How to stop smoking

"It's better to be a non-smoker with cigarette cravings than a smoker who wants to be a non-smoker."

How it made me feel: Determined

How I did it: Honestly, this was my 4th serious attempt at quitting, and I have finally gotten to the point where I consider myself a non-smoker.  Back in April - about 8 months ago - I woke up on day feeling really gross after a party the night before where I had smoked too much, and for some reason was able to keep convincing myself that it would be a bad idea to pick it up again.  After the first week, I was given a book called "Alan Carr's Stop Smoking the Easy Way" written by a British therapist, and while not everything he writes is great, many of his thoughts really helped me through some of the rougher moments (like just after dinner and with coffee or alcohol).   I don't know why I stuck with it on the morning I woke up with an impulse and not when my quits were carefully planed, but there it is.

It's not easy, and I lost most of my friends over it because I no longer wanted to just sit on the porch and smoke anymore.  They felt like I looked down on them for smoking - which wasn't the case - I just couldn't be around it, myself.  I have found other friends, but that hurt.

Lessons & tips: It all comes down to determination and will-power.  I had to decide
that I wanted to be a non-smoker more than I wanted to smoke.  Someone
in a message board wrote:

"It's better to be a non-smoker with cigarette cravings than a smoker who wants to be a non-smoker."

That quote alone gave me strength in many cases where I might have given in.

It is not easy, and after 8 months, sometimes I still forget that I don't smoke.  Your whole life changes because you no longer deal with stress the same way, nor entertainment, nor socializing, etc.  You must find other coping mechanisms. 

One other quote that helped me was from Alan Carr's book, and it said that smokers smoke cigarettes to feel like a non-smoker feels without them.  Whenever a smoker gets a craving, they must smoke a cig to feel normal again.  Non-smokers have that feeling already. 

Doing other healthy things kept me on track.  I did yoga once in a while, I started going to the gym, I tried to eat healthier.  I didn't keep all of that up as much as I wanted, but it got me through the tough period. 

Resources: Alan Carr's "Stop Smoking the Easy Way: for Women"

www.stopsmokingcenter.net - great message boards and the support groups are wonderful!  Also has a counter which tells you how much $ you've saved, how many cigs you HAVEN'T smoked, and how much life you've gained (by the most conservative estimate) by not smoking. 

(originally posted 12/22/08)