At one year smoke-free, Sadi has a list of useful tips that helped her succeed with smoking cessation. They will help you too, if you take them to heart. They are words of wisdom from someone who now enjoys a life that is free of nicotine addiction.
Congratulations, Sadi!
After successfully quitting smoking a year ago with the aid of nicotine patch treatment, education and this wonderful forum, I thought it would be nice to share some of the things that I worked into my quit plan that helped me stay quit all this time. I did not consciously write up a detailed plan when I quit smoking, but I set all of these steps into motion and followed them religiously:
1: Get Serious.
First of all, it's going to help you if you are determined to quit smoking for good. Not as a bargain chip or because your family wants you to (although it can help), or for any other reason other than you want and need to quit for yourself.
Getting serious will help to fuel the fire that will kick you into the next phase:
2: Get Selfish.
Yes, that's right, smoking cessation is the most important project in your life right now. Your very life depends on you seeing this project through to completion (which is peace from the active addiction long-term).
Let others know you are not able to be there for them 100 percent at this point. This is very important if you are doing a bit of care-giving. This is a time in your life where you need understanding and at least silent support from others. You need to focus on yourself and quite necessarily so, for the next step requires your complete concentration and willingness to learn:
3: Get Educated.
Find as many sources as you can for information about the harm that smoking causes you and how the psychological addiction to nicotine actually works. You are going to need to get to know your enemy as well as you possibly can. If you know all his moves you won't be surprised when he makes one. Foreknowledge is definitely key in helping you win the battle in your mind.
Whenever you think about it, write down reasons why you don't want to ever go back to smoking or even the things you have gained/stand to gain since quitting and keep these reasons handy for the tough times. Yes, write them down on a piece of paper and keep them close (like in your wallet). You will need these notes for inspiration.
Collect every article and all links you can that pertain to information about nicotine addiction and READ it like it's a bible for at least 6 weeks every day for a couple of hours a day. This is how much time I spent on the education part of my quit. Also, keep all this information handy (like in a folder on your desktop for example) so that you can easily access it during your next phase.
The next step is a little more difficult and some choose not to spend much time on this one, but for me it was the difference between staying quit and using some lame excuse to ignore the education part of the quit:
4: Get Mad.
Become disgusted, frightened, and angry with your nicotine addiction and how much it has robbed you of in your life so far. Use some of the links and images you have been (hopefully) exposing yourself to during the course of your quit education as true aversion therapy.
Need some inspiration? Try reading this guy's story:
- He Wanted You to Know -- Bryan's Story
5: Get Support.
Whether or not you have decided to use a quit aid, I strongly recommend that you have support during the first three to four months if you can get it from others in your family and friends circles.
Along with support offline, use the support of this forum. It is available 24-7. There are angels here every day waiting to help you along with your quit program, as well as and many other folks like myself making it as quitters, thanks to the support of these wonderful people. Share and grab the support you need. Even if you haven't quit yet, you can become inspired to do it with the support and invaluable knowledge of other successful quitters here.
This brings us to the last point of advice I can share - something that helps me every day:
6: Stay Vigilant.
Romance your quit program! I can't say this often enough folks: be darn proud of yourself for coming this far and for staying quit. Being a non-smoker is HOT, Healthy, Beautiful, Aromatic and just plain groovy. There are so many awesome things you can do with your life now that you aren't chained to that disgusting addiction.
You can really enjoy a movie again without missing key parts while you're taking a ciggie break. You can go to your kids' school games knowing you won't have anxiety, can kiss a new person for the first time knowing you're not going to gross them out with your breath. You can get decent housing rentals and even better jobs thanks to your new life and non-smoking status ... the list of benefits goes on and on.
There are so many benefits over and above your health that it takes some time to absorb just how much simpler your life becomes without this expensive and deadly addiction in it. Saving your life and having a great time doing it are key mindsets.
Never forget your reasons for quitting and be proud of sticking to them every time you are tempted. Get into being a quitter and make it your new love.With time, the romance of freedom from addiction will just settle around you like a good, comfortable marriage, and you can start enjoying your new, smoke-free and stress-free life!
Sadi is so right: education, support, and persistence are sure-fire ingredients for success with smoking cessation.
If you're still smoking, use Sadi's advice to take your life back. Quit smoking today.
