Quitting smoking.

[Someone here]

This is a journal for quitting my smoking addiction. 

[Someone here]

So today is actually day two.   Reminder.. Why should I quit :

it's affecting my physical.. Mental.. And psychological health to a very disturbing degree. It's not possible to live a healthy life without putting it down. If I don't quit.. It will catch up with me more and more and eventually I will end up having lungs cancer or whatever. I'm a heavy smoker. 4 packs a week or something is too much. And I'm already starting to feel the negative consequences. I can't run without feeling like losing my breath completely. My energy is getting lower. My appetite is decreased. And a lot more.

Time to take this shit seriously and stop. 

[Applegarden]

I would suggest spending time to look at the negativ effects of smoking to continiously keep yourself interested, or the benefits of not smoking. Really puts things clearly in perspective.

[BlackMaze]

I thought it was impossible to quit smoking but then i read the book easy way to quit smoking from allen carr. I quited for two weeks. Then i smoked one cigarette and started again.. I am quitting again in two days. 

I really recommend you read this book if you haven't. It's really exactly what every smoker needs to read.

Good luck!

[Someone here]

@BlackMaze thanks for recommending. Will check it out. 

@Applegarden yes I think that will help a lot. Thank you. 

[Someone here]

So already failed.. Smoked a cig last night.. Then went full on smoking binge.. I understand this is not going to be easy road. This is probably one of the toughest things in my life. When I started smoking I never thought I would end up In such a way. I'm an addict. I admit. I need to change my life. This is a life or death matter. I can't keep smoking. It's killing me slowly.  

[Zigzag Idiot]

I quit a 15 year, 2 pack a day habit. This was right at 20 years ago. At the time I also quit coffee during  the first month but made the mistake of going back to habitually drinking coffee again, At the time I had heard that processed sugar spiked the blood sugar similar to the way cigarettes do. So sugar intake can create a stronger urge to smoke. Don't know how true that is but I made it a point to refuse as much sugar as possible the first few weeks. After a time though, I backslid on that one.

The first month was hell, At six months I still craved at times. At around a year though, the cravings were completely gone. I could even enjoy a whiff of  others cigs and still not crave one. I've heard ex_smokers are often the most radical about others second hand smoke.  I feel fortunate to not have fallen into that. My point is that you can look forward to a time when you won't crave a cigarette anymore.

I chewed a lot of sugarless gum and especially during the first 2 -3 weeks practiced the three minute rule when a cigarette craving came on strong. That meant the farthest I looked to the future was just three minutes. That helped a lot. Hanging in there maybe for even just one minute at a time  I think it was probably one of the most effective practices that I used in successfully quitting the habit.

Good luck!.

[Someone here]

@Zigzag Idiot thanks for tips. 

[Someone here]

4 days sober. However the cravings are still as intense. 

[Gesundheit]

@Someone here Awesome and inspiring work man! Hang in there and keep it up. You can do it.

I'd only smoked on and off for a few months and never bought my own packet. It affected my breathing negatively, and I could intuit that it was really addictive, so I cut it off really early before it could get difficult. I'm glad that I did and I hope you will kick that SOB habit out of your life forever. Stay strong.

[Average Investor]

@Someone here If you can tough it out a few weeks it starts to get easier. Good luck! 

[Someone here]

@Average Investor @Gesundheit  thank you guys for support. Appreciate it.   Day 5. Going strong ?

[Michael569]

Hey man, thanks for sharing your journey. Stay strong and keep up the good work. We are cheering for ya!

[Someone here]

@Michael569 thank you man. Would appreciate any medical tips also to help me out 

[Applegarden]

2 hours ago, Someone here said:

@Michael569 thank you man. Would appreciate any medical tips also to help me out 

I would watch documentaries and exposees about smoking. Daily. And benefits of smoking. Also a history of smoking could be interesting. I do that to quit sugar, can't say in have quit it but I have improved my diet directly because that media made me think about my health declining e.c.t.

[Michael569]

2 hours ago, Someone here said:

Michael569 thank you man. Would appreciate any medical tips also to help me ou

I agree with @Applegarden , expose yourself to a lot of anti-smoking material. Follow @BlackMaze 's journal, he has made some pretty awesome progress in dropping this habit. 

Other than that, keep arming yourself with other good habits. Slowly and gradually start healing your body on all fronts. Eat an abundance of fruits & vegetables. They contain components that help your liver detoxify this stuff more effectively. Practice deep abdominal breathing & take cold showers in the morning. Exercise or at least walk daily, these help move your lymphatic system around, this is your waste-dump system that doesn't have a pump such as heart and it needs your skeletal muscles to work & to pump. 

As you become more health-conscious & healthier, your subconscious mind will become more and more attuned to wellbeing. All of this will help you (on a deeper level) to realise how bad the smoking is for you and will drive your motivation in those crucial moments when the chemical addiction & cravings kick in. 

In times where the cravings are overpowering you, drop all your clothes and jump straight under an ice-cold shower until the cravings go away. You can create this sort of "positive punishment" for yourself and your mind will wire itself to a connection: smoking craving = ice-cold shower. I don't know if this will help but could be worth the effort. 

Btw, if you take any supplement containing vitamin A or beta-carotene drop it until the time you stop smoking. It appears Vitamin A (or beta carotene) from supplemental source combined with smoking increases risk of lung cancer. 

[Natasha]

@Someone here Healthy lungs vs lungs of a long time smoker. Still want to continue?

[Someone here]

@Applegarden @Applegarden thanks. I think it's going to be helpful to educate myself about the dangers of smoking.  @Michael569 good tips doc. Thanks. I'm working on my diet as well. The association with cold showers as a punishment seems like a clever idea. 

@Natasha hell no lol. 

Is that for real tho? 

[Natasha]

@Someone here Here's someone who did it sharing tips and encouragement

How to cleanse your lungs naturally

Healthy lungs vs smoker's lungs demo

 

[BlackMaze]

@Michael569 thanks for thinking that i  made some progress but this is unfortunately not true because i fell back to smoking again but at least i learned some things and i know that it's possible and easier than every smoker believes. 

@Someone here the reason i recommended this book it's because it's like a positive brainwashing to unbrainwash yourself if that makes sense. It helps you to make a real commitment. The most important thing i learned is that quitting smoking using willpower is not the only way and there is actually another better way to quit. Using only your willpower you will feel miserable for not smoking for at least a long time. It's just a perspective change that allows you to see smoking for what it really is. I quitted for 2 weeks and that was a long time for me. What was amazing though was that it was easy and i wasn't miserable hard to believe i know but it's the truth. Other important things i learned is that smoking shouldn't be considered a habit but an addiction. Also i don't think that knowing how bad smoking is helped anyone, it just makes you want to smoke more. 

When i wasn't addicted anymore or at least i thought so, i drank enough beer and i believed i would enjoy one cigarette because now i'm not addicted anymore i kicked this at last! 

Yeah big mistake of course i knew what would happen. Even 1 makes you a smoker again. If you want to quit you need to make a forever commitment and keep it.

Good luck to you and me and every smoker that wants to quit. Smoking takes away your health and energy among other things.