I'm going to use nicotine patches for a while, but I'm determined to succeed.
These are the 3 biggest tips given to me by many people. (Some are repeats from private notes to you) I'm approaching 10 years and miss it every day. I still have dreams about smoking and wake up feeling guilty.
1. Never ever take the 1st puff from anybody. As said here, just because you quit once, it's not easier to do it again.
2. Find an alternative. Mine is strong coffee. The caffeine stimulates you like the nicotine. The patches work, but try to put a new one on during a bathroom run at 3 or 4 in the morning so the nicotine level is higher when you wake up.
3. Remember, you only have to quit for a few minutes each time. It's amazing how fast the brain will move on to something else in a few minutes. Avoid dwelling over it or thinking about it.
Today I can sit next to smokers or stand next to them. The smell is glorious, but the urge is no longer there.
Another tip is to break some old associations. If you smoked when drinking (I actually smoked less), avoid it for a while. If you needed a smoke with each coffee, then skip my coffee tip, and use an energy drink. (many are very hurtful to teeth, so be careful here). I could not make a phone call without going out to the garage and having one. I quit making phone calls and used email and texting instead.
It can be done. Camels, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall (all non-filters) for 50 years. Now I can swim a mile non-stop 3x/week, and ski 2 or 3 runs in a row without wheezing or pretending to fix my boot. |
