Author: Steven Aitchison (399 Articles)
The owner of this blog. Proud father, doting husband, blogger, hire me as freelance writer, and addiction worker
It has been around 18 months since I gave up smoking and every time I meet
a smoker they always ask how I did it. I have to say it took me three
times before I eventually gave up for good.
There were lots of different factors that led me to even start thinking about
giving up; however the main one was my own health. Other reasons included
my children, they kept telling me I was going to die and got quite distressed
about it; the smell in the house; the smell on my clothes; feeling like a leper
when going outside to smoke. There are a million reasons to give up and
only one reason to continue and that is addiction.
I used to tell myself I could give up if I really wanted to but I didn’t
want to. The truth is I did want to but felt it would be too hard
and I didn’t want to fail, so it was easier to say I enjoyed it too much. I
enjoyed the supposed feeling it gave me after dinner, with a cup of tea, whilst
having a drink etc. However when I realised it was me who was creating
this feeling and not the cigarettes things started to change in my way of thinking.
I began telling myself it was easy to give up smoking and after about 2 months
I gave up for good and haven’t looked back since. I worked on my
belief system about giving up smoking and convinced myself it was going to
be easy and when the time came it was easy.
My tips for giving up smoking would be:
- Give yourself compelling reasons to give up, don’t do it for other
people, and do it for yourself. - Set a date about 2 months in advance of when you will give up and tell
yourself every day you are going to give up on that day. - Don’t try patches or gum with nicotine in it. Once you
told yourself for two months when you will give up just give up - Tell yourself every day it is easy to give up smoking; your brain will
really start to believe it after a month or so. - Tell your friends and family you will be giving up on ‘that date’,
this gives you a little pressure and shows your friends and family you are
committed. - Break the old patterns of behaviour surrounding your smoking e.g. if you
smoked after your dinner at night, go for a walk instead or go clean the
bathroom. Pretty soon your mind will get out of the old habit and start
forming new habits.
It is easy to give up smoking, however we have been conditioned to believe
the opposite is the case. Our mind will believe whatever we tell it to
believe and adjust our physiology and cravings accordingly. When you
tell yourself it is easy to give up smoking for two months, it will be very
easy on the day to give up, you have to believe it.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish I had seen this when I quit. I stopped about a year ago now and while it was easier than I thought it might be, I’d have loved to use this method. I found in my experience that it was the habitual cigarettes that got me. That one after dinner, or first thing in the morning were the keys to quitting. The minute I rid myself of those habits it became a cake-walk to throw it away completely, no gum or patches.
I hope others get good use out of this and help themselves quit. I enjoyed the habit, but the effects were awful. Bravo for spreading this method.
-DanielRo
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It’s really hard to give up on something, especially if you are addicted to it. But I like your attitude about the whole giving up thing. You were ready to change for the good of everybody and yourself. We need a positive outlook in life for us to develop.
Those are great tips. I believe them to be good since they came from experience. I have several friends who wanted to quit a long time ago but could. I guess this post will inpire them into giving up eventually.
This are no doubt great and useful tips. However, I feel that giving a 2 months period may take too long. I have friends that do that and because they think they gonna give up smoking soon, they smoke 2 times more then usual during the last phase.
In the end, they still could not get rid of the addiction.
I stoped two year ego and now quite comfartable to me. To quit smoking, I joined health club.
Some pretty good tips there. Of course in the end it all comes down to mindpower.
Check the link from my name for a few helpful tips I have compiled. Do you mind if I add yours to my list?
I quit some 9 months ago and am very proud of it. I also gained about 20#, but I am not going to worry about it just yet. Rather chunky and smoke free.
Some great tips – the one that really made a big different when I stopped was changing behaviour patterns. I always had a smoke after a meal (any meal) so instead I would go for a short walk, and take something with me to keep my fingers occupied. I started with a rubics cube (showing my age now) but anything that keeps your fingers working helps take your mind off the cigarette.
I believe it is all in our mind. If we really want to stop smoking, I feel that we can do it mentally. But not everyone has strong mind to resist the cravings. This when they need some aids to overcome the urge.
You are so right about it being easy to quit smoking. We have been conditioned our whole lives (whether we are smokers or not) that it is difficult to quit, so we believe it. Heck, why does a non-smoker tell a smoker it is difficult to quit – how do they know? It is all in the mind and it is all about changing our mindset.
Good write up. I have quit smoking I just cant come up with one good reason to caryy on smoking. When you think about it its such a primative thing to do. Tobacco companys are just robbing us not to mention the tax man, and i work hard for my money so will not waste it on smokes again
Those are very good ideas, powerfully presented. I liked the way you thought about how easy it was going to be to stop. During the get ready phase, this is the idea that I suggest my clients think frequently: “I wonder how easy it will be to stop smoking.” If this thought is remembered frequently for a few weeks before stopping smoking, some clients breeze through the quitting process.
I gave up 2 months ago. Cold turkey, no patches or gum is the best way. The difference this time than on previous occasions was that I WANTED to give up. Really wanted too. Plus I had just moved into a house of non smokers and felt terrible popping out and coming back in stinking. Apart from hopeful health effects the best thing about giving up for me is being able to wear the same sweater for days and days if i want and it not smelling. It still has not fully sunk in that I am now a non smoker. Best thing I ever did. If I have one slight regret it’s not doing it 15 years ago.
I have just quit 10 days ago.
It is not easy to quit smoking I made up my mind on a friday and quit at 12 midnight Sunday. I put a patch on on Monday morning and every morning since ,if they take the edge of why not give yourself every chance of suceeding chew gum as well if you want.
It has to be easier to give up that gum and the patches than cigs.
If you fail you fail. Start again next Monday morning or start again directly after you fail that is when you finish that fag.
I dont know if there is an easy way 40+ years smoking there is too much to change just get on with it. again and again and again…!!!???fV€K it.
I havent failed yet but I might and it won’t stop me trying.
Its damn easy. After about 2 years of 3 packs a week i just randomly made a bet . its been 7 months and been clean since. no issues.
i dont have a problem when others smoke around me. been there done that….bored now.
Like he said…its a myth that quitting is difficult. The addiction is ONLY in your mind.
Believe me, you will get a feeling of power over yourself after quitting which is better than any high anything else can induce.
Be free
live long and prosper
I’m not a smoker so I can’t possibly understand the mental torment that smokers go through when trying to give it up. I have managed to give up certain foods for the sake of my health, but it wasn’t as though I was eating 20 packs of potato crisps/chips a day, starting when I first woke up, needing one after a meal or with a drink, etc, so not really the same kind of giving up.
My husband is in process of trying to give up smoking, he’s been a smoker since his early teens, that makes him a smoker for nearly 40 years. He did manage to give up for two months, but then we moved house and there were other emotive family issues, so he went back to smoking again.
He’s tried several times since then, but only managed about five days at a time, before caving in. The problem is that he is in ill-health, so he can’t just go for a walk everytime he gets a craving. He is very limited as to what activities he can do to take his mind off a craving. Going on the computer stresses him out, so he can’t do it then. Anything requiring concentration, ditto.
I know it’s all about mindset but when someone is denied the opportunities of being able to go for walks or engage in other activities, it makes giving up a lot harder. Any suggestions for other non-physical activities?