Today is my first day of quitting smoking and I'm going nuts!?

Question

Please help with any ideas on what can help with the cravings, besides patch/gum/etc.

Answer 1

Keep you mind occupied. I went and saw a couple of movies in the theater on the day I quit smoking (over 10 years now!). You can't smoke in a theater, and the movies keep your mind occupied so you can, if not forget, temporarily be distracted from your cravings.

Altoids are another great tool to use. The coolness of the mint helps for some reason. Just brush your teeth so you don't get cavities!

Answer 2

Chew lots and lots of sugar free gum!  Aso keep some snacks like fruits handy...the more in your mouth the less you crave the cigs...

Good luck!

Answer 3

keep busy.  i organized everything.  and the best yet most annoying advice--exercise.  you will not want to smoke if you are exercising, it will help you feel better and detox. munch on crunchy, healthy snacks, like veggie sticks, don't eat heavy and fatty meals cuz you will crave a cig after.  don't drink alcohol or coffee until you feel more sure of yourself because those are craving triggers.  and date non smokers.  that's what all works for me : )

good luck, and don't forget about all of the health benefits you will recieve.  

Answer 4

Hey,

Keep cool. Take it from an ex smoker that it can be done. Take deep breaths. Close your eyes and imagine your self in a scenic atmosphere, think of all the positive effects quitting will have on your health and body, food will taste good you will have more stamina, your physical performance will be boosted, you will not smell like an ash tray anymore. You can spend all the money you save on smoking on any other hobby project etc, Your friends and family will praise your superb will power. I had a list made up of all the good things that can be achieved from quitting and use to read from it whenever the urge used to be more. Also avoid your regular situations where you were smoking for a few days. Have faith in your self. You can reap the benefits of good health after quitting.

Hope this is helpful and sincerely hope and pray that you will stop smoking.

Answer 5

Think "Breathe Free". When your brain hears the word quit smoking, it automatically starts to prepare for the nicotine because it thinks you are getting ready to smoke. I heard it on Oprah and thought it was a good point. ;)

Keep a giant bag of blowpops with you at all times. All sorts of different kinds of snacks so your brain has someplace to go to with variety instead of reaching for cigarettes.

Take off walking. Scream if you need to, throw something. Take deep breathes through your nose and into your stomach and exhale through your mouth loudly. Release the stress. Take deep breaths like this when you get mad and breath deeply and it simulates smoking in a way because we all take deep breaths automatically when we are stressed and we sigh, so this is the natural way to do it without the cigarette. It will feel good. Remember you only have 3 days of physical addiction and this is the time you will feel the nicotine leaving your system. It's kinda strange, but that's all it is. I've done it. Just sleep a lot and drink a lot of water or really strong coffee. Watch tv and see and relate to all the people who don't smoke and realize it's peaceful to be a non smoker and you don't have to be interrupted by needing to smoke, it's a hassle. Don't watch anyone smoking on tv. Think of all the people in the world who have quit. They have felt just like you are feeling right now. You are not the only one so you are not alone, lots of us have felt this feeling. What smoking does is take your from your comfort level and into a whole new fake-comfort level and by smoking, it takes you back to that fake-comfort. The body will simply go back to that real comfort level, the one that smoking took you away from a long time ago. You will feel more balanced and not be going back and forth with the spaced out feelings anymore. After that it's just the mental habit and you simply replace it with other things. You won't even like the taste or feel of it anymore. If it's an outlet for a deep emotional need, get help for that and talk to someone. Counciling really can be very healing if you find the right type and the right person you can connect with.

Stay away from bars and drinking for a while if you used to smoke and drink. And don't worry, you Will get used to this and won't have a problem being around other people smoking eventually. You will be surprised you ever did it. Plus, this doesn't make you a different person, it's just a change in lifestyle and you will get used to this.

If you have close friends/family members that do smoke, let them know that you would appreciate if they wouldn't smoke around you, and also that you don't want to even see cigarettes or lighters or ashtrays, etc. Don't put yourself in a situation where you are around it at all. Don't beat yourself up for the past damage it may have caused. Your body will completely heal as if you never smoked. Give yourself some comfort and grace that while you may have smoked for a period in your life, you did the best that you could and had an outlet to deal with whatever was going on emotionally. No big deal, and good for you! Be proud! After the 3rd day, remember, if you chose to pick it up again, you would be choosing to Start smoking all over again because at this point,  it's all out of your system. Get deep tissue massages, go to steam rooms, saunas, drink water, to help detox and keep that on your mind. Also, have extra special, nice dinners each night. I'm talking get a gourmet cookbook and whip up something awesome and watch a movie with dinner so this will give you something to look forward to each night. I did the netflix thing so I had a new movie to watch every night. You can have a goal like I did, that you want to be proud of yourself when you put your head on your pillow each night and reflect back on your day and how you made it through without a cigarette. This time will pass so ignore it for the next few days like it's a dream or something. Think of 3 days from 2 years ago and how you really don't remember those days.. ignore it all right now and dream through it. It will be a faded memory one day and you will be proud. And don't worry about gaining weight. Be gentle with yourself. You can eat healthier to balance out the 15% metabolism increase that you used to have from smoking, if you choose to. It doesn't matter. You don't have to put pressure on yourself to do 2 things at once by dieting and quit smoking at the same time, that's just silly. Just be gentle. Be sensible and do what you need to do to carry yourself through this. All of this may sound a little coocoo, but I've done it before and I know how weird it feels to go through so just give some of these a try! lol.

Answer 6

This is why people shouldn't quit cold turkey. The more successful ones succeed because they cut back a little at a time. That way they don't drive themselves nuts. They can ween themselves off.  

Answer 7

Regular gum, hard candy. Exercise can help -- endorphins. So curiously enough can twirling an earring around its post -- the earlobe is an acupuncture point. The most important thing is to avoid stressful situations.