Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Giving up smoking

Fitness tips, Relaxation, Mind and Body
ReformedCharacter
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 3120
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:12 am
Has thanked: 3590 times
Been thanked: 1509 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#370764

Postby ReformedCharacter » December 29th, 2020, 11:26 am

bungeejumper wrote:
Mike4 wrote:
ReformedCharacter wrote:Going off-topic I know, but I find that an extraordinary thing for a GP to say. I wonder how many alcoholics he successfully treated?

A couple of points. I may have exaggerated when I wrote that he said 'fill your boots', but his message was very clear that he saw the likely medical damage from alcohol abuse to me specifically as being an order of magnitude smaller than the medical damage to my body being caused by cigarettes. It was quite likely to have been a case of 'know your patient'.

RC, I might have missed something, but I don't recall Mike4 saying he was ever an alcohol addict - merely that he was aware of (a) the possibility of that, and (b) the implications if it happened. Both of which appear to have been headed off by his own good sense and the depth of his doctor's familiar knowledge.

So we're jumping the gun a bit if we equate a limited spell of heavy drinking with an alcohol addiction, are we not? Whereas the addiction word can safely be applied to anybody who gets past (shall we say?) five cigarettes a day long-term? Not the same thing at all. Just my 5p's worth.

BJ

No, Mike4 didn't say he was an alcoholic but apparently his GP said:

He said the damage done by alcoholism is a small fraction of that done by cigarettes and he would find it far easier to treat me as an alcoholic than as a victim of smoking


If he had said 'the damage done by drinking alcohol' rather than 'the damage done by alcoholism' then that would be a different matter because obviously not all those who drink alcohol are alcoholics.

RC

Mike4
Lemon Half
Posts: 7084
Joined: November 24th, 2016, 3:29 am
Has thanked: 1637 times
Been thanked: 3792 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#370765

Postby Mike4 » December 29th, 2020, 11:30 am

ReformedCharacter wrote:
bungeejumper wrote:
Mike4 wrote:A couple of points. I may have exaggerated when I wrote that he said 'fill your boots', but his message was very clear that he saw the likely medical damage from alcohol abuse to me specifically as being an order of magnitude smaller than the medical damage to my body being caused by cigarettes. It was quite likely to have been a case of 'know your patient'.

RC, I might have missed something, but I don't recall Mike4 saying he was ever an alcohol addict - merely that he was aware of (a) the possibility of that, and (b) the implications if it happened. Both of which appear to have been headed off by his own good sense and the depth of his doctor's familiar knowledge.

So we're jumping the gun a bit if we equate a limited spell of heavy drinking with an alcohol addiction, are we not? Whereas the addiction word can safely be applied to anybody who gets past (shall we say?) five cigarettes a day long-term? Not the same thing at all. Just my 5p's worth.

BJ

No, Mike4 didn't say he was an alcoholic but apparently his GP said:

He said the damage done by alcoholism is a small fraction of that done by cigarettes and he would find it far easier to treat me as an alcoholic than as a victim of smoking


If he had said 'the damage done by drinking alcohol' rather than 'the damage done by alcoholism' then that would be a different matter because obviously not all those who drink alcohol are alcoholics.

RC


Yes in summary, he was saying in his judgement of me and the situation, it was better for me to use alcohol as a crutch and succeed with giving up smoking, than to warn me off using alcohol as a crutch and fail to give up smoking.

His judgement call turned out to be a good one.

Itsallaguess
Lemon Half
Posts: 9129
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:16 pm
Has thanked: 4140 times
Been thanked: 10023 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#370772

Postby Itsallaguess » December 29th, 2020, 11:38 am

WickedLester wrote:
Perhaps I'll read or go for a walk but if anyone has any other suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.


It makes sense for anyone with any long-term investment plans to also reasonably align their long-term health-plans to those financial aspirations...

If you find that you've got too much time on your hands, then that's a sure sign that you've not got enough spreadsheets on the go....

Best of luck for the coming year.

Listen hard for your future-self telling you that it's the right thing to do...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

JamesMuenchen
Lemon Slice
Posts: 668
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:05 pm
Has thanked: 141 times
Been thanked: 167 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#370776

Postby JamesMuenchen » December 29th, 2020, 11:51 am

WickedLester wrote:Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. I have done it before so I know I can. I know the patches work to quell the cravings and with the pubs shut I will have one trigger removed for a while. Depending on the circumstances I don't always find it too difficult not to smoke. Since taking the habit up again I have stopped for about 3 months a couple of times each and one month when I was particularly skint I didn't smoke at all as I couldn't afford it but I went back to it when I got paid.

This time I think I will try to keep reminding myself of all the positives in giving up such as paying into my pension and buying a car as well as the obvious health benefits.

The thing I think i'm going to find hardest is filling time when I used to smoke. Perhaps I'll read or go for a walk but if anyone has any other suggestions i'd be happy to hear them.

Hi Lester

It seems to me that you have the same problem I had - not so much that you're addicted to smoking but that you like smoking.

I loved it. Loved it. But I tried to give up your way, and for the same reasons, a few times with various degrees of success. As you have found, the physical side is pretty easy (which actually became an excuse to let myself smoke again - I can give it up anytime, etc)

Why I think it's difficult is because you're forcing a mental conflict on yourself, to not do something that you want to do.

In the end, I stopped enjoying smoking and not smoking became easy. I simply don't want to smoke. I actually threw my last pack away half-finished.

There are some tricks I stumbled on accidentally that can help with finding that mindset … eg having a smoke break from a meeting and trying to quickly fit two in to stock up on nicotine and ending up feeling a bit queasy.

Forcing yourself to only smoke outside and not in the house/car/work will make the enjoyable smokes rarer and the nasty ones more common. It did for me anyway. Even if it's a beer garden, go outside it to smoke. On your own. Don't let it be a social thing.

Make it a PITA. And keep focusing on what a PITA it is.

When you're smoking, think about the taste honestly .. there's a reason only smoking replacement products are tobacco flavoured. Because it's minging.

So that leaves you with just the nicotine - a drug that makes you feel anxious if you take it away. It's rubbish. It doesn't give you anything above making you feel normal again. Non-smokers don't suffer nicotine withdrawals, smokers do. Every 40 minutes or so! If you don't want withdrawal symptoms, just don't smoke.

My wife smoked when I met her and it didn't bother me at all. But she was convinced that it had to and she was always asking me about it. After explaining how I felt about it a few times, one day she also just stopped without any fuss or fanfare.

Don't make a big deal out of stopping, and don't try to force yourself. Just get your head right and let it happen.

WickedLester
Lemon Slice
Posts: 503
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 6:56 pm
Has thanked: 221 times
Been thanked: 246 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#370814

Postby WickedLester » December 29th, 2020, 1:22 pm

I'm not allowed to smoke in the house but I can vape. I think giving up at this time of year will be easier as it is not much fun going out in 3 degrees C or the pouring rain just to have a fag. I'm also not sure how much I like it anymore. Having the pubs shut is an advantage but it would also be an advantage to have the local swimming pool open as I could pop up there and try to start swimming again. Exercise tends to make you feel good and as I said getting fit again is one of the reasons I want to stop.

I also have another incentive in that this Christmas my parents paid off the last of my debt for me so from being in a position of being constantly overdrawn I am now in credit and would like to stay that way.

Bubblesofearth
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 1080
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 7:32 am
Has thanked: 8 times
Been thanked: 432 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#371145

Postby Bubblesofearth » December 30th, 2020, 10:45 am

WickedLester wrote:I'm not allowed to smoke in the house but I can vape. I think giving up at this time of year will be easier as it is not much fun going out in 3 degrees C or the pouring rain just to have a fag. I'm also not sure how much I like it anymore. Having the pubs shut is an advantage but it would also be an advantage to have the local swimming pool open as I could pop up there and try to start swimming again. Exercise tends to make you feel good and as I said getting fit again is one of the reasons I want to stop.

I also have another incentive in that this Christmas my parents paid off the last of my debt for me so from being in a position of being constantly overdrawn I am now in credit and would like to stay that way.


I kicked the habit 20 years ago and found it surprisingly easy. The key for me was getting to the point where I thought about the harm it was doing every time I inhaled. That took a lot of the pleasure away.

Weirdly I do still occasionally dream about smoking. When I wake up I'm relieved that I don't actually smoke any more!

Good luck

BoE

WickedLester
Lemon Slice
Posts: 503
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 6:56 pm
Has thanked: 221 times
Been thanked: 246 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#374602

Postby WickedLester » January 8th, 2021, 4:11 am

For anyone that's interested I have now gone a full week without smoking or vaping. I'm using the patches so I guess i'm still a nicotine addict at the moment.

I'm having mild withdrawals and my sleep seems to be disturbed but i'm coping pretty well all things considered.

Roll on two weeks.

AsleepInYorkshire
Lemon Half
Posts: 7383
Joined: February 7th, 2017, 9:36 pm
Has thanked: 10514 times
Been thanked: 4659 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#374603

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » January 8th, 2021, 4:19 am

WickedLester wrote:For anyone that's interested I have now gone a full week without smoking or vaping. I'm using the patches so I guess i'm still a nicotine addict at the moment.

I'm having mild withdrawals and my sleep seems to be disturbed but i'm coping pretty well all things considered.

Roll on two weeks.

Av it :)

Glad you took the time to update. I've never smoked but have had the super pleasure of withdrawal symptoms from an antidepressant called Venlafaxine Effexor. Terrible. It may help your sleep if you supplement with B12 & D3 daily.

Happy New Year

AiY

AleisterCrowley
Lemon Half
Posts: 6381
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:35 am
Has thanked: 1880 times
Been thanked: 2026 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#374654

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 8th, 2021, 9:56 am

WickedLester wrote:For anyone that's interested I have now gone a full week without smoking or vaping. I'm using the patches so I guess i'm still a nicotine addict at the moment.

I'm having mild withdrawals and my sleep seems to be disturbed but I'm coping pretty well all things considered.

Roll on two weeks.

Well done!
I have just passed 5 years (6 Jan) since my last 'real' cig. Still vaping, so definitely a nicotine addict. That's next on the list (probably post-COVID though)
My last place was a second floor flat and I didn't smoke in it, so had to go out in the car park for a fag. Staying in and vaping became the preferred option, particularly in winter

vrdiver
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2574
Joined: November 5th, 2016, 2:22 am
Has thanked: 552 times
Been thanked: 1212 times

Re: Giving up smoking

#374664

Postby vrdiver » January 8th, 2021, 10:54 am

One week - well done!

Challenge for you: post on this thread each week; think of it as a diary to record your thoughts on how it's going. If you have a temporary relapse, keep the diary going. It may help you to have an audience to share your progress with. It may be a real lifesaver (literally) to somebody else who is also trying to give up, now or in the future.

Also, keep a journal of how much money you haven't spent on cigarettes. Make it real - open a savings account and transfer the saved money across to it each week. Obviously, it's net of patches or vaping or alcohol bought instead...

Keep going!

VRD


Return to “Health & Wellbeing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests