I Quit Smoking

Off Topic
1

I did.

None of this ‘just one on occasion’ or whatever bullshit. No more smoking.

This is my 3rd serious quit attempt. Not particularly phased about that. Apparently it takes 3 or 4 attempts on average. I learned stuff from my past attempts so I’ll get it for reals this time.

Utilizing as much nicotine gum as I think I need (have no issues with nicotine, just with poor choices in delivery mechanism). In the past I’ve given up the gum voluntarily due to the ‘mild laxative effect’ gum quite generally gives me.

Climbing the walls a bit now, though. Around 5 days in.

Okay when I’m training or eating or sleeping and pretty Fucked Up otherwise.

Trashing myself doing my best approximation of HIIT which justifies my stuffing my face and sleeping for much of the rest of the day.

Anyone else going through the same thing right now? Anyone got some words of encouragement for successful quits?

Do the cravings go away eventually? Or just get rarer? God dammit I wish I’d never learned to crave cigarettes…

2

460×8833 1.16 MB

Good luck.

3

I have no advice. Something about nicotine withdrawal creates a direct line between my soul and wherever evil comes from.

4

YAY! I know this has been the monkey on your back for a long time. You can do it, Lex.

5

It gets easier. Now I can’t be locked in a closed space with cigarette smoke because it gives me a sinus headache.

I avoided people and situations that made me want to smoke(or would make it easier to smoke) for about 3 weeks. Willpower will only take you so far you also have to be realistic about your limits too.

I told myself in the beginning to just go 3 weeks without and see how you feel, so it doesn’t feel so dead end. Then when I got to the 3 week mark I had 3 weeks under my belt and I didn’t want to start again and ruin how far I’d come.

I had a relapse at about the 6 month mark, but I made sure to take the same steps to quit again. Just like dieting so you caved and ate a whole cake just start over the next day, don’t beat yourself up.

Good luck Alexus.

-raspberry drops( I ate these until my tongue bled) and popcorn worked for me.

6

Basically don’t be a pussy. The physical symptoms pass you just have to tough them out and deny your weakness, as much as it sucks.

The gum crutch only feeds your mental short comings. It’s an excuse.

Cold turkey hell month for the win.

You don’t actually need nicotine, your body is lying. Grow some balls.

7

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
Basically don’t be a pussy. The physical symptoms pass you just have to tough them out and deny your weakness, as much as it sucks.

The gum crutch only feeds your mental short comings. It’s an excuse.

Cold turkey hell month for the win.

You don’t actually need nicotine, your body is lying. Grow some balls.[/quote]

0_0
I think you mean “grow some ovaries”. lol

8

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
Basically don’t be a pussy. The physical symptoms pass you just have to tough them out and deny your weakness, as much as it sucks.

The gum crutch only feeds your mental short comings. It’s an excuse.

Cold turkey hell month for the win.

You don’t actually need nicotine, your body is lying. Grow some balls.[/quote]

For most people it’s the habit as much as the craving that makes it tough.

If you associate smoking butts with various activities, engaging in those activities keeps the smokes on your mind until you can reprogram yourself… back when I delivered pizzas, I used to smoke butts on the road. When I quit I found it difficult to refrain from buying a back because driving anywhere made me jones for them.

I started pounding diet soda to make up for it… gave my free hand something to do while in the car.

I never considered myself a pussy for the substitute or figured the swap was an “excuse”; I would never consider ANYONE a pussy for doing what they need to do to kick a lethal habit.

9

And, yes, I TRIED masturbating to keep my free hand busy… but since I drive a stick, sometimes I would get confuzzled and accidentally (read: painfully) shift myself into the wrong gear every so often. The diet soda just seemed to work a little bit better.

10

[quote]anonym wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
Basically don’t be a pussy. The physical symptoms pass you just have to tough them out and deny your weakness, as much as it sucks.

The gum crutch only feeds your mental short comings. It’s an excuse.

Cold turkey hell month for the win.

You don’t actually need nicotine, your body is lying. Grow some balls.[/quote]

For most people it’s the habit as much as the craving that makes it tough.

If you associate smoking butts with various activities, engaging in those activities keeps the smokes on your mind until you can reprogram yourself… back when I delivered pizzas, I used to smoke butts on the road. When I quit I found it difficult to refrain from buying a back because driving anywhere made me jones for them.

I started pounding diet soda to make up for it… gave my free hand something to do while in the car.

I never considered myself a pussy for the substitute or figured the swap was an “excuse”; I would never consider ANYONE a pussy for doing what they need to do to kick a lethal habit.[/quote]
The gum only becomes a butt.

11

How long have you been smoking for OP?

How heavy?

12

[quote]Charlie Horse wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
Basically don’t be a pussy. The physical symptoms pass you just have to tough them out and deny your weakness, as much as it sucks.

The gum crutch only feeds your mental short comings. It’s an excuse.

Cold turkey hell month for the win.

You don’t actually need nicotine, your body is lying. Grow some balls.[/quote]

0_0
I think you mean “grow some ovaries”. lol
[/quote]
i think he means “stop being such a faggot”

13

Good luck.

After the first of the year I’m quitting for good as well. I’m a dipper though, so the lozenges work better for me. allows me to keep something in my mouth that mimmicks having a chew.

Ugh, it’s all gross… Good luck.

14

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
The gum only becomes a butt. [/quote]

Figuratively speaking (i.e., she will just get hooked on the gum), or do you mean to suggest it will lead to OP to jump back on the smoking bandwagon?

I only ask because, in my experience, at least, the psychological aspects of quitting were just as bad, if not more so, than the physical addiction. I wouldn’t be surprised if many either can’t or don’t differentiate between being addicted to the nicotine or being addicted to the habit.

15

Good luck ALexus.

My teenage crush on you can not be complete unless you quit.

tweet

16

I’ll say this, I see the “smoking kills” pictures and rather than think “gee I’m glad I don’t smoke anymore” I think “man, I could go for a smoke right now.” I haven’t smoked in years and was under a half pack a day, and quitting was actually really easy for me - a few days of a piece of nicorette before and after work and I was good.

I can’t imagine what goes through the mind of someone who has smoked heavier and/or longer. Shit is intensely addictive.

17

[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
I’ll say this, I see the “smoking kills” pictures and rather than think “gee I’m glad I don’t smoke anymore” I think “man, I could go for a smoke right now.” I haven’t smoked in years and was under a half pack a day, and quitting was actually really easy for me - a few days of a piece of nicorette before and after work and I was good.

I can’t imagine what goes through the mind of someone who has smoked heavier and/or longer. Shit is intensely addictive.[/quote]

I was a pack(they were 25 cigarettes a pack) a day until I quit. I think it’s about really wanting too, not really about logical reasons like those anti smoking ads. Me and my friends always had our favorite anti smoking ads we liked to have on our packs. lol

18

[quote]Edevus wrote:
Good luck.[/quote]

Hahaha, for some reason the second picture in that picture, of the kids with the “smoke bag” over their heads made me laugh. I thought it was a joke until I scrolled down.

My father quit smoking after 20 years of 30-40 ciggs a day. He was off them for 9 months, had one smoke and was hooked again for another 2 years. Tried again and was successful. He said that cold turkey was the only way to go for him and that it took 4 years before he really stopped thinking about them and craving them. Thats from a long term heavy ciggarette addict so I would imagine it would be much less time for you. Not easy but definately doable. Moral of the story is to never have a smoke after you have kicked the habit.
Good luck

19

Congrats on your progress. I quit smoking 10 years ago and it was the hardest thing I ever did. I actually thought quitting was impossible and that I would just die a smoker. I started to think about it differently when I viewed it as an addiction, as opposed to just a bad habit. Think of it as similar to a heroin addiction – which it is. That was distasteful enough to push me over the hump to quitting – no matter what!

As an nicotine addiction, I’m no fan of nicotine replacement systems – such as patches or gum. It’s like giving methadone to a heroin addict. The only way through to the other side is to stop feeding the addiction. Cold turkey is best. It’s hell at first but you must protect your quit at all costs.

The nicotine is gone after 3-4 days. All the chemicals and hormones in your system will then work to find its new equilibrium. During this process…that takes weeks…it will literally feel like many pendulums taking wild swings back and forth. Slowly but surely, the swings will continually reduce until you are on a new even balance.

Good luck!

20

[quote]anonym wrote:

[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
The gum only becomes a butt. [/quote]

Figuratively speaking (i.e., she will just get hooked on the gum), or do you mean to suggest it will lead to OP to jump back on the smoking bandwagon?

I only ask because, in my experience, at least, the psychological aspects of quitting were just as bad, if not more so, than the physical addiction. I wouldn’t be surprised if many either can’t or don’t differentiate between being addicted to the nicotine or being addicted to the habit.[/quote]
I agree the psychological aspect is worse although the first week is physically a real animal.

My point is that gum serves as a crutch and it’s a weak attempt at quitting for most, a procrastination with a feel good factor. You have to have your mind “in the game” and not halfway on the bench.

I’m sure gum has helped some people but until you wrap your mind around the fact your body is lying about needing nicotine and just starving it until it quits begging you will always have half your ass on the bench so to speak.

I suggest cold turkey because it worked for me. One day I went for a run and hacked a fucking lung and decided I would quit.

It was hard as shit the first month, phsyically and psychologically but I knew it would be and had prepared myself for the hurdles. I suggested discipline because in the end that’s what it took, not gum.

Would it have been easy to fix a craving with gradually lower doses of nicotine gum? Probably. Would I have most likely been tempted to chew extra gum to finish my buzz tease and eventually say fuck it and light up like most do? Probably.

Instead I took the headaches, the desire and that weirdness we all know so well and let it pass. Quicker, more effective and no temptation to spike my gum buzz with a real smoke, only decisive denial until cravings just stopped.

Once the cravings were gone, that was it. Done. The habits were fully broken and no new ones took their place. There were no links back to my smoking habit, no triggers.

I tripped up once six months later and smoked half a cigarette while drunk. Couldn’t even finish it and haven’t had once since, 6 years later.

When reprogramming your mind, a substitute is only a temporary fix. A whole new pattern needs to be implemented and it is hard to break addiction, change negative thought patterns or bring about new paradigms in general but you can’t do it halfway, it just doesn’t work.

Anyways, cold turkey worked for me but then I’m always all in for better or worse. Just part of being involved in the awesome gene alumni group I suppose. Unless you make a bad decision of course and then you’re up shit creek. Way up it.