One day at a time.
I'm 49, Started smoking at 13. I'm 10months and 7 days clean. I had numerous quit times. 1st time was 3years, 2nd was 8 years. I have to say it did get harder with me every time I relapsed. I won't lie, I really enjoyed smoking and if I could still do it I would but I have witnessed the damage it's done to others. If I had 6 months to live then I would buy a pack right away. It is the hardest thing to give up and the most addictive thanks to them mockers who make them. But it can be done with will power, self-termination and most of all control. I used to find anything as a distraction to take my crazy mind from wanting to spark one. When my mind got into the obsessive need to smoke I did anything to break the obsessiveness. Have a quickie or dose or talk mambo jumbo just to fill the time and distract from the chaos. Do something I've not done before. anything as long as i building that clean time. The longer the clean time builds the easy it got to cope with the obsessiveness to smoke. the first 2 weeks were hard I won't lie. its f%$King hard. But the rewards of the achievement are gold. This is my story and my experiences. it can be done there is life after long term dependence on smoking. I know it's hard when stress comes, and after a good meal or even when drinking. I may require a temporary lifestyle change until your strong enough to cope. whatever you chose if you have the intention to quit that's a great start, now put it into practice and you may be surprised just how strong you are. And the results you find. Don't let anyone tell you it's going to be easy because the truth is nothing worthy of any type of great achievement is ever easy. one day at a time. build that clean time. Prayers never hurt too.
A great start to hopefully your last quit Marck. We advocate the mindset so that willpower is not the driving force. Of course the key is to want to quit in the first place. A part of you still wants to smoke and that is why you struggle so much still . I do beg to differ in that quitting smoking can be easy if you fully embrace the idea and look forward to being a non-smoker. Understanding nicotine and your relationship/dependence on it can help to change that interaction. You know how totally bad and destructive the addiction is yet a part of you misses and yearns for it. Change that feeling into repulsion for the filthy things and let the love go.
Yeh thanks, I think that the key to remaining abstinent from smoking varies from each individual. I don't think there is one method the heals all. I have never been the type to play therapist and go into some flipped out psych theory about addiction of any kind, but if that works for you all the power to you Happiness. Nicotine is an addiction. It will always be dormant in any former users. Addiction is a disease. Smoking is a disease. there is no fairy tale ending to any type of addiction. ive known addicts that were smoke-free over 20 years and went back to smoking. The need to understanding smoking is the need and insight to understand that addiction is a disease and sometimes not a choice. I think you need to distinguish between whether addiction is a choice or a disease. Or a little of both. Thank for your comment.
You are quite right in that it is a disease in the sense that the nicotine addition is " a condition which prevents the body or mind from working normally, : a problem that a person, organization or society cannot stop. Yes, nicotine affects the mind and that is why we find that the truth has to be accepted in order to reverse the "brainwashing" we have done to ourselves over the years. Society cannot stop it either unless we can educate a different way of thinking.
I just don't see how harping how difficult it is to quit is right when it does not have to be that way. I am sure that I am not the first one to find quitting relatively easy. For you to insist that it cannot be easy . Clearly you enjoyed smoking, or think you did, and I think we all felt that way, but i do believe that we do have the "choice" to believe that we can be free and that we can learn to "change our minds".
I know that i made the "choice" and I have seen that many others have too. Believing it can be done is far more helpful than nay sayers. I don't disagree that urges can still haunt you after 20 years, but that is why I think staying in touch with the forum and remembering how just one puff can set you back is imperative. Addictions can be beaten and there is plenty of proof here to support it.
At the end of the day, we can all have opinions on what, how and the best way to quit. And how easy. I think it is important to let people know the truth about quitting without sugarcoating it. Some people it does work easy but every year there are over 5 million cigarette-related deaths worldwide that are a testament to how easy it was not. That is not the naysayers saying that but fact. the truth is smoking is the hardest addiction to conquer. It is the most insidious of substance-related habits. I'm not going to leak in anyone pocket and say that giving up smoking was a breezy walk through a park or that they will never feel the need to smoke again, because of that's a Disney ending. it not about positive or negative either, it's about cold hard facts and the truth of how millions die each year because they could not stop. Ask the dead how easy and hard it was to stop.
Welcome to our forum Mark, I am glad you dropped by to let us all know how hard it was for you. I thought the same after 3 attempts, until I joined this forum and gained more knowledge about myself in the process. I also had choices like anybody and my choice was to stop smoking, I had no debilitating health conditions but was needing to enjoy other experiences in life rather than spend my time and money on smokes. (This was my driving force)
Ah! Time and Money, a good point to remind ourselves how precious our time is. If we all put our minds to enjoying ever second of life be it either harsh or easy. These precious moments tend to be built up by understanding and accepting our own individual differences, whilst accepting that others have their own values in place.
It is up to us to understand our own set of beliefs, and try to help others in clarifying what there's is, so for every negative there is a positive, usually by learning something new in respect of our attitude to another.
I agree that you have a lot of experience, what you might consider now, is helping someone else who might be struggling and have chosen to stop for different reasons other than your own.
Happiness has had success by researching certain factual information along with adopting views expressed by Allan Carr's " Easy Way to stop Smoking". For myself I needed this forum for support, and looked into a video called "How to grow to be a happy Non Smoker" this emphasis is on growth you might find it useful. Presented by NASIA DAVOS "TEDxUniversityofPiraeus"
At the moment I am still learning tolerance for myself and tolerance with those that desire the same result. To Stop Smoking Permanently. Good Luck Make this the last quit attempt
Hi Marck.
Smoking is an addiction that’s
hard but possible to beat. Just like you I quit twice in the past but for shorter periods of time - one time for over 2 years and the second time for just over 1 year. Just like you, I knew I enjoyed smoking. The first two times when I quit I was considering myself a smoker who chose not to smoke and this approach led to failure each time. Be it a social situation or stress but one puff led me to square one each time. In addition, I felt abnormal without a cigarette. So this is my third and final quit. This time I am practicing NOPE concept - Not One Puff Ever. It’s my final quit because if I were to start again I won’t be able to master enough willpower to quit again. And this time in conjunction with NOPE I no longer consider myself a smoker and living without a cig feels quite normal. Wishing you personal success in your quit and sending good vibes your way. Cheers.