Getting back in the game

[mishu1984]

well, after a long absence from the water, and being positively bored out of my mind here in Qatar, and stupidly having left all my gear back in the dorms in the UAE, i have decided to get back in it. i know that the best way is to simply take the plunge, but again, my gear is in the UAE, at least the spearguns are...

so anyways, in my absence i have developed a nasty smoking one-pack a day habit, which is why im writting. any tips for quitting?

please do bear in mind that im a finance-management major and this coming semester i have 5 course, all of which are core courses. and theory and numbers are only easier with cigarettes. before you recommend chewing gum or even nicorette, also note that i have a phobia from chewing gun. im not very fond of patches either as they yank out my hair (ouchies)..

and most importantly, i REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoy my nasty habit, specially with a cup of coffee after a meal. any tips?

all imput will be greatly appreciated and reputation points given out on the spot.

merci iktir

[spaghetti]

Welcome back Mishu: I noticed your absence and I'm glad you're still in the community.
Now what's for the nasty habit? I think it just takes a strong decision to quit and self control to make it, but I can't quit smoking myself so what?...
I try to keep it slow. Three cigs a day: still unhealthy but...better than worse.

[spicer]

Hi Mishu,

I understand the need to have something to stimulate you whilst crunching through the studies. I normally find having healthy snacks on hands such as fruit or raisins will do the trick (as a South African biltong is the best). In addition just try a dive or run and see how bad the lungs have become and it will motivate you no end to stop.


Safe diving
Best luck

[mishu1984]

Thanks Spaghetti. how could i not come back?! once u shoot ur first fish, it becomes a part of you.
i wish i could smoke only 3 cigs a day, im smoking about a pack a day

[foxfish]

It will never be easy to give up & even years after you have you will still remember just how nice it feels to feed that nicotine craving!! I found the nicotine "free" cigarettes & rolling mixtures that are available, helped me give up & I still use them if I have drunk to much & feel very desperate.

[mishu1984]

nicotine free?? wow! what brand, what i dont know. never heard of it b4.

[foxfish]

SMOKERS STOP SHOP - everything for the would-be non-smoker. Unusual products & methods. THE stop smoking stop

[Deejay]

Hey Mishu,

First thing you need to do is to make the decision to stop. You really need to want to stop. Once you have decided you are going to stop, you need to make another decision. You need to change your identity to that of a non smoker. I mean, as a non smoker, you would never buy or smoke a cigarette. As a reformed smoker, or a smoker trying to quit, you keep your identity as a smoker, just one who is not currently practicing the habit.

You need to start getting fit, take up jogging or swimming or join an expensive health club so you have leverage on yourself to continue to. You can also start putting that money away in a tin and treat yourself to an awesome spearing holiday with it. I know a guy who smoked 2 packs a day, gave up and now uses half of the $10,000 he was wasting to take him and his wife to Bali every year for a month.

It also helps to imagine every craving that you resist as starving the monkey on your back of it's food. Eventually the monkey dies.

Lastly, you need to make sure you really want to give up because as someone who used to smoke, you can never ever have another cigarette as long as you live, you cannot just have one or two, it will lead to a pack you instead of bludging a smoke of people or trying to ration yourself, you may as well go buy a carton and go the whole hog.

I wish you good luck. I smoked a pack a day for 17 years. It's been 5 years since my last ciggie and I can't stand em anymore.

Focus on bottom time with healthy vital lungs and nailing thast huge Spaniard from a long breath hold.

Regards,

Deejay

[capetownguy]

hey man, i stopped smoking a month ago...and its definately not easy, but i found after my first week that i dont feel the need to smoke anymore.
what i did to stop was to choose the most difficult day to stop.(mine happened to be my brothers birthday - therefore we all went clubbing and drinking). If you make it through that day then any day to come should be easier....
i tried the whole cutting down to 1 or two a day thing and it never works! you just have to stop and go cold turkey in my opinion.
anyway, good luck and you'll definatley feel alot healthier once youve stopped! (i love telling smokers how disgusting their habit is now! hahahaha - they usually arent that impressed

[bluecape]

Hi Mishu

I'll 2nd Deejay 100 percent. I also stopped cold turkey 5 years ago, and I know that the difference between being a happy non-smoker and a smoker once again is simply ONE PUFF of a mates ciggie in a bar. thats it, easy as that, it takes your body 7 seconds to get addicted again.

hang in there, your smell improves, your taste improves, everything improves buddy!! Good luck.
Greg, hang in there as well mate, you wont be sorry!!

PS I used Allen carr's book - 'The easy way to quit smoking'

Jeff

[stone_shot]

Hi Mishu -
You might give hypnosis a try - as a biologist I was always VERY skeptical about hypnosis having any value but a nasty bout with depression made me take another look at it as a remedy. It really worked for me, and also appealed to my generally lazy nature in that all I had to do was listen to a cd once a day.
It probably won't make you quit cold turkey, but it should help you learn deep relaxation techniques - which should help you keep from climbing the walls when you get cravings and make it easy to hang on to your willpower.

Maybe get out and just do some easy snorkeling - you might get lucky and spot a huge fish which would be a hell of an incentive to get healthy so you can go after them!!!
My .02 anyway.

[mishu1984]

WOW! thanks a lot for the support. i play volleyball in my university's team and we compete internationally. im in shape, but i have the habbit...

anyways, im quitting right now. i wish me luck

[sunfish]

Good luck Mishu, once you've decided to give up, just don't smoke anymore. Its the only way to do it and it gets easier the longer you stick it.

[wax63]

All good advice in here...smoke 30 smokes a day for about 10 years, and never wanted to quit but my kids made me promise not to smoke anymore...

Exercise is the best....sweating it out works for almost everythig...use the energy burst from the nicotine withdrawl to swim, run, hit the gym, whatever. Change the addiction, so that your response to the feen is exercise instead of cigarettes.

I also had to change my habits. I'd sit in the car when I got gas, because if I walked into the store I'd buy cigarettes - wouldn't think about, just walk out, light up, and then think wtf? Why did I buy cigarettes? Don't do drinking with the buddies for a bit - you'll be smoking in no time. Don't go outside with your co-workers when they take a smoke break or sit with them after a meal at a resturant - again, you'll be smoking in no time. It took a while until I was able to be around smokers again.

You'll obsess over it, until you forget about it, and then one day you'll wake up and realize that you haven't thought about cigarettes in a while, and then you'll start thinking about them. And then 6 months down the line you'll get a withdrawl out of no where. And then you'll have a cigarette and it will taste like crap, but you'll finish it, and you'll get sick. And then you'll wonder why you hate something so beautiful and why you love something so evil. Eventually though, it goes away. It's been about a year for me, and for some reason I still like the idea of smoking, but having a cigarette is just another choice throughout the day, and not having one is just as easy as having one.

They are right though - when you clear your system it is amazing to realize how much stronger everything smells and tastes, and how much more money you have to spend on less addicting things....like coffee

Good luck to you