I just cant quit smoking :( help? -
I quit smoking on Saturday at 5pm and haven-t touched a cigarette since...
But I desperately, desperately, desperately want one. Its all I can think about. I can-t even get up for wanting a smoke and im panicked about how to get through Christmas without cigarettes.
Would it be acceptable to smoke say 2 a day and thats it? One on waking up, one before bed? Surely thats got better health implications than 20 a day?
I can-t think straight :(
I think you just went about it the wrong way. You have already set yourself up for tough times because you have the wrong mindset. What I would do is just take it up again - easy now! - only so you can quit the right way this time.
Sure less cigarettes is better, but it won-t make you get through this either. Any cigarette will keep the addiction alive. So I would suggest you don-t put any pressure on yourself and just smoke as usual. Just quit after Xmas (and NY). But plan to quit as follows:
Cold turkey is good - but do it a little differently. You just need sort out your head BEFORE you quit. Trying to do it afterwards is what makes it hard.
Be glad you don-t have to do that anymore - that you are getting rid of this filthy addiction. Never think you will miss it - that-s what makes it hard. But instead see yourself as happy, content and proud that you-ve done it.
If you prepare yourself properly, you can easily override the withdrawal pangs completely and it won-t bother you at all to be in situations or with people where before you smoked. I know that from experience - my partner and plenty of my friends still smoked all around me when I quit - no problems at all!
Here-s what you need to do in very, very short form:
1. Decide that you get nothing out of smoking (it’s only the truth)
2. Pick a quit-date so you have some time to prepare
3. Look forward to quitting (get excited about it) - essential!
4. Quit… easily
I had the same theory you had, I was smoking about a pack a day. I wanted to quit so I slowly slimmed it down to about 10 a day, then I finally went from 10 down to 5, 1 in the morning, 1 after i get off the school bus, 1 after i get a bite to eat, 1 after dinner and 1 before bed, then i ended up slimming it down to only smoking 3 a day. 1 in the morning 1 after i get off the school bus and 1 after dinner and to this day I still only smoke about 3 cigarettes a day. Or what you can do is, make yourself a budget and tell youself this money is for cigarettes, this money is for blah blah blah. If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a week then you set 6.50 on your dresser and put the rest in your bank account or give it to someone you trust and give your banking card to a trusted friend, after you spend that 6.50 on your pack, and when it-s gone, you break all of your lighters and matches
First , determine what type of addiction do you have ?
1) - Nicotine addiction : (The good feelings that result when an addictive smoke is present — and the bad feelings when it-s absent)
What are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?
* irritability * impatience * hostility * anxiety * depressed mood * difficulty concentrating * restlessness * decreased heart rate * increased appetite or weight gain
If you have it , read these e-books I hope they can help you
http://ffnicotine.com/free.html
http://www.whyquit.com/joel/#book
Nicotine gum/nicotine patch (It is used as an aid in smoking cessation) + you should go to a doctor .
2) - Psychological addiction :
Your real job in giving up smoking lies in REALLY UNDERSTANDING that you don-t NEED to smoke.
You remove the psychological addiction to smoking.
You will never be truly free until you realize that smoking is not a real pleasure and that when you stop, you WILL NOT BE depriving ourselves of a real pleasure and then you will not only be able to give up smoking for good but you will enjoy doing it !
GO AHEAD , YOU CAN DO IT .. YOU CAN =)
one or 20..its all bad for you equally..sorry that thinking doesnt work. because if its one, you-ll want another and another..thats how the addiction started right..
your best bet is to do the taper off method..instead of cold turkey.
set a date to quit by..usually try a month from when you decide to start cutting back. cut back each day eventually getting down to a few a day to none..and by your quit date..dont smoke any more. you need support too. dont be around those who smoke, or go to -trigger- places. avoid those -trigger- places that you smoke most often at..in the car, at work, on the computer, drinking coffee etc. use gum or sunflower seeds to satisfy the oral part..the biggest part of quitting isnt the withdrawl, but the associations. its hard, but if you have will power you can do it..but you must really want to do it.
i-ve been quit for over 4 years now, and there are times when i still crave. i even dream about smoking at times..you-ll never fully get over it..tobacco is THAT addicting..but i-m at the point where i can be around smokers and i-m fine. good luck..you will feel much better after you quit.
Why don-t you try the patch? What your experiencing is nicotine withdrawal. Patches can regulate the nicotine while you deal with the mental urge to smoke. You can try smoking less and less over time until you quit completely but it is harder to do because you are losing the nicotine AND the hand to mouth habits at the same time.
hello, I feel your pain... i was a smoker for many many years and i tried quitting at least 10 times. I finally gave up on quitting but i ran into an alternative. About 6 months ago a friend introduced me to electronic cigarettes. I was skeptical and told him to get them out of my face. he then started to explain the benefits of them. They are smokeless so ur not inhaling the cyanide, tar and ammonia in the tobacco and he said i could smoke them in my office. I finally tried some called blu cigs and were amazed. I haven-t had a real cigarette in 5 months and i-m going strong. they also have different nicotine levels. They are really awesome and very affordable. check them out. i hope this is going to help you.
If it-s been almost 3 days, you-ve passed the worst of the withdrawal symptoms. I gets much better I promise. Think about all the benefits of not starting smoking again: The money you-ll save and the health problems you-ll avoid. I know it-s hard but it-s doable. When you get cravings, you just need to distract yourself for a little while until it passes. In a month you-ll notice you hardly ever crave a cigarette.
iv tried several times this year to quit, because we cant afford to smoke especially both of us, i decided im the one that hasnt got any money coming in so i should be the one that gives up but i did it because i felt i had to each time and not because i wanted to and tbh it doesnt work unless you really really want to. iv been more successful the first time i tried this year as i didnt tell anyone and that way i felt proud of myself for staying off them and if i had a relapse noone would know.
No it will only lead you back to smoking again. I gave up smoking but cannot not smoke when im having a drink. ive been drinking and smoking the past 4 years now and i would love to be able to give smoking up when i drink too cause lately im going out more and smoking more and i really feel it. i went to the gym and was finding it hard to catch my breath and i know its cause of those damn things plus i was getting severe cravings last night. name one good thing about them?
Nope. Once you allow yourself those two, you won-t see the harm in adding one more in the middle of the day, and you-ll just go back to your old cycle.
Try doing something else to keep your mind off it. Chew gum and get off the internet and do something interesting :-)
Don-t give up smoking! do what I did. I just told myself I was not going to buy any more smokes just smoke freebies. nobody gave me one so I haven-t had one for 15 years, ! mind you I don-t have many (any friends) that smoke, it helped!
I don-t make you smell my butt, don-t make me smell yours.
But, seriously go for small goals where you-re not allowed to smoke for like 24 hours. Slowly make it longer and eventually stop and you-ll feel much better about it.
use nicotine patches. if u put one over each eye, u cant find ure smokes!!
sorry, i quit, and it was hard, u just have to wanna do it, and it will come easier in time. will power is best.
No, its best to go cold turkey bare it out. If you start on 2 a day, you will want more and more.
The only way to stop is to stop fully
Why don-t you try a stop smoking aid? It-s really difficult for most people to just quit outright. Some nicotine gum might help you.
the first three to four days are the most difficult - stick with it and don-t give in, your life will be so much better without them.
so smoke no one is stopping u.
Well, you could try just one a day...that-d be better. Although, you should stop all smoking.
hi Anna..
congrats on you time away from the smokes, that-s a big deal... for me the problem was that i couldn-t just smoke 2 a day... invariably i was right back to my previous level.. while cutting back works for some i was not one of those.. good luck on your quit!!
if you do light up its not the end of the world, however you start from day one, and not where you left off.. i had to quit several times before i got the quit to stick, that meant detoxing several times, its not fun, and many never get around to quitting again, so whatever you do don-t quit quitting..
the good news is that i now have been quit for over 5 years.. i quit trying to quit alone, and joined a support group.. i attend nicotine anonymous meetings both locally and on line.. on line voice meetings are as close as your computer, and you can attend while still smoking, before actually attempting a quit.. however you decide to quit good luck, there is simply no wrong way to quit!!
Nicotine Anonymous is a Non-Profit 12 Step Fellowship of men and women helping each other live nicotine-free lives. Nicotine Anonymous welcomes all those seeking freedom from nicotine addiction, including those using cessation programs and nicotine withdrawal aids. The primary purpose of Nicotine Anonymous is to help all those who would like to cease using tobacco and nicotine products in any form. The Fellowship offers group support and recovery using the 12 Steps as adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous to achieve abstinence from nicotine.