QUITTING
May 04 '01
The Bottom Line Quitting cigarettes is like giving up any addiction, you will probably slip a few times, but don't quit quitting!
I remember the good old days; I'd wake every morning, clear my throat for a few minutes, smoke a cigarette and start my day. The familiar aroma of stale tobacco smoke clung to all of my clothes and my hair and my face, but I was pretty much immune to it's bouquet.
I smoked on and off for about 15 or 16 years. I quit dozens of times. Sometimes I last a few days, sometimes a few months, sometimes a few hours. I even lasted a few years at one point.
I tried a lot of different methods. I chewed Nicorette Gum; that didn’t work at all for me. I tried cutting down and tapering off; that didn’t work either. I switched to a low tar/nicotine brand and ended up smoking more cigarettes. I was an addict.
We don’t tend to think of nicotine addiction the same way that we think of heroin addiction or alcoholism, but there are many similarities. Some, but not all, of the key symptoms of addiction, according to DSM-IV (which is the diagnostic manual for the mental health field, published by American Psychiatric Association) include increased tolerance to the substance (meaning higher doses are needed to produce desired effect), withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuing the substance, and continued consumption of the substance even though the user has been told that it is causing serious health problems. This criterion applies to all substance addictions including alcohol, heroin, and nicotine. Given that there are detoxification and rehabilitation programs, many of which are residential treatment facilities for addiction, it is not surprising that quitting cigarettes on your own is almost impossible for some people.
I say ALMOST impossible, not impossible. First, realize that part of any recovery from addiction is going to include relapses. It is simply a matter of fact. Don’t kid yourself that you can just have one cigarette when you go out to a club. You may not be right about that. That is how I started smoking again after being clean for a couple of years. I went out to clubs and I told myself that I wasn’t addicted anymore, so I could just smoke that night. Pretty soon I was smoking all day, too.
Do what works for you. If you find that the patch is working, then use it, but plan to taper off. If that doesn’t work, try something else. A lot of my psychiatric patients go on the medication, Welbutrin, for depression and quit smoking. That is because it is same drug that is in Zyban, the medication which reduces nicotine cravings. It is amazing! I have seen it work miracles! I found seeing a hypnotist to be very helpful that time I quit for a couple of years, but when I relapsed and tried to quit again, it did not help at all.
I finally quit smoking on Aug. 1, 1994. I do not cough when I get up in the morning and I smell like soap, shampoo, and on occasion perfume. I did it cold turkey. I was in the middle of a personal growth workshop and I was looking at how I am really good at keeping my word to others, but not to myself. I thought about this as I puffed on a cigarette and hated myself. I put out the cigarette and destroyed the pack. I have not had a cigarette since that day, but years later I am still having cravings and dreams about it. Sometimes the only reason I don’t light up is I don’t want to go through quitting again.
So, here’s my best advice. Try, try, and try. Get medical help, get social help. If you slip, forgive yourself and move on. Have faith that you will quit.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
laura10801
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Laura
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow
Reviews written: 112
Trusted by: 136 members
About Me:
A patient asked if I ever have problems.
"Do physicians ever get sick?" I replied.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.