I smoked for 13 years and It has been one year without smoking and I want to share the princples that I followed that helped me break free from nicotine addiction. One very important thing I learned about quitting and failing and then quitting for good is that I had to realize that I am a smoke-aholic and just like an alcoholic, one drink (or in my case on puff) is tempting fate for relapse. Lucky for me I understand that now, I hope you will too. For those of you who smoke as a result of anxiety, as I had done, it's a complete lie that cigarettes reduce anxiety. No one told me this as a smoker but I found out through quitting that cigarettes keep you anxious. My level of anxiety is so much less than it was as a smoker. Another thing I did was while quitting I faced my triggers, for example going to the bar was a big trigger, so after the first week (when the physical addiction was over) I went out to the smokey bar so that I could face my biggest hurtle. In other words, I wasn't going there to have a good time I was going so that I could face my addiction one on one. The entire time I was at that bar all I thought about was smoking, but I didn't smoke. That was the climax of my addiction and no other situation has ever been as hard or ever will be as hard. Another technique I used was to picture my addiction as a "nicotine monster" (for me it looked like the mucinex character). Then I starved the monster. Every time I had a craving I pictured the monster trying to get me to smoke. If I fed the monster he would live longer but if I starved him he would die sooner. The key was to understand that just one puff was fuel for my little nicotine monster and if I fed him he would get stronger. I know it sounds silly but it really worked and that is exactly how my addiction worked. I can honestly say he is completely gone today.
Here are some other principles I copied from a website that were very true for me as well
The Law of Addiction - "Administration of a drug to an addict will cause re-establishment of chemical dependence upon the addictive substance at the old level of use or greater." Yes, just one powerful puff of nicotine and all your hard work is down the drain. Adherence to just one rule guarantees success to all ... Never Take Another Puff.
Nicotine rewired your brain, growing millions of nicotinic receptors in eleven different regions. Although your mind's nicotine induced dopamine/adrenaline intoxication is an alert high, your chemical dependency is every bit as real and permanent as alcoholism. Treating a true addiction as though it were some nasty little habit is a recipe for relapse. There is no such thing as just one puff. Nicotine dependency recovery truly is an all or nothing proposition.
Emotional Phases - Chemical dependency upon smoking nicotine is one of the most intense, repetitive and dependable relationships you've likely ever known. It has infected almost every aspect of your life and thinking. Be prepared to experience a normal sense of emotional loss when quitting that gradually transports you through six very different phases: (1) denial, (2) anger, (3) bargaining, (4) depression, (5) acceptance, and (6) complacency. This emotional journey is normal and a necessary part of recovery.
Avoid All Crutches - A crutch is any form of quitting reliance that you lean upon so heavily in supporting recovery that if quickly removed would likely result in relapse (a person, product, service or activity). If you feel the need to lean upon a quitting buddy be sure that your buddy is either a sturdy long-time ex-smoker or a never-smoker.
With the exception of using extreme care with alcohol during early withdrawal, you do not need to give up any activity when quitting except for using nicotine. Likewise, successful long-term quitting is not dependent upon you engaging in any new activity either. Contrary to the junkie-thinking you've likely fed your mind, everything you did as a smoker you'll soon adjust to doing as well or better as an ex-smoker.
Crave Coping Techniques - You have conditioned your mind to expect the arrival of nicotine when encountering various times, places, activities, people, events or emotions. The first time you encounter each crave trigger you should expect a short yet possibly powerful anxiety episode lasting up to three minutes.
Don't fear or hide from your triggers but confront and extinguish each of them. You'll find that most are re-conditioned by a single encounter during which the subconscious mind does not receive the expected result - nicotine. Welcome and embrace every episode as each reflects a beautiful moment of subconscious healing, and the reclaiming of another aspect of your life.
