NEEDING SUPPORT
Hi everyone, I am 39 and have been smoking on and off (mostly on) since the age of 15. I am getting recurring chest infections and have now noticed I am starting to get cardiac issues. I used to have heaps of willpower but feel I am stuck in a vicious circle. I need to give up, however am struggling with strategies. I am a mental health nurse and subsequently have a smoke on my break, so need to replace this and in the morning I have a cig and coffee as soon as I wake up....I have tried champix in the past but my partner said I was irritable so am planning on going cold turkey...any hints or advice would be great :)
I gave up cold turkey 4 months ago after nearly 30yrs of smoking. If chest infections and cardiac issues used by smoking is in the way of your lifestyle, maybe its time to seriously give up!! maybe it will take you time to mentally prepare yourself to give up like myself. It took me 4 weeks to believe I was gonna give by cutting down, doing other things during the times when I was smoking. leaving the packet at home when going out and so forth (changing routines) Remember giving up smoking is changing your lifestyle without the presence of nicotine. It's hard but achievable, step one: Believe in yourself!!! good luck and remember we are here to support!!!
"if chest infections and cardiac issues 'caused' by smoking" (sorry typo)
If you need advice, support and understanding you have come to the right place... Because of the encouragement you get from fellow quitters you will gain strength & determination. You won't wish to "disappoint" those who respond to your stories. And if your efforts go pear shape then no one will scold you. You will be encouraged to persevere and given hints on what may work. Enjoy the ride and the commoraderie...
I hope you've had your heart issues checked out by a doctor and I can only imagine how stressful your job must be for you. Have you tried the nicotine patches? That is what I used and I've been 81 days smoke free. You can do this with all the help from people here......good luck
Im 38yo and started around the same age.. but not a full time smoker till I was in my 20's. I'm on day 27 cold turkey today. On the first day instead of buying cigarettes, I walked straight past that counter and bought two bags od chupa chups, and lot's of chewing gum. Whenever you feel like a ciggy just replace it with either. Definitely finding a hobby of some sort helps too.. something to keep the mind active.. something that you can replace that addiction with that's healthier.. like reading a book, or watching a flick, adult colouring books or going to the gym. My substitute is gaming when I feel lazy and skateboarding when I want some exercise. Hope that helps somewhat.
you have taken the 1st step asking for help/ admission of the problem.
I asked my mate who still smokes to give me one good thing having a smoke will do for me and I will go out and buy some and have one, the silence was deafening and not sure what it made him think about, but it always tells me that the answer is zero it will do nothing at all to enhance my life in anyway shape or form.
this tells me the nicotine trap is all based on a lie most we have built up over the years to justify our smoking we have to lie to ourselves in order to keep smoking as the truth is smoking has no usefulness at all in anyway.
most of all in order to stop we must understand what we are dealing with there is a lot on this website and on the net in general to help us understand our foe and in doing that make a plan or strategy in order to smoke our last cigarette, yeah its not easy and we have to be 100% committed to pull it off , but its doable just look at the people on here who are doing it :)
IC
Thank you so much everyone for your time and your inspirational replies.
I have set a quit date for Monday the 18th of April 2016.
I am going away this weekend so am trying to be realistic and know that other people around me will be smoking and subsequently this will make it hard.
I hope you are all feeling so much better and well done a congratulations to you all :)
I have nicotine replacement patches at home and will put one on as soon as I get up on Monday, and will then take the dogs out for a walk instead of lighting up and having a coffee. Will buy some OJ and then come home and have a shower and get ready for work ensuring I DONT stop at the servo for cigarettes. I have also bought one of those inhalers :)
Hey Nathalie12, hope everything is well with you. I just seen your story and sounds very similar to mine. How is your plan going? It's sounds like a good one. My freedom day starts tomorrow. Keep us updated on your progress.
Hi Machomac,
I am so sorry to hear you are having the same issues....
want to set a date with me so we can do this together?? not as in date but date to quit...;)