Forums > Social Chat > Have you quit smoking?

Posted: 27th Nov 2004
My friends Gordon who was a very heavy smoker back in the day says that the technique he used was to just forget about it.
I personaly resist the baccy temptation by displacing the addiction to my object manipulation stuff.
Obvisouse stuff but i hope it helps alil.
Good luck

fire leads to creation

Posted: 27th Nov 2004
Hullo

I haven't posted in AAAAGES!!!

Okay.. I DID end up quitting smoking.. but to be honest the situation I was in was kinda helpful in terms of physiological balance.

Hmm I don't think I wanna say too much more on that!

Anyways.. I was a very heavy smoker.

All I can say is.. the moodiness PASSES, you will not feel horrible/anxious forever... in fact a VERY short time period when you consider the rest of your life (i.e. avoiding cancer and longevity etc).

Yes you WILL feel yuk for a tiny while though. Don't despair e.g. after 1 week and you are not feeling 100%.. you WILL feel 100% again, but it will just take a tiny bit longer (it took me probably 1 month (its not long in the long run remember) to feel 100% ish).

I recommend going and having a float (if you can.. which is like sensory deprivation tank floating in water) or at least a massage (it will probably make you feel less like a cigarette because its actually relaxing you not just tricking your brain into thinking it is relaxed).

Avoid coffee.. alcohol.. drink herbal teas etc.. try and avoid super sugary foods but at the end of the day if that's what your craving..go for it (its not a cigarette therefore its OK)

Be kind to yourself.. treat yourself.. understand its a slow process but persistance pays off.

I personally cut down gradually (i.e. 30 to 20, to 10 per day.. then down from there.) It took me about 6 months to quit. Don't give up.. anyone can quit.. you will recover that feeling of health (which you'll find you have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy once you actually ARE healthy and cig-free)

That whole, Wow I thought I felt okay before, but NOW? I feel amazing. (This is not an exaggeration, you really will feel like you've been given a new body that is faster, fitter, calmer, less moody etc in the long run).

I could write a book on this subject..

I would wish you luck but you don't need it cos you've already got everything you need to quite right where you are (YOU!).

Posted: 27th Nov 2004

Written by: midnight cat

---

Don't give up.. anyone can quit..

---

OK now I'm just confuzzled.. *scratches head*

What a wonderful miracle if only we could look through each other's eyes for an instant.
Thoreau

Posted: 27th Nov 2004
I think its more of the actual what to do with my hands thing...

My will power is sky high... I've quit doing worse things to my body this year!

The thing is that I'm finding that most of the anxiety I have ever experienced when I tried to quit is within the hand to mouth relationship you develop after years of smoking.

I guess writing should be the best way. I have found that typing away helps quite a lot. That shouldn't make sense though cause most of my cigs used to be when i was at my computer...

I guess I just type faster.

hugs
k

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
one idea i heard, to cut back, if not quit totally, was to isolate where you smoke. if you smoke inside, do an uber-tidy day, vacuum, and spray nice smelling suff all over the place, and then when you want a smoke, go outside, cos u dont want your house to reek like smoke again. same with your car.

"beg beg grovel beg grovel"
"master"
--FSA

"There was an arse there, i couldn't help myself"
--Rougie

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
DROME!!!

Haven't seen you in forever, sweetie! How are you?

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Hmm, my story:

A few years ago, while I was at college, i tried, half heartedly to quit smoking several times, it never worked!

I finally realised that Smoking was REALLY getting to my health, and that I had to do something about it.

After talking it through with my girlfriend at the time (also a smoker) she was (insert sarcasm) really helpful, and said that she didn't believe that I could do it, having tried so many times before.

Not being one to turn down a challenge (I'm a stubborn sometimes) I drunkenly stood on the bar in my local pub on New years eve, and announce over the speaker system that I was going to quit.

It was an absolute nightmare for about 2 or 3 days, then the cravings began to ease, after about 2 weeks or so, I couldn't bear the thought of smoking a cigarette!

4 years later, its been strange, now the smell of a cigarette is totally repulsive to me, if I am unlucky enough to get the taste of the smoke in my mouth, it makes me feel sick!

Whenever I go out to a pub or club, I wake up in the morning and smel the smoke on my clothes and think to myself: "wow, I used to smell like that all the time".

Good luck to you if you try, its a long, hard journey, but its well worth the effort for the improvement in quality of life, your sense of smell gets better, as does taste. Not to mention the amount of money you save!!

My state of mind is not yours to define!

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
To be honest I'm not doing that badly... Thanks Bird for your story as its quite helpful in knowing that I can do this!

Mig thanks... I dont drive and dont live in my own house so your suggestions are kinda weird plus I quit bye bye syonara! Me dont need them anymore... I'm just looking for somethig to do with my hands...

Ah whatever I dont think anyone has quite understood....

Lightning:

You rock! Me well!



k

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Drome, let me give you some hints that I share with patients who are contemplating quitting smoking. Most of these things come BEFORE they're supposed to quit, but let's just put the cart before the horse here.

*Analyze the situations in which you most crave a smoke. For example, after a meal, after sex, in the car, while talking on the phone, etc.
*Devise a "fidget" that will occupy your mouth and/or hands when you really crave a smoke. Examples include chewing gum, playing with "Silly Putty," having a lollipop, etc.
*Discuss your decision with your friends and family and ask them to support you by not smoking around you and by warning you before they all go to have a smoke so that you can stay away.
*Nicotine is a MAJORLY addictive drug. It's one of the Big Boys, up there with cocaine and heroin (probably closer to heroin than coke). Don't feel awful if you relapse. Just set a new quit date and start again. Except consider using a nicotine replacement therapy (gum, patch, lozenges) as an aid.
*CONGRATULATIONS! The first 2-3 weeks are the hardest. Just stick with it, girl! You can do it!

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
you know the funny thing is I dont feel that I need them anymore... I guess also having additional health problems orther than my horrible smokers cough makes a HUGE difference...
Also my dad quit recently after having surgery for a tripple A (AbdominalAorticAneyurism). Hes fine guys dont worry! So its kinda stupid of me to be all uptight about it as he smoked for 47 years... a total fourty years longer than I have...

The only thing is I'm picking at stuff... Anything I find... I'm annoying myself more than others... And typing seems to help loads...

thanks doc
k

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
I've smoked for about 20 years and recently I cut right down cos my lungs are totally messed up.
I have had persistant bronchitis asthma etc since I was a little kid and I was stupid to start.

Oh well, I'm stupid, I admit it.

Anyhow the reckon knitting or crocheting helps as it keeps your hands busy.

And try chewing the end of a biro, it keeps your mouth busy.

I roll one up and then just hold it and play with it for ages before I light it.
As roll ups go out all the time you end up doing thatloads even when it's lit. So doing that fools me into thinking I am smoking long before I am.

Also I light one, have a couple of drags andlet it go out. Then later, instead of having another I just have more of that one.
I also steal my blokes dog ends and smoke them. It makes my baccy last longer so I can fool myself into thinking I have smoked less than I have.

No, that's not helpful, is it?

Well, good luck with it, it sonds like you are over the worst.
Well done.

Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
"As roll ups go out all the time"

Only if you dont use Swan rolling papers as they put on the nasty chemicals to keep the thing lit, so you finish your tobacco and buy more quicker.

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Swan? Yuk yuk yuk

Rizla for me.

Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Exactly.

Silver Rizla.

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
They're new arn't they?

I've never tried them.

Are they thinner than blue?

Are they any good?

Eat when you're hungry
Sleep where it's dry
No one is ever what they seem
Gabriel King - The Wild Road

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
no not veyr new

yes thinner

yes quite good

....

thanks!

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Yes very good hactually.



and there are also new small silver rizlas too.

www.rizla.co.uk

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
You are meant to be talking about stopping here not advertising!

Good Luck Dromepixie. Just take it a day at a time. Put all the money you would have spent on smoking into a jar and at the end of each month treat yourself to something you otherwise couldn't have afforded. It will give you something to aim for.

Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
funny how a 'quit smoking' thread turned into a 'which rizla to use when rolling smokes' thread.

i'm heading into month 3 of my 6th try at quitting smoking. hurrah me! all seems to be going well. my trick was telling myself that i don't smoke.

i may crave it....BUT I DON'T SMOKE so i don't have one

i may be offered one.....BUT I DON'T SMOKE so i don't take it

i may contemplate buying an incredible overpriced pack at the stupid vending machines at the pub while drunk....BUT I DON'T SMOKE so i walk away

you get the picture.

it becomes a mantra. and after a while you know that you're a healthy, nice smelling, white teethed, clear lunged, non-smoker that is regaining their sense of taste and smell. it does get easier as time goes on.

as for the hand/mouth fixation, that's harder. suckers (maybe they're called lollies here)? carrot sticks? celery's a good one too.

good luck.

robyn

my state of mind creates my world

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
a very cole relitive of mine is dieng of cancer because they could quite
THEY HAVE NOW!

Posted: 28th Nov 2004


Neeeeeeeeeeeeooooooowwwwww.

That would be the last post flying straight over my head.

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
sorry lol they couldnt quit and a close relitve

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
*pssssst* if you click edit you can change ur mistakes
rather than randomly posting to get a gallery

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
yea, its always a bitch to give up something that you really enjoy, whether its out of principles or for healths sake..

i tried not eating meat for a while out of principles, but it turned out that i crave something much more when i cant have it..

yes, back to the point i am a smoker and i have tried to quit several times..

the first time was really really REALLY easy.. me and a few friends decided that we quit on someones 18th birthday, and i knew that and stuck to it.. when that day came, i didnt touch another ciggie because I DIDNT SMOKE, so i didnt need it.. then drinking rolled around, and i thougth, well, after five months of not smoking, what harm will it do to have just one? EEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! bad idea.. that one led to another two weeks later and another a week after that and so on and so on, and now im smoking again.. hmmmm..

so my advice.. find a good reason to stop (obviously health is a good reason but its cliche, so that doesnt work for me. try a girlfriend, or a pact or something of the sort) for me cold turkey works the best, cutting down slowly doesnt work cuz you can always say, well i smoke 2 cigs a day, so thats good enough.. when do you decide not to do it anymore??

BUT, once you reach that stage of healthiness and clean smelling fingers and clothes, DONT LOOK BACK!!! WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT SMOKE!!!!!! its all downhill from there if you do.. im living proof of that. hihi

good luck.. we believe in you

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
one of the best things I found to cope when I was giving up was to move or stand up whenever you feel like a ciggy. Don't sit and start thinking about it - move away form where you are sitting.

If you would normally have one after dinner - get up and move spots, do the washing up or anything other than sit there and think about the ciggy.

A fridge full of celery helps too - no fat, and can be eaten instead of smoking a durrie - beleive me, after 2 weeks of this you wont want a ciggy or any more celery

it passes, but for some it takes a long time. I haven't had a ciggy for over 5 years now, but occassionally get quite romantic about my old smoking days, my brain tries to suggest to me that I could get away with having just one - drome - DONT TRUST YOUR BRAIN at this vulnerable time - it's trying to play tricks on you to get you to have a ciggy - recognise when this is happening and you will be the stronger for it...

sorry for the rambling...

good luck

Posted: 28th Nov 2004
Hi,
I quit about 2 years ago after smoking for 11 years. The hardest thing for me was starting to quit but I had that forced on me by running out of 'baccy while being stranded in the bush a long, loonngg way from the nearest shop.
I found that taking it one day at a time, then 1 week at a time, then 1 month etc really helped. The gourmet jelly beans and long walks on the beach also really helped. All the sugar from the jelly beans cost me a tooth but hey, I can always get false teeth, can't get false lungs. I still get the occasional craving, especially after a stressful day but the craving passes in a minute or two.

All the best on the quitting.

"What drives life is...a little electric current kept up by the sunshine." Albert Szent-Gyorgi

Posted: 29th Nov 2004
*pixie stands with smug grin*

Written by: stickman

---

try a girlfriend, or a pact or something of the sort) for me cold turkey works the best, cutting down slowly doesnt work cuz you can always say, well i smoke 2 cigs a day, so thats good enough.. when do you decide not to do it anymore??

---

Amazing words or wisdom here except I'm female and not particularly interested in the same sex at this point in time...

But hey thats cool who said wisdom and telepathy had to go together ...

*funny pixie mood*

anyhows I quit four days ago and feel very weird... Sleep has not been fun and its all kinda upsetting as in America it difficult to get a decent cuppa tea! I'm not taking the mick its true!

stickman: cold turkey is the only way, for me anyhows... I had to quit another type of smoking before the cigarettes... its been a month for that (yes I am totally sober and surprisingly lively) and its been very difficult. I have not been in a great mood and my body does not like me right now... Soon I will start running!!! Bought some wicked trainers... So expensive that I've got to start running! lol Life is great you just gotta take the bull by the horns...

I think that what helped me is that I'm in an isolated situation. My father quit after surgery recently... I felt I had a buddy to quit with and the role model who has always smoked around me suddenly was not doing it...

So anyhows ARG... I want decent sleep and my dreams... I guess I can leave that for another day...

Right now I'm on an acheivement high and not planning on getting down anytime soon.

huggles
k

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 29th Nov 2004

Written by: Ade

---

drome - DONT TRUST YOUR BRAIN at this vulnerable time - it's trying to play tricks on you to get you to have a ciggy - recognise when this is happening and you will be the stronger for it...

sorry for the rambling...

good luck

---

love it
trust, you arent rambling
k

JUGGLEwithyourmind!

Posted: 29th Nov 2004
If you want to give up without relying on gum etc then you should read the Alan Carr book 'The Easy Way To Give Up Smoking'. Its not very long so it doesn't take ages to read and its amazing. Everyone I know whos read it has stopped and actually felt happy about it with no cravings. My mum smoked for over 30 years about 30 a day and had tried so many times to give up. She read the book and hasn't had one for nearly 3 years and not missed it!

Slicing the Loaf as we speak.

I need it..... Trust me!

Posted: 29th Nov 2004
yea drome, im planning on quitting ciggies eventually too (thats a horrible thing to say, this way ill never get round to it )

but i had to quit other forms of smoking too, but not for healths sake, but more for sanity's sake.. i wasnt myself anymore.. but since i still smoke ciggies, that has been really easy.. and yes, im bouncy and enjoying my life to the max as well.. its been almost three weeks, 87 more years to go!! woohoooo!!!! im well on my way

good luck!