I started smoking when I was 33 years old. From what I've been told if you make it to 30 and haven't started smoking the odds are you won't ever take up smoking. I quess you could say that I beat those odds. I started smoking because I had a drinking problem, and I reasoned within my mind that if I started smoking maybe I would drink less. That didn't work, it just gave me something to do while I drank.
Now I had two addictions to try to recover from. I was able to kick the drinking when the first of my two sons arrived. I didn't want his life to be scarred from my abuse of alcohol. However, I still have the addiction to nicotine. Every pack that I buy is going to be my last. And every time that pack is gone, I find a reason to buy "just one more pack." This little game has been going on for a couple of years now.
Every now and then, half way through a pack of cigarettes, I get frustrated with my weakness and want to throw them away. But I fear that I will break down and buy another pack and those that I discarded would have been wasted.
If anyone wants to join me in this commitment to quit or has words of encouragement or otherwise, I welcome your comments. I will try to post often to detail my progress.
Now I had two addictions to try to recover from. I was able to kick the drinking when the first of my two sons arrived. I didn't want his life to be scarred from my abuse of alcohol. However, I still have the addiction to nicotine. Every pack that I buy is going to be my last. And every time that pack is gone, I find a reason to buy "just one more pack." This little game has been going on for a couple of years now.
Every now and then, half way through a pack of cigarettes, I get frustrated with my weakness and want to throw them away. But I fear that I will break down and buy another pack and those that I discarded would have been wasted.
If anyone wants to join me in this commitment to quit or has words of encouragement or otherwise, I welcome your comments. I will try to post often to detail my progress.
posted by Nik Nies @ 9:00 PM
3 Comments:
At 9:31 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hey Uncle,
I am in the same boat that you are in. I want to quit so bad, but so far it has been a no go. I hate the day I ever picked one of these up. I've even gone a couple days and not smoked and then started back up again, when I see a friend smoke! Can you believe that? I am proud of you for quitting your first habit, maybe the both of us can finally quit this habit to! My worst time for smoking is in the car, especially on long trips and when I'm around friends who smoke. Which is most of them, sad to say. Anyways I hope you accomplish your goal.
At 11:44 PM,
Anonymous said…
I hear ya uncle steve I would like to quit to, I have been smoking since i was 17. It is scary for me to even consider, but i know i need to, let me know how you r doing with it and any suggestions on how to. ty heather
At 9:40 AM,
Nik Nies said…
Heather
One thing that I have been able to figure out through quitting drinking and now with smoking is that your motivation level has to stay higher than your craving level at all times. The motivational factor for me in quitting drinking was that I was finally going to be a dad. Smoking has been a different story. I had to wrap my mind aroung the idea of being a non-smoker again. A couple of things kept creeping into my mind: If not now when? I know that each day you put it off, you make it harder on yourself to quit. Unless I am to resolve to smoke until the day I die, now is the best time for me to quit. I needed motivational cues to assist me. I have been using visual aids, started this blog (just having it to push me helps with the commitment) and I found a smoking meter on a site called www.silkquit.com It keeps track of all your info, how long you've been quit, how many cigs you haven't smoked...
Don't get me wrong, its still not easy. They say the first three days are the hardest, and the first week is called "hell week" but there are things you can do to get through it. Change routines, recognize triggers, avoid other smokers, exercise, and if nothing else works, sleep.
When I get cravings now, I think about what that cigarette would be like. I know from times that I've went more than 12 hours without one, that it would give me a buzz, and make me feel a little queazy. So, when I smoked that first one it wouldn't be rewarding, therefore, I would reason with myself that I need another one, and the cycle would start over again.
Anyway, thank you for commenting, I would love to see you quit, if there is ever anything I can do to help, let me know.
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