Freedom’s guide to quitting nicotine.

[MethMan]

This was a great guide and I enjoyed reading it.Ive been smoking cigs for only a short while just for something to else to smoke when I dont have bud,but I'm quitting no doubt.This is something I don't want to get myself into.Thanks

[xmmanx]

any tips for the insomnia? its really been hurting my progress. i dont wanna take sleeping pills everynight and become unable to sleep without them (happened to me before).

[freedom4ever]

Originally Posted by MethMan

This was a great guide and I enjoyed reading it.Ive been smoking cigs for only a short while just for something to else to smoke when I dont have bud,but I'm quitting no doubt.This is something I don't want to get myself into.Thanks

Thanks man. There are way better things to smoke. I'm glad you've made that decision, just ask if you need any help.

Originally Posted by xmmanx

any tips for the insomnia? its really been hurting my progress. i dont wanna take sleeping pills everynight and become unable to sleep without them (happened to me before).

Yeah it's tough man. Are you exercising? How long have you been off the nicotine now?

If you feel able, use your days to be as active as possible, you'll start to enjoy your increasing levels of fitness quite quickly. If you're no good at making yourself exercise, I suggest a big day out to knacker yourself. Try a theme park, or go swimming with some friends or take a bunch of hippy friends for a walk in the woods and get high as high things. Fresh air (preferably sea air or country/rural air) and exercise are your friends. Caffeine and junk food are not. Neither is replacing one drug with another.

Don't go to bed before you feel ready and try to come to terms with the fact that you may end up not needing as much sleep as you did when you smoked. You can survive on less than 8 hours a night in fact, a new study shows that people who get 6 hours sleep per night live longer than those getting 8 hours.

A year after quitting, I sleep a coupla hours less than I used to, but better than I ever have.

Remember this is temporary and it is just a symptom, not an excuse for your brain to let you give up trying. You're doing great man, believe it or not you are becoming a non smoker, don't resist it.

Oh and smoke some primo quality indica, preferably something that was harvested late and has been well cured. Night night sleepy stoner.

[xmmanx]

i havent stopped completely. ive cut down from 20 to only 10ish a day. i also try to go biking on trails in the woods everyday. im also on my feet a lot at work. at the end of the day i feel tired and ready for bed but when i lie down i just cannot fall asleep. sometimes ill lay in bed for an hr or 2 then give up and go out for a cig and a bowl and then i usually fall asleep within the next hr.

[freedom4ever]

Originally Posted by xmmanx

i havent stopped completely. ive cut down from 20 to only 10ish a day. i also try to go biking on trails in the woods everyday. im also on my feet a lot at work. at the end of the day i feel tired and ready for bed but when i lie down i just cannot fall asleep. sometimes ill lay in bed for an hr or 2 then give up and go out for a cig and a bowl and then i usually fall asleep within the next hr.

Hey man. I'm sorry to hear about your sleeping troubles but I gotta tell ya, your insomnia is not caused by nicotine withdrawal. I suggest you talk to your doctor about the possible causes for it.

GL man.

[overgrowray]

i'm glad you posted this kinda makes me want to quit more.

i'm 23. my goal was to quit cigs before i was 40. but lately i really want to quit before i'm 30.

i'm depressed so i don't think i can do it right away. i've always had depression but now i'm worse since i'm single. i was trying to quit before, was down to around a half pack a day, but now i'm back to a little over a pack.

i think once i start growing again, and i have a lot more smoke around, it will be easier.



i was going to say more, but i'm really stoned, and my dad keeps talking to me so i really don't remember

[freedom4ever]

Originally Posted by overgrowray

i'm glad you posted this kinda makes me want to quit more.

That's great dude, even if your just contemplating it, that's cool, give your brain a chance to get used to the idea that you might not always be a smoker.

i'm 23. my goal was to quit cigs before i was 40. but lately i really want to quit before i'm 30.

It's funny, I started when I was 12, I said I'd give up at 18, then 23, then 26, lol I just kept pushing it back to accomodate my habit. I got away with 'looking cool' smoking for ages, thought I was Bogart! (Or the female equivalent ) Suddenly, when I hit 28/29 everything started going down hill rapidly, my skin was aging way before it's time and my teeth looked like shit, it really crept up on me.
30 is a good age to give up.

i'm depressed so i don't think i can do it right away. i've always had depression but now i'm worse since i'm single. i was trying to quit before, was down to around a half pack a day, but now i'm back to a little over a pack.

I hear ya man, I've suffered with depression myself. It's weird, I used to be so grateful for a cig at times of stress or when feeling anxious, it was more important to me than oxygen in terms of calming my nerves. Only once I gave up did I realise how nicotine is escalating these feelings ten fold! It's a depressant, just like alcohol and it increases heart rate the minute you inhale, not what you need when feeling stressed. It's so easy to convince ourselves that it's calming us down or keeping us going, but that's the nicotine talking, not your conscious thought. It's a manipulative drug to say the least.

You also need more and more of it as time goes on, to get the same effect.

There is no good time to give up, really. At some point in the quitting process something will happen that will really test your ability to quit. For me it was a huge argument with the person I am closest to, it went on for hours and I never wanted to smoke so bad in all my life. But I'd already made it 3 weeks and decided to see it as a challenge. You've gotta change this shit into something positive, but if you do....the best bit of all.. however shit you think you feel now...if you manage to quit, there will not be a thing on earth that you don't feel that you can achieve. I am empowered since quitting, if I can quit that drug, that ruled my life for so many years, I can do anything, this is a wonderful feeling and has improved my confidence, my self-esteem and I haven't felt depressed or anxious in months.

Look at it this way, despite the difficulty rating, if you were to quit now, it could ultimately cure you of your depression as well. You know full well you are made of tough enough stuff to manage it, don't listen to the part of your brain controlled by the drug that tells you you can't do it now because.....w/e.

i think once i start growing again, and i have a lot more smoke around, it will be easier.

That's not a bad plan. Having a ready supply has definately helped me.

i was going to say more, but i'm really stoned, and my dad keeps talking to me so i really don't remember

^^hahaha, that's alright dude, looks like I ranted on behalf of us both! I'll shut up now, feel free to add more when your dad stops harshing your buzz!

Thanks for looking.

[myles117]

Hey freedom. Just read through everything and its real awesome that you took the time to share all of the background info behind quitting. this can an probly will help so many people that need a strategy. Its easy to say you wanna quit but like you said, it takes your will to quit.

[freedom4ever]

Originally Posted by myles117

Hey freedom. Just read through everything and its real awesome that you took the time to share all of the background info behind quitting. this can an probly will help so many people that need a strategy. Its easy to say you wanna quit but like you said, it takes your will to quit.

Thanks for taking the time to read it buddy, love ya man! I wanted to give something back to The City, it's changed my life man, it seems only fair!

[kms brown]

How do you prevent your self from having "just one" cigarette later on down the road in life? I quit for 8 months then went on spring break and said "its spring break, it wont hurt." Now im at full blown addiction and one pack a day.

[freedom4ever]

How do you prevent your self from having "just one" cigarette later on down the road in life? I quit for 8 months then went on spring break and said "its spring break, it wont hurt." Now im at full blown addiction and one pack a day.

There is no such thing as "just one cigarette" dude. You now know this to be true, next time you quit, you will be ready for this. The little demon in my head tried for at least 12 months to tell me I could have "just one", but you can't. Decide now, are you giving up or aren't you? Why would you want/need just one unless you had every intention of starting again? See how cunning nicotine is? It convinced you that just one would be fine - it's not. if you give up again and make it as far as 8 months, make sure you see yourself as a NON smoker, not an EX smoker that would smoke again if he could.

Gluck man.

[myles117]

freedom, I have been on and off of em for the last 4 years and the only thing harder then the feeling one won't lead to more is when you are around people smoking. For me that is a killer and I'll buy a pack. Luckily the last year or so I've been able to buy a pack and after the pack I don't want one for over a month. The problem is I don't consider myself a non smoker in the situation I'm in. That bothers me even though I often times don't even have cigarettes

[freedom4ever]

Originally Posted by myles117

freedom, I have been on and off of em for the last 4 years and the only thing harder then the feeling one won't lead to more is when you are around people smoking. For me that is a killer and I'll buy a pack. Luckily the last year or so I've been able to buy a pack and after the pack I don't want one for over a month. The problem is I don't consider myself a non smoker in the situation I'm in. That bothers me even though I often times don't even have cigarettes

Hey bright eyes. Don't bodge them with nicotine!

That’s ok man and it’s probably a sign that you won’t keep repeating this cycle forever. I could never understand how someone could smoke a bit then not have another one for a month! For me, it was every five minutes or nothing!! Lol. But you know me, everything in excess.


So, in order to understand why being around smokers makes you cave, you need to think about what in those moments is tempting you.
Is it the smell? In which case, why not just enjoy the smell of the other person’s cig.
Is it envy? They’re smoking and getting that buzz, you want it too….
Think about the thought process you go through in those moments. What does your brain tell you, to justify you having a smoke after a month of not going near them?

Is it possible that this is your addiction?

Have you made a conscious decision to try and quit? ‘Cos if ya wanna, ya gotta.

Sorry to launch loads of q’s at you! I promise establishing the answers are an important part in working out why we behave the way we do.

[The zebra fish]

Good guide, freedom. I myself made the choice to quit again last month. I was a smoker for 2 1/2 years. I tried to quit once, and made it two months without a cigarette. Then I broke down, and smoked one with a friend....then one more the next day...then bought a pack the next day.

I got so tired of not being able to run straight for 5 minutes without wheezing and coughing, and made the choice to quit again. Sometimes I still get the urge to light one up, but I'm going strong.


Always remember blades, the first two days are the worst. It only gets easier from then on.

[NYCdeisel]

I believe what freedom said earlier to be true, your either at full blown addiction or your a strict NON smoker. The same thing happened to my dads friend whn they started hanging out, my dad was always smoking, friend asked to leave him one cig, nextr day it was 2 cigs, and so on....I think the worst thing is trying to be around people who are smoking when you want to quit really