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Three days without smoking and I feel fantastic

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  • #79968
    Joe
    Participant

    Hi everybody, how are you all doing?

    So I am 23 years old, I have been a smoker for just over 4 years now and boy do I regret falling into that vicious trap known as nicotine addiction.

    I’m usually wary about announcing this so soon because I have tried so many times before (and failed) but as the title says, I’ve gone for three days without a cigarette and I feel better than I have in a while. For anybody who has quit/tried to quit before, you will know that the three-day milestone means all/most of the nicotine has left your body. And the first three days are the worst. But I haven’t felt bad during these past three days at all.

    Believe me, I’ve tried to quit so many times and I was extremely miserable and angry at everyone and everything the last few attempts. I was an absolute nightmare for all of my friends, snapping at them in annoyance just over every minute little thing. I filled the void with junk food and sugary things (which made me even more miserable and fat) and I couldn’t go every evening without walking across town to the supermarket and buying cakes and chocolates and energy drinks. I could scoff entire jumbo-sized tubes of Smarties and entire tubs of Ben and Jerrys ice cream washed down with a 2 litre bottle of lemonade and I would devour all of this in one manic blow-out. Needless to say, I felt like crap afterwards (and I caved into cigarettes again anyway).

    Manic junk food binges aside, there were times when I felt peaceful, especially when I was observing nature. I could just be filled with awe at looking at a sunset or even an overcast sky. It’s like I was seeing those things for the first time because you don’t really notice those things when you smoke (your mind is too preoccupied with inhaling poisonous chemicals.)

    But yes, I’ve made it past the three-day threshold and I haven’t really had any bad withdrawal symptoms as such – okay, there are physical cravings but when you just observe them and not give into them, they are really not that intense. I’ve even been drinking coffee quite a lot (past experience has taught me coffee + nicotine withdrawal = insomnia + really bad irritability). and that hasn’t affected the cravings at all.

    I have been reading a book I loaned from the library written by Allen Carr – he has written extensively on the subject on quitting and I think I have finally found a stop-smoking self-help guide that makes sense. The method is actually on his website if anybody is interested – http://allencarr.com/454/top-tips-on-how-to-stop-smoking-using-allen-carr-s-easyway-method

    Like I said, the withdrawal hasn’t been that bad at all, more than anything else it’s been more like a slight constant itch. I would be lying if I said I’ve completely gotten over the psychological need to smoke, to fill time but when I do think about what it would be like to have another cigarette, I think to myself “Yeah, I used to do that but I don’t need that anymore. I’m free.” I’ve tried quitting on many attempts, only to cave in after the first day, third day, whatever. That one cigarette after a few days of going without makes me feel sick and nauseous, and afterwards I’m just tearing at myself with self-hatred. It’s a vicious spiral to fall into. I have to remember what it feels like having that cigarette days after the last. To give in would be throwing myself back onto the treadmill. To give in would be insane.

    Carr suggests that we are led to believe that quitting means putting ourselves through such misery and unbearable torture but this is complete utter rubbish – it’s only unbearable because we think it is. I’ve been thinking to myself – this isn’t so bad. I’ve actually felt a lot calmer the past few days and not as anxious (I’ve not really been feeling that good the past few months) and I’m actually sleeping a lot better than I have been in a while.

    I still wake up with bad chest pains when I breathe in but I hope I am on the road to healing and recovery after poisoning myself and trying to block out uncomfortable feelings. I just have to face whatever will come my way and deal with it. I know it’s only been three days but I already feel so much better.

    Is anybody a smoker and have tried quitting? Has anybody been a smoker and successfully quit? What was your experience like?

    #79972
    Lizbeth
    Participant

    Great job! I quit 16 years ago and have never regretted it. I tried to quit several times and, yes, it did get easier each time. I started by eliminating cigarettes gradually before my quit date. I quit smoking in my car, then quit smoking in the house and smoking only in the garage, then I quit smoking in the garage and went outside. This method worked for me by gradually cutting out my favorite times to smoke, like first thing in the morning with my coffee or after a meal. I avoided alcohol for a while, too, since smoking and drinking just went together naturally.

    Good luck.

    #79981
    Richard Kronick
    Participant

    Dear J,

    First of all, good for you and congratulations! Many good things await you.

    Your story is nearly a mirror image of my own experience except that I smoked for 14 years and quit about 2.5 years ago. Like you, I tried tons of different ways to quit but none of them stuck. And, like you, I finally quit smoking for good when I read Allen Carr’s amazing book, “The Easy Way”. His method has a better track record than nearly anything else out there.

    My advice to you is to never look back. Though you probably feel a bit strange right now, like something is not quite right, and you may have moments of doubt and fear that you will fall back, it all hinges on one thing: making a decision. What I realized was that cigarettes are primarily a psychological addiction and simply deciding to no longer be a non-smoker is enough to quit forever.

    The word “decide” comes from the latin decidere, which literally means “to cut off”. In other words, a decision cuts off all other possibilities.

    After I quit, even though I felt strange for a while and had worries and fears, I knew that I had decided to be free from smoking. And slowly it became easier and easier and life became better and better.

    Today, 2.5 years later, I know that I will never ever again smoke another cigarette. It is not who I am now. It was a part of the old me.

    So, if fears, doubt or worries creep into your mind, gently push them aside and remind yourself that you have made a decision and re-direct your mind to all the wonderful things which await you as a non-smoker. And trust me, from experience, I can tell you, you will never regret this decision because the beauty and joy in your life is going to grow and grow from here on.

    Congratulations to you. I know your quest, I know your triumph. You are now on to bigger and better things because you have already conquered one of the greatest obstacles which can befall a person.

    Wishing you joy and health,

    Richard

    #80258
    Joe
    Participant

    Thanks guys, 10 days now and I still don’t even think about it at all 😀

    #83402
    jock
    Participant

    Now nicotine is one addiction I did conquer.
    So that means I can quit anything in life right?
    So far, only managed to quit jobs.

    But yeah I quit smoking 8 years ago, after smoking for 20 years.
    Cold turkey after visiting a dental surgeon who said he hates operating on smokers due to risks under general anesthesia. (I was getting my wisdom teeth out.
    Never touched a cigarette since. The surgeon showed me some gruesome photos of oral cancers.
    Oh god that scared the poop out of me!

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