My life as a smoker
I started smoking when I was 13 years old. It started in high school when, during lunch someone asked me if I wanted a smoke. I had never smoked before but I said yes. I wanted to fit in.
I spent the entire weekend learning how to inhale. I got so dizzy that I had to go to sleep but I became an expert. So now it is almost 45 years later and I finally have two weeks smoke free. I have tried several times to quit and never succeeded. I was a pack a day smoker; sometimes a little more.
Why and how I quit smoking
I quit because of my health. I had pneumonia this past fall and was told I have beginning signs of COPD. I had a terrible wheeze. Now, after just two weeks of not smoking, the wheeze is gone - even my doctor didn't hear it. I want to be around to see my three small grandchildren grow. I will not let cigarettes take that away from me.
Advice
Today I think about what I have lost in my life due to smoking and that keeps me going one day at a time. I go on the forum every day for support and to help me build a positive attitude. I am taking Chantix. It was also recommended to me to read a book by Allen Carr called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" and that was helpful as well.You know...I did everything I had to when I was smoking to make sure I had time to feed my addiction. Today I want to do everything I can to be free of it.
Terry Martin, Smoking Cessation Guide, says:
Put a list of reasons for quitting together and keep it with you at all times. When you're feeling low or tempted to smoke, pull it out and read it to refresh your memory about how you felt just before you quit smoking and why quitting is so important to you.Our Reasons to Quit Smoking -- Reader Responses
Be patient with yourself and allow for as much time as you need to heal from this addiction. There is no set formula for recovery; we're all unique in how we move through the process.
Read about nicotine addiction and do the work to change the way you perceive cigarettes. They are instruments of death. They deserve nothing more than your disdain.
Don't look at quitting tobacco as a sacrifice. You're not giving up anything of value.
Recovery from nicotine addiction is a process of gradual release over time.
It doesn't happen overnight, but with perseverance, freedom from nicotine addiction is doable, and will pay you back with benefits that go well beyond what you can probably imagine.
