EvolutionHealth.care

Home
Members List
Member View
Posts created by Kaitie

Advanced Search Form

Members List
Moderation Team
Member View
Posts created by Kaitie

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

1 January 2019 - New Years Resolution!

Hello

It's nice to find this Quit Smoking forum. I think it will be very useful to have a place to visit during the early quitting stages.

I smoked my last cigarette on New Year's Eve, and it actually felt quite exciting to make such a meaningful New Year's resolution.

My first attempts to quit were about 15 years ago, and I managed to quit for a few months, but then tried to be a "social smoker". Needless to say, it didn't work, and it has taken this long for me to brave another attempt.

However, I think I've learnt a few things from previous attempts, and I've tried to keep these thoughts firmly in my head during the first week. These are;

* I will never be a social smoker

* I'm not capable of limiting myself to one cigarette per day - that cigarette before bed. I've tried that before, and that never worked either!

* I can only give up smoking if I commit to never having "that one cigarette".

* Cravings are intense, but they do pass, often surprisingly quickly.

* Feelings of deprivation from not smoking often mask the fact that smoking was actually inconvenient, expensive, and compulsive rather than enjoyable.

* Deconstructing smoking, and focusing on its unpleasant qualities, is a huge psychological shift to make. A powerful observation I remember from a previous quit smoking course, was that we often associate cigarettes with very pleasant things, e.g. A nice cup of coffee, a nice meal, a relaxing environment, and so on. However, it is these other things which are actually the pleasant things, not the cigarette!

* People talk about quitting as being one of their greatest life achievements. This could be one of mine too!

Anyway, these messages to myself have helped to keep me smoke- free for nearly four days now, and I really need this to be my last quitting attempt. I've smoked for about thirty years, and I also started VERY young!

I really look forward to reading about other people's experiences on the site, and to perhaps share some war stories!

All the very best.

Kaitie

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

1 January 2019 - New Years Resolution!

Thanks, Tim - great to receive encouragement from someone with so many quit smoking hours up their sleeve! Hopefully it will be me one day!

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

1 January 2019 - New Years Resolution!

Thank you, Ashley

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

Start of my quit smoking journey

Hi Angelwings

I know that feeling of simply NEEDING to quit this time. All the best with it - lots of people have done it, and I reckon we can too! In a way, it is kind of exciting, in amongst the withdrawal symptoms...

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

Iddy123

It has been almost 8 days smoke-free for me, and this quit attempt really feels like it is going to succeed. I would say keep remembering what you DON'T like about smoking, every time that you get an urge. Also, challenge the feeling that you are depriving yourself of something, when you have those moments of longing for a cigarette. Sometimes it might mean over-ruling feelings with thoughts. At other times, it will just feel really great not to be smoking!

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

What do/did you hate about smoking?

I find that holding on to the things I dislike about smoking really helps me through the withdrawal symptoms and cravings. For me, it is/was the following;

Sore and sticky throat

Awful cough

Horrible taste and yellow-coated tongue

Excess phlegm, which was increasing in intensity

Reddish/ruddy skin

Sense of helplessness and lack of control

Fear of ill health

The depressing thought that I was probably killing myself and could not stop

The feeling that I HAD to smoke, even when I was ill or didn't actually feel like one

The smell

The cost

What do (or did) other people hate about smoking?

Interestingly, many of the physical things above seem to have improved quite dramatically in just a week.

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

What do/did you hate about smoking?

They sound like familiar stories, although my experience was more like 104 F plus temperatures

The puffing and panting to get up a hill, only to have a cigarette at the top, also sounds familiar.

My partner, who gave up a few days before me, would use an asthma puffer to open the airways, so as to continue smoking, whilst insisting that it was allergies causing the asthma!

There have been some crazy times, that's for sure...

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

Back aches during withdrawal.

Hi Kumi

It is probably a good idea to ask your doctor.

I reckon it is possible that there are all kinds of strange symptoms. I had a really sore neck (on one side) about three days in to the quit, and was worried that I had some sort of infection, or worse! The doctor I went to said there was no indication of any lump or infection, and that it would probably go away on its own in a couple of days. It's just about gone now.

All the very best!

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

What do/did you hate about smoking?

Wow, StellaBlue - that was a fabulous list! I can relate!

I was talking to a colleague at work today, whose father was a heavy smoker, and who died of lung cancer. She said he had tried to give up many times, but never could. This happened about thirty years ago. She also said her mother was always scolding him for his lack of "will power", but her father couldn't stop, even after getting sick.

I think society's understanding of quitting smoking is a bit more advanced these days. If we all had to rely on will power alone, most of us probably wouldn't be able to quit. I think a major part of giving up is to realise how bad it actually was, and how the addiction stopped us from acknowledging how awful it is in reality.

As you point out, it was also really hard to be a dedicated and addicted smoker, but something we would move heaven and earth to do, no matter the cost.

I feel that focusing on the every-day negative aspects of smoking may be just as powerful, if not more so, than the future potential negative consequences of smoking.

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

What do/did you hate about smoking?

All the best, felicsdad - we are all going through it at the same time on this forum.

I've quit for two weeks now, which still makes me a relatively "fresh" quitter. Sometimes I still get hit unexpectedly by a hard craving, but they are becoming less and less.

Your point about taking a break is a really good one. I used to need this too, and would always have a cigarette when I was taking a much needed break. What I've started to realise is that I can still take a break, and even go and buy a coffee, without having a cigarette. Afterwards, it still feels like I have had that break!

Therefore, separating the cigarette from the positive thing, and still allowing myself to do that nice thing, has been one of my psychological shifts.

Best wishes!

today's top discussions:

This Month’s Leaders:

Most Supportive

Most Active

Most Loved