Allen Carr
Hi, after reading Allen Carr easy way to stop smoking i felt so overwhelmed that i smoked my last cig after reading it. Being a smoker for 20 years, i am age 36, i really wanted to get rud of this bad habbit. So after the first week without smoking i felt something that i didnt know it exists, full of confidence about me and a new life in front of me. Only now the second week have passed and smoked a few cigarettes during the evenings. My mindset is on never willing to smoke again.
Quitting is quitting and that unfortunately for ALL of us on this site, it means NO NICOTINE WHATSOEVER. Hope you can extend those quit moments and not "reward" yourself for the effort. Unfortunately a backwards step for us can mean we revert to those bad habits/addictions. Every day of abstaining is a huge milestone and is often celebrated on this site. Wish you all the best.
Hi Chris, Allen Carr would like it better if you really quit smoking (just saying..). You can quit. It can be done!! Best wishes!!
Yes, there is only one way to stop and it is now. No small rewards are needed as the reward is at the end of tunnel. I was tempted and believed that one cigarette will do no harm. I have to stay focused and be positive about this life changing decision. Thanks for contributing to the great stories on this website!
I am now into day 22 of my final quit attempt (It's final because there's no going back for this little black duck). Having had a number of quit attempts during my 31 years of smoking I can say that an ex-smoker is only ever one cigarette away from being a smoker.
Thanks also threds and shasha for the support. But its awfull, i never had to put that new nicotine in my lungs and my head! Someone has good advice how the get back on track after a slip ??
Hey ChrisfromBelgium, in feb I quit -used champix and on it again now as I slipped in August and by October- November the slip had morphed into relapse. I also read Allens book and bought the audio version. It's good to listen to in the car to reinforce his message because he does re-brainwash the messages really well.
Anyhoo, I say be kind to yourself like you would be to someone you love who's made a mistake or slipped up. It's done, proof of being human in fact, may advice would be to try and regroup as quickly as possible as I think that was my mistake, I let it go again for too long so has been horrible going through it again as if I hadn't stopped ugh.
Things that work for me:
I have a list of reasons to quit so I revisit regularly.
I have a positive reward, anything at all - mine are relaxation oriented, massage, foot reflexology, candles, I think they help with the detox and I'm always planning for a new reward...
I wish you all the best as I know how bad you can feel, but it's not the end of the world and you can regroup and get that feeling back of commitment and know you've got company! No one is perfect and it's true it can take a few goes to get it "right". It's a learning curve. It's a real thing to slip up but take heart and a deep breath and look at the positive that you stopped for many days and that's great and you can do it again.
Hope I haven't raved on too much but I understand how you feel I think so I hope I've helped a little!
Just entering week 2, much much easier than week 1.
:-)
P.S you can admit to slip ups on this site. Terms & conditions mention to not promote smoking or tobacco use and many quitters do quit with nicotine. Beware the HTTs lol :-)
Hi ChrisfromBelgium. Bibimon2 offers some very sound advice. I have tried quitting before a number of times before and have had slip ups just like you have experienced. I think that is part and parcel of finally learning how to quit properly. My mistake in the past has been getting down in the dumps about slipping and then using this feeling of failure as an excuse to put off trying again (even though deep down I really wanted to). I realise now that I wasn't a failure and that quitting smoking is a really hard thing to do. Having slip up teaches you about situations where you are vulnerable to lighting up again so that when you decide again to quit again you can prepare yourself for those situations you will inevitably find yourself in. All the best with your next attempt. I am sure it will be totally worth it.
Thanks guys so much, i am re-reading Allens book just to re brainwash again and with the support of the blog and you im sure i will get back on track. Stupid to think that going from 150 ciggies per week to 10 was already an achievement.. Only to realize it takes just that to get hooked again! Thanks again and will repost soon about the progress :-)
Whishing you also perseverence on your journey Bibimon, im sure that entering the second week feels already like heaven :)
Really thanks Threds, those words touched me very much. Im super happy having the chance to meet so strong people on this journey
I look forward to reading future posts from you ChrisfromBelgium as you progress to being a non-smoker. I haven't read Allen Carr's book but I recently read that one of his philosophies is that smokers have a cigarette to chase a feeling of normality that nicoteen brings but that once the nicoteen starts wearing off they are looking for their next cigarette to bring back the normal feeling again whilst people who don't smoke experience that feeling of normality all the time and don't need nicoteen. I wish it hadn't taken me 31 years to understand this!!!! I am on day 24 of my final quit journey and I can say that the physical cravings have now passed and I am now experiencing that feeling of normality all the time. I can now say that I am on my way to being a non-smoker. I know that any temptation I get in the future to have a cigarette will be purely a mental thing and not a physical thing. What I am trying to say is that once you get past the first two or three really hard weeks things do start to get easier. All the best with quitting!!!