newbie day 1 cold turkey arrrrgghhhh.....

[nsd_user663_29047]

hi guys,

i'm new to this website but have spent some time looking around the forum and various threads, it's really nice to see people supporting and helping one another through the madness of quitting smoking!! i hope to use the site as much as possible over the next few months and hopefully leave it as a free man

im 28, been smoking since i was 15 and have been a pretty heavy smoker since. tried pretty much all methods to quit: lozenges, gum, microtabs, nasal spray, inhalators, patches, zyban, champix, hypno, self-hypno, allen carr and even some crazy thing where a woman stuck electrodes to my temples and feet. supposedly the nicotine would flow out of my fingers and feet and i would be completely detoxed. guess what, £250 and about 5 hours later......it didnt. i returned back to square 1 even more demented than before. the pleasures of quitting smoking!!!!!!!

the one method i haven't tried always scared me for some reason, the mythical 'cold turkey'. yesterday evening i thought screw it, man up and face this challenge like many before me have done. so here we are......

last cig at 4am this morning, so its know 13 hours and 23 mins......

its a start

good luck everyone x

[nsd_user663_23614]

You are doing great there

cold turkey may just be the way for you - you sound so determined, and fighting this alone.

13 hours is fantastic , just let those craves wash over you , and keep going

well done

daizy x

[nsd_user663_27261]

AITM - I wish you well buddy.

I quit cold turkey mainly because I never saw myself as having a nicotine dependency, I always believed my addiction was in my head, more a habit of place or time or event.

I keep saying it but you need to train the mind not to think about cigarettes, this was my biggest issue as there were specific times during the day when I would smoke, you need to get a message into the brain that stops it realising 'now' is the time to smoke.

Good luck, there are stacks of peoples experiences all over this forum, read and learn I'm sure you'll find them useful.

[nsd_user663_29047]

thank you for the kind words karri i do hope it is this time, as you say im determined, i have managed to get my mind thinking the right way at just about the right time so we shall see. i see your stopping tomorrow, i wish you all the best, you'll be feeling amazing before you know it!!

[nsd_user663_29047]

thanks daizy, it's words like that that makes me think i can do this! x

[nsd_user663_20558]

AITM, I'm proud of you.

Don't be afraid of CT. As your name suggests, at the end of the day it IS all in the mind. Another quitter has the tagline 'we quit in the subconscious' and that is absolutely true.

Three days you have to grit your teeth and get rid of the nicotene. After that it's down to your mind. Only you can make the choice to smoke, or not to. The brain is capable of throwing all KINDS of crap at you to make you pick up a fag, but at the end of the day it's all about making that conscious decision, to recognise your addiction and to refuse to give in to it.

I highly recommend you read the tales: woofmang.com/tales as they are full of real wisdom, well written, and inspiring.

Great decision, man. One day at a time. You can do it.

Helen x

[nsd_user663_29047]

cheers for the advise horse! i do see what you say, my quit this time is pretty much predominantly based on understanding what goes on in my mind when i want a cigarette or when i'm smoking. i think this approach will help with the cold turkey method. previously i was pretty gung-ho about the whole thing and didnt really think it through! great to see you quit cold turkey as well bud

[nsd_user663_29047]

hey helen, thanks for the message, very kind of you i opened up those links you mentioned, going to read through after i've posted this. yeah these 3 days are going to be savage, its kind of been bearable today but im not naive enough to know its going to be like this tomorrow or any other day. i know im still on the day 1 high but im confident i'm equipped to deal with the dark ones when they come. once again cheers for the support! x

[nsd_user663_18652]

Well done on quitting.

Cold Turkey is not as bad as it seems. I did CT and just hit my 7 month stop.

Advice.....Read.....Read.....and then Read more. The more info you have the better your chance of stopping.

Good luck and keep posting.

[nsd_user663_29047]

thanks timetostop, yeah i hope to read as much as i can whilst quitting, it does keep my mind busy in a way. congrats on the 7 months that's awesome, wish i could be there...just need to remember where i put that darn time machine

[nsd_user663_4991]

Well done AITM , cold turkey is great ....it will be a challenge but a clean one , and one that you can easily overcome when you put your mind to it. After the first 3 days you will feel yourself taking charge of your quit and getting your life back.

Good luck , keep posting and keep reading ..... this forum is a great cushion for you to fall back on.

Regards Trev