Quitting is a mind game.

    After being smoke free (not nicotine free mind you) for 2 months, I noticed that it seemed like I felt urges to smoke through my body but, it was really all in my head. That feeling my throat gets from missing that slight scratch and burn from smoke going down is nothing more than my brain starving from the lack of nicotine and the 50 million chemicals that are in cigarettes. The patches helped me some with managing the urges. I'm not using them now however.

    Like past things I had issues with, I expect the urges will never go away completely. Even after 13 years of sobriety I still get urges but, and this is he best part, the urge to smoke, like those other things, will become what I call a vague thought that passes within 60 seconds. Everyone has different experiences when doing or quitting something. At this point, the urges are just a vague feeling of wanting a cigarette. This normally lasts about one to two minutes and at the most 3 times in a day for me. Even when stressed.

    The first day of my third week is when, what every former smoker I know has told me,  I became aware of the FACT that quitting is a mind game. If you have followed this brief journey with me, you smoke, and are thinking about quitting cigarettes often, then you know that you have the willpower to quit. Everyone does. I feel one issue is a lot of people, especially in today's world, don't have the confidence in themselves they should. Too many of us (people as a whole not just smokers) worry
about what others think of us. We need to be worried about what we think of ourselves.

    If you don't have a good opinion of yourself then you need to figure out why you don't. Once you figure out why you don't have good opinion of yourself, do something to change that. YOU are the most important person in your life. YOU deserve your respect, love, and loyalty first before you give it to someone else outside of your family.

Conclusion

    I mentioned that there were 3 close friends I caused to start smoking and one close friend that I caused to pick the habit back up. One has been a nonsmoker for 6 years now. One is trying to quit but I'm not sure where he is in his quit as I write these words.

    The other has told me that I have motivated him to quit and last heard he has gone a day but haven't heard anything since then about it. The friend caused to pick the habit back up has been a nonsmoker for quite some time but not sure how long. I have another close friend I didn't mention
that has known me since I was like 5 or 6. He had just recently quit smoking as well. My mom has been a nonsmoker for 5 or 6 years as well.

    There are several other people I could go on about here but I feel it's time to end this. If you've read to this point know now that you too can quit smoking. You have to want to quit and relearn how to live life without them while asking yourself, what do nonsmokers do? Be sure, if you need one, to have a smoking
cessation aid ready to start your quit on a day you wake up and feel like you can go without them. Be prepared because the first two weeks are the hardest to get through but remember, quitting is a mind game.
 

The First Two Weeks Are the Hardest...

    Mentioned in the previous post, the first week wasn't bad to be honest. Time went slow and I missed my pass time of 17 years a lot but it wasn't bad. At one point in time, it was thought that if you made it past the first 3 days you had it made. Well, that asshole neglected to mention that you would be a raging bastard for at least 7 days out of the first 14.

    There has not really been a time I have not wanted to be around my wife. During my second week, for once, I was glad we didn't see each other much then. I was a complete monster. I probably shouldn't have been at work. It's true I'm not good with little kids. In fact, they really frustrate me in that setting and I shouldn't work with them. However, facing what we struggle is how we get better.

    During my second week of not smoking I'm surprised my anger, for which I worked hard in life to gain control over, was controlling me. I was hateful, mean, sarcastic, and just a downright son of a bitch (though my mother is one of the nicest, most caring people you'll meet). Each day I was meaner and nastier than the last. My coworkers helped me stay grounded and I'm thankful to them.

    My wife, I think, knew I was struggling because, what little we did see each other that week I didn't speak much and she used the sweet sounding voice she uses when she knows I am upset about something. That's also when her goofy side comes out. It always makes me giggle eventually. It wasn't until Friday of my second week after a visit with my mom, a visit with another of my close friends (who began
smoking because of me), and working on a song with a coworker from another job, that my unmanageable anger had passed. I began feeling like myself again.

    Saturday came and that is wifey day. Nothing stops me from being with her on Saturday no matter what. I was so happy that I could focus on being happy and spending time with her instead of focusing on not being butt-hurt over something that doesn't matter. Come Monday, after working an evening/midnight double the day before, I walk onto the floor I work on. I say my hellos to everyone, and look at the
clock with getting report and doing walk off in mind. 3:05 pm... I made it two weeks, I felt 100% myself again and pigs hung their heads in shame of how much I was eating.

    So long as it helped me make it to two months I didn't care how much I ate right then. I just made it two weeks and though I still miss smoking, 17 years is long enough. In the past I tried quitting, and made it 30 days two different times. It wasn't hard to get there either. I didn't have a single problem other than being
anxious and major stressors that would cause me to light back up. This time however, the first two weeks are the hardest two weeks of my life. Having a great support system is another tool in your quit kit to have if you haven't caught on to that by now. It really helps as corny as it sounds.

Start your quit on a day you wake up and feel like you can go without them.

    Monday Nov. 5, 2018, I woke up at 11:30 am. I stared at the random assortment (and abundance) of crap on my nightstand. Normally, the only thought in my head is"Dammit, I have to get ready for work." That day, that was only the first thought I had. The second was "Hmm... I feel like I can go without cigs today. Let's see how long I can go without one." Then I realized I didn't smell too happy. My third thought? You guessed it. Time for my stank ass to get in the shower then to put a patch on.

    An hour later my wife comes home from work with cartons of smokes for her and I. I told her :that I was going to try to quit today. She became cross with me because I hadn't told her before she bought them. To be totally honest I'm glad she did in case I failed. Also that little situation stressed me out which is a
big trigger for me to smoke. I could have argued back and all but I hate arguing, she was right in her frustration with me, and I didn't want to go into work angry so I stayed silent until we moved on to a different topic(which didn't take long to happen).

    2:20 pm came so I felt my pockets for my car keys, the patch that I haven't put on yet, my work keys and badge. I hugged and kissed the Mrs. Goodbye, and drove to work. When I got to work, I bummed a smoke from a coworker. When I finished, I marked the time (3:05 pm) so I could put it in a quit smoking app to keep track of how long I've gone without a smoke. It wasn't a bad day at work for the most part. In fact, the first week wasn't bad without cigs. It was a pretty easy week. Little did I know, the real battle was about to begin.

    Now, some folks prefer to set a day to quit like my Mom did. Some just randomly decide one day they are done like one of my close friends had done. They're several ways to begin to quit smoking. What worked for me, and could work for you, is to start your quit on a day you wake up and feel like you can go without them.

Have Smoking Cessation Aid Ready

    This tip is short and straight forward. It is a great Idea, when getting ready to quit smoking, to have something to help you not smoke. As I stated in the previous tip, My niece's girlfriend had 2 boxes of each mg that were prescribed to her. We were talking about quitting one day for whatever reason when she stated that she would pass them to me.

    I asked her “don’t you need them for when you quit?” She said she didn’t because the patches cause her to breakout with a rash and she was going to use the nicotine gum. So, I took the patches, thanked her, and gave her a huge hug. That woman is a great person and most important to me, a kind a loving
girlfriend to my niece

    I know most people won’t be as fortunate as I was getting patches for free and all. I just recommend getting one before you quit unless you do it cold turkey. I also used Wrigley’s Double mint gum though any chewing gum will do. Hard candy works well too. It all depends on you. Go cold turkey or have a smoking cessation aid ready.

What Do Nonsmokers do?

    While I was still smoking, my desire to quit caused me to do research. I looked up different programs, how addiction to a substance affected the brain, all the different cessation aids and how successful they
are as well as knowing which one(s) worked best for me, and what was most important to me, the experiences of those I know that are “ex-smokers”. I don’t like the term ex-smoker. In my mind, at a certain point, you become a nonsmoker.

    Back to the topic, through my research I found a lot of different programs, websites, and phone apps that have worked for a lot of people. The problem I have, I don’t like following them unless I come up with it. I decided that following a program wasn’t for me. I also found that the best smoking cessation
aid for me was the patches. The gum seemed to choke me. Though it’s not a cessation aid, vapes just didn’t work.

    If I was going to smoke, Might as well have the real thing. Nicotine inhalers seemed to do fine but I was too lazy to go to the doctor to get a prescription for them. There are others but I found the patches worked just fine plus my niece’s girlfriend gave me boxes of 21, 14, and 7 mg patches. When I was finally
ready, all I had to do was slap a patch on and go.

    The most important thing was hearing the stories from friends, family and coworkers that are nonsmokers that used to smoke. They would talk about how they ate like they never had food before, how easily irritated they became and, the best part, how they felt better and not smoking “made everything better” as emphasized by my college math professor. He would open his eyes wide; rise up on his tiptoes with the okay symbol in the air stating “it makes EVERYTHING better”.

    This part of my journey took years for me to accomplish however, it doesn’t have to take that long for you. From asking so many people how they made themselves quit, I found that from my Mom who used the patches to quit 5 years ago to one of my best friends who quit cold turkey 6 years ago they all had one
thing in common. It caused me to ask myself during the first two week: What do nonsmokers do?

    At work I noticed nonsmokers didn’t take the unofficial 15 min breaks. Some didn’t even go outside during their lunch. I like sitting in my car on lunch so I kept my windows up to keep from smelling the smoke. My Mom and friend were always doing something so at home I made sure I always kept my mind busy. When you have the urge to smoke when trying to quit ask yourself, “What do
nonsmokers do?” and be observant.

You Have to want to Quit.

Intro

    Hello readers! These pages or “tips” were written 2 months after I had quit smoking cigarettes. November, 5th 2023 will be five years since I have smoked cigarettes. I found these pages again after forgetting about them for sometime and thought that they may help someone with quitting.

    This isn't a “How to Quit” guide but an account of my experiences, opinions, and mention of what helped me. A note of caution, overeating is not healthy for you. Neither is under eating or eating just junk foods.

    So, when you read these, take anything and use it but find a healthier way than I did. I am in better health today. I eat better, exercise and continue to work on myself to create a better version. You can always improve and it doesn't hurt. I hope you enjoy and get something from these...

You Have to want to Quit.

    Just like with other addictive substances, this goes without saying, cigarette smoking is an addiction. The desire to quit smoking isn’t as simple as saying “I don’t want to smoke anymore.” It’s a feeling. If you feel like smoking is a chore on top of knowing how bad for you it is, you are on your way. Though
your brain and body are telling you that you need it, part of you, the rational
part, is telling you that you have to stop.

    But wait, there’s more! You may know it is bad for you and feels like a chore, one may still enjoy the act of smoking or the feeling of inhaling the smoke. For me, the act of smoking was a chore yet "relaxing at the same time". Don’t get me wrong. Smoking is not a stress reliever. Having a smoke will not, no matter what you tell yourself, relieve your stress. One may "feel relaxed" from the act
of smoking however; it does not actually relieve stress at all.

    The fact that I thought smoking relaxed me is one thing that led me to smoke a pack and a half to 2 packs a day. When it comes to quitting cigarettes you have to want to quit. Need to quit even. That want/need to quit has to become stronger than your desire to continue smoking.