My trick to pass cravings

[nsd_user663_14716]

Day 2, bring it on!

I have tried to quit numerous times like most people here and this time going cold turkey. I have managed to fight cravings with a new trick that seems to be working miracles for me as it stops cravings entirely (well with some help from airwaves gum as well). My trick is that I imagine my self "doing the unimaginable", smoking. I imagine how I...

- first take a cup of coffee, because that makes me crave a cigarette more and I want that craving to be biiiiiiig before my ciggy

- no-one else in my office smokes, so I feel embarrased about the need to go out... so, I take a ciggy and a lighter and hide them in my pocket... taking my hand bag with me will just show everyone I am going for a ciggy, so I pretend I am going to toilet

- I walk through the corridors and see that its raining out... oh well

- I cross the parking lot and hide behind a wall, where all the smokers are directed... away from the customers. I feel cold from the rain and wind.

- I take my, now a bit bent, ciggy from my pocket and try to light up. I have to try several times as wind keeps blowing the lighter out.

- I manage to light up small part of the ciggy, so that I need to really use all my sucking power to get it properly light. In the mean time I have managed to get my hair burned twice as wind keeps blowing few of my hairs into the cigarette and lighter. Dammit. Oh well, it will grow back.

- Finally I take a deep breath and feel how smoke goes through my lungs... and it IS great! In a second all my axieties and bad moods are gone and I can feel relaxed again.

- However, few seconds more and I start feeling a bit nauseas. First kick is gone. I can feel my hart beat getting much faster and I would like to sit down, but there are no beches here. I feel colder and start to realize how smoke is lingering around me and attaching to my hair and clothes. Whilst not really even wanting to finnish the ciggy I do it anyway since I don't want to waste it.

- Finally Im finished with my ciggy. I feel tired, smelly, out of breath but fairly relaxed now and wonder back in. I know I am stinking, so for a split second I consider taking the stairs.... but as I feel out of breath I take the elevator, but hide in the corner and try not to breeth out as there are other people around. They give me looks and I start feeling angry... who are they to judge me?

- Back at the desk now, secretly sliding my lighter back in my purse, knowing though that I can't really hide it... surely everyone can smell it... or can they? Maybe they can't. Maybe I just imagine it as I can smell it... but I'm much closer to me than anyone else.... (self deception is a bliss!)

- I look at the time thinking when I can go home... and smoke on the way to the train station... and try not to breathe towards other people in my 20min train ride.

After this imagination game, I really don't feel like smoking at all. Just thought to share it if this type of mind game would help anyone else.

Sometimes I also imagine just the first 10 seconds of taking the smoke in and going from 1st second greatness into breathless nausea. It really helps because if I'm honest to my self, I don't think I have ever felt good or better after smoking.

So fighting cravings is ok at the moment, but I do have another issue I am struggling with.... I can't concentrate or think anything but "not smoking". I can't think thigns through properly and my vision is also doing tricks. This makes me very unproductive at work. I have been explaining to my self that all those saved ciggy brakes will pay this time back to my employer eventually, but even so I'm feeling like a thief steeling my employers time... anyone else feeling overly responsible and bad about lost working time?

I am not going to affect this in my decision, so I will keep on fighting, but could someone tell me how many days I can expect this type of symptoms to last? Many thanks!!

[nsd_user663_5972]

Hey - well done on getting to day 2. Unfortunately I cannot advise on how long you can expect those symptoms as everyone is slightly differently, I can assure you that from past experience it does get less and less and much easier as you learn to adjust to life as a non/ex smoker. I too am thinking about the things but not craving them. It has probably been a big part of your life for a long time so it's only natural to think about them.

You take care and keep strong...

[nsd_user663_7469]

Hi Savu if it works for you then go with it, I can’t remember what I did at the very beginning to keep my mind away from craves, I do know that I was so focussed on quitting at the beginning that I didn’t find it too much of a problem.

I struggled more around the 3 months marks and just had to go with it, I am in agreement with Tinker that all quits are so different and we have to face each battle as we reach it.

Things do get better though and soon you will reach the point where smoking no longer means so much to you and days will go by were you don’t give it a thought.

Well done for the 2 days and welcome to the forum, nowhere else on the internet will you get the help and support you will get on here.

This forum has taken me from a struggling quitter to 8 + months and it will do the same for you and many others.

[nsd_user663_14941]

I soooooooo love this post!! All the way through I was reading it, laughing and thinking "yes... that's me!" (or now should it read "that WAS me!"?) Practically every word of it!! Burnt hair, pouring rain... the lot!!

I've got a packet of Fisherman's Friend lozenges to suck whenever I need a cigarette. They were the strongest thing that I could find to combat the smell of the smoking and used to have one in my mouth after every cigarette. I was paranoid about work colleagues and family finding out that I smoked/had started again. I was so ashamed! I'm now hoping my brain will be tricked into thinking I've just had a cigarette when I have one!

This post is going to inspire me whenever I feel a craving coming on!!