Re: Tips on Quitting
- From: "Su" <no.name@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2006 11:14:48 -0600
"JCav" <JCav.24b5qz@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:JCav.24b5qz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Didn't want to sidestep the Dana Reeve thread so wanted to start a new
thread on quitting smoking. If someone like Dana Reeve can die from
lung cancer w/o smoking, well a smoker like me is really playing
russian roulette. I really want to quit and need tips from ex-smokers
how they quit and stayed quit. I woke up at 7:00 this morning and read
the thread and haven't had a cigarette today and I am losing my mind. I
have tried several times in the past but, unfortunately, I am still a
smoker and have been for 20 years.
I started trying out cigs when I was 14 (I'm 52 now) but became an office
"smoker" by the time I was 16. Over time, I worked up to around 2-1/2 packs
a day.
I've quit smoking three times. The first time was around the time I was 20.
I was totally depressed about the fact I was addicted and that was all it
took. I returned 19 months later for the dumbest reason ... I was trying to
prove to somebody I had at least once vice (young=dumb, sigh!). The second
time I quit was when I was 26. It was because I believed a novena had been
answered (it's a Catholic belief). I started up again four years later, but
I was extremely stressed out at the time (no excuse, just the facts). The
third and final time I quit was 5/6/92. I was having difficulty breathing
.... IOW, I couldn't get the air all of the way into my lungs. I would try to
take a deep breath but I couldn't. The air stayed at the top of the lungs.
Plus, I was yawning constantly. This spooked me and I stopped smoking. I
haven't smoked since. --- The difficulty for me all three times was the fact
that my father was/is a heavy smoker. At my home, I could tell him not to
smoke, but at his I just had to deal with it.
In all situations, I quit cold turkey with no help ... no gum, no patches,
no nuttin' honey. Just stopped like that (snapping fingers). No, it wasn't
easy (I know exactly what you're going through), but my desire to kick the
habit was strong enough to hold firm. The first time I quit the worst was
over in about 72 hours (that's the actual physical withdrawal). The second
time was about the same. The third time took about a week for the physical
withdrawal to subside, but each day got a little easier. And then came the
really hard part ... fighting the psychological addiction. That's the
killer. It took me about a year to get through that.
Who isn't tired of hearing, "If I can do it, anybody can." Well, in my case
I think it's true. My serotonin level is so whacked, which leaves me with
several "chemical imbalances," one of which is a generalized anxiety
disorder. Nasty condition. Try giving up cigs with that one, plus raising
young kids (one with ADHD). I think what held me strong was something that
was said to me by a friend years ago, "When you make up your mind to do
something, you have a will of steel." It's true ... *IF* I make up my mind
to do something. That's the kicker.
If you can hang in there long enough, the physical withdrawal will be over
and very slowly, day by day, you'll realize, "Hey, I didn't think about
having a cigarette for one minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. And so on."
Eventually, you can think a cigarette and what you think is "Bleh!!!" But
this is a while off.
There's no easy answer for this one. It's a matter of the desire being
strong enough to fight the withdrawal, as with any addiction. You really
have to want it badly enough. --- What if you broke your leg and required
rehabilitation, and the rehabilitation was painful? Would you be willing to
stick with it? Or, you've got a major sweet tooth and the doctor just told
you that you have insulin-dependent diabetes (give up the sugar or your life
is in jeopardy)? Would that be enough to keep you away from sweets? If you
suffered a serious heart attack and the doctor told you to lose X # of
pounds or die ... could you lose the weight? --- That's the whole bottom
line.
I wish I there was another answer, but there isn't. You simply have to want
it badly enough.
.
- References:
- Tips on Quitting
- From: JCav
- Tips on Quitting
- Prev by Date: Re: I just had an idea!!
- Next by Date: Re: Tips on Quitting
- Previous by thread: Re: Tips on Quitting
- Next by thread: Re: Tips on Quitting
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
