How You Quit Smoking?

[Cole]

Hey I have some advice/my story I'd love to share.  I smoked for over 10 years at almost a pack a day.  I've been quit for over 6 years now.  

I used to drink at least twice a week which led to heavier cigarette usage.  I just woke up one morning and I could feel and hear the wheezing in my chest from this punishment I'd been putting myself through.  I decided I wanted to quit.  I went online and found whyquit.com.  It looks like a little rinky-dink website, but its honestly loaded with tons of information and stories about people who quit, people who quit and relapsed, and people who died from cigarettes.  It will show you the brain scans they did on people after smoking 1 cigarette, 6 months of smoking, a year of smoking, and someone who's smoked for like 20+ years, and how the dopamine receptors in the brain increase with increased cigarette usage.  

Sounds like you've already found similar information which is key to your quit.  The main reason I was able to quit in the beginning was that after doing my research I understood exactly what was happening inside my brain every time I smoked a cigarette.  When I saw and understood how the process worked on a scientific level and how my emotions were attached to the chemical process in my brain, I decided I wanted out for good.  This new found knowledge gave me the power to withstand the extreme cravings that came and passed, proving that I could become stronger than this natural insecticide of the tobacco plant.  I got stronger over time, and its still something I'm passionate about and love to help others with.  

Another thing they tell you about on that site is how manipulative the tobacco companies are.  I was so mad when I found out that the patches and gums actually buy their nicotine from the same source the cigarettes come from.  The success rate is ridiculously higher when you quit cold turkey vs patch or gum and the tobacco companies know this which is why they promote quitting via a patch or gum.  The website is a cold turkey website.  Joel is the founder of the website and he was a professional cessation coach who traveled doing seminars for over 30 years helping people quit smoking.  He retired and put all his information online for free.  

I planned my quit about 2.5 weeks in advance.  I picked a day I could remember.  I bought a basic 24 speed bicycle for less than $70 new at academy outdoors.  I told my best friend that I wanted to quit and he was excited to hear about it, and agreed that I might need to vent or talk through a craving or two, and it just helps to have some form of a support group to get your mind off it.  More things that empowered me or pissed me off and made me resolve to fucking break free of these motherfuckers making money off me killing myself: the amount of shit they put in the cigarettes // look up the health benefits of quitting smoking for 6 hours, 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, a month, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years etc.. you'll be surprised how much your health improves in just 2 weeks, look at the percentages // check out how cigarettes have been labeled for sale in other countries (this product is bad for you in big bold letters).

When you go on the site, there will be some revolving yellow bricks around topics, those are more fundamental, click on them.  Read everything you desire to.  I think what you're doing with the calming supplements is beneficial, just make sure to stay away from nicotine.  I quit cold turkey, but I had the empowering knowledge I found on this website.  And for someone who's still smoking (speaking generally), having a plan is a good thing, you don't have to just quit that second, make a strategy, gather resources, then put it in action.  If I had to do it again I would probably get a fresh spiral notebook and just write down all the empowering information I could gather and just take it with me in the car, to work, back home, to the grocery store, etc., so when I did have a craving, I would be able to physically calm down and take comfort that its just emotions and its a natural part of the process.  

Anyways, hope this helps you and anyone else that reads this.  

[Cole]

I also gave up coffee for 3 months, and drinking for 6 months, and I've never really drank like I used to since then.  I also wouldn't allow myself to be around anyone who's smoking because I didn't want to set off any triggers.  People will respect your wanting to quit and wish they could as well.  

[Leon Bell]

Thank you for your informative comments. It actually helps a lot to hear a logical and uplifting story like yours. I had to quit coffee as well. Turns out caffeine turns off GABA as its main action. And when you are already withdrawing, that's not what you want. And as for alcohol and all bars for that matter. Well that is the quickest way to fall off the wagon. Because it lowers your Glutamate, so your inhibition goes down. And it takes a lot of willpower and determination not to start smoking again. At least right after quitting.

The last two weeks I attempted to quit cold turkey twice. Usually around the 4th day I would feel so panicked that I would run out to get a cigarette. Avoiding triggers is probably going to be the only way for me to go cold turkey. There is a grocery store near my house that sell single cigarettes. So I took a week vacation to stay home and not have that temptation haha. Hopefully third time's the charm!

[Evilwave Heddy]

My technique on quitting smoking was to convince myself that a craving only lasts for 2 minutes max every time I craved one.  I quit cold turkey by doing this and have been off cigarettes for half a year now.

I feel ten times better than I did when I smoked.  I was drunk the other night and I took a drag from a cigarrette and it literally tasted like an ashtray.  I have no idea how it became a habit.

Also another trick I did was kept looking at a timeline on how my body is changing from quitting.  It made me feel like I was accomplishing everything on the timeline. http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html

[Leon Bell]

Thank you for the helpful link. I read the whyquit.com E-book. What helped me the most is knowing that the withdrawal cravings last no longer than 3 minutes each time. It's been 5 days since my last cigarette and I am doing fine. I carry around a timer and every time i get the craving it lets me know when 3 minutes has passed. So far this technique worked the best for me!

[CA19]

Well for me it was easy to quit,the fact that I had difficulty breathing and harder to exercise was enough to convince me to quit.The first few days were the hardest.Maybe you're around a lot of people who smoke,hence why it's harder for you to quit?

[Evilwave Heddy]

@Leon Bell One weird thing that I noticed after quitting is that everytime I eat a new food since I quit I'd get a big craving for a cigarette.  

For example:  2 months off cigarettes and I had just eaten a bowl of spaghetti for the first time since been off them and It was like I had only quit a few days ago the craving was so big.

It's almost as if my brain was so used to having a cigarrete after a bowl of spaghetti that it had forgot I had given up 2 months prior. lol

Edited August 7, 2016 by Evilwave Heddy

[Sri McDonald Trump Maharaj]

Quitting smoking was one of the first thing I did when I started doing personal development and discovered actualized.org about 18 months ago. I was in school and here in Sweden we get paid for about 11$ per month. I tried and I tried to cutt off to smoking about 1-2 cigarettes per day. One day I decided to spend all my money on thai food intentionally so I wouldn't be able to affort those damn cancersticks. When the omney was gone there was no going back...

[Elton]

@Leon Bell I tried try various techniques mostly from Actualized.org maybe all of them are helping me simultaneously to quit...

1) future projections both with and without nicotine go 10 years ahead slowly starting from a day, a week,   month 6 months a year 5 years and 10 years.

2) replacing a bad habit with a good habit 

3) hypnosis I recommend Steve g jones and Michael sealey 

4) feeling the emotion completely and obsering the root cause of addiction is fear of emptiness or if not then finding the root cause.

5) building awareness around it.(advanced)

6) visiting stikk.com its a site where you make commitment contracts and if you don't stick to them you will have to pay money to charity not wanting to loose money can also be a good way to motivate your self just to get a start also you can journal about your journey in this app... I have made a commitment contract one month ago I didn't put anything on the line though...

7) knowledge of your deepest truest values, and the fact that you tend to spend your money on things you value the most.

8) controlling your impulse, (each time you control your impulse your building your will power up.) your either building your will power up or down. 

9) meditation. 

10) slow mindfull breathing. 

There is no particular priority i just stated them the way they entered my mind 

And also be aware of homeostasis. 

All the best

[CA19]

On 7/8/2016 at 4:16 PM, Evilwave Heddy said:

@Leon Bell One weird thing that I noticed after quitting is that everytime I eat a new food since I quit I'd get a big craving for a cigarette.  

For example:  2 months off cigarettes and I had just eaten a bowl of spaghetti for the first time since been off them and It was like I had only quit a few days ago the craving was so big.

It's almost as if my brain was so used to having a cigarrete after a bowl of spaghetti that it had forgot I had given up 2 months prior. lol

haha a friend of mine associates smoking with coffee drinking.He says if he quits smoking then he'll have to quit coffee lol.Me myself...I've associated it with alcohol...when I'm boozed up pretty badly and someone in my cricle has a ciggy,then I'll get cravings lol.

It seems food/drinks associations with cigarette are common.

[Beam]

Do you guys remember watching Shock therapy videos used at stop smoking clinics to encourage people using a sharp electric current every time he or she took a drag from a conveniently placed cigarette ?

This is aversion therapy

Doing this teaches the brain that your allowed to smoke but  it causing people to relate cigarettes to Pain , not pleasure.
 

I used a similar technique when I stopped smoking 5 years ago , although instead of shock therapy I used a sense aversion technique.   First I talked myself into / told myself to think of a nasty beer filled ashtrays smell every time I had a craving to puff on a smoke.

The technique worked excitedly well as my brain was automatically switching to a nasty smelling ashtray instead of the pleasure of smoking when cravings hit. Every craving I had was turned into repulsion meaning I did not need to use will power , just the power of aversion therapy.
 

A link to a pdf on aversion therapy techniques I dug up for a deeper examination of

http://www.ncsct.co.uk/usr/pub/aversive-smoking-for-smoking-cessation.pdf

[Huxley]

I started running, and bought myself a heavy bag. I started chewing gum. Every time I had a craving I would think, this is only lasting 5 minutes. And then I would be ok again. If that didn't help, I'd go running or some rounds on the bag. That would often straighten me out quickly. 

Sometimes I would light one up again, only to throw away the rest of the package. But slowly the desire to be healthy overcame the desire of the cigarette. What changed me the most mentally was reading Allen Carr's The Easy Way To Stop Smoking. 

Laslty, I would cut back alcohol and coffee consumption as they seem to trigger the urge to smoke. 

I smoked for 21 years. Smoke-free for 6 now and in the best shape of my life.  

[Leon Bell]

I am on week 6 of being smoke free.

I want to thank everyone for their great advice and support. I believe I got through the worst of it.

I did it through at first avoiding triggers like caffeine and alcohol, also people associated with drinking and the like.

I also used a Gym Boss set to 3 minutes. That's how long each nicotine craving lasts. But when you first start it feels like hours.

So keeping the timer in my pocket for a month helped. I would just press it whenever I felt the urge. The craving kept decreasing as I went.

Also I used positive reinforcement by checking my progress with this:

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html

This website also had the best information for quitting.

[MIARIVEL]

@Leon Bell Have you tried hypnotherapy to quit? this has helped many people quit. I quit cold turkey, just decided one day I need to stop after smoking for 10years. I had a cancer scare which changed my mindset that I made a decision that no matter how much I craved one, I would distract myself and do something else. Go eat something, go watch TV, go for a run instead - this worked for me. 

Plus I would rather spend my money on other things, I tricked my brain that if I don't buy ciggies this week, I can spend $30 on a book or put it in saving or go out for a meal with friends instead. 

It all comes down to how badly you really want to stop and what you are willing to do to stop. 

[metamorphose]

On 12.7.2016 at 10:18 PM, popi said:

@Leon Bell  try to eliminate the amount of ciggaretes at first and foremost.

For example my mum use to smoke 5 to 6 ciggaretes a day.

Now a tip is to cut down at half.

Ex. 6 to 3

10 to 5. Etc etc

Cutting down completely will shock your body and mind because its a drug.it has side effects.

By the time and effort you will be managing to give up smoking completely.

 

I think that reducing is way harder than cold turkey,  but I guess that depends. 

 

In the last years I tried to quit about 10 times -  each time I felt even worse and always started smoking again 1 or 2 days after I "quit". 

But after some time of self-actualization it suddenly clicked. It felt so easy to quit,  I even had fun doing it!  The biggest game changer was that I realized that you can't really respect and love yourself and  simultaneously poison your body. 

[Beam]

To put the premise of cutting down into proper perspective try using the technique vs cold turkey. 

If your having trouble quitting try reducing instead , once you have managed to reduce your intake in half try to quit again.

I primed myself for quitting by cutting down from 13 a day to 10 a day to 8 a day 6 a day 4 a day Then I quit.
 

 

[Beam]

@Leon Bell  Congratulations !


 

[GODMODE]

I'll tell you how I quit smoking. I went to a vape shop and purchased a few high-quality vaporizers with all the accessories. Dropped a several hundred dollars on my current system.

 

Now, quitting nicotine when your nervous system is wired for it is a different story. At least the cancer risk is declining and I can breathe again.

[smilesee]

We can quit it through self determination.

[Superwoman]

My ex-boyfriend quitted smoking with a help of...e-cigarette! Sure, it was just a secondary reason to stop after long way of his self-cultivation ...

I beleive in you Leon! You realize your problem so you'll win! Good luck!