My smoking background
I started smoking when I was fifteen. I'd been smoking for three years and I got strep throat. I was so sick that I stayed in bed and slept for three days, I could barely force myself to drink liquids let along smoke a cigarette. The pain in my throat was so bad it kind of overshadowed any withdrawal symptoms I had. When i got better, I realized I was through the hard part of quitting. I hadn't smoked in 5 days!
How I relapsed
I got into a fight with my significant other, and didn't know how to deal with the emotion without cigarettes. Every time I was sad, bored, depressed, and especially angry, smoking was my outlet, my crutch. I didn't see it coming. I hadn't touched a cigarette in two weeks, and was so proud of myself. I went out and bought that pack, lit that one, and that was it. I slowly but surely started smoking a pack a day again.
Lessons learned
- Get new outlets.
- Find new ways to deal with emotions, without that cigarette crutch.
Terry Martin, Smoking Cessation Guide, says:
From good to bad to neutral, smoking punctuated just about everything in our lives. Therefore, when we quit smoking, we have to learn how to manage all of the many events and emotions in our daily lives without a cigarette in hand. The more practice we get at coping with life without smoking, the easier it gets, until the day comes when smoking no longer comes to mind.It takes time and plenty of patience (mostly with self) to recover from nicotine addiction, but it is an achievable goal. Believe it and believe in your ability to boot the butts out of your life, once and for all.
