Help,I need to stop smoking.Any tips.

[REDKING]

I used to be a singer and just cant cut it anymore because of smoking.
I have tried everything and I am at a loss.

[yewberry]

1. Well

You can't post here (because you have to be a donating member to post in groups) but you can read through the smoking cessation group board!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=326

Good luck!

[billyskank]

2. In the end, just stop

Don't think things like "no more cigarettes," or "I have had my last cigarette," just concentrate on not having a cigarette RIGHT NOW.

That was what I did. I was thinking that there was no point worrying about the future ("no more cigarettes ever") because I couldn't affect that, so I would just make sure I was not having a smoke in the present. The hours turned into days, the days into weeks, and after a few weeks I suddenly realised that I had not thought about smoking for several hours!

At that point I realised I had broken the back of it.

Good luck! :thumsbup:

[RebelOne]

4. Easier said than done.

[billyskank]

6. Of course

It is much easier to say it than do it. I didn't say it will be easy. Actually it will be hard. But we already knew that.

Nevertheless, there are only two options: do it or don't do it. All other methods and rituals are just displacement activities from the actual task at hand. Just don't smoke any more. There is no way of giving up that doesn't mean not smoking.

[RebelOne]

3. I could use a little help myself.

I have been trying to quit a 2-pack-a-day habit, but nothing is working. I am taking Wellbutrin, which is like Zyban, but that is not working either.

[auntAgonist]

5. you have to want to quit

then just do it. COLD turkey. Worked for me.

good luck!!

aA

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

7. I used "The Alan Carr Easyway method" after several failed attempts

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0572028628/ref=pd_sim_b_1/103-9299599-1871034?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

I've been a non-smoker now for coming up to 2 years.

[graywarrior]

8. You have to really want to.

If you don't want to, you won't.

[redwitch]

9. I have been smokefree since November's great American Smokeout.

I used the patch for six weeks, ( steps 1, 2 and 3). It helped me, along with the constant mantra of "I feel better, I smell better, I am saving money" and the thought every time I saw someone smoking was " Hooray, I am not a junkie anymore"- not, Oh damn, I wish I could smoke right now. I do not feel deprived, I feel stronger. You can do it, talk to others, read, and figure out the way - or combination of ways- that appeal to you. Good luck, you can do it if I did. I'm a wuss! :-)

[bettyellen]

10. love you're mantra.

i'll remember that, thanks!
:hi:

[auntAgonist]

11. congratulations redwitch!

wtg :yourock:


here's to good health! :toast:

[Benfea]

12. Look at it this way: you'll quit eventually... one way or the other. ;)

Yes, I'm evil. Why do you ask?

[Cobalt Violet]

13. Keep trying.

Sometimes you have to try, try again.

[Alexander]

14. I know what you mean about the singing & smoking

I noticed that right after I had a cigarette, I could hit and sustain some ridiculously high notes, and they sounded better than when I didn't smoke. It would put some 70s rock stars to shame, I'm sure.

I puffed down on 2 packs a day for a few years (I'm 22). So I started coughing up some nasty junk that I didn't want in my body any more.

I quit once, for two months, just to see if I was "addicted". I wasn't, and never thought I was - but I had to prove it to myself.

Then I started up again, got sick of it, and quit entirely a few months ago. I have no problem refusing cigarettes now.

How did I do it? Cold turkey, I say. And it's not as hard as it sounds.

After I finished a pack, I just didn't bother getting another one. In fact whenever I filled up my gas tank I would use my credit card, or find some means of paying OUTSIDE, so I wasn't tempted to go in and ask for a pack of Camels.

When my friends would all go outside for a cigarette, I would find some other way of entertaining myself - reading a magazine or something until they came inside. Or if I went outside, I'd bring a glass of water and move upwind, and deliberately "forget" my lighter so I wouldn't be as tempted to mooch one from them.

You don't need to actively TRY to quit - that's the mistake most smokers make. You just need to occupy your brain with other thoughts.

Read a book, play a game, chat with people, play with a pet, or whatever. Just don't think about it, and eventually the cravings will go away.

Here's reason NUMERO UNO why you should quit, apart from the health problems.

SMOKING AGES THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF YOU.

Once those creases show up on your face, they NEVER go away. It may be shallow and petty, but the idea of looking decrepit before your time is a big reason why lots of people quit.

So, I still get mistaken for 18 or 19 at parties (I don't get plastered any more either), while my former smoking buddies are developing wrinkles, creases and raspy voices like you wouldn't believe.

As for the singing? I discovered that if I let my voice rest, eat healthy and drink lots of water, I can still sing pretty well. Now I just need to find a band...

Anyway, best of luck to you. Hopefully something I said will help. Trust me, you'll FEEL a lot better when you quit!

:-)

[leftofthedial]

15. give away all your matches

you say you've tried everything, so . . .

I have some friends who had good results from hypnosis therapy