Always finding an excuse

Good evening, or morning.

My 1st post, a little nervous......

I’ve begun to realise, I can’t do this on my own and I’m running out of ways to help me stop.

Been trying to quit for..... phew.... I hate to admit 8 years. I’ve had hypnotherapy, those nicorette sticks, gum, vape machines, etc etc.

Cost isn’t an issue, £40 a month maybe.

Y do I smoke???? Why does anyone smoke.

I like it...... what do you like about it.

I like going outside to think, with a cuppa t.

I like going out to socialize and smoke.

I don’t like.....

The smell, I don’t like, feeling guilty, I don’t like the way my breath smells. I don’t like hiding from my other half.

WHY..... ohhhhh why do I do it, and HOW do I break the cycle????

Chew gum when you feel like a cigarette....tried that. Change the habit they say..... to what? Drinking more tea. Think about your health they say, I train 4 times a week as it is.

Goodness gracious me.... what to do, what do I do.

[Hercu Valued Contributor]

Dear WMM.....

You ask why do we smoke.....First of all "stupidity" and next to live with the false euphoria a cigarette (Nicotine ) gives us..

We rely on a cigarette to take away our problems and help us to relax and face our daily shortcomings...

The truth, a cigarette does nothing but it is all in the mind...I can say...I smoked for 38 years and being smober for 4 years now and nothing changed except that I battle to get fit because due to smoking I got COPD.....

And don't think It is because i have done nothing...I am not overweight and haven't have a beer belly... I am a kayak fisherman, played Basketball my whole life, I hunt, waterski, jog 5 kilo's a day and ride bicycle with my grand children..and being a farmer I walk at least 10 kilos a day...and the cherry was that 9 months ago I needed to have a triple arterial bypass...

Was because I am not healthy ?..no it was because I smoked..

So please, you can do it..for yourself...It amazing not to smoke !!

[Murphy2019 50 Days Smoke Free]

Well I hear you WashingMacgineMind .... I too have been on the smoking/nicotine replacement merry go round for as long as you possibly.... and I think that a certain percentage of the population have a greater propensity for addictions... I think at the end of these cycles I have realised that these last few years I have been practicing stopping..... and slowly slowly it actually starts to turn switches off in the brain. So practice.... practicing stopping and eventually it will work. Stop being so hard on yourself... I got sick so that kinda was a major incentive, pneumonia scarred my lungs ... so I actually feel terrible if I allow myself to smoke for any length of time now. The nicotine quick mist became a definite favourite for a long time... too embarrassed to tell you how long I used that lol !!!! Having said that ... it did actually work in the end ..... Anyway I think it is positive to share one’s journey, it makes the quitting process more powerful.... best of luck.... 🦋

[Quit4Money 1 Year Smoke Free 9 Months Smoke Free]

Hey WashingMachineMind ... can I borrow your username? lol that pretty much describes me. Sometimes I tell my brain to stop thinking already. You asked what any of us liked about smoking ... I think it's just addiction, boredom, a sense of reward, however twisted. And rather than putting those thoughts into the washing machine mind, why not think instead of things you like about being clean? More moolah, more energy, freedom. Good luck, you're in the right online place as many here have taken the plunge and never looked back.