How To Quit Smoking
July 12th, 2008 | by admin |If your reading this document then I would assume that you are eager if not desperate to rid yourself of the addiction that has permeated probably almost every aspect of your life and may now also ultimately be affecting your health to the point you can no longer sustain your present lifestyle .
The author quit smoking in 1999 and did it without the aid of nicotine patches, gums, additives or any other chemical helper to try and ease the pain of the withdrawl symptoms.I have not had or touched a tobnacco product sime that time today’s date is May.06.2008 .
But I had to quit my health was suffering badly I was a the point one drag would send my lungs into an explosion of pain , I was truly stuck between addicton and needing to quit . I had several false starts too before I finally kicked the habit.It was an experience I am not going to forget any time soon , being stuck like a yo yo refraining one minute then scrambling for a puff the next. Before I finally made the reslove to do it for real I truly was on my last leg of health of which I could go no further with smoking.
Why we smoke!
Nicotine is classified as a tranquiliser however there are other chemicals in cigarettes that cause your body to produce adrenaline and that triggers the brain into believing that something exiting maybe dangerous is going to happen , like winning a lottery or meeting a movie star.
So the combination of tranquility and exitement that counterbalance each other actually produce exitement but in a euphoric sort of way. When you are feeling this exitement caused by the cigarettes it’s reinforcing the way that you want to feel, which is exited because you think something good is going to happen.
I have heard people say things like ” It calmes me down ” thats the tranquilising side .The there are the smoking triggers such as getting into your car or the phone rings, ask yourself why do you reach for a smoke at these particular times ?It’s because you want to feel that special kind of exitement and you want to ease the pain of say bad news if the phone call could be something bad.
We could go on and on about smoking triggers, chemical reacions, emotional wellbeing, ect ect but the bottom line is that we smoke because we get something we want from it! That’s the pure simple truth.
Now the Hard Part!
Before you even attempt to quit there are afew simple things you need to do before yo u start , this I learned the hard way so for you the ride might be a little bit easier.
First you need to have a clear understanding.
First resolve:
From the moment you take your last puff…. THATS IT ! No going back , no just one little puff here or there say on your b day or if a baby’s born . THATS IT , if your addiced and quitting smoking is going to be hard for you then understand and get it through your head once and for all , and tatoo it to the inside of your eye lids “THATS IT ” !
Second resolve:
Quitting smoking is going to be hell , if you are having real trouble and you want to do it right and not give in then be prepared to undestand and accept the fact that it’s going to be HARD HARD HARD ! No matter what anyone says the withdrawl symptoms are going to make you feel like ripping yourself out of your own skin and biting your tongue off ! You will soon discover how nasty and evil your “Good buddies ” [ nickname for smokes] truly are once you lay them to rest.I don’t know anyone who has been successful with patches and other helpers but my way is cold turkey and it is to this method I am referring .
Third resolve: There will be times in your life when the compulsion to have a smoke even afew years after you quit becomes so strong you simply cannot resist . This happened to me when I attended a Slayer rock concert . All I wanted to do was get as high and drunk and f ed up as I possibly could although I have never done hard drugs. But smoking was on the list for that night. If I could go back to that time I would not have taken the smoke. Rather I see it now as the warden that imprisons you instead of the gatekeeper that set’s you free !
Now for the good part !
You can think of quitting smoking as breaking the spine of your enemy .
Once you have broken it’s spine the physical and psychological hold it has over you greatly diminishes.
For me I guess it took about 7 days to break the spine of my cigarette addiction . For 7 days all I could think about was breaking down and getting another puff but I knew that it would lead to disaster because of my lung problems.So I was greatly stuck and needed a tremendous amount of willpower to hold out against the cravings .In the first 6 days I felt as if I was someone else , I was uncomfortable all the time , I had an awareness of my mouth which is really annoying , I had brain fog and had trouble concentrating because all I could think about was having a smoke . I guess I had anxiety because I knew that if I kept my promise about it being my last puff I would NeVER have another one as long as I lived literally it was all I could think about from dawn to dusk !
On the seventh day !
I got up as usual and my thoughts immediately turned to the days work ahead as I planned what I was going to do , I went to the shower turned on the tap started to wash and then it hit me ! ” My god I made it a whole ten minutes without not even the slightest inclination about having or wanting a cigarette . I knew I had broken the spine of my enemy at that point.Literally all the really bad withdrawl symptoms became only slight blemished as to what they had been , I drank and enjoyed my coffee and my lunch and also enjoyed having more energy , getting things done faster and the feeling of not having my lungs burning .All in all it was a really good day!
How I got through the cravings
Since I went cold turkey there was only one tool I used and it was a psychological one . Since my cravings and uncomfortable feelings were so bad they bordered on depression as well, I had to have a way of visualising myself rising out of this addictive hell .
I did it with a simple affirmation.
I would close my eyes, try to relax take a deep breath and focus to calm myself and then repeat to myself ” Beyond the hell of today lies a utopia of tomorrow.I know this utopia is going to be a far better life and what I feel right now will be banished from my being for good.I will be empowered to realise my dreams and live a life far greater than the one I have while imprisoned in this world of cigarette addiction.
As I read the affirmation to myself I visualised myself doing things i couldn’t possibly do while I smoked cuz my health wouldn’t allow it . i envisioned skiing and mountain climbing and playing soccer or any other kind of fantasy you like . It’s your world ! I envisioned myself being in goopd shape and more attractive to women and stuff , these are powerful motivators.
The cravings lost their hold for a while and when they came back I hit them harder with affirmation continually reinforcing the fantasy world I was determined to make a reality .
All I can say is that well … It Worked!
You really didn’t give up anything .
Now if you can say you don’t smoke anymore and say it with the confidence of knowing you don’t even flirt with them you can start exploring ways of recreating the exitement/ tranquilising feeling that you had exept this time without cigarettes. Eg Exercise : produces powerful endorphrins and a hot tub afterwards is pure magic .
How about turning out all the lights ordering your favorite pizza and then watching a super scary movie? Again no smoking but you will enjoy some cool and tingly emotions !
These are just a couple of examples . You can get as creative as you want.
One last thing …
After you quit smoking your body may react in some strange ways . It may recognise that your trying to improve your health and go on a campagne to liberate you from years of toxic builup in your organs and tissues, so if you end up feeling physically blah for a while after quitting then there is a good chance it’s toxins affecting you while they are being liberated from your body . But go see your doctor if you experience strange health problems of any kind. This article is not intended to be a representation of medical advice!
Remeber there truly is a utopia that lies beyond addictive behaviour.
You were born free and that is how you should remain !
Good Luck !
