My story

Well, I don't know if this will help anyone but it helped me, and when I tell people how I quit they kind of aren't interested since they all still smoke. But curezone people are more open minded. I haven't thought about smoking in 2 and a half years.

OK, so I LOVED smoking. I tried to quit quite a few times without success, as a cigarette was all I could think about all day. I would smoke when I was happy, sad, depressed, bored, in the car, in the morning, you know how it is. It's your reward. That delicious Newport, that taste of minty heaven. Meanwhile, my chest was having pains quite frequently. The more shitty I felt the more I smoked. I would drink and smoke and wake up with a smoking hangover--tight lungs, headache, coughing. But all my friends smoke. My in-laws smoke. Smoking is everywhere in rural WI. I could even smoke at work!

I didn't plan to quit. It was one of those days when I had a "smoking hangover". Out drinking, at the bar, inhaling not only 1.5 packs of my own cigs but the secondhand smoke of everybody else's. Next day I had no desire for a cigarette and I was out of them anyway. I went to visit my parents (they didn't know I smoked; mom would've dropped dead on the spot)all day and when I came home there was a blizzard. I tried to turn into the gas station and slid so kept on and didn't buy any.

Next day I was running late for work and I realized it was time to quit. No time to stop and buy a pack. I could've bummed all day but I dedided this was it. How did I do it? I didn't quit smoking, I just stopped. I didn't tell anyone I quit. I didn't even tell myself; in my opinion telling yourself you quit sets yourself up for failure. You expect it to be painful and traumatic and you tell people "I quit" and they say "Ohhh... how long? How are you doing?" and so on. It's all negative.

I told myself "I AM an nonsmoker!" All day. It became something of a mantra. Then I would take a deep breath and couldn't help but smile. By this point I hated smoking. There is quite a difference between saying you ARE something and saying you quit something and it sucks.

Whenever someone would come up to bum a cigarette I wouldn't tell them I quit. Not even once. I would say "I'm a nonsmoker!" And they were kind of like..."right"...but after one day I knew there was no going back. I kind of entered this zone where I was deep in thought all the time but no cig obsession this time. I convinced myself that I HATED smoking and being a smoker, and I LOVED being a nonsmoker and everything that went with it.

Those deep breaths are priceless. Positive self-reinforcement worked for me.

I did want a cig this winter when my husband went to jail and I had no money and etc. but luckily I had no money for cigs either! The situation passed and I survived, like I always do. Without my gritts. My only "relapse".

I think it is really important to wait until you are ready, until you really hate smoking. Trying to quit before you are ready is futile.

I wish you all luck. Incidentally, I found the whole process quite painless and I didn't gain weight. I think my attitude helped tremendously; I was so excited to be a non smoker and not worry about wrinkles, yellow teeth, varicose veins and such.

Since I quit two of my friends have and also my husband has. So it gets easier and easier to be in social situations as more people follow the lead.

Psych yourselves into it and good luck to everyone! Tweet