The OFFICIAL Unofficial Achewood Message Board
Trivial Pursuits => People & Places => Topic started by: Nabubrush on April 23, 2004, 02:23:52 am
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That is how long it has been since I have smoked a cigarette, and I start this thread as a blatant plea for positive reinforcement to make my struggle easier. Any encouragement would be helpful, and thank you in advance. My sweetheart thinks I am more appealing without the smoking, which makes it easier to stick to the not smoking (anything for her) - but any help you folks might toss my way would be much appreciated.
(I tried to make this a poll but either I am an idiot, or the funny miscellaneous blocks on my work computer have rendered it impossible. Perhaps both.)
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Smoking is for fags.
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Good going! I quit when the Wife's dad lay in a coma, grinding his teeth. Tying the image of a gruesome, drawn-out death (that I got to watch) to the act of smoking was enough.
Just think about how much pinker your lungs are and how much better food tastes. And how happy the love of your life is to have you that much longer. It's all good, and lighting up made you SMELL. BAD.
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Many congratulations and good luck!
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You. Are. Rad.
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But, smoking makes you cool! Also, how are Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds going to continue to make obscene profits if you don't let them exploit you?
What the HELL people?
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in a way, i envy you. my gf and i are trying to concurrently quit. it's not going so well. to have "no sex" as an alternative to "no breathing in noxious toxic fumes" might be more motivational for me.
so, sex. there's a pretty important and potent bio-feedback mechanism right there. get her to promise you no nookie if you smoke. note: ya, it's a great idea, isn't it? and, no, those words will never come out of my mouth, so take it with a grain of salt.
money. cigs are too freakin expensive nowadays. i used to smoke camel lights, but have wandered over to GPC ultralights. still to freakin expensive. think of the cool crap you can buy yourself with all that money. or save for retirement. or something. i have a signifigant amount of camel bucks. whoooo. take the legal tender, seriously.
social stigma. depending on your locale, you can use PEER PRESSURE as a positive force in your life. this doesn't really work for me, personally, because all it does is make me want to smoke more so i can put my cigarette out in their eye. ymmv.
i've been using the nicorette gum. it's horrid. it's like peppered juicy fruit without the juicy or the fruit. but it is the most similar gum. it helps with the nic withdrawl, and the oral fixation crap, but i still miss all the additives.
which leads us to: additives. if it was just the nicotine, then i wouldn't be experiencing physical withdrawl issues if i'm chewing the hell out of the nic gum. this is really pissing me off lately. can they just make a NATURALLY ADDICTIVE cigarette anymore!!??! WTF!!!!!!? no, they have to add MORE CRAP in it to make it MORE addictive. great, more retinas to burn.
142 hours, sad, i had to use a calc to do the math. 6 days, you should notice a sense of smell come back. find one of your ashtrays. i just about got sick the first time i quit and i sniffed one. it's really horrible. next week you'll probably start to notice the smell attached to that shirt you've washed 3 times since quitting. it's really bad. the smoke just gets in everywhere.
Coke. one of the things i miss, is the BURNING sensation in my throat from when you inhale nice and deep. chug, and i mean CHUG, a coke. it burns like a bubbly acid down your throat. it helps.
the new dentyne gum. i prefer the arctic chill ice. sugarless. "candy coated" so if your the nostalgic for chiclets type, hey, there you go. first couple of chews, ya, it's gum. about the 4th or 5th, KAPLOWEE, it burns like someone put kerosene in that coke you chugged. sometimes i have to spontaneously spit the gum out. it's great. of course, by about the 10th chew, the burn is gone, so it isn't really timed like a cig. but it's good chewing gum, it stays quite maleable for long times.
start excercising. do something constructive with the nervous energy. i haven't done either, but i've heard it's a good idea.
anywas, obviosly Your Mileage WILL Vary.
Good luck, be strong. pretty much, i think it comes down to personal inner strength, etc. i've been so freaking weak this past month or so, it's really starting to get to me. i think that might be my grail for quitting, though, just to prove to myself i'm not that horribly weak.
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I used to smoke about 10 a day - you know "socially". A few drinks and some banter led to a couple - a nice meal led to a couple more - you know the score. Anyway, I stopped when my mum got lung Cancer, and I had to watch her die over the course of 6 months. Pretty rough. Generally - I know shock stories don't work on the hardened smoker (my dad still smokes 4 years on), but being there and living it is the worst kind of torture. Don't do it to yourself, but more importantly, don't do it to the people who care about you.
Good luck.
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Yea, I quit because my brother's girlfriend's mother died of Lymphoma. And I had quit the time before that 'cause my girlfriend had lymphoma. Just seemed like the tactful thing to do really.
I actually tried to smoke one last night, for so many reasons - stress, panic, extreme leg pain (nicotine being a muscle relaxant used to help) - but it was just nasty. Couldn't even manage a proper draw off it.
So fuck it. Looks like that's it.
Good work dude!
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I'm currently on three weeks and two days. Are you using any nicotine replacement? I'm using the patch, which I like because it provides the constant stream of nicotine. Theoretically, smoking a cigarette on the patch would be much worse for you than cheating between two pieces of nicotine gum.
Anyway, for further motivation, when I was in Chicago the weekend before last I saw a pack of cigarettes for over five bucks. That was actually what motivated my pop to quit... Let's see, $4.70 (The going Kansas price) x 1.3 packs a day x 30 days = $183 a month saved. Add to that the fact that I was too dumb to buy by the carton, and tack the cost of a coke and some other junk I'd always buy at the gas station when I got my smokes, and this'll be a serious financial savings as well...
Good luck Nabubrush... So have you been out to a smoky bar yet since you quit? I've managed it a couple of times, but that one is tough...
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On the subject of addictive substances...
Coke. one of the things i miss, is the BURNING sensation in my throat from when you inhale nice and deep. chug, and i mean CHUG, a coke. it burns like a bubbly acid down your throat. it helps.
This is the absolute gospel, and that effect may be the only thing getting me through this year of college.
(I should try to quit soda again, but I doubt it's going to work.)
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This is the absolute gospel, and that effect may be the only thing getting me through this year of college.
I tend to use cold water, 'cause yes, aside from the psychological habit, the thing that really got me smoking again and again was the feeling at the back of the throat. A kind of tickling feeling. Cold liquid is the only other thing that hits that!
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Are you using any nicotine replacement? I'm using the patch, which I like because it provides the constant stream of nicotine. Theoretically, smoking a cigarette on the patch would be much worse for you than cheating between two pieces of nicotine gum.
Good luck Nabubrush... So have you been out to a smoky bar yet since you quit? I've managed it a couple of times, but that one is tough...
1- gum & cheating. beyond theory, you are correct.
2- bars, and smokiness thereof: ti is teh suxor.
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This is the absolute gospel, and that effect may be the only thing getting me through this year of college.
I tend to use cold water, 'cause yes, aside from the psychological habit, the thing that really got me smoking again and again was the feeling at the back of the throat. A kind of tickling feeling. Cold liquid is the only other thing that hits that!
This is useful advice. I actually don't smoke and don't plan to start, but I actually just meant that I've become ravingly addicted to Coca-Cola primarily because of the tactile elements. That shit hits like drinking sweet, sweet fire.
Anyway, back on topic: much encouragement for all attempting to quit. The gum sounds good, insofar as anything at this point is good.
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It's a tough road, and I wish you luck. There doesn't seem to be any one thing that works for everyone. I only managed to quit because I had a bad enough case of bronchitis that I couldn't smoke for about a week. But it still took me the better part of a year to ease myself off of them, taking occasional drags from various peoples smokes.
But, it can be done. My old man smoked for ~35 years before he managed to quit with the patch. I know a lot of people that have had moderate-good luck with the patch (and freaky dreams if you sleep with it). Not having an SO that smokes will be a big help...
Good luck.
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Well, I quit (before my divorce) for two years, but then my world exploded and smokes seemed like a good idea. I don't use any replacement at all, other than toothpicks (I didn't use anything last time, either). I don't know about the drinking soda, cause I don't really do that. What's helped the most has been counting the hours (seriously) and not wanting to go back to zero. Me and the sweetheart do go out to one particular bar every Weds when I am home, and I think that's going to be tough. I will probably not go the first hitch home.
She's never denied me sex because of the smoking, but she sure doesn't like it.
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Wow, congrats & good luck to all those quitting. As a former two-pack-a-day smoker who first lit up at fourteen, I can certainly sympathize. I still haven't fully quit -- I buy a pack of smokes every time I get drunk -- but I don't smoke on a daily basis any more, which is a big step for me. And considering that I only get drunk once or twice a year these days, I figure if I never smoke outside of drinking binges, I'm not doing too bad, relatively speaking.
I quit without nicotine-replacement, because the hardest part for me was giving up the habit -- the sensation, the taste, the smell. I enjoyed smoking -- still do -- but it's not part of my routine any more, so I don't miss it as much. Identify the places and times of day you usually light up out of habit, and then make that situation undesireable for smoking. For instance, I used to smoke in my car. So I cleaned out the ashtray, removed the cigarette lighter, and had it detailed. Having that new-car smell back instead of the odor of stale tobacco smoke was a huge deterrent for lighting up.
Because so many people link cigarettes with alcohol, I reccomend staying away from bars, except smoke-free ones, until you've been off cigs for six months. When you eat out, order dessert or coffee -- it will help with with that after-dinner craving. And after sex...ice cream, man. Two spoons, one bowl. It's a beautiful thing.
I also used to smoke between classes at college with my friends -- that one I didn't give up until I graduated. If you have a group of regular smoke-break buddies at work, find something to subsitute for your smoke break. Visit this messageboard, call your SO, chug a coke. Your buddies might give you a hard time about not going out for a smoke with them, but be firm and resolute. Or, if you think you can handle it, go with them, but do something else with your hands and mouth -- drink a cup of coffee, eat a candy bar, yodel while doing card tricks. (Actually, carrying around a deck of cards to shuffle is kind of relaxing when you're full of nervous energy.)
I hope this is helpful. As arka said, "your mileage may vary," but if it's more about the habit than it is about the chemicals, some of the above may work for you. For the record, I didn't have a single cigarette between June 2000 and August 2001, and have smoked less than four packs worth since. From two packs a day to two packs a year is a victory in my book -- and that number is still decreasing, because I've discovered that now when I smoke more than three in a night I wake up with a headache that lasts three days. Someday I hope to reach the point where I can go drinking in a bar without feeling the need to smoke, but I'm not there yet. Good luck to all of you, and may you find success and satisfaction elsewhere in life.
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Also remember that most if not all commercial tobacco is ritually impure. By smoking ritually impure tobacco you are cursed by the wrath of Mars, god of war. If you are less mystically inclined you may be cursed by the wrath of Mars, the candy bar.
I'm pretty sure I had more of a point when I started typing this but something's suddenly come up. Sorry to leave in the middle of what might have eventually made sense.
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Also remember that most if not all commercial tobacco is ritually impure. By smoking ritually impure tobacco you are cursed by the wrath of Mars, god of war. If you are less mystically inclined you may be cursed by the wrath of Mars, the candy bar.
I'm pretty sure I had more of a point when I started typing this but something's suddenly come up. Sorry to leave in the middle of what might have eventually made sense.
I like it anyway. Plus, hey, what is either a tragic Raal's Tome death or a tragic "oh my god I ALMOST HAD CHAOS CHANNELS" death.
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Smoking is for fags.
This is, unfortunately, true. Also disproportionately represented are Asians, Blacks, and Third Worlders.
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Smoking is for fags.
I thought no puns were allowed on this board.
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I didn't expect anyone to get the joke.
('Fags' being what all English-speaking countries other than the U.S. call cigarettes).
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('Fags' being what all English-speaking countries other than the U.S. call cigarettes).
- which is ironic, because that's what speakers in the US call people in English Speaking countries.
- i was more youthful on my trip to England, some guy turned to me and asked "can i bum a fag?". in hindsight, there are a ton of "better" responses than "uh?"
- i find the "Eat the hell out of things" response to not sucking on gaseous death difficult to avoid. which is severely saddening, since the biggest issue with quitting smoking is willpower of my self. "great, i'll show myself i can quit! i'll show me!! oh shit, i just ate a convenience store."
giving up chocolate was easier. sure, i'll cheat everyonce in awhile, but i never relapse into a binge.
giving up alcholol was easier. sure, i'll cheat everyonce in awhile, and sure i'll relapse into a binge, but when the next day comes i can stop from starting again.
- the headaches are distracting. because i know if i start smoking, they'll go away. i'm wondering if they're from the gum, because this walmart-brand nicorette (laff all you want, when 1/2 price _is_ 30 bucks...) is hard and not so chewy, and it could just be jaw fatigue.
i might borrow a patch tomorrow.
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Just think about how much pinker your lungs are and how much better food tastes. And how happy the love of your life is to have you that much longer. It's all good, and lighting up made you SMELL. BAD.
Actually accentuatin' the positive never worked for me when I would try to quit. When I finally did two years ago (after 14 years of 1-1.5 packs a day) what worked was being totally honest with myself about how much I wanted a smoke, how good it would feel, and how much it sucked that I couldn't have one. Somehow that helped a lot. I am slightly perverse.
The patch helped, too.
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Just think about how much pinker your lungs are and how much better food tastes. And how happy the love of your life is to have you that much longer. It's all good, and lighting up made you SMELL. BAD.
Actually accentuatin' the positive never worked for me when I would try to quit. When I finally did two years ago (after 14 years of 1-1.5 packs a day) what worked was being totally honest with myself about how much I wanted a smoke, how good it would feel, and how much it sucked that I couldn't have one. Somehow that helped a lot. I am slightly perverse.
The patch helped, too.
Mentally applying your logic to a vow of chastity/celibacy explains a lot about the problem some religious denominations have had over time.
Quitting by telling yourself what you are missing out on is pretty perverse, but if it works, hey.
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what worked was being totally honest with myself about how much I wanted a smoke, how good it would feel, and how much it sucked that I couldn't have one. Somehow that helped a lot. I am slightly perverse.
The patch helped, too.
Mentally applying your logic to a vow of chastity/celibacy explains a lot about the problem some religious denominations have had over time.
Quitting by telling yourself what you are missing out on is pretty perverse, but if it works, hey.
i would think that anyone who represses their truth and lies to themselves is going to have more problems down the road than someone being honest about the suckacity of the situation, be that situation smoking or fuck*ng. of course, the consequences of breaking a vow of non-smoking based upon a polly-anna-worldview probably mean that you get a couple extra camel bucks, not that some altarboy has a life-altering episode...
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I didn't expect anyone to get the joke.
('Fags' being what all English-speaking countries other than the U.S. call cigarettes).
You really didn't expect anyone to get the joke? I figured everyone got the joke, and that's why no one commented.
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You really didn't expect anyone to get the joke? I figured everyone got the joke, and that's why no one commented.
Yeah, agreed. Perhaps it's because my family's pretty British, but I didn't find it a particularly devious pun. Sorry jough.
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I thought fags = cigarette butts was common knowledge.
~Paul
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I didn't expect anyone to get the joke.
('Fags' being what all English-speaking countries other than the U.S. call cigarettes).
You really didn't expect anyone to get the joke? I figured everyone got the joke, and that's why no one commented.
Well, um, if YOU got the joke, then why this statement from you on the previous page?
This is, unfortunately, true. Also disproportionately represented are Asians, Blacks, and Third Worlders.
Evidently you were not thinking fags=cigarettes when you wrote that, which is why I had to explain. Generally, yes, I'd imagine that everyone would get the reference, but with two comments from people who didn't, and the general nature of comments on this board, I guess sometimes one has to explain these things.
FAGS
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WHATEVER.
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Oh, and while you're trying to quit do not, repeat DO NOT watch any of the following:
-Homicide: Life on the Streets (especially the episode when Bayliss and Howe are both trying to quit)
-Cowboy Bebop
-Most American movies made in the 30s or 40s (in Double Indemnity they smoke while grocery shopping! GROCERY SHOPPING!!)
-The first two seasons of Red Dwarf
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Add to the list:
Fight Club
Goodfellas
Anything circa WWII
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-anything featuring either any member of the Rat Pack or Virginia Madsen.
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I didn't expect anyone to get the joke.
('Fags' being what all English-speaking countries other than the U.S. call cigarettes).
You really didn't expect anyone to get the joke? I figured everyone got the joke, and that's why no one commented.
Well, um, if YOU got the joke, then why this statement from you on the previous page?
This is, unfortunately, true. Also disproportionately represented are Asians, Blacks, and Third Worlders.
Evidently you were not thinking fags=cigarettes when you wrote that, which is why I had to explain. Generally, yes, I'd imagine that everyone would get the reference, but with two comments from people who didn't, and the general nature of comments on this board, I guess sometimes one has to explain these things.
FAGS
It was a reference to the fact that homosexuals are overrepresented in the population of smokers. Approximately double the percentage actually. I was trying to cut you a break for making an obvious pun, and trying to make it look like your statement was layered, and much more impressive than it actually was, as was noted by several other people.
FAG.
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Also, I am over 200 hours, and Jough may not, actually, be a homosexual.
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Well... points for trying, at least. And bonus points for all involved for nuance.
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what worked was being totally honest with myself about how much I wanted a smoke, how good it would feel, and how much it sucked that I couldn't have one. Somehow that helped a lot. I am slightly perverse.
The patch helped, too.
Mentally applying your logic to a vow of chastity/celibacy explains a lot about the problem some religious denominations have had over time.
Quitting by telling yourself what you are missing out on is pretty perverse, but if it works, hey.
i would think that anyone who represses their truth and lies to themselves is going to have more problems down the road than someone being honest about the suckacity of the situation, be that situation smoking or fuck*ng. of course, the consequences of breaking a vow of non-smoking based upon a polly-anna-worldview probably mean that you get a couple extra camel bucks, not that some altarboy has a life-altering episode...
It sounds like you don't acknowledge that a hideous, drawn out death from cancer contains suckacity as well. Balancing the knowledge of your former risk against your improved health outcomes every hour that goes by can be powerful as a motivator. There is no repression of the truth there. Also, if my kid developed asthma or other severe health problems because I smoked around her, I would call that a life-altering situation. Comparable to the priest situation only in the sense that someone else's behavior affects them possibly forever, but true.
What you do affects other people and yourself, potentially in horrible and permanent ways. Facing the scary truth and dealing with your addiction or sickness, if you can, is more likley to achieve success than mentally masturbating over the fantasy of a cigarette, especially when cigarettes are so easy to get.
But as I said before, if it worked for you, great, because quitting cigarettes is very difficult.
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A bunch of my friends stopped smoking last year when one of our mutual friends had to have his lower jaw removed due to mouth cancer.
He only smoked for about four years.
Anyway, I asked a couple of my friends if they regretted quitting, and they both said not in a million years, and they said that with the jaw they probably appreciate more than they did a year ago.
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Quitting by telling yourself what you are missing out on is pretty perverse, but if it works, hey.
i would think that anyone who represses their truth and lies to themselves is going to have more problems down the road than someone being honest about the suckacity of the situation, be that situation smoking or fuck*ng. of course, the consequences of breaking a vow of non-smoking based upon a polly-anna-worldview probably mean that you get a couple extra camel bucks, not that some altarboy has a life-altering episode...
It sounds like you don't acknowledge that a hideous, drawn out death from cancer contains suckacity as well.
<snip>
i'm quite aware of how hideous and drawn out my death very well may be.
apparently i'm misunderstanding your view of pervesity in regards to admitting to myself how much i enjoy smoking.
i'm guessing i assumed you meant "it is perverse to admit to yourself in midst of quitting smoking that you actually really, really enjoy smoking, and it would be better to lie to yourself and tell yourself that you hate smoking in order to make it easier." i disagree with that thought process. if it is not yours, then i am not disagreeing with you, but am in fact arguing with my perceptions.
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I am all honest with myself about how much I really enjoyed smoking - but I'm starting to really enjoy not smoking, which is never the case for the first 5 days or so after I quit. I just always think, during that time, how much I really, really want a cigarette.
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Arkabee: I never said to lie to yourself about hating smoking..what I meant was that it is perverse to jerk yourself off mentally to images of how great smoking is while depriving yourself of something readily available and legal. It seems counterintuitive when there is so many proven negative images to focus on that would be less likely to make you run out and smoke.
It's really evidentiary of the depth and power of the addiction so if you did manage to quit, again, congratulations. I found it quite easy to quit during a deathbed vigil and believe me it was nothing that gave me imagery that could have led to a smoke. In fact, the few times I did try to light up, all I could hear was Elinor's dad grinding his teeth in a coma. Very loud, horrible sound. I can still hear it if I think about it. I doubt I could have quit while meditating on the joy of smoking and I think most addiction counselors would agree that that method would serve to make it harder....but, if it worked, that is what is important.
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Not to bump my topic for no good reason, but I'd like to let everyone know that I am currently 2 and 1/2 weeks into the grand experiment in not paying old white guys to give me cancer, and it's going well.
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Huzzah! Congratulations.
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I ran out of patches on Wednesday and didn't get more, like an idiot. On Friday, I bought a pack, smoked three, then destroyed said pack. On Saturday I bummed two. I've been clean again since 11:45PM on Saturday, but unfortunately had to reset my counter just shy of what would have been a month.
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I caved.
Smoked Saturday and Sunday while I was away at a friends birthday do. But then that involved going out.
Anyway it's not me started smoking again, much as it feels tempting today, but not out of craving for nicotine, more from, just wanting to be a smoker again.
But I can't afford it.
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Sorry, Gimpson - but any amount of not smoking is probably good. Slink, you don't seem especially committed to not smoking, so I'm not too worried about you. I know when I smoked weed, to me cigarettes seemed to go right along with it. But the same was true with coffee, too, I guess. And I'm doing pretty well with the coffee and no smokes. Long story short, I have no point.
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Slink, you don't seem especially committed to not smoking, so I'm not too worried about you.
You have come to know my powers of will and fickle attitude towards everything too well.
Like I say though, unless somehow I get money and the whole thing that gives me cause to smoke doesn't sort itself out, or I will just not care much whether I am smoking or not.
Meh.
I have no real point funnily enough.
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If you don't smoke due to financial constraints, I don't think you are in too much danger. As long as you don't become wealthy.