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Post by Pitchfork on Feb 12, 2011 13:32:05 GMT -5
I woke up this morning and decided I AM GOING TO QUIT SMOKING!
I drove to work telling myself THIS WILL BE A DAY WITH NO SMOKING!
I'm sitting at my desk, thinking BOY I WILL SURE FEEL BETTER AND BREATHE EASIER NOW THAT I AM NOT A SMOKER!
And every time this happens, the word "smoke" hovers in my mind, and the next thought is inevitably "gosh, that's a great idea!"
Are there any ex-smokers who can offer some advice on making the transition without immediately relapsing or driving myself crazy?
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Post by America Young Fusion on Feb 12, 2011 16:56:54 GMT -5
I woke up this morning and decided I AM GOING TO SCISSOR KICK THE FIRST NUN I SEE!
I rode the bus to work screaming THIS WILL BE A DAY WITH PLENTY OF KICKS!
She gets in and I'm sitting across her at the other end declaring YOU! YOU ARE THE NUN I AM GOING TO ASSAULT WITH MY LETHAL KICKS!
The young Dominican kid at the wheel takes the bullet, and everybody applauds. The chicks working at Subway give me a free meal and all the old people smile saying I am a true gentleman for making that son of a bitch bleed.
Are there any girls here?
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Post by Weasel on Feb 12, 2011 18:36:49 GMT -5
Are there any girls here? They'd better not be nuns. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 18:49:42 GMT -5
Seems like you aren't getting any serious responses. My post here might not be any more useful, as I've never been a smoker, so I haven't had a need to quit. I have lost a lot of weight over the years, though, and it shares some similarities with smoking.
1: It's an addiction
2: It requires you to completely change your life
3: In the end, it's 100% about willpower
The first thing I would suggest is making an appointment with a doctor to see if any types of medicine would be a good idea. Cold turkey sounds great from a man's standpoint (I beat cigarettes all on my own!), but the goal here is to quit. It really shouldn't matter how you do it, so long as it gets done. If medicine can help, by all means, take that route.
The second thing to consider is that you're going to get fat. Or at least, fatter. Cigarettes increase your metabolism while also working as a bit of an appetite suppressant. On top of that, you're most likely going to exchange a nicotine habit for snacking. One thing I would advise on that front is to take your anger and cravings and use them to your advantage. If you can apply that energy towards exercising, you'll be killing two birds with one stone.
Another very important factor is your environment. If you live with smokers, chances are that this attempt won't work unless everyone quits and sticks with it. It's very hard to kick an addiction when you see people enjoying it right in front of you all the time. Your work environment might be a little easier to cope with, since many states now have laws that prohibit public smoking. When your co-workers come back from one of their many, many cigarette breaks, you can smell the stench on their clothes and use it as a reminder of what you do not want to be anymore. Of course, if you're one of those types who thrives on the gossip obtained from cigarette breaks, this might be more difficult.
In the end, though, it all comes down to you. Everyone has the capacity to quit. You've already chosen to do that, which is a huge first step. The hardest part, though is pushing through the temptation and sticking with it. Perhaps you won't find my advice relevant or useful, but I sincerely hope you're able to be successful.
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Post by susanismyalias on Feb 12, 2011 19:00:34 GMT -5
Jason X has a good point. It's nigh impossible to quit if people are always smoking around you. I know people who've managed though.
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Post by Revolver Ocelot on Feb 13, 2011 1:47:53 GMT -5
I quit about a year ago and it was actually surprisingly easy, almost unnoticeable. I was working on a local film production and the DP introduced me to E-Cigs (electronic cigarettes). I decided to give them a shot since they apparently saved this guy a shit ton of money seeing as how the fluid cartridges are so much less expensive than cigarettes and supposedly less detrimental to your health since you're inhaling vapor instead of smoke. So I went to Volcano Cigs and ordered their starter pack and some cartridges.
It was an interesting experience. The thing about the e-cig cartridges is that they last 5 times as long as a cigarette, so you never know when to stop. You smoke what you need and then move on. In the beginning, they just weren't doing the trick and I was smoking the e-cig and real cigs simultaneously.
After a while though, it really started to work for me as I began experimenting with the different flavors and strengths Volcano offers. I wasn't quite getting all my nicotine needs though, so I was still smoking real cigs, but I'd nonetheless gone from smoking about a pack and a half a day to three cigs a day as needed, which is pretty fucking significant.
Awhile after that and I was totally off the real cigs, and awhile yet after that and I noticed that I was barely touching the e-cig anymore out of both lack of need and the fact that it was just a hassle keeping it charged all the time. At a certain point I realized I hadn't touched the e-cig in several days and I'd essentially quit smoking without even realizing it. I went through withdrawals, but they were really mild and I didn't really notice them until I looked back at myself being a douchebag (or a bigger one than usual) for a couple weeks, and I had some difficulty breathing which I now attribute to withdrawals as well.
At this point, I haven't touched the e-cig in about three months and I have no real desire to, which kinda sucks because I still have a stack of cartridges and $70 worth of equipment between the e-cig, atomizer, charger, etc. wasting away that I spent good money on. But hey, I kicked the habit and that's worth far more.
If only I could stop drinking.
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Post by Ike on Feb 13, 2011 19:52:17 GMT -5
There are non-nicotine drops for those, you know. You could just breathe peppermint all day.
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Post by Warchief Onyx on Feb 14, 2011 13:11:55 GMT -5
Quitting cold turkey is about the worst thing you can do, as nicotine is a chemically addictive substance and you will get some nasty withdrawal without weaning your system off it. See your doctor and discuss your options, as there's a ton of them.
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Post by camanchi on Feb 14, 2011 17:02:27 GMT -5
The wife quit by slowly cutting down on how much he smoked everyday.
If he has to drive somewhere (like work) and back. He brings 3 smokes- one for the way there, one for after lunch and one for the way home. He'd purposely limit himself and limit his access to cigarettes to cut down (leave him debit or money with me when he was at work). He also drank a lot of water and always had gum or almonds, or some healthy snack food. He would go for hour long walks with the dog to deal with the 'ansty' feeling and metablosim changes.
You can do it! I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2011 17:06:20 GMT -5
If your "wife" is a "he", you must lead a very interesting life, indeed.
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Post by camanchi on Feb 15, 2011 8:52:49 GMT -5
lol oops. A friend calls everyone's significant other, regardless of gender, "The wife", so I got into a really bad habit of slipping that out on forums and in real life. :3 I've been trying to go for spousal unit now.
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Post by kitten on Feb 15, 2011 11:10:43 GMT -5
<  |
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Post by thethird on Feb 15, 2011 11:53:07 GMT -5
damn it kitten beat me to it.
(IT'S ALL I COULD THINK READING THE TITLE)
good luck pitchfork! i've had a few relatives try to quit (and one succeed) and it's always been quite the struggle.
YOU CAN DO IT
(i have no advice, just WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT)
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Post by susanismyalias on Feb 15, 2011 12:57:41 GMT -5
< This will never help. I want to smoke now. |
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Post by Ryu the Grappler on Feb 18, 2011 23:15:55 GMT -5
I'm reminded of this Flinstones ad for some reason.
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