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How do I quit?
I know compared to many other people I have not been smoking as long but I started when I was about 13 and I am now 27. My question is this, HOW DO I QUIT?! I really want to quit now but every time I have tried I do not make it long because something brings me back around. I am in college and in the process of buying a house so the stress is at its max but I do not want these stupid sticks controlling my life anymore...
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Welcome to our community!
I am THRILLED that you want to quit at such a young age. As far as difficulty, I think your journey will pretty much follow most folks here; the length of time you smoked does not have so much to do with the path to freedom from addiction. Quitting now may, however, improve your chances of not developing a smoking related illness.
The most important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf
You should also read the posts here and perhaps go the the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmokingonline.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php
After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort. I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
You need to distract yourself through any craves. You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time. You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits. Get busy! Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?" Then DO it. You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.
Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!
Nancy
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Great question! The simple answer is, "Just Do It." That said ...
I've found the more you know about beating your addiction to nicotine, the easier it is to quit smoking. And that really is what it is all about. You don't really even want to smoke. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. But you are addicted to nicotine, (we all are here,) and that is the nico-demon against whom we all struggle. Once you are on to his nefarious ways and deceitful lies, you will find it within you to stand up for yourself and say, "NO MORE." Not One Puff Ever = N.O.P.E.
The best way to get educated is to read the Allen Carr book, The Easy Way To Quit Smoking, http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf . I recommend doing the tasks outlined on this site in preparation for your quit, (even if you've already begun your quit,) because the first couple weeks, as you probably know already, are not what most people call fun, (sorry Mr. Carr.) But if you've planned ahead what you will do instead of smoking, since you won't be doing that anymore, you will get through. And the only way to the other side, to the freedom of living smoke-free, is through. You can do this!
There are a handful of members here we all affectionately refer to as Elders; folks with sturdy, steady quits under their belts that hang around simply to help us newbies along. Read their blogs, take their advice, trust them. They are wise, and they mean well.
Then, hang around here as much as you please. Whine, cry, scream, (wait! hit the brakes! SCREEEEEECH!!! What am I saying?) Laugh, giggle, smile and dance your way through this journey. It really is, as much as anything else, how you look at it. You are not giving up anything. You are gaining everything, from a healthier body, to increased wealth,to greater self-esteem, to a whole new awakening on life! It truly is freedom and it's yours for the taking. Sometimes I wonder if it is not better to be an Ex-smoker than a Never-smoked. You enjoy the same freedoms as they, but having been a slave to the addiction for so many days, you appreciate the freedom so much more.
So welcome aboard. We are all here to walk this journey with you. Educate, prepare, commit, and then quit. It really is as simple as that.
Willing you success!
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akerwin10 It really does not matter how long you smoked, what matters is that you are an addict, you are as much of an addict as the alcoholic walking down the street drinking out of a bottle that is hidden in a paper bag, you are as much of an addict as a junkie looking for his next fix.
If you do the reading suggested by YoungAtHeart and you read JonesCarpeDiem's page about what to expect the first 140 days...you will be part way there. Education is a HUGE part of recovery, so is commitment, and support. This site can give you everything you need. I tracked my cigarettes, wrote down when I smoked and why and what the triggers were, then I made a plan for what to do when those triggers came again...something OTHER than smoking. This is a journey and you will find out so much about yourself that you will be STUNNED. Smoking does NOT help with stress, it does not help with anger, it does not help with physical or emotional pain...it is just your drug of choice telling you that it does.
Prepare for your quit, set your date, stay close to the site. Congratulations on your impending home purchase...just think how much more money you are going to have to put toward that and your education when you are not throwing it away and making big tobacco wealthier. YOU will be healthier and stronger and you will find a real happiness that is not inside of a stinky, burning stick.
Congratulations on your decision and welcome to EX.
Ellen
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Having been exactly where you are many times in the past I can say that, for me anyways, the reasons I went back to smoking is because I thought I needed it to handle the stress of life. I too began smoking around age 13 and tried and tried multiple times to quit. I tried Wellbutrin and the patch and each time I could go days and even weeks without smoking but each time all it boiled down to was me choosing to pick up a cigarette or take a puff off of a friend's "just this one time." It wasn't so much about willpower (like so many people think) as it was deciding I had gone x amount of days/weeks/months without smoking and believing I could control it this time. I could smoke occasionally if I wanted to. I could be a social smoker and it not be a big deal. This is where we screw up I think. Whether you smoke a pack a day or 5 cigarettes a day doesn't matter. The social smoker is just as addicted to nicotine as the pack a day smoker. The same changes happen to the brain regardless of how much one smokes. While I don't agree with everything Alan Carr says in his book (mostly what he says about using NRT or other techniques that really do help a great deal of people) I can say that his technique for making you see a cigarette for what it is, breaking it down to it's parts and pieces, had a huge impact on the success of my quit. I had already begun my quit by the time I read his book so I couldn't follow his protocol exactly but I can tell you that I haven't looked at a cigarette in the same way either. It truly brings me nothing good. I thought times of extreme stress would be toughest for me but it's true that in those moments smoking a cigarette doesn't help or change anything either. The only thing that can threaten your quit is you and your perspective on it. If you believe you are giving up something, losing something, missing something, then you will have a very difficult time and are way more likely to relapse. However, if you realize and accept that smoking brings absolutely nothing to your life, that you don't actually "enjoy smoking" (like we tend to tell ourselves), remind yourself that the reasons you want to quit will always be your reasons no matter how strong the urge is, then you're more likely to be successful!
Oh, and support too!! You came to the right place if you are serious about quitting! I'm almost 7 months into my quit and I wouldn't have made it if not for this group of amazing people!! They gave me tips and advice, support and encouragement, helped me see things from such a different perspective, and they didn't let me allow my fears to deter me in any way. I quit mid October last year and can remember how afraid I was when it hit me that I would be traveling by car for the holidays!! I had never taken a road trip without smoking and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to fight the cravings. I came here and I posted a blog questioning beginning my quit when I did. I went back and forth talking about how maybe I should've waited, how hard driving there and back would be, how being around people drinking (holiday get togethers w my new boyfriends family) would make me want to smoke. The very first response I got was from Nancy YoungAtHeart (I believe) and she basically told me it sounded like I was trying to make excuses for a "planned" relapse... she did not let me get away with where my mindset was at the time. She gave me the tough love I needed to get me back on the right track mentally and I'm so unbelievably grateful for that! I was trying to back out of my quit and was wanting them to make it ok. Had I been given the permission I was seeking I may very well still be smoking.
You are without a doubt in the right place. Explore the site. Do the reading into nicotine and how it impacts your brain, from the very first drag you took all those years ago, and it will change how you look at smoking in general. Stay in touch!
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YoungAtHeart , I thought Giulia was the hard@ss.
Anyway, glad it worked ...
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Read as much as you can. You can't read to much when learning how to quit and stay quit. Read "My quit plan" on this site if you haven't already and all the sources above. Learn How to Quit Smoking (and Make it Stick)
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You have come to the right place! The support here is fantastic! So - please do the reading above (I really like the Carr book) and stick around here. You can do this!
