I have been reading the posts since August and finally decided to quit. I already tried twice. 1st quit, by cold turkey, started September 10th but failed on september 13th. Again tried quitting, cold turkey, on september 30th but failed again today (smoked about 20 mints back). I keep failing on day 4.
I aint giving up. Again i wanna start quitting. I dont wanna be slave to this piece of non-sense and i hate failing.
So, i decided to start my quit again, from now. Need help guys, please!!!!!
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Smoking since i was 19. I am 28 years now. Went upto a pack. Decided to fall back and return to normal nicotine free life.
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I joined this forum in August but could not quit as I was just not ready or not prepared to quit. But now I am into Day 10 and I am not boasting cos it has taken a lot of effort to get here.
But if you read all you can, you will soon understand why you will not want to smoke anymore, and you will enjoy the freedom. I still struggle at times, but I know that if I had a cig now it would be like the first one I ever had. I would feel sick and dizzy and it would be horrible. So that is why I stay quit at the moment and hope you can too. Take care and one day at a time.
Congrats! You made the right decision and you are in the right place to get information based on ex-smokers experience.
I'm 32 and I've been heavy smoker for 15 years. Now I'm closing the fist week and I'm proud of my achievement :D. However I'm sure that without information, help and support provided by members of this forum most certainly I would have failed.
What most of people here told is "take it one day at time" and they are absolutely right. The fact is that nicotine is a drug so what we are doing here is DRUG SELF-CURE and of course we have to go through hell for a few days. Most important is to convince your self that you really want to STOP no matter what.
Drink a lot of water and tea. Eat fruits and vegetables. Do whatever you feel like just don't smoke cause by the end of the week you will not cry for nicotine any longer.
Ok, it's going to be hard to explain this with words because I'm trying to explain an emotion and it might even sound ludicrous, but trust me.
Just as you're about to smoke, just as you're reaching for that pack, in that split second just before IT wins and you fail, think of the cigarette as a living thing and it's trying to trick you.
It wants to beat you, it can't survive without you, it's a parasite and it's playing mind games with you, it's laughing at you and toying with you.
The truth is it's a coward and it's weak, it needs you more than you need it. So fight it, fight it with everything you got. Infact - hate it - despise it, get angry at that little stick of poison, shout at it or scream if it helps but DO NOT back down. You can win and think how disappointed you be if you let it get one over on you this time.
Push your reasons for stopping to the front of your mind and push IT to the back. It helps to have something else to concentrate on while you going through this battle, and yes it is a battle, at times my head would literally thud with pain.
Use a memory of a pleasant event or maybe a photo of your kids, I don't know what will help you but just something, anything that gives you happy feeling. I used a photo of my nephew (3 ys old at the time) and short comedy clips on YouTube. Thats the key, you have to have something positive in your mind while this war is raging in your mind or the negative thoughts will swamp you.
The feelings of temptation will subside after just a few minutes and trust me you'll be so happy that you won that tiny battle. Keep on doing this and the feeling of winning will actually become the drug you crave.
I know its not easy, not easy at all, but each time you beat it you get stronger and IT gets weaker. These battles become less frequent and easier to handle. They go from hours apart, then into days apart, then into weeks, months and years.
You might find that towards the end of week 2 (I did) you get real bad cravings, one after the other, like BANG BANG BANG all day. Those cravings are IT in a last ditch attempt to beat you. IT will throw everything it's got at you and then some, but always remember it's in your own mind and you control your own mind not IT.
You're not alone. Loads of people struggle to get past the first few days because the craving can become so unbearable that it doesn't seem worth the pain.
I think you just need to kind of accept the fact that you will feel crap. Almost try to embrace it rather than fight against it. When you feel awful tell yourself that it's this horrible addiction doing this to you - try to turn the craving around and use it to motivate you to keep fighting.
Find something to occupy your hands/brain (computer games, knitting, whatever suits you!). Drink cold water. Keep posting on here and read, read, read - educate yourself about what's happening and why, get support from other people, keep motivated.
It does get easier. Just take it one hour, one day at a time. You CAN DO THIS!
I think Day 4 was always my downfall in past quits (so my hubby tells me)
With the help of this forum I got past the dreaded Day 4 and a few other nail biting days along the way. I learnt to think of it as small 24 hour battles and every time I won a day I was ecstatic.
There is so much help on here and useful links to websites, utilise all the support you can get to make it past Day 4. It's like reaching the peak of a mountain on Day 4, if you can just hold on until you reach the other side, you will find the downward slope much easier.
I am now on day 24 and it is still difficult but let me tell you it gets easier every day. I am 31 and smoked 20 per day since I was 16.
My first 5 days were really really difficult and was my failing point on 2 or 3 previous attempts, but if you can get to day 5, day 6 and so on you will feel better and better. Trust me, If I can get this far then so can you, my will power is usually rubbish but not this time. I am also cold turkey !!!
The main thing that worked for me was changing my mindset, Allen Carrs Easyway book might be worth a read, just remember each time you fail it makes you stronger and teaches you valuable lessons for your next quit !!
WoW, actually i feel a lot better now. I am going to take this one day at a time like you guys told. I am gonna start it today itself (i cant stay smoking after reading such encouraging posts) and i have my solid reasons to quit.
I am gonna start it here and keep you updated on my progress. Hopefully i will see u guys on day 2 forum soon. Its battle between me and the nicotine.
Thanks all once again and yea, i will win this battle with you guys in the backing. No doubt on that.:cool:
One day at a time brother, it's far to scary looking at the bigger picture so just dont do it..
Small Victory's, nothing more .
I'm on week three, not entirely sure how I got here other than getting to the end of each day without smoking!
My brother packed in 18mths ago. His advice is basically to stick a patch on every morning for as long as necessary and don't put a fag in yer mouth. Crude but effective.
One day at a time brother, it's far to scary looking at the bigger picture so just dont do it..
Small Victory's, nothing more .
I'm on week three, not entirely sure how I got here other than getting to the end of each day without smoking!
My brother packed in 18mths ago. His advice is basically to stick a patch on every morning for as long as necessary and don't put a fag in yer mouth. Crude but effective.
Oliver
True brother. I will take it 1 day at a time. I just got an urge to smoke. Went and drank a cold water, read forum and a chewing gum now. I wil take it hour after hour. I guess that should do the trick. i will keep you posted.:cool:
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