You CAN do it!! Just keep remembering that you REALLY do want to quit!!!
Everytime you want to light up, think:
Don't want my hair and clothes to stink Don't want my fingers to stink Don't want my house and car to stink Don't want my closets to stink Don't want my breath to stink Don't want my lungs black Don't want my breathing ability to get BAD . . . .whatever else you can think of.
No I never have! Whenever I am where plants are they don't have much in the way of herbs and stuff. I gre some cinnamon basil though and it smells so good when you cut off some.
Do you crochet? cros stitch? do jigsaw puzzles? If you grab something like that instead of a ciggy it keeps your hands & mind busy till the craving passes.
Hi Deb ~ as a recent quitter myself, lemme share a few things I found helpful.
After the worst part of the quit was over, I found out my state offered a FREE telephone/internet service which included a "Quit Coach". I wish I had known about this ahead of time!
During one of our talks she told me that a craving to smoke only lasts approximately 3 to 5 minutes!
THREE TO FIVE MINUTES?! not hourw and hours? days and days?
Heck! there've been PLENTY of tough stuff I've gone through that I WISHED only lasted 3 to 5 minutes! I can distract myself, hold on, insist, whatever it takes for a puny 3 to 5 minutes!!!
Then, I had to laugh. The quit program sponsored by the state sent me a bag of "quitting goodies". Sealed in this plastic bag small enough to fit in a purse was...
a chamomile tea bag a pretty rock that had been polished a toothpick a heavy duty plastic stir stick for coffee a paperclip...
The idea was alternate ways to soothe myself during times of stress (besides smoking!) As I told my best friend Angel later (during a time of great stress as she was handing me a smoke weeks and weeks after my quit) "I DO NOT WANT TEA! I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY WITH TOOTHPICKS OR PAPERCLIPS! I WANT A SMOKE!"
We laughed over that bag sent to me by the state.
I had my smoke.
It made me dizzy 'coz I hadn't smoked in so long but it did calm me down. It calmed me down enough that I got a good nights sleep. In the morning I re-evaluated...
yes, that smoke had calmed me down. but no, it had not fixed the bad situation.
buying more smokes and falling back into the grip of the habit wasn't going to resolve the unhappiness, either. I would just be compounding my misery 'coz my quit hadn't been so easy.
So, I decided to stop right there.
I told my Quit Coach about it later that day. She was so proud of me she said because LOTS of people will have a small slip like that and then decide they are a big fat failure at quitting and start the habit full swing again. She said it is better when a person can just say "ok, I had a couple. It isn't the end of the world. I am back on track this moment."
I've been fine ever since.
So, chin up, my friend. You CAN do this! And check to see if your state has a free quit smoking contact program -- many states do because the cost to the states re smoke-related illness is huge...
3 to 5 minutes.
3 to 5 minutes.
Merme
Last edited by Merme; Jun 25th, 2007 at 02:20 PM.
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
Thank you all for the kindness and support-I'm sure I'll read your posts many times. Shirley, my chocolate mint is a foot high-if I could find out FOR SURE that's it's not illegal to mail it to you, I'd wet wrap a rooted sprig and get it out to you. Is there a county office there who'd know about incoming live plants?
Thank you all for the kindness and support-I'm sure I'll read your posts many times. Shirley, my chocolate mint is a foot high-if I could find out FOR SURE that's it's not illegal to mail it to you, I'd wet wrap a rooted sprig and get it out to you. Is there a county office there who'd know about incoming live plants?
How nice of you to think of that! I can try to find out. Are you out of the states? It doesn't say under your name. Couldn't you just put it in one of those bubble lined brown envelopes?
Thank you, TK, that was sweet. Shirley, I'm in southern California. I could wet wrap a sprig and put it in a bubble mailer, I'm just concerned about whether or not a private party shipping a live plant into Ohio is legal, and I couldn't find anyone who knows.
Well I can ship around, but when I moved from Arizona to california, I had to set all my household plants out on the ground by the state border guard shed, where you cross into CA, and drive off and leave them!!!! I cried!!! So we were just wondering if she can ship them OUT of the state. I really don't see why not, but I'll find out.
Best of luck and more power to you, Deborah! The fight is definitely worth it. I finally quit successfully on January 7, 2000 ..... after trying and trying for over 10 years. I used a medication called Zyban and it worked wonders for me. That's the thing: there are all kinds of different techniques out there.
Deb I think this is a great thread. Although I've already quit, I can still use all the good advice and reminders I can get!
Tammie ~ good for you for having maintained your quit for this long!
Merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
TH, what did the Zyban do for you? I called my doctor and I'm waiting for him to call me back about it. I made it 24 hours and smoked again. This is so hard.
Deb ~ I used Wellbutrin, which is similar to Zyban but a slightly different formula. FOr me, it took away ALL the anxiety associated w/ quitting.
merme
We were given two hands to hold, two eyes to see, two ears to listen & two legs to walk. But why were we given only one heart? The other heart was given to another for us to find.
Don't worry, it's not the end of the world yet. That only happens if you quit trying to quit!
For me, the Zyban made me queezy every time I had a cigarette. And I mean REALLY queezy. I finally took my last half pack and threw them in the woodstove because I couldn't stand them anymore. The instructions were for me to stay on the Zyban for 8 weeks (or something like that) but I only stayed on it 3 weeks.
Keep in mind that Zyban is actually an antidepressant and it affects people differently. I had no trouble with it but my brother couldn't use it ... he said it made him feel like he was out of his own body most of the time. I also have an aunt who is allergic to it.
It worked wonders for me, after trying unsucessfully year after year to quit. I highly recommend that anyone who seriously wants to kick the habit, seriously think about Zyban.
Good luck to you!
Originally Posted by DeborahL
TH, what did the Zyban do for you? I called my doctor and I'm waiting for him to call me back about it. I made it 24 hours and smoked again. This is so hard.
Gardening in March
Gardening in April
Gardening in May
Shop at Amazon and Support AGF
Are you shopping online? Click this link first and A Gardeners Forum will receive a commission for your
referral at Amazon.com (shopping through this link to Amazon will not have any impact on your prices at Amazon).