Who has succesfully quit smoking cigarettes? -
I recently quit after smoking for about ten years, and this is by far the hardest thing I have ever done.
When does it get easier? Does it get easier!!??
Help!!
Good for you, and you can do it!
I quit after 30 plus years of smoking, using a medication precribed by the doc which was fantastic, I had no trouble at all. It was a nine week programme, but of course prescribed meds are not for everyone.
One piece of really helpful advice I was given was drink LOTS of water to help flush the nictine (the addictive agent) from your system.
Also, if it gets too hard, try the patches or gum (you can get them over the counter in Australian pharmacists, not sure where you are), they really do help.
Most -cravings- actually only last for about 30 seconds, if you can get through that they decrease in frequency fairly quickly, but the patches etc do help.
AND, seriously if you do relapse, don-t crucify yourself. Just start over, everyone lapses, but it-s not important in the scheme of things, whereas giving up permanently IS!
I-ve put a couple of links which might help below.
Well done so far and good luck! :-)
I have heard that smoking is harder to give up than heroin. The reason being that it is simple to break a physical addiction, but smoking satsfies so many other urges that can be legally and socially acceptably indulged in. Even all the smoking bans are not going to have a real cultural effect for many years, and I think that there will eventually be a strong rebellious sub culture of smokers!
All the people I know who have been regular smokers have not totally given up. But my mother has done pretty well. She used to be 20 a day for years, and she gave up in her late 30-s (and during her pregnancies), and it has pretty much stuck. She does havr the occasionla one, but she doesn-t fall off the wagon as it were.
I think that the best thing you can do is identify your triggers, and be aware of those vulnerabilities. Put in place a load of displacement activities (but preferably not eating like a total hog!), and you will gradually notice that you need them less. But I do not think that you will ever be truly free of the urge full time. That is not as bad as it sounds - the occasional f a g is not going to do you any harm, unless you feel that total abstinence is the only way forward.
Good luck!
10 years is a long time. My brother quit smoking after 3 years. I asked him how he did it and if it bothers him:
stop thinking of them, eat/bit/hold in mouth something else (toothpicks, sunflowers etc.), you will eventually just forget about the need for them. don-t think it gets easier, don-t think about it at all.
what he did was just play a hell of a lot of video-games =/ i suggest going to the gym for a healthier alternative
btw: he was age 17-20
I quit when I was up to 2 packs a day. It is the hardest thing I ever did. It does get easier. It-s a habit, and habits are hard to break. Little by little it will get easier. Just keep away from those cigarettes. You will be so glad.
Good luck to you. Hang in there.
You sound stressed, if I was you I-d go buy a pack of cigarettes, some nicotine will set you straight...
Remember, nobody likes a quitter!
Don-t think it gets easier for a long while maybe 15 years. Then you cant stand the smell of smoke or any one that smokes..
That-s what I have found...
Never been hooked on cigs.
I wish you the best of luck. Your efforts are truly worth it.