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Here's to Your Health:  Okay, I give in. I want to stop.  |
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dg7954
True Blue Farmgirl
129 Posts
Diane
Doylestown
pa
USA
129 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 10:12:31 AM
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Alright. I admit it. I do want to stop smoking, but I have tried so many times, I lost the belief that I can really stop for good. I have tried hypnosis, patching, herbal remedies, just about everything short of heroin. The last attempt lasted for two weeks. I was off the patch and everything, working out, drinking my water, taking my vitamins. Then, one day walking through Marshall's and looking at Calphalon pots, a wave of depression hit me like a two by four. I was so sad that it was actually physically painful right where my heart chakra was. I had no reason to be sad. I love my life and am usually happy to the point of euphoria. And I was in Marshall's doing what I love to do--shopping for bargains. In the cooking section too! The section that always gives my heart an extra pang. All those Shaker bowls, wooden spoons, cookbooks from William-Sonoma. My sadness was draining my energy. I barely had the effort to check the linen department for 600 thread count sheets. I only glanced at the shoe department. Something was terribly wrong.
Later that day, I bummed a cigarette off of my neighbor and, you can guess the rest. I was back. Life was beautiful again. If there was only something or someone who could be my sponsor (joined at the hip for,say, three weeks) or something I could tell myself that stops me dead in my tracks from putting that next cigarette to my mouth and lighting it, maybe I might succeed. I have great strength and will power in all other things. Dieting? No problem. I can even stop drinking coffee. Shopping? Well.....okay I have two problems. Anyway, I am still better at even shopping than smoking (and that is saying a lot). I need some help and support with this. I need to grab onto a thought or phrase that is powerful and so influential that thinking it will just detinate any inclination to give in again. If anyone has a phrase or thought that kept them going to get through this miserable habit and be done with it. could you please share it with me? Or else, if there is anyone out there who is interested in taking a hiatus for about three weeks and wants to travel to Doylestown, Pa, with a whistle around her neck and, perhaps, a cattle prod, I'll make it worth your while. |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 10:25:24 AM
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From one Diane to another, I'll meet you half way. I hesitated to get into this discussion...why? Because I am embarrassed to admit that I too am a smoker. I HATE IT! I grow and raise everything organic, buy organic, take my supplements..but I have this ball and chain around my ankle that I just don't know how to get rid of. Full blown mentalpause (meno) doesn't help either. I feel better when I don't smoke (that rare occassion), have more energy and feel so much healthier. What I can't handle is the anxiety and depression that come with it. In every other aspect of my life I need to feel in control...why not this? I have marvelous willpower and drive to "get the job done".
I understand completely about "being back" if you have a smoke. It's like losing your best friend. What's really discouraging is those quitters (nobody likes a quitter...lol) that tell you after a year they still crave. Geeeez!
Live a good and honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. |
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verbina
True Blue Farmgirl
231 Posts
randi
n.j
USA
231 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 10:38:17 AM
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| DIANE, you asked for a phrase etc YOU STINK! i mean that in a nice way honest. i am a ex smoker. heart disease was my wake up call. smokers cant smell themselves put once you stop you will not believe how cleaner everything smells. oh and it ages your skin and changes your voice. arent there support groups for people who want to quit? dont give up!randi |
Edited by - verbina on Sep 22 2005 10:40:59 AM |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 10:59:04 AM
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I have quick for 6 months. So far so good. I used to be able to start and stop at a whim. No more. But for some resaon, this time I was just tired of it. There is a link between smoking and depression. Apparently, smoking can make women feel not so depressed. There was a study I read about in some magazine.
I wish I could help you, I know it is hard. After about 2-3 weeks, everytime I though about having one, all I could think of was how winded I felt taking the steps, before I quit and it has deterred me so far. Know you have a friend out here who understands what you are going through.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 3:44:25 PM
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| All I needed to make sure I never took up smoking was being there while my grandfather drowned in his own lung fluids from lung cancer. It is not a pleasant death, and every time I see someone lighting up, I see his dear old face turning red, then blue, for want of air. |
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owwlady
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Jan
Tomahawk
WI
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 3:52:53 PM
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| Randi, That is so true. My mother smoked for many years. I'm very sensitive to smoke smells, can't be around an ashtray. She would always tell me I can't possibly smell that she was smoking. When she tried to stop once and was sneaking cigarettes in her own house in the basement so no one would know, I could walk in the house and smell it immediately. She thought I was nuts! Well now that she hasn't been smoking for the last couple years, she's as bad as I am. She can't believe how you can smell cigarettes on someone's clothes, fingers, upholstery, etc. so strongly. I sympathize with anyone going through trying to quit. My oldest daughter smokes heavily and around her 4 children. It breaks my heart on all counts to see what she's doing to herself and the kids. Her father had a lung collapse after being a longtime smoker, her two uncles have a rare lung disease. I told her she doesn't have a choice anymore but to quit, but she's still going on. I just lost a friend who had everything to live for to lung cancer caused by smoking. He and his fiance planned the wedding and the funeral on the same day with their minister. So sad. |
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dg7954
True Blue Farmgirl
129 Posts
Diane
Doylestown
pa
USA
129 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2005 : 5:59:04 PM
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Thank you all for your support. I agree with everything you said. Especially about the stinking!! I hate it. I brush my teeth after every cigarette and wash my hands until the smell is off my fingers. Do you want irony? My teeth are so clean, white and flossed(I am the Martha Stewart of dental hygiene) that all I do is chat with the technician (who doesn't know I smoke. Hah) I am getting A's on my checkups. I had a bone density test two weeks ago. I know that smoking compromises your bones. I thought that if I got a bad report that it would get me to stop. Guess what? 95%! I am 53 yrs old, going through the big M, and my bones are fine. I have always drunk a lot of milk, take calcium supplements, and exercise. I am not complaining, believe me. This is great too. Actually, this might help anyone who can't stop completely, but wants to cut down. Are you ready for this?? My chiropractor, M.D., and gynecologist all okayed the ON-GOING DAILY use of the patch to be used after my morning smokes, and before my late night smokes, just to keep the numbers down. I have used this method for TWO YEARS now. It does work. The only catch is you can never quit completely. I have also had asthma in the past. I began getting chiropractic adjustments regularly, and my asthma disappeared.
Go figure.
I do agree with the tremendous conflict that one suffers with as a smoker who believes in living healthily in all other aspects of life. I will never feel okay about it. And I don't have an answer. But, thanks so much for letting me vent, and thanks even more for the support. |
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KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl
666 Posts
Karen
Chippewa Falls
Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2005 : 02:59:00 AM
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I feel for ya,
I quit about 12 years ago, I had cut down to less than 1/2 a pack a day.
When we purchased a different car, I made sure I didn't smoke in the car.
When we moved to a different house, I made sure I didn't smoke in the house. (boy did it get cold out on the back step when it was -20 outside)
I just wasn't ready to take the final leap, then I finally decided I would quit right after Christmas, then I found out my In-Laws were coming for a visit, I knew I would not succeed in quiting while they were there.
Of course I had a half a pack of smokes yet, so I couldn't throw them away.
So I paced myself and timed it so I would have my last smoke before I went to bed. I had a hard time, especially the first week at work, I couldn't go into the breakroom (we could smoke in there at that time, no more).
I went and sat in the corridor to eat lunch.
My husband didn't notice until about 3 days into it.
He was so happy, he said let's set a goal, for 3 months, I had always wanted to see the Air Force Museum in Dayton, so that the was goal.
I made it, and after 3 months I wasn't going to give in to the urge.
I don't know how many times I have thought about a smoke, but knew it would only take one to get me back into it.
Now if I could only do that with food!
KarenP
"Purest Spring Water in the World" |
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LadyCrystal
True Blue Farmgirl
593 Posts
Alicia
Rhode Island
USA
593 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2005 : 12:57:41 PM
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Next week will be my 2year anniversary from quitting.Nobody thought I would make it,even my hubby I was so cranky.I tried so many times and I think I tried every way I know how.I finally went on zyban.My Dr suggested it because I tried so many other ways.It worked because it makes the cigs taste awful,It made me sick to smoke.I threw up because it tasted so bad.I quit earlier than the quit date I had picked.I asked my Dr why it was so bad and she said I had more of an extreme reaction than any of her other patients.I was on it for two weeks and stopped.I stopped taking the meds too but it was enough of a kick to get me going.I did gain some wieght but I think it is worth it.Both my Grandmothers died of emphysema.It was hard to watch.My mother was dianosed with it last year I knew I would be doomed to the same if I didn't do something.I wasn't ready to die young.I am amazed now how much better I can breath.I have no more morning smokers cough.I no longer get short of breath and I am only 37 years old.I have more energy than ever.If I was that bad at that age imagine how I would have been in my 50's.I suggest maybe go spend some time with someone who is dieing if lung cancer and maybe that will give you a wake up.It worked for me.This is the toughest thing to do but if I can do it anyone can.
Alicia
Follow your dreams |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 24 2005 : 8:06:54 PM
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The weird thing about my smoking was, I wasn't a heavy smoker and my doctor said "Why bother smoking at all if you only smoke a few a day?" But I actually LIKED it. And I miss it. Especially now that I am so stressed out.!!!!!!!!!!!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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Here's to Your Health: Okay, I give in. I want to stop. |
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Okay, I give in. I want to stop.
