good time to quit?: i want to quit smoking... - No Smoking Day

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good time to quit?

nsd_user663_2220 profile image
7 Replies

i want to quit smoking...have for a long time and i think i might be ready...not entirely sure. i've quit before when i wasn't 100% sure that's wat i wanted to do and ended up starting again. the only doubt i have is when the rite time is. i just started universitty again...3rd yr... and i'm already swamped with homework. when i quit i lose my concentration and am very irritable and anxious. my fear is quitting tomorrow morning (that's wat i want to do) and going to school not being able to concentrate in class and not being able to focus when i come home to study. thing is, this will be going on until december when i have a break after my exams until after new yrs...that's the last time i tried to quit.

there's a lot of temptation at home...i live with 4 smokers... heavy smokers. i know i can get thru that with lots of support and ideas for coping but the school thing is daunting. i am a good student with good grades and the stress of falling behind is great...especially because i am taking nursing and 3rd yr is the toughest...with a massive work load. already im swamped and it's only been 4 days.

all in all... i know there will always be excuses not to quit and i want to really badly... asap. but do you guys think it's a good idea to try now or to wait until i get a break??

Any advive much appreciated!

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nsd_user663_2220
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7 Replies
nsd_user663_1733 profile image
nsd_user663_1733

Hi Chelly

Welcome to the site you will have great support on here everyone is great. AS for when to quit only you can decide but the sooner the better really Just think by the time exams start you will be well into your quit. But as I said only you can say when but what ever you do we will be here for support. Hope to hear from you soon Linda xxxxxxx

nsd_user663_2142 profile image
nsd_user663_2142

236

Hello and glad you have joined us. You will notice there is never a good time to quit. We will make excuses until eternity. You need to just pick a date - any date and follow through with it.

Come on here when you are having bad moments and rant and rave and we will listen and try to comfort and help.

Good Luck and great decision to quit!

nsd_user663_2096 profile image
nsd_user663_2096

Hi Chelly and welcome,

238

That is a very hard decision you have to make their, I can understand where you are coming from coz I do find it hard to concentrate at the moment and what you do now will affect your results which you have to live with for the rest of your life. However, you sound like you really want to quit quite badly so you have to weigh up the pros and cons:

Pros: More money for food and drink and clothes

Better Health and living longer

Not being a smelly ashtray like person

Having nice fresh breath and nice white teeth

Not having to go outside in Dec to smoke when having a drink

and lots more I am sure

Cons: Being able to concentrate better for a few weeks

You are the only one who can decide when the time is right but I would give it a go, we are all here to support and encourage you, I am sure you will be ok and make the right choice.

Befly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

nsd_user663_2176 profile image
nsd_user663_2176

There's always something that makes it not the right time - exams, stress at work, stress at home, problems with the kids... always something. You really sound like you want to stop so just choose a day and go for it.

I know some people will disagree with me and this is just my opinion but I've never found smoking that helpful with concentration anyway. When you're a smoker you spend most of the time subconsciously looking for that next cigarette - surely when that stops your concentration will be better than ever?

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

nsd_user663_1704 profile image
nsd_user663_1704

Welcome chelly x x x x

Give yourself a quit date and give your self time to plan for your quit!!

Tying in a quit with a change of daily routine can be of help!!

Keep us posted and good luck

~Buffy x x

nsd_user663_2212 profile image
nsd_user663_2212

Welcome Chelly - you are in excellent company. :)

I've been thinking about your question for most of the day (inbetween devious thoughts, of course) and have come to the conclusion that such a serious question deserves only serious consideration and a serious answer.

First off let me tell you - I'm a recent quitter myself. I quit 11 days ago and it hasn't been easy, but it has been a damned easier than what I realised it would be. I read your post. Then I read it again. And I read it again. And to be honest, you sound like someone who wants to give up smoking.

But you don't sound like someone who has 'decided' to give up smoking. In fact, you never used the word once!

Am I being pedantic? No, I'm not. It's easy to *want* something, much more difficult to *decide* that you are going to have something. Which sounds better: 'I want to be an ex-smoker' vs 'I have decided that I am going to be an ex-smoker.' Which one is more powerful? Which one is more likely going to give you what you need to succeed? Which one is said with conviction? The word 'decision' incidentally comes from the latin word decidere, "to cut off [from all alternatives]". This is really what you must do; you must decide to be a non-smoker. You can't enter into this half-hearted. It isn't going to work if you do that. You must decide that there is no other reality : you *will* become a non-smoker. or you *will* become a non-smoker. :-)

Wants won't get you anywhere!

(Apparently when the Spaniards decided to take on the Aztec and Mayan Empires they turned up on their shores and burnt their boats. There was no way home; no going back! Some decision!)

Concentration:

With regards to concentration levels, the belief is steady growing that smoking makes you concentrate less. You know the feeling: suddenly you start thinking that you might want a smoke and suddenly that is all you are thinking about! Anyway just become addicted to study instead of cigs! (And yes, you can do that if you train your brain!)

Other smokers:

And as for living with four smokers - well don't run with the herd - become a leader! The chances are that these guys want (deep down - and probably not deep down) to give up too! Imagine how you'll feel when (not if) one of those guys says that they will quit with you! That will blow away another myth of 'camaraderie amongst smokers' - now is the time of the ex-smoker, my friend!

Fear:

This is the great one! Doing something that frightens you is probably the best thing you can do! Let me tell you. All the while you are living safe, avoiding fear, these little neurological paths in your brain (and in particular, your frontal lobes) are being reinforced and consequently, will run even easier. Ever heard the phrase 'practise makes perfect?' It doesn't. Pracise makes permanent! This is why - the more times your brain runs a program, the easier it runs the program next time. Eventually it'll run without you even realising it! Making a phone call? Light a cigarette. Driving the car? Light a cigarette. Just had lunch? Light a cigarette. Need I go on? Suddenly you look in that packet of coffin nails and 'whoa - where did they all go?' You smoked them my friend, but you don't even remember doing it! Become afraid! Break those networks and start to think for yourself again! Leave the 'machine state' behind you and take control of your life. Here's something else - once you've met that fear head on, you'll be so turned on by it that you'll think 'what else do I have fear of' and before you know it, you'll be changing your life so much that your feet probably won't touch the ground! Let your fear of 'falling behind in your studies' be your fuel to ensure you don't!

Let me just go back to the 'machine state' that I was talking about earlier. How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? How many do you really enjoy? One or two, I bet. Well even if it's more, it sure as hell isn't every cigarette you smoke! Well let's assume that you get about 10 mins of absolute unadulterated pleasure a day from smoking (about 2 cigs!). Now what you need to do is work out how much a cigarette shortens your life by. (Here it is: I searched it out for you : Each cigarette shortens life by 11 minutes. Each pack of cigarettes shortens life by 3 1/2 hours. Smokers who die of tobacco-related disease lose,on average, 14 years of life.) So even if you only smoke those two cigarettes a day, that give you 10 mins of orgasmic joy, the maths still is against you!

Ok. I'm going to stop now. I could go on about how you make choices, and your psychological needs, but I won't. I won't, becuase I don't have all the answers, I don't know it all. It isn't easy, but making the choice - *deciding* is. You wanted advice and really you know deep down that you know the answer. Quit now! Do it! Decide! The people here are an amazing support network and know exactly what you are going through. You can do this, if that is what you decide to do. Not meaning to start any flame wars here (sorry Buffy, I respect you and am soooo looking forward to the massage!) but don't pick a date to stop. Do it now! Carpe Diem!

Is it a good time to quit? Bears and woods. Pope and catholic. You know the score! It's time to stop thinking 'why do I smoke' and time to start thinking 'what would I do if I didn't smoke' (Yes, I expect all the answers, right down to the silly ones like ......!) I'm really looking forward to hearing how excited you'll be when you are an ex-smoker!

Take the first step!

Diablo

nsd_user663_2142 profile image
nsd_user663_2142

WOW, now if that is not inspiration enough - NOTHING IS!!! Diablo that was the best reply to a post EVER! I could not have said it better myself and I don't think anyone could have. I have been a non-smoker for 1 month 2 days now and I feel better about my quit from reading your response than I have felt for the whole time being a non-smoker. Thank you!

Congrats on your quit and I KNOW from your words that you will continue down the best path always. Great decision! :D

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