After several start-stops, I decided to give it another go during Rosh Hashanah with the idea that I would not bring it with me into the new year. The past few times I have quit, I have managed to stay off for 5-6 months. It feels a bit like the anti-depressant trap of "I feel better, so I'll stop." Or in this case, "oh, I'm not addicted anymore so it must be okay for me to have a cigarette every now and again at parties or hanging out with so-and-so," which quickly spirals.
This Summer, I learned that I was using nicotine to self-medicate ADHD and anxiety which is a catastrophic plan since nicotine dependency and the attendant mini-withdrawals of smoking addiction massively exacerbate both conditions. I am now in the initial stages of treatment for both so I am guardedly optimistic that this quit will go better.
And yes, I have read 'the easy way to quit smoking'! :p Great book up to a point.
Gonna copy my message from a couple days ago:
I remember turning back on my way to buy more smokes while going through withdrawal. Best decision I made.
Listen to your conscience.
Someone in that thread had said that the first three days are actual addiction withdrawals the other habit-breaking and filling in all the mini-breaks and oral fixation. Which is big if true.
the first three days are the hardest, but full physical withdrawal in my understanding is completely gone at 3 weeks. everything after that is habit/compulsion. so once you power through those 3 weeks, after that the strategy shifts.
Gotcha so I can have as much beer as I want for three weeks to compensate then taper. Gonna go from a pack-a-day to a keg-a-day. /j
I am a human garbage fire and I quit. You can do it! It's like 10 days of clawing at walls and then just nostalgic pangs. Being able to hold your breath is a superpower.
I am so looking forward to it! Me and my friend live in different cities and get to ride our bikes together about once a month. We used to be about the same speed but it was appalling to me how much slower I was getting over the past few rides.
I started distance running and it's so much more rewarding than smoking. You'll get there!
That's awesome! One of my comrades wants to start going to a yoga studio by my work together so hopefully that can displace a lot of time I would spend smoking. :p
I detest vaping so not worried about that, but thank you for the warning!
Cigarettes always tasted like shit to me and I hated how the smell clings to your everything until you wash or clean everything that's been in contact with it. I usually have half a cigarette once a year that taste even worse than I remember.
I think you have to fail a few times before you realize that there is no such thing as 'just one cigarette'. It's a tough thing to come to terms with but I quit three years ago now and haven't looked back
That's so awesome! It's really crazy how 'it's just one' becomes addiction again. Which stinks because I do genuinely enjoy that 'it's just one' soooo much at the absolute right moment. But that just ain't it. In a way it's a beautiful elaboration/object lesson of 'On Practice' and how a series of incremental quantitative changes eventually shifts to become a qualitative change.
