Quitting is actually easy and painless once you build up your mind muscle and know how to do it correctly and this is what I will help you with. After more than a decade of smoking I was able to quit quickly, easily and most importantly - permanently.
You have probably already tried quitting and you are familiar with experiencing frustration, cold sweats, inability to concentrate, aggressiveness, nausea, headache, drowsiness and anxiety, that follow quitting process. I will show you how you can reduce them to bare minimum.
I tried my first cigarette when I was fourteen years old. It was not the love at first sight. I started smoking regularly only at the age of sixteen and by eighteenth birthday I was smoking pack a day which eventually increased to two packs. The biggest problem I had with smoking was the smell but other than that smoking was my good companion.
I considered cigarettes as an inseparable part of me. They helped me when I was feeling down, they helped me to meet new people and they helped me to calm down. Mental addiction was actually stronger than physical. It is not only a habit but a ritual as well.
Some situations just begged for a cigarette because without it they wouldn’t feel right. Cigarette was a way for me to start and to end the day. You could say that it even increased my safety as on long drives I would stop regularly to have a smoke. I did smoke on the go but I preferred to stop whatever I was doing - it was like a small meditation session.
Half-heartedly I tried quitting a number of times, quite few of these attempts were to show that I could “if I really wanted to” but usually that would end after a half of day with a cigarette in my mouth.
You invite colleague to come with you to have a smoke break, but he says “neah, I’m quitting” and with a feeling of betrayal you say “cool, good luck” but sooner than later you are standing together puffing away. He looks at you with a look of disgrace and defeat.
You probably also had this conversation multiple times. You both light up and you have that conversation:
- So, aren’t you quitting?
- Yeah, as you can see it’s going great.
I smoked for more than ten years. It was the same as breathing, drinking and eating. At that point it was not quitting, it was more like betraying. Smoking was not just an activity but also a part of me.
People in my life were telling me to quit and I constantly heard the same reasons - save money and improve your health. Both sounded good but I felt fine and cigarette expenses weren’t that significant part of my income.
This is why you need to find what will motivate you and I will share logic behind my reason with you in a bit. Reason is more important than the method.
Currently you can have nicotine patches, gum, spray, hypnosis records, “special” diets, tea, electronic cigarettes and etc. Lets try not to use any of them and for now continue smoking as you did before.
We will begin the process by building your motivation.