If you want to quit, then just do it

[crazymama_Lori]

I cannot stress enough that you need to do your homework before you even think about doing something this difficult. If you're here and looking for support, you are not the occassional smoker. If you've tried before and failed, you don't have a habit. If you find yourself crawling the walls after 2 hours of not having a cigarette, trust me, you're addicted.

Now, a very simple analogy here. Cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is what you are addicted to. Nicotine is what makes you run to the grocery store to buy a pack in unbelievable weather and unreasonable hours of the day. Nicotine is what makes you dig through garbage cans, ashtrays to find butts until you can make it to the store, gas station. Nicotine is what makes you panic when you're halfway to your destination, you have no money and you have to travel back home because you left those things at home.

I gave up the smoking habit back in January. I had to relearn different things I did when I automatically smoked. I reached for that imaginary pack for 2 months unconsciously. I had to retrain myself not to grab for one at certain times of the day. We don't just smoke to smoke. We just don't do that because they're there. If that was true, then that's why we grab a soda or a piece of candy if it was sitting there. That doesn't make sense to me at all. Again, homework is the key. Read up on nicotine and the brain. Then read up on alcohol and the brain, drugs and the brain. You will find some similarities. It's the nicotine we crave. It's not the cigarette. It's just a carrier of the drug. And this drug is doing nasty things to your body and your mind.

There are different theories about nicotine. Yes, it's addictive, but is it really carcinogenic? The carrier of nicotine, e-cigs, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, etc. all have carcinogenics in them or may very well lead to cancer and have many, many chemicals. We inhale that on a daily basis. We say to meth heads, I can't believe you smoke all of those chemicals, for what? A short high that will last for 5 to 10 minutes? Then they have to continue smoking to maintain their high. They're addicts. Don't they know it rots your teeth out and blah, blah. The list goes on. Well, aren't we hypocritical souls. Don't we do that every time we light up a cigarette? What makes us any different than that meth head down the street?

Let's face it here folks, we are all addicts. We all crave the same thing. You have to have willpower. You have to have knowledge of what you're quitting and why. Your why is a personal one and differs from person to person. What makes this hard is that it's not a cut and dry process. It varies from person to person. Some have an easy time of it and some fight it for months. Then comes the task of understanding what it takes to stay quit. To finally come to the realization that it will always be there. To finally come to an acceptance that it's just simply something we no longer do. Because some used it as an escape, a motivational tool, a calming force, our 10 minutes of thought.

Bottom line is don't panic over quitting. Educate yourself. Don't convince yourself you can't do this. Tell yourself to take one day at a time. If you can't do it cold turkey, try nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, spray. Talk to your doctor about a prescription. Don't give up trying. My motto has been we will always want to smoke, but we choose not to. If you really want this, then just do it. It's really that simple.

Blog the heck out of your feelings, your frustrations, your crazy thoughts. Trust me you're going to feel much better in the end. Then stick with it because it will help you as you encounter rough patches. Look back over your blogs in 30 days and read them over and think, boy, I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's so nice not to feel that way anymore. Then you'll start to do self-inflection and blog about that. 90 days will go by and you'll read those over and those will reinforce your quit. The comments people leave will reinforce your quit. You're going to reach 150 days and think I've come a long way baby and I'm never going back. I'll tell ya, you're going to have days hither and yon where you'd kill for one, but go back in your blogs and read what you wrote in those first few months. Now, do you really want to start back there again?

That's what this site is all about. Think about it, educate yourself about it, participate here, get involved. Seriously if I smoked for 43 years at 2 packs a day, have absolutely no memories of not having a cigarette in my hand and I'm at 149 days, one day short of 5 months, if I can do it, if I can inspire one single person to take the plunge, help someone hang on for just one more day, that's what it's all about.