Hi anyone who is comtemplating stopping smoking. I am a mad englishman who has a few minutes spare.
I am well qualified to write about failure.......................................I "tried" to stop smoking many, many times over the years.
So how did I succeed on this occasion?
I learnt how to deal with the....
FEAR
The fear that I would not be able to cope
The fear that I would not be able to "enjoy" my little friend the cigar
The fear that on social occasions I would not be happy
The fear of stopping something that I knew was killing me
The fear of withdrawal
The fear of the unknown
The fear that I was giving up something...........
Ok, stop right there!!!!! Giving up.............don't ever think of it as giving up anything other than bad breath, an early death, low self esteem (because I should know better but somehow can't beat this thing!) lack of money....look at my stats....look at all the extra money my daughter can weedle out of me now!
You STOP!
I think I am a reasonably intellegent guy (howls of derision from all the gals out there that there is such a thing!
) and I suddenly realised that the fear came from not knowing how to deal with the situation or even what the issues were.......so I started to read......this site and the wealth of information on it (and other sites out there), the Allan Carr Book, the local hospital website......in fact anything I could get my hands on that gave me information.
Knowledge takes away the fear.........you realise what you are dealing with, a powerful addictive drug called nicotine.
It started to create a desire to stop, and when the desire to stop overtakes the desire to smoke......you simply stop.
But you have to create the desire and you have to understand what is happening to you both physically and mentally.
By day three all the nicotine has left your body
Craves last three minutes
Most people smoke about 15 to 30 a day because of the half life of nicotine
Craves reduce over time
The benefits of not smoking start to happen immediately
One puff can undo 2 years of not smoking
Smokers smell dreadful
Receptors in the brain are responsible for craves
If you put weight on you can deal with it later
And I could go on for ever.............and some say that I do!!!!!!
At the end of this mad english shambolic ramble......there is one final piece of advice......use the support of this site and the people on it. You don't have to be on your own in this. I developed "browsers butt boils" (not my saying but one form an old friend) posting on this site. Feel the urge to smoke? then post and wait to see how quickly someone will get back to you.
Just remember one more thing.........we love you.........we support you.........we can give you information and inspiration...................but we can't stop for you.
mAD enGliShmaN
11/28/2005
Smoke-Free Days: 1404
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 14,040
Amount Saved: �7,020.00
Life Gained:Days: 237
Hrs: 19
Mins: 51
Seconds: 31
