Quitting Smoking

[KittiesKorner]

that's pretty good, bro. I tip my hat

 

[Monk]

I thought we eliminated bro from the forum.

 

[nvanprooyen]

I didn't get the memo bro.

 

[Whiskey85]

I have never smoked, but I have been addicted to something before. I won't say what it was because it's embarrassing for me to even say I was addicted to something so stupid.... but an addiction is an addiction. If it's hurting you financially, your relationships, your health, your job/school performance or just wasting a whole lot of your time, it's a problem. Outside of drugs and alcohol, people can be addicted to things like shopping, gaming, porn, the internet, tanning, etc. For all these people, quitting these things can be just as hard for them as someone trying to quit a drug.

For me, it took about 45 days for the craving to go away. It wasn't until about 80 days that I stopped thinking about it. It's been roughly 9 months now and it seemingly isn't a part of my life anymore. Here and there, I still get an urge. But I think about how much things have improved for me since I quit, and I know it won't be worth it to go back.

One thing that was important for me was to identify triggers which led me to my addiction. Boredom and anxiety were the two big ones. When I was bored, I went to it. When I was anxious and worrying about something, I went to it. So what I started doing was filling empty time with something else. If I had two hours, I's workout, clean, etc. If I was worried about something, I simply talked to somebody about it.

I made myself a counter like the one I had posted just to keep track of how I was doing. I did relapse a few times before I finally got it... but keeping track helped me not lose focus. Instead of relapsing and thinking, "****, I ruined my progress.... guess I can binge before I start again." I thought, "Okay, so I relapsed 2 times in 21 days. considering I used to do it every day, 2 times in 21 days is pretty fucking good. I got this."

So while I don't know how it is to quit smoking, I do know how hard it is to beat addiction. Good luck to all of you. With time, you'll all get there.

Jack off too much?

 

[nvanprooyen]

4 weeks. Boom.

 

[Run the ball]

Cravings should be a lot more manageable now, but stay strong man you can the see the light now!

 

[nvanprooyen]

Honestly don't even think about it at this point for the most part. Using the e-cig when drinking and it's not bothering me at all, even when around other smokers.

 

[Run the ball]

Honestly don't even think about it at this point for the most part. Using the e-cig when drinking and it's not bothering me at all, even when around other smokers.

Well that's pretty awesome for you then! Would you agree that quitting smoking is all about attitude change and self control?

 

[nvanprooyen]

Ya, totally. Last few times I tried to quit were absolutely brutal. This time it was more like "**** it, I don't want to do that anymore". And now I don't. Kinda bizarre really. I've heard lots of people say that you really just need to decide to stop / want to quit, it never made sense until now.

 

[Run the ball]

Yup many get upset when you tell them this(some in this thread), but it's the honest truth about the situation.

 

[HeHateMe]

Im still with ya. Congrats to us.

 

[nvanprooyen]

45 days and going strong.

 

[Run the ball]

Now you're starting to notice the $$$ savings I bet! You got this bro, keep it up!

 

[nvanprooyen]

Thanks! My quit smoking savings account is up to $350

 

[HeHateMe]

good job. i'm back to it, as of the last week and a half. i have my excuses but will quit again this weekend. sorry bros.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Hey man, at least you didn't completely collapse. It's fucking hard. Stay the course!!

 

[Hbkrusso]

 

[nvanprooyen]

I'm pretty sure I used to have that boom box behind them.

 

[nvanprooyen]

Bump. Still no cigs. Pretty much 3 months at this point. Swam 1500 meters today, most I've been able to do in a long ass time. Felt pretty good too. Think I might do a sprint triathlon soon if I can keep my fucking ankle from swelling up every time I run on it.