Successful in Giving up smoking?

Question

I'm really trying, can anyone who succeeded with this tell me what they found most effective?

Answer 1

I found the patch and gum very effective at facilitating the physical withdrawal.

Getting through the habit breaking part was harder.

The 2 most effective techniques for that were: 1) telling myself that whether or not I smoked the cigarette I wanted, it wouldn't be enough. I would want another. The one I currently craved would not stop the craving, just push it out further. Knowing that gave me strength to resist the urge. 2) Each time I wanted a cigarette, I would tell myself "I really want a cigarette. But I CHOOSE not to smoke one." This is a way to fight any undesired feeling: by acknowledging it, and taking personal control over it. Wonderful technique.

Answer 2

I quit 20 years ago after smoking for about 20 years.  I had tried several times, but what I found was that I was always quiting because someone else wanted me to.  I finally made up my mind to quit for me. I kept the last pack I had in my desk drawer and told myself I would quit one hour at a time.  Once I made it a day, I went for two, then a week, then a month and after 6 months it got easier.  I can tell you that there were many times I wanted a cigarette, but just refused to start again.  It is mind control over your addiction.  It is not easy.  In fact it was probably the hardest thing I have ever done.  But you can do it if you want to bad enough.

Answer 3

The best way to quit is to cut back slowly. That way you don't drive yourself nuts by going cold turkey, and always wanting a cigarette. Cutting back you, you ween yourself off of them.  

Answer 4

I use to smoke when I was younger, peer pressure was what got me in to it. I admit I did some pretty stupid things as a kid but I learned from my mistakes and made up for them. Giving up smoking was one of the greatest things that I ever did.

The reason that I stopped was because I realized that smoking was just a hazard to my body and the bodies around me. I spend a lot of money on cigarettes that I could have used for other necessary things.

What I can say to you is that the only and most effective way to stop smoking. Is to have the will to stop it. The will to NOT want to put that cigarette in your mouth and light it. The will to realize that what you are doing is wrong on so many different levels not only for your self but for the people around you. The confidence that you can change and become a better person. Instead of buying cigarettes give the money you were going to spend on a charity instead. Knowing that you have take the first step and done something good will surely change your habits,

I hoped this helped.  

Answer 5

I found that the biggest factors for me were two things: first, the fact that in order to smoke, I had to stop what I was doing and light up--and it occurred to me that I was actually MAKING time to hurt myself. That was repellent to me. I don't get off on pain, suffering or self-abuse.

Second, I didnt' want to quit for a long time because I thought the withdrawal was long  and difficult. The truth helped me here: the actual physical withdrawal from cigarettes is almost UNNOTICEABLE. You "withdraw" every time you go to bed at night--and it never even wakes you up!  

Here are the facts:

15 minutes after smoking a cigarette, you go into physical withdrawal. Your brain tells you to smoke another one. Some people can wait out an hour or two, but generally, within 15 minutes, you want another one. If you go to bed at night, you are in full blown withdrawal when you get up in the morning--which is why most smokers reach for those cigs first thing--your brain is telling you that it wants that nicotine! If you deny the brain nicotine for another 8 hours, you've almost killed off half of your nicotine receptors by the end of the day! So it takes only about 5 days for the body to completely NOT NEED nicotine, physically. You're clean in 5 days. Tops.

That means that any "pains" of withdrawal you are suffering are ALL IN YOUR MIND. Shakes, Wanting to eat, Headaches, etc.--all psychological--NOT physical. Once you know this, you can conquer them! They are coming from your HABIT--not from the body.

It's also very helpful to clean out your house and closet--air out your clothes, which probably still smell like smoke; wash everything that you can wash, throw out your ashtrays and change all the habits you have where you currently "have to" have a cigarette while doing. You can't still keep the same lifestyle if you really want to quit. Second-hand smoke is just as bad for an ex-smoker--it may not put all the gross stuff into your body as much as directly smoking does, but it keeps your brain's nicotine receptors from dying off. So as long as you expose yourself to it, you'll have a really really DIFFICULT time quitting. Tell your friends to smoke OUT of your presence. Eventually you may be able to be around other smokers, but remember the cardinal rule of addiction: you cannot EVER have another one. Not just one. Not EVEN one puff. It's over. You can't do it half-way. It just doesn't work that way.

There is an excellent book out there if you really want to quit: it's called The Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Allen Carr. I highly recommend it. The guy tells you the truth, and doesn't mince words.