Why I want to smoke
MisterHollis
Posts: 21 Member
I don't know how many are still active in here, but I figured I'd go ahead and post and see what happens.
I believe that reflection/introspection is a vital component to any successful and lasting life change. I have to be aware of the difficulties, and then apply a conscious strategy to minimize or eliminate them. This post is to present reasons that I want to smoke, and ways to address them.
Quitting is easy. I have quit several times. Staying quit is more difficult. I smoked and dipped regularly while in the Army (and a few years after). I most successfully quit when my oldest daughter was born, but have fallen back. Most recently, I bought a pack to help me cope with marriage stress, and that pack led to several others and smoking for over 6 months.
Things that I think are true but I have no research to *prove* it.
1. It takes 3 days to break physical addiction (hours 12-36 are the hardest).
2. It takes 30 days to break the psychological addiction (but desire will last, possibly for the rest of my life).
3. Some people are predisposed to addictions (some quit smoking easy, and genuinely cannot understand the struggle for others).
Things that make me want to smoke...
Thing 1: Stress
Situation: I encounter a situation that I feel powerless to shape or impact (such as argument with spouse or conflict at work), I consciously choose not to blow-up or overreact. I know that having a cigarette (and the requisite 3-5 minutes to step outside to smoke it) gives me time to calm down and mentally process the event.
Solution 1: Keep the "step outside for 5 minutes", but without the smoke. Or do something else for those 5 minutes (clean, work on a hobby, work on a puzzle).
Solution 2: Exercise. This is probably the healthiest option.
Thing 2: Bored
Situation: I have nothing better to do, and having a cigarette breaks up the monotony.
Solution: Having something better to do. We all have something that we could be doing to improve our life/environment. Read a book, write, play with kids.
Thing 3: Nearby Smoker
Situation: I have always disliked the smell of smoke, but knowing someone else nearby is smoking makes me want to have one.
Solution: ??? I really don't know.
I believe that reflection/introspection is a vital component to any successful and lasting life change. I have to be aware of the difficulties, and then apply a conscious strategy to minimize or eliminate them. This post is to present reasons that I want to smoke, and ways to address them.
Quitting is easy. I have quit several times. Staying quit is more difficult. I smoked and dipped regularly while in the Army (and a few years after). I most successfully quit when my oldest daughter was born, but have fallen back. Most recently, I bought a pack to help me cope with marriage stress, and that pack led to several others and smoking for over 6 months.
Things that I think are true but I have no research to *prove* it.
1. It takes 3 days to break physical addiction (hours 12-36 are the hardest).
2. It takes 30 days to break the psychological addiction (but desire will last, possibly for the rest of my life).
3. Some people are predisposed to addictions (some quit smoking easy, and genuinely cannot understand the struggle for others).
Things that make me want to smoke...
Thing 1: Stress
Situation: I encounter a situation that I feel powerless to shape or impact (such as argument with spouse or conflict at work), I consciously choose not to blow-up or overreact. I know that having a cigarette (and the requisite 3-5 minutes to step outside to smoke it) gives me time to calm down and mentally process the event.
Solution 1: Keep the "step outside for 5 minutes", but without the smoke. Or do something else for those 5 minutes (clean, work on a hobby, work on a puzzle).
Solution 2: Exercise. This is probably the healthiest option.
Thing 2: Bored
Situation: I have nothing better to do, and having a cigarette breaks up the monotony.
Solution: Having something better to do. We all have something that we could be doing to improve our life/environment. Read a book, write, play with kids.
Thing 3: Nearby Smoker
Situation: I have always disliked the smell of smoke, but knowing someone else nearby is smoking makes me want to have one.
Solution: ??? I really don't know.
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Replies
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Hey
You need to change your mindset to believe you are now a non-smoker and smoking is BAD
Cliche but I read Allen Carrs easy way to stop smoking and it managed to wake up my brain and now I stick to the manta NOPE- Not One Puff Ever
I also got a little tattoo as a reminder of stopping
If you really want to do it you will, but you need to convince yourself that smoking is disgusting, smelly, cancer creating, money burning waste of space
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