How do I quit smoking? For good and forever? That was the question I was always asking myself, but could never find the answer.
It was a real question - not theory, not wishful thinking - to me it was life or death.
As a former smoker of 3 packs a day, I lived with constant fear that - I would die a long painful, self inflicted death - I wouldn't see my kids get married - I wouldn't ever meet my grandchildren - I would leave my wife struggling to raise 4 children on her own - Mykids would ask my "Why didn't you just stop?" I was living a life of deceit, regret, fear and paranoia - and it was all my fault.
My wife would always be on my back about quitting smoking.
I tried just about every method I could afford but never lasted the course.
I became an expert in quitting smoking, but would still be found in the back yard, in all weathers drawing on those horrible cancer sticks.
In fact, I was very good at quitting smoking.
Most nights I would put out my last cigarette before turning in and would boldly declare - "Right, that was my last one".
But, each morning I would wake up, put on a pot of coffee and light up my first of 60 straight away.
You see I was good at quitting - I did it every day.
The question I couldn't answer was "How do I quit smoking and stay quit?" Before I explain what works let me tell you what I tried and my experiences 1.
Patches - I had my highest success rate with patches - all of 27 hours.
But, they were expensive, kept coming off (I used to sweat a lot when I was smoking).
The real downside was they only dealt with the physical habit, not the mental one.
2.
Gum - This was close to useless - it tasted nasty, burned my gums and made my breathe smell (just as bad as it did when I was smoking).
3.
Acupuncture - I didn't try that one - it was more expensive than hypnotherapy and I had heard the results where not as good.
4.
Inhalers - They just didn't produce the kick at the back of the throat I was used to, and so was a very lame replacement - plus, I just felt stupid using it.
5.
Will Power - This was the hardest.
I tried quitting smoking with no help physically or mentally.
I was grouchy with my wife and the kids and couldn't think about anything else.
So, there's my list of failures when trying to quit smoking.
So what worked? How did I answer that illusive question "How do I quit smoking...
and stay quit.
" Well, the secret lay in the relationship between dealing with your physical addiction and your mental one.
It was only when I realized and believed that my addiction was only a tiny bit in my body, but mostly in my head that I started to approach quitting with the right attitude.
I didn't need the support of pills, patches or gums - I started to see through the cynical money making stop smoking industry - I finally understood I needed help and support in my mind and I found where to get that support.
It was a real question - not theory, not wishful thinking - to me it was life or death.
As a former smoker of 3 packs a day, I lived with constant fear that - I would die a long painful, self inflicted death - I wouldn't see my kids get married - I wouldn't ever meet my grandchildren - I would leave my wife struggling to raise 4 children on her own - Mykids would ask my "Why didn't you just stop?" I was living a life of deceit, regret, fear and paranoia - and it was all my fault.
My wife would always be on my back about quitting smoking.
I tried just about every method I could afford but never lasted the course.
I became an expert in quitting smoking, but would still be found in the back yard, in all weathers drawing on those horrible cancer sticks.
In fact, I was very good at quitting smoking.
Most nights I would put out my last cigarette before turning in and would boldly declare - "Right, that was my last one".
But, each morning I would wake up, put on a pot of coffee and light up my first of 60 straight away.
You see I was good at quitting - I did it every day.
The question I couldn't answer was "How do I quit smoking and stay quit?" Before I explain what works let me tell you what I tried and my experiences 1.
Patches - I had my highest success rate with patches - all of 27 hours.
But, they were expensive, kept coming off (I used to sweat a lot when I was smoking).
The real downside was they only dealt with the physical habit, not the mental one.
2.
Gum - This was close to useless - it tasted nasty, burned my gums and made my breathe smell (just as bad as it did when I was smoking).
3.
Acupuncture - I didn't try that one - it was more expensive than hypnotherapy and I had heard the results where not as good.
4.
Inhalers - They just didn't produce the kick at the back of the throat I was used to, and so was a very lame replacement - plus, I just felt stupid using it.
5.
Will Power - This was the hardest.
I tried quitting smoking with no help physically or mentally.
I was grouchy with my wife and the kids and couldn't think about anything else.
So, there's my list of failures when trying to quit smoking.
So what worked? How did I answer that illusive question "How do I quit smoking...
and stay quit.
" Well, the secret lay in the relationship between dealing with your physical addiction and your mental one.
It was only when I realized and believed that my addiction was only a tiny bit in my body, but mostly in my head that I started to approach quitting with the right attitude.
I didn't need the support of pills, patches or gums - I started to see through the cynical money making stop smoking industry - I finally understood I needed help and support in my mind and I found where to get that support.