I have tried to quit!!! I can't stop!?

Question

I have been on my journey to quit smoking for several years, this october finally was the first time I was able to go four whole weeks now I have been relasping the last couple of days, I feel like I should accept responsibility that this is something that I have done, however I feel so worthless that I am not able to exercise self control, that I gave in to doing it again, and the guilt oh my please give words of advice or wisdom on how I can be successful, oh I used the patch and was smoking with the patch,

Answer 1

Quitting smoking can be very difficult to accomplish...I finally successfully completed this mission about 8 years ago...after having smoked for 20. Not knowing why you have such feelings of worthlessness makes words of encouragment hard to find...However, I will tell you this.....the feeling of success and accomplishment when you have been able to fight off the urges are SUCH a high!!! I'll tell you my secret....pretzel rods...the long pretzels....I walked around for a couple months with pretzels hanging out of my mouth...sucking the salt off them (incase your not aware...salt is a substitute for nicotine cravings)....when my cravings got really bad I would go to the kitchen...pour some salt in the palm of my hand and lick it off.....cravings gone! Also, I had a perscription for Welbutrin...this is a generic for Zyban. While most insurance perscription plans will not pay for stop smoking aids...Welbutrin is also an anti-depression medication....if you go see your physician...tell him/her what your trying to accomplish...I'd bet they would be willing to write you a perscription for Welbutrin with a depression diagnosis and your insurance will cover the medication cost. The instructions for quitting smoking while taking Welbutrin are: take the medication twice a day....continue to smoke for 7 days.....on the 8th day you wake up....and don't smoke....for as much as I was certain it was NOT gonna work, because I didn't feel any different for that 7 days...it did work.....I got ready for work that morning...thinking hmmmm....this isn't so bad....got 1/2 way thru my day...thinking wow! this is pretty amazing....about 2:00 that afternoon...I called my dad...asking him to go get the 2 packs of smokes out of my house....so the temptation wouldn't be there when I got home. I did however, quit smoking in my house and my vehicle a month or so before hand....working to free those places of the icky smoke smell.....(going outside to smoke in the winter when it's 10 below zero wasn't anything I was looking forward to doing)..giving myself some additional incentive! Then off to the store for a bag of pretzels....I kept a bag in my desk drawer at work...a bag in my car..and a bag or two in my kitchen....I remained on the 2 times a day dosage of Welbutrin for about a month...then weened myself down to 1 a day...then to every other day..and so on until I was no longer felt the need for the medication or the nicotine.....Pretzels are very very low in fat...and are very inexpensive...if ya don't wanna eat them with the salt is gone...throw them in the trash! It's still WAY cheaper than the cost of a pack of smokes! Ask your friends and co-workers for words of encouragement...if they are smokers....it would help if they would have enough respect for you and your goal to not smoke around you! You must accept responsibility for your actions....stive for a positive attitude...and know that the way your gonna feel in the end is WONDERFUL!! Not to mention...food tastes GREAT! I have 3 children, and at the time was a single mom....my greatest memory of my stop smoking is this....My daughter..who at the time was 9 years old, went to spend the night with a friend...when she came home the next day she said to me...."Mom, I didn't realize how much smoke stinks until you quit smoking" WOAH! If that wasn't incentive to never start again...I don't know what was! If you need a support contact..your welcom to email me...I'd be glad to help in any way I can.... Best of luck to you..and Keep our chin up...IT DOES GET EASIER! I promise!!!

Answer 2

I too have been been smoking for many years, and have tried to quit several times, without long-term success. Congratulations on making it 4 weeks! That shows dedication. Right now I am in the process of quitting for the last time, because this time I really believe it is working. I just started on a new anti-smoking drug called Chantix. It doesn't contain nicotine, so if you slip up you are not running the risks you would be running on the patch. I highly reccomend it. It works in two ways. First, it blunts your cravings. You'll still want a cigarette, but it is easier to resist and wait it out. Second, when you give in and smoke, it doesn't really do much for ya! It's a total waste of time. I have done this already, and it's true, I was braced for that feeling of relief and pleasure that you expect when you have not smoked for some time and you really want one, but I got nothing, basically. Just a feeling of failure. I won't be likely to try that again, because it's pointless. That leaves just the psychological addiction, which is powerful. I've been told that hypnosis can work wonders for that, but I think also just finding ways to keep your hands and mouth busy can work wonders. I am taking up knitting, and all my loved ones can get scarves for Christmas this year. You might not want to knit, but something else to do while you are on the phone or in the car or wherever you have the most trouble is a good idea. Finally, keep in mind that it is really hard to quit- people fail at it time and time again, and then they succeed. So don't look at a relapse as that big a deal, just get rid of the pack and get back on the horse, as it were. I am also trying to do more aerobic exercise, since (for me) smoking and running do not go well together, and running boosts my endorphins and makes me happy.

In short: Go to your doctor and ask for a prescription for Chantix. S/he won't mind being asked for a specific prescription in this case, I promise. Find something that you can do with your hands in the situations you find most challenging. Consider hypnosis. Hang in there and good luck!

Answer 3

I think you can only quit when you dont enjoy smoking anymore. I had tried to quit several times but i always messed up and went back but I finally got to the point that i didnt enjoy smoking anymore. It has been 7 weeks now and i feel no want for them. My husband still smokes in the house but I havent wanted to touch them. I think it just has to be the right time for the person involved. Feeling worthless isnt needed. It is an addiction and a battle. Sometimes we rise and sometimes we fall but eventually if we try hard enough we stay at the top:) Good luck

Answer 4

I feel you. I've smoked for 7 years and quit in Feb. There was a study with ticks where they put them in jars with lids on top. Normally they can jump about 10 feet high, but after hitting their heads so many times on the roof of the jar, they were taken out and found to be able to jump only as high as the lid. It wasn't physical, but a physcological change. That's what it feels like to try to quit and fail over and over. You start to develope the feeling that you can't before you even try. And when you try it's only half hearted. And that brain sabotage tends to leak to all areas of your life. It did mine. After I quit smoking, I felt a surge of self confidence that led me to acomplish goals in other areas of my life.

My advice would be to go to a book store and buy "Awaken the Giant Within" by Anthony Robbins. It has a great chapter on Neural Linguistic Programing that describes a scientific way to break any habit. Alot of people don't like Robbins, but his book proved invaluable. Don't buy any of his expesive tapes, though.

I used the patch personally. I didn't have to think about chewing gum every two hours or whatever. Whenever I wanted a cigarrette I would remind myself that I might get a nicotine overdose if I smoked and used the patch at the same time. (Whether this was true or not, I tried to believe it.) Also I tried to imagine that all the hard work I put into quitting smoking up to that point was done by someone else, (I imagined my wife doing it) and I told myself that if I smoked I was destroying all her work. Kind of like if someone baked a cake all day and you just threw it on the floor for a laugh.

Also you have to keep in mind that it does get easier. I kept thinking "Break on through to the other side," by the Doors. There is a 3 day hump, and a one month hump, but once you're over those it usually gets easier. Also, you have to find somethign else to replace smoking with. I chose excercise. The adrenaline I feel makes me feel good, but having a cigarrette just takes away cravings, it doesn't make me feel better.

Good Luck! You can do it!

Answer 5

It sounds like you are severly addicted to smoking.
Quitting smoking completely after several years certainly produce lots of unusal reaction in your brain and body. I recommend to quit smoking gradually.

While smoking try to throw all the smoke out from your mouth and do not sallow anyone of them. It reduces the bad impact of smoking. And if it works, start again smoking and try quiting it gradually.

Increase your habit of drinking more tea and chewing gums. And if possible try to make you busy for more times.

Consult with some phycologist also.....

Take care and wish all the best

Answer 6

You went four weeks you can go longer. You Can Do Anything That You Put Your Mind To! It is all in your mind. When you feel the urge to smoke do something else to occupy your mind. Take a moment to think about how good you feel know. Good luck I have faith in you!

Answer 7

Get nicotine spray. Instead of smoking, use the spray for that nicotine high. After you are off smoking and have been using the spray go for the patch. It seems that since you can get high with the spray, there is no need for smoking.

Answer 8

You should feel hopeless, maybe that feeling will urge you to quit. If you don't care nobody will.
1. GET the gum. IT will keep your mouth busy
2. Tell someone you love you are quitting for them and if you relasp then you let them down not just yourself.
3.Say I WILL NEVER SMOKE AGAIN.

Answer 9

it all depends on who you are and what works for you. my best friend just stopped smoking and she did it cold turkey. some people need the patch to do it. you probably should find something better to replace the smoking. whenever you want to smoke you should go and do something to get your mind off of it.

Answer 10

Well I smoked since I was 8 yaers old and I am now 17... I had to smoke my last one and just tell myself not to buy anymore. I have quit smoking for almost 2 months now... It helps you breathe awhole lot better and helps your health...