Deciding to quit for good tomorrow

[nsd_user663_42775]

I've been a heavy smoker for almost 6 years, my reasons are recently I have been experiencing chronic and health anxiety and the smokes that used to help me through are scaring me and making my anxiety worse. At first I decided to cut down a lot and felt it'd be easier when I do quit for good but I'm sort of an all or nothing person when it comes to smoking, that wasn't working because I would not stop at one, so it wasn't working. I just want the nicotine addiction to leave my body so I am no longer a slave to it and can't see any other way out besides CT. Why tomorrow? Today is very stressful as I will be having a tooth removed (I've had them removed before but now I hate having it done immensely!) tomorrow probably and smoking scares me in terms of infection and dry socket so it seems a good day to start. I am of course worried of all the side effects and of a relapse but all I can do is try I feel.

[nsd_user663_42786]

Good for you. That sounds very stressful indeed.

[nsd_user663_4558]

Enjoy your quit

[nsd_user663_42642]

People who experience anxiety are often the type of people who experience low self esteem .. its very hard to believe in yourself if you have this . . it's hard to focus on positive things and feel that you deserve them . . but if you do feel any of these barriers to quitting then come on here and ask for help . . you can do it . . you do deserve it . . now is as good a time as any. You will have to not smoke after the extraction anyway and just take one day at a time and come here for support . . good luck . . Jo

[nsd_user663_42220]

I'm an all or nothing sort of person in everything I do rock_chick so I understand a bit where you're coming from.

I've said exactly that comment about myself in a recent post on here.

You need to try and take it one day at a time.

I'm sure you know that going cold turkey enables the nicotine to leave your body quicker and that after 3 days you should be nicotine free.

After that, you just need to beat each craving one at a time.

Many people recommend a book by Allen Carr called The Easy Way To Stop Smoking.

I haven't read it myself, but I believe it goes into the psychology of smoking and makes you think about it in a different way.

Here's an online PDF version of it that you can download...

205.196.123.35/4bwumyii8npg...

Good luck and keep visiting the forum. People on here will be the good angel on one shoulder when the bad angel on the other is telling you that one cigarette or puff won't hurt.

[nsd_user663_25112]

Hi Rock_Chick, i can relate to your Anxiety you can get med for that through your dr. Secondly download the link given to you by Captain. Allen Carr is defo worth a read. Cutting down fags will not help you i know because i tried that like many others on here you really need to be in a good frame of mind to quit. This is my 8th attempt. Dont be put off though if your feeling low take each day as it comes. Not a good idea to puff when tooth out. They will tell you that. Try NRT or go and see your dr. Good luck and we are all here to help you. Jacqui

[nsd_user663_20558]

Hi Rockchick, welcome to the site.

I agree with you and others - I could never do the cutting down thing. I'd cut down, chicken out of quitting completely, and slowly but surely it would just creep up again.

This quitting malarkey... it's totally do-able. Just keep reading, be prepared for the cravings that try to trip you up. Take it one day at a time.

And quitting before a tooth extraction - good idea. I once smoked after having a wisdom tooth out. Hadn't been warned about the danger of that. And OH MY GOD, dry socket infection? Worse than childbirth!!! :eek:

Happy quitting,

Helen x

[nsd_user663_42775]

I struggled with the concept of NRT but was too paranoid in the end to have nicotine in my body, due to my health anxiety, after I read what it does to the body I knew it would just make me keep feeling scared, I'm on antidepressants and tranqs but they haven't been working as well since my chronic anxiety started again, now I see smoking as a horrible thing to be fought as I get little enjoyment from it and honestly it just scares me in many ways. I've read how hard the first three days are, so I'm am scared but I have to keep the truth of what I'm doing in mind, that eventually it will somehow get better and so will I.

I honestly just want to the dentist to be over with so I can start the withdrawal because prolonging it sucks but I felt I didn't want to be going nuts until after I saw the dentist. I'll be probably be on here a bit in the beginning just to help me get by, thanks to all of you.