set for life. He told the story of when he had recently gone to the hospital for treatment of smoking related heart problems.....On the way home from the hospital, where he had just been treated for smoking related heart problems, he lit up a cigarette.....That is whne he decided to sign up for the quitting class.
Last time I heard, he has remained smoke free....as I have been fortunate to stay as well. Did take one "puff" on a cigarette a couple years ago just to see what it was like.....it was painful, the coughing was severe, and I darn near vomited in a casino in Vegas......never will even try it again.....and is OK that quitters are the least tolerant of smoke....GOOD LUCK....IT IS WORTH THE EFFORT!!!!
 
I see lots of good responses so I will say that for me, it was understanding that in able to quit, I had to NEVER smoke another cigarette. It can be a tough reality to recon with but thats the way it will be if you don't smoke. I sincerely hope you never smoke another cigarette because in the end your body as a whole will begin to heal itself and you will feel so much better, that's a fact. I have been smoke free since 12/24/03.
 
Hi guitarted,
All I can say is good luck. I quit about 10 years ago and it was the best move I ever made. Even now,, I sometimes feel like I could wad up a pack of smokes and eat them I want one so bad but the urge, with time, becomes controllable.

:)
 
In a couple of months you'll regain your sense of smell. You'll discover that people who smoke smell like rotten ass. Everytime you have to stand next to someone who smokes, you'll think to yourself "I can't believe I used to smell like that!". And I don't mean while they're smoking - I mean like an hour after they've had a smoke.

It stinks up your clothes, your breath, your hair, your car, your home.
 
Ask your Dr. or Pharmacist about a new pill out called "Chantix". We have several friends that were die-hard, hard core, smokers for years that tried everything and this pill has worked on all of them period.

Our pharmacist said its been unbelievable in his 50+ years to see one pill finally working on a very high percentage of his customers, and no I havent ordered it yet, but I hope me&wife can real soon.

Good Luck, you can do it :D
 
Thanks Bert_G. As to what method is best, I found this interesting:

australianquitting.gif


http://www.whyquit.com/pr/082506.html
 
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