I cannot have just one fag, if I have a night off with a bottle of wine and a packet of fags it leads to me smioking again for days.I'm not a social smoker i'm an addict who keeps going back for more.
I can't keep going through day one again and again. But I don't want to smoke either. I like not smoking but i keep giving in to the little voice.
When can you say you are a non smoker, do you ever stop thinking about them altogether and know you will never have another? My dad gave up, but he says it took 10 years to stop thinking about them now and then. I don't think i could cope with this.
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Hia! I am far from qualified to answer the very pertinent questions you pose Jude - but I just wanted to say congratulations for quitting again.
My belief is that many of the cravings are physiologically linked to the habit - not the drug. I really don't want to lecture - but reading a lot of the excellent information like the "Nicotine Trap" (a free e-book that you can download) can help get your head around what is happening inside your head.
I firmly believe that I am left with a lifelong battle - like being an alcoholic with nicotine really, but I also believe that it will get better and better, to the point where the battles I had every minute of Day 1, and now have every couple of hours at Day 10, will be every year or too eventually.
I hope so, I know so cos I gave up for quite a while at one point and it does get easier and easier.
I'm just weak i think. I have been raving to people one minute about how good i feel as a non smoker and how i will never smoke again (Tip: never say those words...) and then smoking the next.
Jeez, I wish i didn't keep doing this.
Have not seen the nicotine trap so i will have a look at that one. I have a week off work so i'm thinking of trying a cold turkey because I have been on the patches in between smoking for a whole year.
Sorry to hear you slipped again but pleased you're back again now
It really does get easier as you go along but yes we're all addicts so need to keep our guards up
Having said that I seldom think about fags anymore just the odd fleeting thought now and then when I do something for the first time since I quit but I also know full well I could never ever have just one
Just like an Alcoholic one wouldn't be anwhere near enough for me
That little voice is a horrible nasty liar and i won't listen to it.
I know it gets easier cos i have been there- I remember saying delightedly to someone that i had cracked it because i didn't crave then anymore ( and i didn't really ) but then i smoked again just because someone offered me one or something. I 'm not strong , i give in very easily to temptation. But must keep that thought, there is no such thing as just one.
Like you I've been there at day 1 too many times. I have said that I'll just have 1 to see how I feel, but to have one means I have to buy 10 at least, then I fall into the trap of well that wasn't that nasty but I have now got 9 sitting there in the packet, and they are just scraming my name after a while. Then before I know it I'm back to 20 a day!!!:mad:
This time I'm using champix as nrt's don't really work for me.
Its great that you are trying again, just remember that 1 will only lead to 10, and then 20, and then your back to where you started!
Take each day one at a time and reward yourself with something at the end of everyday that you are smoke free!
Sorry you are struggling with your quit. I would suggest reading up on all the suggested websites and get a real good understanding of your addiction.... it helps strengthen your resolve, determination, motivation, etc.
Having a plan in the beginning of a quit is also a good idea.... (i.e. champix, hypnosis, exercise, etc) Try out a different method, instead of repeating the same approach.
I don't believe it takes 10 years to get over smoking....... you may still have thoughts about them but that is all they are..... harmless thoughts that don't hurt....... harmless thoughts can of course start you to smoke again, so always watch out. I was a serious smoking addict :rolleyes: It was soooo hard for me to get up the guts to really do it...... smoking was what I did and all I have now after 5 months is a few harmless thoughts a day! So don't despair..... it doesn't take 10 years...... if you look at a life time it will bound to seem impossible...... look at each day at a time and continue to strengthen your resolve! You WILL get there! Good luck
Hi Jude, you may find Alen Carrs the easy way for women to stop smoking a good read - lots of people like you have stopped this way it's simply a matter of reading the book and a bit of reverse psychology. Unfortunately it didn't work for me. . . . but it worked for my sister and several other people I Know. Good luck and you've come to the best place for support
Just keep quitting it will all fall into place! I will tell you that when people who have quit "think" about them now and again. It isn't the same as when we think about or "crave" them now. AT least in my experience ...yes occasionally smoking would cross my mind but it wasn't that panic...."need it" feeling you get when first quitting. In fact it would always strike me as odd....it would come as a stray urge or thought and I would be caught completely off guard. I would think...now why on earth would I want one of those things(cigs).
Yup, i think my problem was actually reaching a point where i didn't really think about them anymore at least not in a craving type of way.- so bizarrely thought i was "safe" and could just have one....
Note to Self: That never , ever works..... Please don't ever do it again.
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