It's the death of a loved one...
Jul 02 '00 (Updated Sep 06 '00)
I am in my 15th year of being a non-smoker, after smoking totally addictively for 30 years. I was without a cigarette only when under anesthesia.
When I decided to quit (after seeing a friend's mother getting chemotherapy for lung cancer), I collected all the "behavior modification" techniques I could, as I only wanted to do this once. I knew how difficult it would be.
The most useful tip I got was a newspaper article comparing quitting smoking to the death of a loved one. Was that true for me! I grieved and cried for days. It was so helpful to me to realize that when one loses their cigarettes, it is very much like losing a loved one. You will cry and be angry and finally will accept it; you think of the person nearly every moment, then less often as time goes by. You must accept, however, that they are never coming back, as much as you'd like them to.
Once you can convince yourself of this, that your cigarettes have "died" and can't return, you begin the acceptance process.
I also used a book from the library, which is unfortunately out of print, but many libraries and internet second-hand bookstores still have copies. (Try bibliofind.com.) The title is, "A Doctor's Book on Smoking and How to Quit," by Colby. It is a 14-day plan to quit, using daily meditation and self-hypnosis. It is absolutely invaluable, believe me. I set a date for quitting: my birthday, which was about two months away. From that day forward, I never bought another pack of gold Marlboro's, my cigarette-of-choice. I bought one pack at a time of anything else: those one-mg tar types, Lucky Strikes, whatever. They all tasted crappy. By the time it was two weeks before my birthday and I started the book and the 14 days (above), I had withdrawn myself from Marlboro's and it was somewhat easier to quit smoking the various yukky things I was smoking just to smoke.
Rewards are important: I put the cost of cigarettes every day in a plate on the dresser and spent it every five days or so on a treat for myself. I did this for months. Visualization is also important: thinking of oneself asking for non-smoking seats in restaurants, turning down offered cigarettes by saying, "No thanks, I don't smoke."
I also practiced "aversion therapy" by emptying several ashtrays into a large jar of water and keeping it on the dresser also, making myself look at it and smell it every day.
I convinced myself that if I ever picked up one cigarette and took one puff, I would buy a carton and begin again.
Sucking on lifesavers, gum or mints was good for the oral fixation smoking is. I carried a baggie full of such things for a couple of months. Don't worry about a few pounds of weight gain. It's healthier than smoking!
I told everyone I knew what I was doing. The support of ex-smokers and people who cared about me was essential.
After a few days of no nicotine in my body, my hands and feet felt 20 degrees warmer, like they were being bathed in direct summer sunlight! I realized what I'd been doing to my circulation all those years.
With the money I have saved from not smoking, I have gone to Europe twice and am driving a new Camry. And I feel and smell so much better!
Anyone reading this far is probably addicted to nicotine. Ask yourself, "When am I going to quit? Eventually I'll have to go through it, when they diagnose me with something and I'm hospitalized and can't smoke, or when they put me in the ambulance after a heart attack... Why not choose to deal with the quitting process now, and have all that extra money and time?" It's easier when it's by choice.
The very best of luck to anyone who decides to quit. It's the best thing I ever did for myself (health-wise and psychologically). I'm so glad to have a forum on which to put these hints, which I hope are helpful.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mary9999
|
|
Member: Mary
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 4 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.