So you're thinking it's time to quit smoking? Maybe it's the first time, maybe the 20th time.
I quit smoking almost 8 years ago. I never thought I would be a non-smoker. Briefly, my story is that I went from smoking 2 packs a day when I started, to 2 cigarettes a day. But.....I HAD to have those 2 a day. I was addicted. I hated being addicted, especially since I'd quit alcohol and lost lots of weight. I looked forward to my 2 cigarettes. I had one around 6:00 pm and the other right before bed. It was a routine I had for years.
I got sick 8 years ago. The kind of sickness you can't smoke (most of the time no matter how sick you are you'll smoke, I did anyway). But for 4 days I couldn't smoke and I wasn't very nice to be around @ work. My supervisor really upset me and I went home that 5th day and promised myself a cigarette, sick or not, because "I deserved it." I was looking forward to it.
I got home and picked up the pack of cigarettes that had been sitting on my desk for days and took out a cigarette and picked up my lighter and headed outside. I was getting giddy. Oh, I get to smoke again! I took a puff. Horrible! Well that's because I hadn't had a cigarette in 5 days. I took another puff. Still nasty but I'd keep trying. After around 4 puffs I was feeling nauseaus. Darn! I wanted to finish the cigarette so badly........it was only half-smoked but I put it out. I told myself there was always tomorrow (even though the question "could this be my last cigarette?" popped into my head). No tomorrow I'll think about it.
Long story short...I never picked up another cigarette after that day. Every time the thoughts would come about smoking like "you're not smoking anymore? "what about your cigarette before you go ......." NO! I wouldn't finish the thoughts. I would just gently lift my thoughts into a peaceful place. It sound sorta hokey but that's exactly what I did. I then went out doing my errands "pretending" I had already had my late afternoon cigarette. I stayed calm too. That's key!
I've been a non-smoker now for almost 8 years and I can't tell you how great it is not to be beholden to cigarettes anymore. I still like the smell of a cigarette sometimes but I never think about them or want to go back to smoking. I smoked for 28 years and I'll never go back again.
So my 3 tips to quit smoking that worked for me are:
Stay calm, meditate if you can. It's important to keep the mind calm and serene so the thoughts don't start to take over;
"Trick" yourself--do whatever you would have done AFTER the cigarette. For me I used to practice singing after my cigarette. So since I wasn't smoking I sang and "tricked" myself into thinking I had already smoked.
Don't let your mind finish all the negative thoughts that WILL come. The mind will try possibly 100 times in one day to get you to smoke. Remember, this is something you WANT to do (quit smoking) It will be worth it.
This may sound a little "out there" for some people but this is what worked for me. I'm very non-traditional and couldn't have done it any other way. And boy am I grateful to not be smoking. I have a freedom that just can't be described!
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