And how long have you been a non-smoker?
For me, at the time it was the realization that I cannot continue to smoke and continue to play the trumpet. My lung volume and strength really suffered. But instead of stopping to smoke, for many months I played less and less trumpet.
What put me through the phase of actually smoking the last cigarette and becoming a non-smoker again, was one of the books of Allen Carr, I don’t remember the exact title. Looking back, it was awfully written, and I had to will my way through believing the narrative, but it worked. That was 27 years ago, and I didn’t have one cigarette since, no cravings and no replacement either.
Did you go cold turkey? Any major side effects?
I vaguely remember Allen Carr, but what helped was a small book that i found in a second hand bookstore in Paris, which was called: Comment S’arreter De Fumer En Cinq Jours. A quick search learns that apparently it was written by Dr J. Wayne Mcfarland and Elman J. Folkenberg. It was in french, but that didn’t stop me, it was a small book and very helpful.
I was able to stop after trying to stop 7 times in two months. The 7th time worked. If i remember correctly i used breathing exercises and nicotine gum. I also avoided the couch where i would smoke after diner, instead doing something else.
The most important thing that helped was to change how i was thinking. Every attempt failed because i lit up a cigarette and then thinking; i failed, might as well continue smoking. However, the 7th time it dawned on me that smoking 1 cigarette does not mean you failed. You can put it out and just continue to not smoke. It was just the mind tricking me in continuing with my addiction. Thankfully, hardly anyone around me smoked and that was a great help. I stopped 22 years ago and i had been quite a heavy smoker, a packet of cigarettes a day.
I had a very similar experience. I heard a phrase that allowed me to understand, and that one phrase made me quit.
“The mind of an addict continually searches for an excuse to relapse.”
That’s really the key isn’t it! What the mind wants is so much more the struggle than what the body wants. Even though physical cravings can be awful, it’s the mind that steers the wheel. Thanks for sharing; i hope this sentence will help people abandon their addictions, whatever they may be.
I quit smoking in 2017, but I quit nicotine all together in 2018. Since 2009 I swapped to vape cigs and more modern vape devices. Swapped back and forth back to smoking a couple times due to being fed up with bad quality with vape devices and constant maintenance. Eventually I said to help with it all in 2018 and put everything away and stopped using it, cold turkey. Had a few cigarettes a few months ago as a social smoker thing. Glad I quit and never gonna go back. It was a long journey, but hella worth it.
I quit smoking when I became poor, unemployed, 10years ago. When there’s no money you lose your addiction easly.
Smoked for 8 years, a pack a day, sometimes more.
One day I was suffering really bad from depression, that’s when I suddenly decided that I’ve stopped smoking. The cravings were rough, but I powered through. A year and half later my life got much better, unfortunately at that time I picked it up again, for another year.
I knew I shouldn’t continue this habit, I actually hated it, but I became it’s slave once more, a pack a day again. This time however, I had an aim of improving my physical and mental health. I joined a gym and went for daily runs. I noticed that after a run I wouldn’t crave a cigarret for hours. After months of training, I increased my gym/running activity to 2 hrs and quit smoking at the same time. It was easier than before.
Unfortunately again, I started using nicotine pouches thinking I wouldn’t get addicted to it. For half a year I used it, before again starting gym and running and then quit nicotine altogether. Initially it was a bit rough as my mental health wasn’t too good at that time, but now after a month, I don’t even get the cravings either. Hopefully I won’t Crack this time
