I try and try to quit smoking. I use chantix and have off and on for 2 years. I can quit for days but then? -
one cig leads to packs.
I do so good. Why do I screw it up and how can I stop?
I have quit from 4 days to 2 months several times but keep going back.
How can I stop this?
hi baby_rost..
you are absolutely right, there is no such thing as one cigarette, been there done that... reminds me of the last 5 years of my smoking, i was constantly trying to quit.. tried all the medications, and the patches, and gum..
the good news is, that i did find something that worked for me, and have been nicotine free, for over 5 years now.. what finally worked for me, was to quit trying to do it alone.. i joined a support group, and have been attending meetings both on line, and locally.. on line voice meetings are as close as your computer, and you are welcome to attend while Still smoking.. 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.
i quit for 4 years before and started up again. need to control your behaviors. realize that smoking is very destructive. expensive. fatal. i quit for good in may this year. when my mother was diagnosed w/ small cell lung cancer. i took her to all her chemo therapy and radiation. i watched her lose weight. rubbed her back while she vomited. watched her lose her hair. eyebrows. her will. i sat in the cancer care at the hospital 4 days a week for months. seeing her go through that and knowing it was 100% from smoking...... helped me quit. her cancer was from smoking. nothing else. i chewed like 3 pieces of nicotine gum a day for about 3 weeks. then i just quit the gum too. you have to want it. dont flirt w/ the idea of smoking. or the just one cigarette idea. i have quit drinking and drugs. and cigarettes. i crave cigarettes more than drinking and drugs. crave it more often. cigarettes are bad. they kill. they are expensive. get the will power. get pissed. get some nicotine gum. and quit. forever.
well keep using it as well as trying to keep your hands busy...most smokers feel that they need to have something in there hand but try to fill that space with something like a jig-saw puzzle..
plus you need the will power too stop every time you need a smoke try to take your mind of it...by doing something else stressful situations seem to trigger these addictions so try to stay calm and stay away from other smokers as the temptation will drive you crazy
I recommend cutting down gradually until your quit date. I did this. I cut down to half a pack. I did this for three months. I smoked by the puff, not by the cigarette. I took only the amount of nicotine that was necessary to satisfy my urge to smoke and put the rest of the cigarette out.
After doing this for three months I quit cold turkey.
Now I-m eating more candy to distract me but its been 10 months. I have urges but they don-t last more than a second or two. If they-re lasting more than that then you-re concentrating on the cigarette. Don-t do it. Concentrate on something else.
if it doesnt work, stop using it
The only thing you can do, is not buy any cigs.
You have to stay focused and keep your will strong so that you do not give in. Alot of what smokers face is a mental addiction, You being able to quit for that long is a sign that you are long past the physical addiction to the nicotine, but now need to break the habbit of the motions of smoking, you know what I mean? The pulling one out of the pack, the putting it in your mouth, the lighting of the cig, and all of that. I had one friend, who whenever they got a craving, would chew a piece of gum, another that kept -Dum Dum Suckers- around so that when they hit a craving, they got a small piece of candy instead of a ciggerette.
You just gotta get past that routine part of smoking a cig after certain points in your day and you will be fine. Your essentially cutting out a part of your life that you are used to doing, and once you are able to tell yourself -I dont need to do that anymore.- -No, I don-t need to smoke-. Or do one of the things I mentioned above, keep suckers around or gum, and do that instead of smoking durring the times you would smoke durring the day. While the candy isn-t the best of thing to turn to either, its a better habbit breaker than smoking a cig, and its meant to be there as a help. You go outside with your lollipop, you say to yourself -Why am I outside with this? I can be inside!- go inside, enjoy your lolli, and call it a day. Once you can do that, you will be golden =).