Any HELP with not SMOKING?

[Ida_Mann]

I would have to grab one of my favorite books to quote exactly, but I believe that Sam Clemens put it best in one of his books when he wrote about quitting cigars.

He said the only way to kick a habit like that is to remove the addiction of the mind, not the physical addiction.  So, in this case it would mean keep a fresh pack of cigs with you wherever you go and tell youreself that you can have one whenever you want, but you are stronger than that. And, if you feel a craving then have one, but keep it to half of your normal in the first week, and keep reducing by half every week thereafter till you smoke such a miniscule amount that it doesn't matter wether you have one or not.

Easier said than done for sure, but I smoked for a few years, then one day just quit without realizing it and three weeks later cleaned out my car and found a half pack of M Lights in a crumpled box.  That was January 8, 2002 at 11:30 in the morning that I had the last one as part of a steady habit.  To this day about twice a year, I will have a craving and I will go buy a pack and have one or two, but it's a reminder of why I quit,,,,that stuff stinks ;-)

I hope we all helped, and good luck.


Id@

[kawGIRL]

Thanks for the advise Ida, well I find myself coming here for support now    
It's 10:30 pm and still working  [smiley=Angry.gif] I am so sick of Power point slides they all just blur together, I could smoke a pack about now to clear my head
It would be different if it was something other than Scientific crap

I am a non-smoker  

[big-daddy]

How are doing Kawgirl. hang in there!

[love_to_roost]

Well I wouldnt be the best one for this since I quit for a year
and started back.Butyou have to have the mindset that you
really want to quit.There is no halfway about it I did real good
during the summer went 6 weeks nothing.Then like a dummy
went back to the dark side.Anyway best of luck what helped
me just think about all the nasty crap that goes with a cigg
and it almost turns you off of them.

[kawGIRL]

Well I am PROUD of myself  [smiley=Approve.gif] Spent the weekend at our camp and "NO SMOKING"!!! I got to RIDE all weekend it was awesome!  It was very cold Saturday night so we all sat around the fire, lots of people smoking and drinking it was hard but I made it! ....I don't smoke! [smiley=ThumbsUp.gif]

Thank's for all of the Post's and PM"s, It helps that there is someone out there Supporting ME!  [smiley=Hug.gif]

[mudnuri]

You can do it Suz! It is an up hill battle that you can win. There will come a time where you don't think about it. That is what you feed on. How long can you go without thinking about it. I AM NOT  A SMOKER. Move on. The craving will pass and then it's another period of time that you don't think about it.
You did not come out of the womb with one. So they are not natural. Ida said something that worked for me. I had a pack around and after a week I had one but couldn't stand it and threw it away. I had to wash up and brush my teeth. NASTY! THEY ARE NASTY AND SMELL NASTY AND YOU SMELL NASTY!
Well, you know what I mean.
If it gets to tough you can try the dipping thing. Really- what's the difference? BOTH NASTY!
Keep it up and just try to think of other things. The lolly-pop thing never worked for me. JUST QUIT.
B
p.s. Hi Jeff!

[Drew]

I quit in October of 2003.  Best thing I ever did.  In order for you to successfully quit, you have to be mentally determined with a reason why you want to quit.  

My grandmother smoked her whole life, then fell and broke her back.  She had to have surgery on her back, which was successful, but because she smoked her whole life, she was not strong enough to get off of the respirator.  I watched my grandmother breathe through her neck for 600 days before she died a few weeks ago.  

150 days (5 months) of watching my grandmother suffer made me mentally determined to quit smoking.  Once I committed myself, fighting the urge was simple.  

And the longer you go without a smoke, the stronger you become.  If you give in and take one drag from someone's cigarette...you have just thrown away all of your hardwork and concentration.  Be strong and never give up...

Also, this may help...everytime you see someone light up...in your mind, think the person is putting a cat turd in their mouth...pretty soon everytime you have a craving your mind will associate the cigarette as putting dookie in your mouth and the mental habit will be easier to break.

Good Luck!!  You can do it!!