no control.

I feel so powerless. I WANT to quit smoking so bad.. and I am having what seems to be the HARDEST time on the face of the earth doing it..

It's like I have zero control over my decision whether to smoke or not.

So frustrated.

Well as someone who has struggled for a long time-I can tell you that you have to want to quit and have made the decision to be a non-smoker.  You may not be ready.  Alan Carr has a book called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" that you might want to read.  It has worked wonders for many.  Good luck.

I know that I associate so many things with smoking.. Laying out by the pool having some drinks, smoking after sex occasionally, smoking after a big meal...

I WANT to quit.. I just don't get what you mean by not ready? I really want to be ready.. But when you are addicted to something like cigarettes, you don't really know when you are ready-

I, for one, don't feel like I am making the decision at least! It's the dam* addiction! and I hate it.

Not ready as in still continue to smoke.  It is an addiction, and you are still young enough to try to cut this out.  Do you have to smoke?  By that, I mean, first thing in the morning, and last thing at night.  Do you have to sneak away being the only smoker around?  Or are you a social smoker, which is how we all started?

When you are ready, you will learn to re-train yourself.  I can highly recommend this website also sponsored by about.com.  Check it out, you will learn tons of useful information.  I wish you the best!

http://quitsmoking.about.com

It is a forum much like this one....

Smoking is a drug, true, but the side effects are not physical such as heroine or other for example...

Quitting smoking is all in the head.... Alan Carr's book is great, he wrote in a way that works on ur mind, and he syas throughout his book to keep on smoking until you have finished his book.

Im 25 and have been smoking since i was i think 17 years old. I wanted to do like my friends...  I went once to my grd parents house (they can not know i smoke.... dont want the talk) so i didnt smoke, ya the first 3 days were tough,,, all u can thik of is cigarette cigarette.... but then when any cravings came, i just went to spent time with my grd parents which i dont c often, or went to help them in the garden etc...

Its tricky, believe me i know, u think when u have a craving that u really need it but it goes away as soon as u find somehting else to do and keep ur mind not thinking of it. When i got home, (my mom smokes) and i thought oh i was so good during 5 days i can have one... and BAM smoking again..

At the moment im still smoking, everyone at work is smoking, my fiance smokes.... we are going to BALI tomorow and told him that it is a great time for the 2 of us to quit... as we will need all the breath we can (surfing, diving, climbing volcano etc..)

I would defitenly recommend Alan Carr's book .... its all in the head and he explains it well...  I used to stop and start again, i used to write on my cigarettes DEATH, CANCER in bright red.... i would light one and put it out as i could see these words being consumed with everypuff...

Alan carr as well as CDs i think, but i would definetely read his book, i have one copy at home and will take it with me to BALI....

Best of luck

The thing that pisses me off the most is that I QUIT 3 years ago for 2 years.. and last year I had a lot going on in August and I started up again. I still beat myself up over it.

80% of my friends smoke... NO ONE on my mom's side of the family smokes (which is a huge family).. However, my mom and brother know that I have been smoking.. Some family members on my dad's smoke as well-

I don't run and hide it.. and I don't wake up in the morning and immediately need one, or right before I go to bed either.. The thought of a cigarette in the morning is gross to me actually because I just brushed my teeth (which is weird, you would think the thought of tasting a cigarette would just make me sick the whole day?)

Like I said, I associate a lot of things with smoking.. However, I REALLY REALLY want to get out of the habit. I am just so angry with myself that I can't just drop the habit.

Thank you all for your input. I do appreciate it.

Signed, Frustration!

Ultimately, it is you who are in control of your actions. Right now, you're letting your addiction consume you. I've been studying ways of coping with social anxiety, depression, and stress, and I think I have some tips that could be of some use to you.

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. At the top of the left column write "Automatic Thoughts", at the top of the right column write "Rational Responses". Under the left column write the thoughts that come to your mind when you think about smoking. Number each thought as you write them. It is critical to not put in any associated EMOTIONS that you may feel about smoking. Simply thoughts.     In the right column write down the rational responses that you can counter your automatic thoughts with. I'll base my example off your posts.

Automatic Thoughts

1. I feel powerless.

2. I WANT to quit smoking.

3. It's like I have zero control over my decision whether to smoke or not.

4. It feels great to lay out by the pool drinking and smoking.

5. I don't feel like I am making the decision in the least!

6. I quit for 2 years and I had to go and screw it up!

7. All my friends smoke so it's practically impossible for me to stop.

8. No one on my mom's side of the family smokes so why do I?

 

Rational Responses

1. Powerless? Just look at the power I'm enacting over my body by writing this!

2. So why don't I?

3. If I don't have control, who does?

4. Wouldn't it feel just as great laying by the pool and enjoying the fresh air?

5. If I'm not making the decision, who is? I made the choice to buy the cigarettes so of course it will be harder to resist them.

6. It's hard to stop, no doubt about it. But the fact that I quit smoking before PROVES that I can do it! I am not powerless! Sure, I had a relapse, but I can conquer it!

7. I cannot control what my friends do with their bodies, but I CAN control what I do with mine!

8. Why do I?

 

It might also be a good idea to weigh the pros and cons of smoking. Again, two columns on a piece of paper. Write in the left column the Advantage of Smoking. In the right column, write the Disadvantages of Smoking. List as  many as you can think of.

Once you've tried these, let me know how you feel! I've suffered from social anxiety and depression since I was 14 (I'm 21 now) and in the last week I've made leaps and bounds by using these and a couple other methods described in a book I've been reading. (Feeling Good by David. D. Burns M.D.)

Ladtfirelyght... AMAZING advice.. Thank you very much! It IS my goal this summer to stop.. and I would really love to do it without the help of drugs (nicorette/chantix).. I have done it before that way.

It is my own will power.. I just wish I could pick up and quit instantly, you know?

I quit smoking Jan. 30, 2006.  It was the hardest thing I ever did. 

1.  I really wanted it.

2. I used the nicotine patch

3. I had support from my husband, he quit too.

4. I did go near my triggers for about 1 month.

5. I went through the entire system of the nicotine patch even though I thought I could make it with out them after the 2nd month.

Good luck.

Hotdogingit

Original Post by scjf:

Ladtfirelyght... AMAZING advice.. Thank you very much! It IS my goal this summer to stop.. and I would really love to do it without the help of drugs (nicorette/chantix).. I have done it before that way.

It is my own will power.. I just wish I could pick up and quit instantly, you know?

And I wish I could instantly reach my goal weight and body fat percentage! But reality is hard work, unfortunately

My grandmother quit after smoking for about 30 years.  I just thought I'dd add that in for you to see that people can quit if they work really hard at it.

I've thankfully never been addicted to smoking.  I'm actually very allergic to cigarette smoke and I can't breathe around it (which has made even walking down the street difficult when people are smoking outside).  But there are things I was addicted to and quit.  Based on those experiences, here are some of my suggestions:

1. Clean house.  Throw out all of your cigarettes and don't buy any more.  It's a lot easier to quit if you don't have cigarettes conveniently placed around your home.  Also, throw away matches and lighters so that, even if you do get your hands on a cigarette, it'll be that more difficult for you to smoke it.

2. Take control of the situations you put yourself into.  For many people who quit smoking, this may mean not going out to bars where it seems like everyone smokes and you could just ask someone else for a cigarette and light.  On the other hand, you should go to some places where you have a better sense of control and re-make that place into a no-smoking place.  For example, take ladyfirelyght's advice and enjoy the fresh air at the pool.  Once you begin to associate the place with activities other than smoking, you won't crave a cigarette every time you go there.

3. Make yourself accountable to someone or something.  If you tell someone or write it down somewhere, you'll need to be accountable to something other than yourself.  Keeping a journal might be a good idea because there is a physical part of cigarette addiction (your body becomes subconsciously trained to put your fingers to your lips as though you were holding a cigarette).  Writing in a journal could help to keep your fingers busy.  Plus, it's difficult to have a cigarette in your hand when you already have a pen.

Good luck.

I've just started. im using the gum it works for me, I want to try patches but they are too expensive just start using one of these things, breathe deep when you need to smoke and think about something else.