SMOKING....How Do You Make Yourself Want To Quit?

Has anyone here ever quit smoking? :?: I never smoke a cigarette in my life till I was 46(52 now). I really need to quit but it is so very hard. Kind of like dieting, the moment you decide to do it, it's all you think about. I have read lots on quitting and I suppose quitting is different for different people . I know you have to be ready and want to which is part of my problem. I wish I wanted to quit but I don't.... but I need to. Any suggestions? How do you make yourself want to? I have been around people with severe emphysemia and it doesn't even make me want to quit. Just made realize I need to.

 

Well, you really need to find your motivation. Before that, trying to quit and not being able to will just make you feel like a looser. Then you will probably smoke even more.

Join a quit-smoking-group. Then you will have support amongst others who want to quit.

 

Do you have kids. Think about them watching you die from cancer of the palette. It is the most insidious cancer there is. It makes a person literally starve to death because the pain is so great they can't even swallow their own saliva. I can't even remember my Dad ever taking an aspirin, but he was horrified at the thought of running out of his pain medications. He was diagnosed in April of 2000, he died August 29th 2000, 4 months and he was dead. Do you want your loved ones to watch you die like that.

 

Ok thanks guys. Droopy, I agree, I need to find my motivation for starters. I think that will help a lot.
Cajunbelle, yes I have 4 kids with my first 2 grandbabies on the way and this will probably be a lot of my motiation.
And your right toni, part of me wants to quit but part of me doesn't want to give up something I enjoy doing...which brings me to your reward system..hmmm. I think this may help too.
Frank, that video is interesting for sure not to mention all the harmful chemicals in cig's now. I have so many health issues it just seems down right stupid for me to continue. Some things I can't do anything about but this is one I can or should have control over.

Believe it or not, all of this input has helped me look at things in a different perspective. Maybe it was the right combination of information. I am going to start making a plan now and any other ideas are still welcome.

Toni, congratulations on quitting. One thing is for sure , when I do quit I will never judge or preach to anyone who does smoke because I know it does no good and ususally just makes you want another smoke.
Thank you all very much!

 

DF, I was a smoker too, I quit about 4 years before my Dad died. It is hard, but oh so worth it. I feel so much better and I actually don't know if I would still be alive if I had continued. I will keep you in my prayers. You are stronger than the addiction.
I remember my Sarah, 7 years old when her PawPaw died, apple of his eye she was. She took it so hard and had separation anxiety issues for years to come after his death. My husband and I couldn't even go to the local grocery store with her worrying and crying and literally making herself sick. She was 13 before she would go spend the night at a friends house, 15 now and still calls when she is away to make sure we are ok.

 

Thanks Sharon. And a big congrats to you also, for quitting!

 

Well, you Do want to quit. You just are afaid to try. Maybe you could save every cent you would spend on smoking for 6 months and then buy something you want.
My hubby was addicted years ago and him and my brother-in -law both decided to quit. My hubby found out that the brother-in-law said My hubby would be smoking again in no time. It made him SO MAD! He said he wouldn't give that B*****D the satisfaction of him ever smoking again. Now it's 25 smoke free years later and that B*****d still smokes. Many thanks to the X-brother-in law. :-D

 

Bethie, I'm sorry, but I had to laugh at that one. Good for him!

 

First of all it's a question of mind over matter, and I believe the female mind is very strong...yrs. ago, I said I quit...and that was it "I quit" period end of story...my hubby a 3pk. a day man did not quit until I gave up nagging and told him look one day your body will let you know in no uncertain terms, quit or die, either you pay attention or not.. it's up to you, and guess what one day he bent down to pick up the newspaper from the driveway, and got such a pain, and could not breathe for a min. and he got the message loud and clear, and he quit...it was 2 weeks before I noticed, as he did not smoke in the house, then I helped him through terrible withdrawals, and that was 25 yrs. ago!!! or he may not be here with me today, lung cancer was in his family.....also lost a female friend a few yrs. ago, tried to get her to quit as the sun rose and set on her on her granddaughter, who I said you will not be here to see grow up, get married etc. she had a massive heart attack, with her morning wake up cig. And so you need to take charge of your life and use that strong will, that we women are born with...Good Luck!

 

I smoked from age 12 or 14 until I was 58. Then a quadruple bypass, several heart attacks and having a defibrilator put in made me want to quit! I really didn't want to, I enjoyed everything about it except the coughing. I liked the taste, especially with coffe or a beer. Especially with a beer! I used the nicotine gum and of course being in the hospital for 10 days got me off to a good start too. No smoking in there and no one to give me a ciggarrett either. They just don't have those things on the cardiac floor. It was really rough to do it, but six years later I am happy to say it was worth it. I probably wouldn't be alive if I had kept on smoking. Some people say they just crushed their pack of smokes and quit and never wanted another one. Me personnally I think thats a load of bull sh*t. I want one just as bad today as I did the last one I smoked. A friend of mine quit 26 years ago and he says the same thing. But I know if I ever smoked another one, I wouldn't be able to stop, so I don't. When I really want one bad, I do chew a piece of nicotine gum and that quenches the desire. You will be amazed that in just a few days, your food tastes better and you breath better too. Good luck and we are all rooting for you!

 

I'm a smoker too (8 years now) and it's starting to affect my singing. I'm having a really hard time even cutting back. I've recently switched to "roll your own" cigarettes, and it's helped a little.

Maybe we should try quitting together! Motivate eachother and all that...

A few things I'm trying: More constructive "rituals" to keep my hands and mind busy. I've been eating baby carrots like crazy, and keep a notebook to write in when I'm dying for a smoke from boredom.
Not smoking in the places I usually would... Now that my car is "off limits", I don't even keep cigarettes with me for long trips. If I feel the need to smoke, I have to pull over, get in the trunk and potentially make myself late.

Why and where do you smoke? Is it a social habit, stress related, etc.? Did everyone in your family/circle of friends smoke? Figuring all that out helped me replace smoking with other activities, but I'm still working on it.

 

hi all, again.
SusieQ, yes I agree about stong minds and you have to have your mind made up, however for me the chemical addiciton is a strong part of it. I have used patches before and they do help. The gum works the best but gives me sever heartburn.

Capt, just want to say I admire you for the honesty with yourself and us. I imagine I too, will always want to smoke. That is just how I feel. Keeping that in mind I will work it into my stategy for quitting.

Lexxi your post has made me really examine why I started, and why I really don't want to quit. In doing so I realize I have some pretty strong associations attached to smoking. For one, I started at a turning point in my life. Things were just beginning to turn around for me. I love my hubby with all my heart and always have. When I started smoking, we finally had one thing in common(stupid as it sounds). We have a near perfect relationship now and he is a totally differnt person than he was then. But I cherrish that time of transition in my life so much and I think it really had some (subconcious) bearing on the situation. However, now that I realize that, it no longer has to be an issue. No one in my family smoked when I was growing up. I started when I was on my last job. (I don't hold her responsible, it was ultimately my choice) My boss/bestfiend smoked and she kept trying to get me to also. After her nagging for a few months, I finally relented and tried it. Yuck! but she kept after me telling me it would make me feel calmer and I wouldn't feel so stressed. So I tried it again and started out with 3 a day or night in this instance. I would have one on the way to work, one around midnight and one on the way home. That lasted 2 weeks.By 3 weeks I was up to a pack a day. The rest is history. I know now, she didn't care if it made me feel better or not, it made her feel better to have someone to smoke with and she just could not stand for anyone to not do what she wanted. (geez I'm so gullible sometimes) It did seem to take the edge off of stressful situations, but I think one reason it does is you stop what you are doing, take a break, talk about things and go back a little less stressed. So in my strategy, I will incorperate a specific action when I feel like I need one for stress. I am no longer working(since 2004 when I became dissabled) I am just rambling I know but this is really helping me...examining these things and writing it down. I valued the input from everyone or I could just write it in a dairy. Any way I am very near the quitting point. Yes lexxi, we can quit together and support each other, and you people here are just so helpful, all of you. Who know's between all of us, we may come up with something that would work for lots of people. And the truth is..I really don't want to give up something I really enjoy...I am just afraid not to. This month consists of 2 MRI's, stomach scope tomorrow and a CT on Friday. Maybe I need to make a concious effort to associate smoking with all of these unpleasantries??
Thanks to all of you, kuddo's to those who have quit, absolutely no judgment to those who haven't and best of luck to those of us trying to quit.