Quitting smoking?

Has anyone on here quit smoking cigarettes? With everything going on I just feel like it would be in my best interest to stop smoking. I have been smoking since I was 14 and I am now 20 years old soon to be 21. I never really tried to quit before so I'm not really sure what to expect. I really want to quit but then at the same time I feel like having a cigarette sometimes calms me down in certain situations. Not sure if that makes sense or if that's just the Habit speaking for itself. Any suggestions? My therapist told me that if I wanted to quit to talk to my doctor but I feel like if I talk to my doctor he's going to try to put me on medication to help me quit and I really don't want to go that route.

[Goldfish_]

First step is to be motivated, so well done there. Next is to plan how and this is a joint decision with an health advisor in the uk (doctors rarely involved with this now, but usually nurses). The choice of how to do it is yours of course.

There's clearly lots of options. Hypnosis can be effective, e cigarettes, phone apps

nhs.uk/livewell/smoking/Pag...

Set your date, tell others, quit with a friend

[Hidden]

Hello

I am a smoker and I have never quit , I say I wish I could but I know I still enjoy it and I think to quit something half the battle is if you want to and sounds like you could be at that stage where you want this even though of course your anxiety is going to try and get in the way as anxiety always likes to especially when we are thinking of doing something positive

You don't have to have tablets to quit there are other aids , sprays , mints , patches etc, your Doctor can prescribe them and you are in control if you choose any of these things if you do decided to stop

I understand what you mean about smoking makes you feel calmer but they have said the chemicals in cigarettes can actually make you feel more anxious , I think it is mind over matter and more the habit we have formed which makes us believe they make us feel calmer

There is a wonderful , friendly Community on Health Unlocked that supports people that are either deciding to stop smoking or are stopping smoking , lot's of great support and advise on there , I will put you the link that will take you straight to the Community so you can have a look yourself , you may decide to join and you can read others experiences and ask questions if you want , which could really help

Take Care x

healthunlocked.com/quitsupport

[Angep Star]

Hi Rissa, I stopped after 37 years using patches. Apart from the very vivid dreams they caused I managed ok with them. I took the patch off a couple of hours before I went to bed!!! Also you can get a bit short tempered as your withdrawing from the nicotine 😬😬. I know you don't want to talk to your doctor but it's best because there are quite a few options available to help you stop nowadays.

[Stay_strong85]

Hi Rissa, yes I smoked 15 years. Quit a year ago. I did it cold turkey, but only because I wanted it bad enough. Plus I was wanting to better my health. Started at 15, quit at 30.

[Hidden]

I stopped smoking 8mths ago, I now vape instead, my doctor said vaping is definitely the lesser of two evils and it helps me by still allowing me to continue with the habit of the actions of smoking but without the chemicals, good luck

[americanwoman56us in reply to Hidden]

you should quit that too...try allen carrs book...easy way to quit smoking.

[Hidden in reply to americanwoman56us]

I don't want to stop vapeing, I use nicotine free now and I enjoy it, thanks for the advice though, my gp says I'm healthy xxx

[Mrworrymaster]

I quit smoking nearly a year ago. Started when I was around 16, and continued until I was 33.

The journey was tough. But it was worth it. I hate that I ever picked up the habit. Once you fully rid your body of the chemicals and daily damage, you will realize the full effect and poison of cigarettes. The good news is, your body will do some recovery and you will feel so much better in the end for quitting.

I used e-cigs for about 6 months to quit. Started off with 6mg nic levels, then dialed down to 3 mg after two months, then dialed down to 0mg in the last two months. This allowed me to dial myself back slowly until I was vaping just because I liked the hobby of it. Be careful though, vaping can be addictive as well and studies are showing that it has bad effects as well. So it's not wise to trade in one habit for another bad habit. But, use them as a tool for a means to an end and you will be good.

Or go cold turkey, or use patches, or gum, or meds... Every journey to quit is different. Find what works for you.

Best of luck with your quit. You're among friends here and I couldn't have quit without the support of everyone here.

Reach out when you need help!

[Mrworrymaster]

Also, there's a quit support board on this website that helped me a ton. Check it out.

[americanwoman56us in reply to Mrworrymaster]

I quit smoking because of a book i read.

[americanwoman56us in reply to americanwoman56us]

allen carrs easy way to stop smoking...it works and i quit but my blood pressure is higher than ever.

[americanwoman56us]

try a book called allen carrs easy way to quit smoking. if you really want to quit it will work