Forced quit
I was hospitalized one week ago. The entire first day I was in the hospital I was in a hurry to leave. All I could think about was a cigarette. As the days have gone by and I have not been discharged my thinking has changed. I feel pulled in two directions. At times I obsess over cigarettes and it seems to increase daily instead of decrease. I imagine the smell, the look, and the comfort they provide. On the other hand, after a couple of days I began to realize this was my chance to release the stronghold this addiction had on me. I have such a love/hate relationship for cigarettes. I can chain smoke some days. I smoke with stress, drinking, waking up, driving, drinking coffee, pretty much everything. I cannot imagine what i am going to do when I leave here to get through this, but I know that I have survived a week and I do not want to set back this great progress. I am scared of going home and having that freedom to run to my comfort of cigarettes for every stressful moment and life is full of those right now. I am really pulling hard to get will power and mind over matter to take over.
Hey Angie, a friend of mine gave up smoking in same situation as you. He was hospitalized for 2 weeks and not able or allowed to smoke even though he had cravings. Was very hard for him but when he was discharged he said "if i have not smoked for 2 weeks why start again" the rest is history and that was 2 yrs ago and he is still quit. So, look hang in there ok....there is nothing that you are missing about a smoke...all in your head...IF you want to quit then this is your chance. Learn other ways to live with your emotions when happy or sad. Believe me....it can be done. I am approaching my first year after 52years smoking. Good Luck.
Thank you so much for the support. I feel embarrassed right now because I have moments where I swear if I saw even a cigarette butt I would chew on it. I am very adamant after feeling this feeling how much I never want anything to have tgis much control over me again. The hardset part is figuring out why the cravings are getting worse and not better
Angie...look just concentrate on getting better if you are still hospitalised If you are serious of quitting you will find great support on this site from great people who like me went through difficult stages. The first 2 weeks will be very difficult...try nrt.. speak with your doctor or pharmacist. If you can sustain absence from smokes for the first 2 weeks you will be surprised how the cravings begin to subside and occur for short periods of time .All the best.
Hi Angie, thanks for sharing your story. I can relate to the cravings getting stronger as time goes by. In my experience they do (on average) get weaker and shorter in duration. I believe the amount of time it takes for the cravings to weaken is different for everyone. After reading "The easy way to quit" I learned nicotine addiction is a small portion of the fight. The bigger challenge is dealing with the brainwashing we have done to ourselves through every puff we have inhaled. We have tricked ourselves into believing that cigarettes help us deal with stress, enhance good times and help with bad times. Think about how many times you have inhaled and experienced the release of 'feel good chemicals'. If you smoke 25 cigarettes a day and inhaled 20 times per cigarette thats 500 times/day that we are associating nicotine with feeling good! Reading posts from quitters the general consensus seems to be around 6 months is when the mental cravings subside substantially. My personal experience has been that 6 months was the magic number for me.... The cravings have subsided substantially over the past week.
Because quitting was so important to me, I put it at the top of my priority list. What I mean by this is that I have allowed myself to stop doing everything that is stressful. I kept telling myself that as long as I got through the day without smoking that was all that mattered. There were several times where my brain would be trying to rationalize that " this activity has to be completed and we can do it AFTER we have just one cigarette". Allowing myself to forget about completing the activity made it possible to get through the craving. There were several occasions that I would just go to bed to deal with the craving, knowing that getting through each craving made me that much stronger.
I am going through exactly the same, this is my 5th day, I am 63yrs so I have been smoking a long time, I want to give up for better health, that also means more cash in my pocket, & I want to be around to see my grandchildren grow up, after reading your story, I now realise I'm not alone, what great support you all are..Thank you