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bloody hell it's only day 4


pwal³

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Just keep going one day at a time ...if I can do it you can do it .

I wish I could tell you I had the will power to quit when I did ...the truth is I didn't .I had gotten some kind of bug like a flu  or something 7 years ago .

I was laid up pretty bad and the one time I tried to have a puff the whole experience knocked me out and it took hours to get to where I was before the puff .

Around day 4 or 5 I started feeling better and I didn't want the pressure of saying I was gonna quit  ...I went with let me see where this goes ...I ran my Idea to a friend that had quit years ago and he told me I had crested the physical addiction / craving ....so now I was left with dealing with the whole mental obsession of my smoking habit .

The days turned into weeks , the weeks turned into months , the months turned into years and after all this time I could tell you quitting smoking  was one of the best things I was ever able to accomplish in my life ...I was a 2 plus pack a day smoker and to this day I'm still amazed that I was able to put the cigs down ..

One Day At A time and an attitude of not pressuring myself while just staying open to seeing where this goes is what got me over the hardest parts of quitting smoking .

Kenny

 

 

Edited by kennywtelejazz
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6 hours ago, kennywtelejazz said:

Just keep going one day at a time ...if I can do it you can do it . . . .

I was laid up pretty bad and the one time I tried to have a puff the whole experience knocked me out . . . .

I can relate, though my situation was far less severe.  I quit a few decades ago because I had a cold or something with a sore / scratchy throat and kept postposing that first cigarette of the day for like 2 or 3 days. That got me over the physiological addition hump. 

Then I played well-intentioned mind games with myself to reinforce the "decision" to quit.  I put an unlit cigarette in my mouth for a few seconds to sort of address the automatic/psychological addiction ["craving"].  I told myself I had been given a golden opportunity to quit. I told myself that if I lit the cigarette, I would go back and never have such a silver-platter opportunity handed to me again. (Probably not true, but that's what I told myself.)  I kept the remaining open pack of cigarettes that were left in a draw in the kitchen (not out in the open) for a few weeks.  That helped get me though the next phase. 

I thought of how much money I was saving and did some calculations / projections.  I started smoking when a vending machine pack of 20 cigarettes cost 55 cents in a high sales/cigarette tax state which later rose to 65-70 cents a pack.  (Cartons of 10 packs were cheaper on a per pack basis.) I had no idea they would go over $2.00 a pack and surpass!!

So over the decades, I saved a whole lot of money--much more than I projected when I "accidentally" started to quit thanks to that sore / scratchy throat.

I was in Seattle at the time and had been introduced to fish (esp. salmon). A week or so after quitting (maybe 2-3, I don't remember when) I noticed food tasting better than it had in years and that salmon went from tasting great to tasting absolutely wonderful!!! For me, the improved taste of all foods (well, all foods that I liked) also reinforced my "decision."  

We are all different, have different motivations, etc.  Whether you call it self-talk, mind games, or anything else, use what you know about how your own mind and body work to solidify your decision to quit.  If you normally enjoy walking, when you walk and observe some additional enjoyment on the journey (a breath that momentarily "tastes" more refreshing, the lack of coughing / wheezing / hacking up phlegm, or anything however small) use that observation to help as you continue to make it another hour, day, or week.

I almost forgot, I also got to "stick it to" those nasty, vile, capitalistic corporations that reeked obscene profits by peddling evil, un-healthy, sickening products.  Just don't ask me what day, week, or month I stumbled on to that as a way to reinforce my decision to quit.  😉    

Seriously though, sooner or later you will have saved a whole lot of money. 

Edited by User 905133
deleted redundant phrase (editing typo)
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At age 15 (I'm 69 now) I smoked for about 18 months until my girlfriend said "It's me or cigs". I chose her. Married her after high school. Never looked back on cigs. Had few cigars with the boys a couple of times. 

Edited by Bapu
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Smoked Marlboro (amongst other things🤪) pretty heavily until I was about 19 years old - I was trying very hard at the time to get somewhere in sport and I had noticed it was effecting me a little bit, but it was only after a particularly heavy session that started on a Friday evening and ended up on Monday morning, that I threw my cigarettes and my lighter out the window of my car on the way to work. I've never smoked cigarettes since, although after I gave up trying to be some kind of Sport superstar🤪 I took to smoking small Cigars, which I still do

Nigel

 

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Sorry but i dealt with all this 11 years ago. 20 a day mini and then  many more when travelling…….

Question.  Why do you need to put all this on a forum ? 

My solution, grow up (ouch) and deal with it. I did the so called cold turkey route. If you really want to give up you will. Sorry, but strength of mind is the way.  But then i’m a hard nut 😜

Sure,  it takes time but wow, a couple of months after you’ll think it was worth it.when your friends are lighting up and you’re  refusing. THAT is a great sign you’re nearly there.Then when you make your house a non smoking zone, thats the key.

My wife, who  btw i love dearly, is into hypnosis. She still smokes, but really reduced. She’s getting there. But then’ her will power is not what mine was. But hey, she and her friends smoke outside. No, thats not a criticism. YMMV however.. 

whatever, good luck 👍👍😜

J

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