I'm new here but have quit those nasty smokes for over a year now. I wish I had found somewhere like this in the beginning of my quit but never mind I'm here now.
The first two weeks were absolute torture and one of the hardest things mentally for me that I've ever done. In the beginning I had a goal of 2 weeks at a time and every time I'd get to that goal, I'd reward myself with anything from a packet of chewing gum to a new item of clothing
These days I'm free of the crave but not the psychological side of it. I don't often come under stress but when I do this is the only time I think I actually CRAVE nicotine. I smoked for so long I realize that it's going to take much longer for me to overcome this.
I will succeed
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Bit concerned that you still suffer some symptoms even after a year of not smoking :confused: Are the 'craves' bearable? It really is weird how some people still report wanting a ciggie after such a long period has gone by.
I'm praying I will keep my mindset I have at the mo and will continue to find not smoking easy!
I am glad that you found this Forum - I am only at the beginning of my journey as a non smoker - so it's great to learn from the experience of long term non smokers like you.
Do you think you still crave a cigarette because when you stopped smoking you thought you were giving something up? Eg something that helped you relax / concentrate?
You would benefit from reading Allen Carr, who showed a lot of us that all that is an illusion, all smokers do is relieve their withdrawal pangs. It's hard not to feel like you do though, since all of us from a certain generation were bombarded with images and subconsious crap about how relaxing/whatever else they claim smoking is.
It's a lot of bollox. I'm not taking away how you feel though, don't get me wrong.
It's the tobacco industry that get rich on this misery, hoping that someday you'll crack and smoke again.
You've done incredibly well, so just work on getting that out of your head!
Bit concerned that you still suffer some symptoms even after a year of not smoking :confused: Are the 'craves' bearable? It really is weird how some people still report wanting a ciggie after such a long period has gone by.
I'm praying I will keep my mindset I have at the mo and will continue to find not smoking easy!
Wishing you yet another smoke free year
Hi Maddy and thank you
The craves are bearable because they don't last for long. I really hate them though. I never cave in and just hack it... each time I succeed it's a huge feeling of achievement only a former smoker would know
You can do it Maddy, you've already done the hardest part
I am glad that you found this Forum - I am only at the beginning of my journey as a non smoker - so it's great to learn from the experience of long term non smokers like you.
it's fun this forum -and it helps me a lot
Clivia
Thanks for the support Clivia and keep at it, you have it in you
I have managed those urges this long so they are never going to take me.
welcome to the forum, great to hear you're a year smoke-free..
Very scary if you're still getting craves If your theory about
the length of time as a smoker dictates how long craves go on,
I'm in Deep DooDoo - smoked for 40yrs
I'm banking on the theory its different for each and everyone of us..
otherwise I might just have to shoot myself:eek:
nicky
Nicky thanks for the welcome.
You're right, everyone is different. My husband stopped smoking 12 years ago and has found it easy. He smoked for 16 years at that stage and was at 40 a day!
You can do it too, everyone has it in them. Go for it!
catwoman they are few and far between. And you have done very well yourself
wkdfairy and johntkd I never thought of it that way... the question of Do you think you still crave a cigarette because when you stopped smoking you thought you were giving something up?
I've sat here pondering for a minute and you may be right. Sometimes I do feel I'm missing out on something, which is that relaxing feeling. I have to admit, in the first 2 months of my quit, the crave was so strong I had to find a smoker, stand next to them and get a whiff. I don't do that these days though.
I'll look into reading Allen Carr. I'm excited about that now lol
Oh my god you SO have to read Allen Carr Mcka!! Its totally changed my perspective re smoking. I absolutely struggled when I stopped smoking and consequently, after a while, I caved. However, after reading Carr's book, I am a changed person! Not one single proper crave for days!
Allen Carr (God rest him) talked a lot of sense in the book, and put my mind at ease re a number of smoking issues I had.
It was so obvious it was slapping me in the face, the advertisers are GOOD. They know how to keep you hooked on those mingin things, even long after the chemical addiction has gone (which is barely noticable anyway).
I hope you get the contentment sooner rather than later. Me Maddy and John all seem to have gasped it, although I had a few wobbly days last week, but got through it.
ok I googled Allen Carr's name and read some of his stuff on wikkipedia the free encyclopedia.
This is for me.....
Carr was very specific and a-nalytical in his use of language. Thus he rarely referred to "quitting smoking" (preferring "stopping smoking") as the very word "quit" hinted at the suggestion that a smoker would be giving up something that was worth having; instead of freeing themselves. Such a-nalyses were a cornerstone to his approach to overcoming the "nictoine trap" which was both subtle and pervasive.
I actually love reading the book as a non-smoker but even when I was smoking and reading, it was a pleasure because he isn't full of the the usual horror stories and everything he said was true. I'm just sorry he didn't live for another 20 years.
I struggle to understand how people can still want a ciggie after a considerable length of time has elapsed. I hear this from other people too I did not think about ciggies at all throughout my last quit (two years 'n a few months). Not once did I have any pangs for one or hell, nor did I waste any of my time thinking about them.
Yeah sure I got hooked again but thats a whole other story that I don't really want to go into right now. But my point is, not everyone still thinks about cigs after stopping. I know I didn't and nor will I in time to come.
Just wanted to add that so that others know there are those too that do not dwell on fags after years of being smoke free!
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