I am in the process of quitting

[Jersey Devil]

I have smoked for almost 30 years and was up to 2+ packs a day and quit this Easter Sunday. Well, almost quit. I had no cigarettes Sunday, about 6 on Monday, 2 yesterday and today I bought a damned pack and smoked over half of it already until about an hour ago when I flushed the rest.

I am reading a book designed for alcoholics titled "Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction" by Jack Trimpey and wondered if anyone else had tried using it to quit smoking. I also think I should have read the whole book before quitting.

I know if I don't buy them I won't smoke them so my goal at first is to simply stop buying them. Bad plan?

[katinmn]

1. No, it may be the only thing that works.

When quitting (which I've done numerous times now) I find the tools helpful.

Have you tried any of them?

[BigBearJohn]

2. Rule #1 As long as you SEE cigs as a friend, you CANT QUIT

We are not designed to give up on our friends.
We turn to them in moments of need.
You have thousands of "pleasure moments" associated with smoking.

Everytime you finish something, you light up.
After a good meal, you light up.
You're out at a bar with friends, you light up.
You finish having sex, you light up.

You get the idea.

So, one of the first things you have to do is
start creating mental pictures of disgusting things
associated with smoking. I did this and it works.

I found pictures of diseased lungs.
I thought of the fact that smokers consume 1/4 quart of tar a year
by smoking
I found pictures of women and men with nictotine stained teeth, gums and hand
I would look at an ashtray and imagine eating the contents then licking the ashtray clean
Whenever I wanted a "puff" I would say, "hey John, why don't you
go outside, start your car, and take HUGE drag off the tailpipe?
I cant stand drug addicts, so instead of thinking of someone with
a needle in their arm, I would look at people and watch how they
SUCKED the nicotine down into their throats, like a desperate addict.

All through this, I kept one thought: IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENJOY
LIFE WITHOUT SMOKING. WHEN YOU WERE A KID AND RAN AROUND OUTSIDE
PLAYING WITH FRIENDS, YOU DIDN'T SMOKE. AND LIFE WAS GRAND.
IT CAN BE AGAIN!!!!

[Enraged_Ape]

6. Great post

I think my #1 motivator this time is imagining myself handing that asshat Tom Delay money every time I buy a pack of smokes--which is, in fact, what I'm doing. He laughs at me and blows shit on me for having to go back to him all the time, then he tells me all the new things he's working on to further destroy our country...with my money.

That image right there should at least get me through today.

[BigBearJohn]

7. I smoked for for 20 years and have been off smoking for 20 years.

Believe it or not, the urge goes away quicker than you realize.
You will reach a point where you realize what an utterly stupid
habit it was. Then you will feel sad you wasted so many good
years doing it. You can be free of cigarettes. And it is worth
the struggle to get off of them. ALL of your senses will be
heightened by quitting. You will feel better, sleep better,
make love better.

[lukasahero]

8. Thank you so much for this post

I hear people all the time say how "it's been 10 years and I still have the urge" and that is so defeating. All I keep thinking is if I have to fight this hard for the rest of my life, why bother?

It's nice to hear someone say it will get easier. Thanks for that.

[Enraged_Ape]

3. Not buying them MIGHT work

It's been my experience that you'll always find a way to get them, though. Where there's a will (or lack of one), there's a way. :(

[BigBearJohn]

4. First you quit your own, then you quit others

[Enraged_Ape]

5. I like that!

I never thought about it that way.