Quitting Smoking

Aaron Tusmith wrote:weekly update brings me to one month without smoking. Feeling good about it. I've encountered a few more triggers and stressful situations such as driving long distances but have managed to stay smoke free. Happy Saturday!

I used to chew a tea tree oil toothpick when the long term cravings came on, sold them at the check out of a grocery store. They make cinammon flavor too.

It's been six weeks now with no cigarettes. I'd say I have gone through a few more stressful situations that normally would have triggered copious amounts of smoking. I had to put my 16 year old dog down which was very sad, then my entire family went on a week long trip to the coast with a 10 hour car ride on each end. Not to mention the presence of seven children running and screaming the whole time. It was a good trip though. I did have a few cocktails however and I was able to enjoy myself and not think about smoking the whole time. So at least now I know that on special occasions I can have a few drinks and still be able to resist smoking. Still on the nicotine gum but now it is time to switch to 2 mg doses for a while and gradually wean myself off of nicotine entirely. I think I'll chime in on here every two weeks now instead of weekly because things are going well, happy spring everyone!

Sorry to hear about your dog, but besides that, sounds like you are not just quitting smoking in the present tense, but almost like it should be placed in the past tense.  I know that quitting is a long term endeavor but you can be exposed to stressors and still resist.

Great job,

Eric

Two months now, almost daily I realize in a new way how much better life is as a non smoker.

Aaron Tusmith wrote:Two months now, almost daily I realize in a new way how much better life is as a non smoker.

Congratulations!  It will only get better AND even easier

I quit thirty five years ago and am still thankful I was finally able to quit for good with the help of nicotine gum....my pharmacist was so happy I was quitting she let me get the gum on credit if I was short of cash.

And I remember in detail the things that improved, like the sense of smell and taste and lung function.

it's not an easy addiction to quit...you've done well.

I too decided to stop smoking.I replaced it with nicotine chewing gum with high amount of nicotine.These small chewing gums i chewed over and over again.I reused 25 gums for a month and I managed it.Now I have been nicotine free for four years but still I can feel addicted for a cigg.Once smoker always smoker so you can never even take one cigg.But why would I? Now I am free and that is wonderful.

This is an old thread, but I am so excited to read all your journeys. My husband and I have just quick smoking. We both smoked for about 25yrs a each. It's been 24 days and feeling good. We decided to do it, and to do it together.

Milky oats and kava have been helpful during the first few weeks. Those first few weeks were insane. Seemed like I wanted to strangle everything for the slightest anything. haha.
For be it's about being free, just like many of you. I made the decisions and this time I stuck with it. Every time the thought arises, I tell myself that I quit. Takes 21 days to make a new habit. I started yoga, for the calming and relaxing.
Best of luck and many blessings.
~Sena

one thing that still helps me is to remember how little of an effect each cigarette had on me. I typically felt worse after each cigarette and I couldn't detect any particular sensation or physical feeling that I enjoyed. All that smoking gave me was a feeling of lethargy and more difficulty in breathing. Towards the end I kept saying to myself "these things don't even do anything!" "they just make me feel worse!". I remember when I very first had a cigarette it gave me a sort of buzz and euphoric/weird feeling, not long after, those sensations went away and the desire to smoke was pretty much a mental thing, an activity I felt I had to note in the log so to speak. Looking back on how pointless an activity it was makes it easier for me to rationalize not smoking anymore. I just began to fail in seeing the point in investing so much in an activity that gave me no pleasure at all, in fact subtracted from it. Either way, you will be so proud of yourself when you don't want them anymore, stay strong, you will love the results!

When reading Aaron, I thought it might help to have some explanation about what is addictive in general....

The body has to cycle a lot of things, same as in circadian rythms. When we do not, some receptors in the body just "saturate" and lower their sensitivity! Nicotine goes to acethylcholine receptors. So we get a nice feeling at the beginning, but saturate the receptors and never reset them. So after a while, not only we do not get any good feeling from smoking, but we also need the smoking to just be at our old baseline!

Baseline is an important word. We need to cycle activity and rest in waves. We need to appreciate what is not intense but mundane. We need to be in contact with our ups and down, and we have limit to the intensity we can hold. When stop smoling as just mentionned above several times about having to sustain strong stress and sensations of body activation, before the body can regulate this alone, by changing the receptors numbers and their sensitivity.

Socially and individualy, smoking is also a pause, and even a moment of connexion. So it is wise to find another ritual to do.

The general path to addictions is also when feeling something very good with very little effort! You first smoke and feel some relaxation quick and it happens alone! Our pathways of up and down are natural, but are often stuck: we are either anxious = too active inside, or depressed = not enough active inside. The norm is to alternate fluently, and this needs "mammal connexion". Ideally we should get this in society and with other humans, providing each other with regulation. When we do not have enough of this, we still need this regulation, and we always find some tricks to help this happen. We are first regulated by our parents, and then we learn to do it alone, though never totally alone either.

If adults are not enough available, or especially nowadays do not have TIME, then it disregulate our inner clock! This clock needs its time to be able to accelerate little by little. It is the same as when you learn a task and first do it unperfectly and slow, then you reach good and slow, and then good and faster...  Then is also important HOW LONG we can sustain activity before rest. If we are asked to over-ride our resting periods, then we disrupt our rythm, creating the temptation to find some resource somewhere. There are addictions to what helps to wake up and to what helps to slow down, or to both. Action and rest are inner rythms that we need to connect to again.

They are like pendulations, but the activation phase is faster, and the resting phase is slower. A tree starts to move with the wind blowing, but does not stop right away this movement when the wind stops!

Aaron Tusmith wrote:one thing that still helps me is to remember how little of an effect each cigarette had on me. I typically felt worse after each cigarette and I couldn't detect any particular sensation or physical feeling that I enjoyed. All that smoking gave me was a feeling of lethargy and more difficulty in breathing. Towards the end I kept saying to myself "these things don't even do anything!" "they just make me feel worse!". I remember when I very first had a cigarette it gave me a sort of buzz and euphoric/weird feeling, not long after, those sensations went away and the desire to smoke was pretty much a mental thing, an activity I felt I had to note in the log so to speak. Looking back on how pointless an activity it was makes it easier for me to rationalize not smoking anymore. I just began to fail in seeing the point in investing so much in an activity that gave me no pleasure at all, in fact subtracted from it. Either way, you will be so proud of yourself when you don't want them anymore, stay strong, you will love the results!

This!! This is your best observation I think!

I smoked my last cigarette 4 days ago. I planned to stop smoking this year and last week I felt the time was right. No patches, no gum, just done with this pointless habit.

I quit before, once for 8 years and once for a few months, but stressful situations got me hooked again and again. I thought I would never be able to never smoke again, but I'm totally done with it now. I finally realized that smoking doesn't add anything to your life, it's all illusionary. But it does break your health over the long run. I'm still having cravings, but it feels more like I miss the ritual and not really the nicotine. In any case I'm not going back again, it's done!

Good luck to you Aaron, and to anyone else who decides to quit that bad habit of smoking!

16 weeks on the calendar today, wish the best for anyone else out there who is working on the same project

Congratulations Aaron!

I'm a little over one month now... Still "feel" like wanting a cigarette every now and then, but it's easy to ignore if I just tell myself that it's the habit of giving myself a moment after completing a task... which of course doesn't need a cigarette at all!

Stay logical and you'll never smoke again!

Good Job Aaron!   Wife and I are quit over ten years now!  But I still find myself wanting that "reward" after a project...  AND I still like the smell of a fresh lit cigarette , not the stink mind you, just that first smell. Dispite that I've never "cheated" and never will.  It's a nasty habit that really does stink and your overall health will improve by quiting.  

Another good thing,( that somehow we didn't seem to notice) is ALL the MONEY you don't spend on cigs you get to spend someplace else.. Oh yeah  I ment "save" :)

I feel the same way, to be honest I frequently want a smoke, but it's kind of in a silly way. The thought sounds nice but I quickly remember how gross they made me feel after smoking one. I can easily talk myself out of the craving nowadays. I do love the smell too, I try not to look down on others who smoke, and I kind of like the smell of the burning tobacco too so I let others smoke in peace and I treat the whiff I get as my reward. I am saving a ton of money too, and definitely loving that. One of the additional benefits is that I know if I get stressed out or something major happens I may want to smoke very badly. So, as a side effect I have to work at keeping my life stable and stress free, that goes with sobriety too. The more I keep things going smoothly and as problem free as possible the less likely I am to smoke again. Accidents do happen but I still try my best.

Great job so far. I'm 36 and started smoking as a young teen... got really addicted in my late teens and early 20's. Quit when I was 25 for 5 yrs when my daughter was born, then picked it back up - life happens ;)  

For me, it's all about the company I'm around. I recently quit a job I was at for 3 years to remove myself from smoking workmates, and also had to put a stop to backyard beers with my neighbor. I hate to admit it but I can be easily influenced...that can work on both ends though, when I'm around straight up positive people I feel great and do great - so now I work on a small farm where no smoking is allowed on the property. I feel a lot better (3 months or so w/o one here) as I can see you do too. Ironically I am pretty fitness minded and like to exercise/bike etc. even when I smoked lol MUCH more fun to do those things smoke free!

I hope to see more positive updates from you!! Stay strong

I still have COPD from second hand smoke from childhood.  Had a chronic cough since then and lots of respiratory distress.  Wish it was easier for everyone to quit if they want to, as it is very damaging to the body.  Niacin is a mirror image molecule to nicotine and if you take it (yes it does cause flushing like you are having a lot flash, as it clears the arteries), it can replace the nicotine, stopping the craving.  Good luck to all of you former smokers and I salute you for having the courage to quit.  I know it is a tough road.