Cold turkey or cut down?
Smoker for almost 20 years, heavily.
After 2.5 years of being a happy non-smoker a very long time ago, I relapsed severely when a close family member died. I've had multiple attempts ever since, all failed in a few days.
I've been wanting to quit smoking for years. There was no single day in my life when I didn't feel the desire to stop smoking!
So, after a lot of thought, I'm on day 1, again. I've chosen cold turkey, no NRT, like I've done it in my first successful attempt, when the strongest argument was that I didn't really need cigarettes, that it was all an illusion created by my dependance. Nobody dies from nicotine withdrawal!!! We feel like crap, but it goes away!
I'm counting the hours though now. The monster inside me has woken up and I'm thinking that maybe cutting from 25 a day to 0 with no help wasn't the best idea. What do I do now? Reconsider and switch to cut-down? Allow myself to slip and see how it goes? Is it me or my dependance talking now?
Right now I just feel the need to go and scream out the window!!!
No idea how this will end...
Good thoughts to my fellow sufferers!
cold turkey has to be the hardest way to quit...good luck iam at day 52 smokefree
Hello Lisa.Emma, It's always good to vent, to talk about your feelings to others in the same boat and I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of a much loved family member. To have your desire back to give up the cigarettes is wonderful and as long as you have that desire, you will ultimately win.
I'm now at 308 days, but I've had a helper this time. I never imagined I could be cigarette free for this long, but one day someone gave me a new idea and here I am. Best wishes to you and be strong. Even if you don't get it right this time, each time we try, well who knows :))
Hi everybody! Thanks for the encouragement! I´m still on the barricades! We can do this!
Congratulations on making a start. The fear of quitting is much harder than the quit itself, as you can see when each day it gets easier and you get more confidence. One day at a time is all it takes.