3yrs and going strong
To anyone struggling stay strong it is do-able!
I started typing how I managed to give up 2 yrs ago but can't count! I stopped smoking on 13Sept13!! I smoked for nearly 40 yrs - from 14yo to 54yo to only 2 unsuccessful attempts prior.
Breaking the psychological habit is the hard part, I used a method called 'cognitive quitting' that I found on line, as well as flower remedies, acupuncture and other alternative therapies and zyban (champix made me way too nauseaous)
the CQ and alternate remedies and changing my lifestyle a little have made staying quit easier than I thought it would ever be. I hear stories about people quitting that still want a cigarette years later, and that didn't happen to me. No urge at all!! (And no weight gain either other than that bit I needed!)
So stay strong - it is really well worth it - good luck
Thanks Larch for your supportive comments. It does help me and others on this site.
Hi Larch. Thanks for revisiting and sharing your journey. I will research the cognitive quitting as even after 382 days off the cigarettes there seems to still be the underlying occasional desire. Although this is easily dealt with I have known people regress after many years. Their reason almost always is " I just fancied one ". Although this seems ludicrous after going through the pain of giving up I can understand it.
Today my resolve to stay quit is 100% but it is always good to have more ammunition in the bank. Thanks
Hi. As Dobbin says, kind of, once a smoker, always a smoker. Which bit of this don't others get. Easiest way to explain; have you ever heard a non smoker say, I really need a cigarette... Don't think so. Do on said it. "I just fancied one". Too bad it never stops at ONE. As one who has smoked for 45 years, there are more pathetic reasons in my repertoire to just ha e one, but after 481 days, just like honk I will keep going. Hope this helps anyone thinking that a reward is a cigarette...
Hey Larch, how lovely to see your post! You were so supportive of my quit those three years back, I'm really glad yours was successful too. And happy to say I'm the same, no urge, certainly no cravings. Even in a stressful moment the idea of smoking just seems silly somehow, a concept I simply can't relate to any more. Which is a wonderfully freeing place to have reached!
hi Dottily I am so glad you were also successful. I wondered if there would be familiar quitters still here! Sometimes I walk a circle and think oooh I would have had a cigarette in this situation in the past, what do I do now?? (ha ha) luckily I don't want one! And long drives I wonder sometimes what I will do instead - generally the answer is loud music and eat lollies and peas. Yes wonderfully freeing and makes the rollercoaster of the actual quit all worth while.