Stories & experiences

i see you got a lot of response on your first post now. I also cut down to 2-3 cigarettes from 25 for a couple of days and found that time to be harder than just quitting outright. When I joined a site and believed that I could quit , I did.

The problem with cutting down drastically is that smoking takes precedence in our minds. We count the seconds until we can have one. It was easier once there was no time to wait for. A smoke is not a reward when we quit , freedom is.
We rewarded ourselves with a smoke before dinner, after dinner and even during dinner. Any excuse to light up. Face the truth, we were/are addicted to nicotine and it ruled our every day life. Sometimes we did not go places if we had to worry where and when we would get that next "fix". We only enjoyed and noticed the first couple of puffs and the rest went unnoticed. We smoked before the cravings came because we did not like them and knew they would strike.

An onlooker recommended looking at scary facts. Scare tactics don't generally work. We know the risks and played roulette for years, decades even. Scary just makes us run to the smoke in anxiety because that is what we have taught our minds to do. In reality smoking does nothing. Did you read Allen Carr or my link i previously suggested?

It always amazes me that people who come and say they want to quit.....really , really do, ....will complain that it is hard but don't read the free link or go about the change to freedom in a different way. It is a mind game. Control your way of thinking!

We can quit smoking when we want to, believe we can, and think about it positively.

Wise words Happiness, I related to everything you said. Especially how much control we have given to nicotine over our lives. The freedom is amazing once it is tasted it makes up for so much

Hi , we are still here! I am now just over 4 weeks smoke free, still get pangs,but pysh through them. I found the stories and support here have been the mainstay of my quitting, have had lots of support from Nope-2021,
I would guess most people are out catching up afyer lockdown. Keep posting,good luck, it aint easy but can be done,and boy does it feel goid to be free of the adiction!

That's wonderful Segan. Keep up the good thoughts and be proud and determined. We can push through and win against nicotine and old beliefs.

How’s your quitting going??😀