Giving up and staying that way

[bakeandfry]

Hi everyone, im on a short break from a working holiday, but when i started this work i decided to give smoking the flick (or a very goid attempt at it anyway)
I have been a smoker for over 20 years, so far tomorrow it will be 2 weeks since i had a smoke.
Funny enough i dont feel the "tounguing" need for a smoke but i feel as though i miss it at some compacity.
Im interested in how other former smokers handled the quiting and the weird missing smoking feeling (sorry that is the best way to describe it for written word, ive never been good at written word, speak it fine verbaly, spelling and writing not so much, but thats another story)

[cat_mioux]

I quit smoking 2 and half years ago - cold turkey from a pack a day.

I have not had a relapse because I know if I have even a few puffs of a cigarette those pathways in my brain, the addiction to nicotine, would light up and become activated again and I would most likely crave another cigarette in 20 mins.

Most people who quit smoking miss smoking at first. It was your 'friend' in every situation. Bored? Smoke. Stressed? Smoke Lonely? Smoke Need some energy? Smoke? Want to celebrate? Smoke

We smoked because we were addicted to nicotine. But we also associated every mood and situation with smoking because we smoked pretty much all the time. It took me many months to finally realise I didn't need to smoke. I handled all of the above - emotions and events like a non smoker did.

Be careful about 'romancing' the cigarette. You don't really miss something that was controlling you and slowly killing you and literally burning all your money and was never satisfied with just one 😉

BTW Congratulations on your quit!

[imastawka]

So very glad you succeeded Miss Mioux.

I have wondered over time whether you succumbed or not.

I'm very proud of you.

[cat_mioux]

It's wonderful to be acknowledged as a successful quitter! Thanks ima 🙂 and thanks for the kudo's guys ♥

[bakeandfry]

That is interesting, considering it a friend in all situations, that does make sence.

[mloreason]

I had a psych professor at uni who was a smoker. I was actually in his postgraduate "addictive behaviours" class. He knew everything there was to know about addiction but he still couldn't give them up. He tried many times. I used to be a smoker at that time and he summed it up perfectly for me when he said that it gets to the point where you can't do anything without a cigarette. You can't enjoy anything without a cigarette. Everything you do you think I'll just have a cigarette first.
Nicabate patches did it for me. Good luck.

[mloreason]

Yes well done cat.

I used to believe I could never give up especially knowing that an expert on addiction had never found a way. But I did it. Still I couldn't have done it cold turkey.

[go-tazz]

Your body has been trained to follow an action on a regular basis and you now just have to "un-train" it,(there

were certain "triggers" that would start those actions).

Those "triggers" are your urges to smoke when you do a certain action where in the past you would

automatically light up,(just do something else when you get those "triggers").

I gave up over 10 years ago because I had bone grafts that wouldn't take as I still smoked and the surgeon

told me if I didn't give up I would have a floppy finger,(I mangled my hand in an industrial accident).

I had my last smoke just before stepping out of the car to enter the hospital,

Smoking dilates the blood vessels and it prevents the full healing process.

Good luck with it,(If I "felt" like a smoke in the past I only had to look at my finger and the feeling would pass).

[mloreason]

Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times (Mark Twain)

lol perfect

[cat_mioux]

Congrats mlor and gotazz on giving up! It's not easy. I remember mssing my 'after work' cigarette in the car park the most. I could have almost cried. But I got through it. Now I look forward to getting into my car and cranking up the music and singling on the drive home.

You find better ways to fill in your time and get so much more done. I used to fill literally hours in a day smoking. Ughhh!

[not_for_sale2024]

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@cat_mioux wrote:

Congrats mlor and gotazz on giving up! It's not easy. I remember mssing my 'after work' cigarette in the car park the most. I could have almost cried. But I got through it. Now I look forward to getting into my car and cranking up the music and singling on the drive home.

You find better ways to fill in your time and get so much more done. I used to fill literally hours in a day smoking. Ughhh!

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I think it's great that you can sing on the way home now. Previously, I imagine it would have been..."Monday morning (cough) seems so bad (cough), everybody (cough cough) seems to naaag me (wheeze)". Or at least it was pretty much that way for me at one stage.