Hi there everybody! Well I am feeling pretty good with 9 days nicotine free under my belt. I quit on the 2nd May 2007.
My Smoking Story:
I'm 32, I have smoked at least a pack a day since I was 17, often more. I had my first cigarette when I was 10, my Dad and Grandma were big time time smokers and I used to nick the odd one or two from my Grandma's packs every now and then when I was 10, 11 &12 years old! And smoke them in my bedroom! What for! And at that age! I am still not sure. I was hanging out with an older "bad" crowd then, we used to make "rollies" out of my dad's pipe tobacco and foolscap paper and smoke them on the way to school. At thirteen we went to different schools and thankfully I forgot about smoking for a while, till I was about 15 and started smoking with new school buddies after school & weekends & stuff. Then of course leaving home and going to college at 17 set up a whole new world of smoking freedom, no parents no rules no worries! I loved it! And so did everybody else, 99% of my course smoked (and there was only 16 in my first year class!
Since then I made a few half hearted attempts at quitting in my 20's, mainly due to pressure from my family and girlfriend at the time, of course since I didn't understand my addiction and wanted to still smoke and as the pressure was external (not my real decision, I just thought I was keeping the peace and keeping loved ones happy) these attempts all failed and plenty of blame, guilt and finger pointing were dished out all over the place. And of course I also went through 2 years of hiding smoking from friends and family, like the horrible addict I was, living through lies and deciet.
Before now, my last serious attempt at quitting was in 2005, I was on tour ( I work in Event & Theatre Production) and away from home for a long time and was working with many die hard smokers. After an intense period of work and then partying,
I woke up one morning and had no smokes left, and so I just thought I would stop, cold turkey, but I still didn't understand nicotine addiction and of course I relapsed within a month (after a few quick grabs here and there in the pub and watching my friends and collegues smoke their heads off) and within 2 months I was a 4 star, full fledged smoking demon again!
My No smoking Story:
I woke up on the 2nd of May 2007, had breakfast with my wife then had my first coffee and first smoke of the day on my balcony and just thought, this really tastes horrible, I am so over smoking! I looked in the pack, 10 left, mmm, well maybe that is enough for the day I thought, maybe after that I quit. Woah! Radical thoughts! Don't freak yourself out! But I thought, well why not, you know you want to quit so why not now? I thought, ok lets make a plan, got all day. I could buy some patches or some gum, ok thats serious, and expensive. While I thought about that I had a look on the net, Googled, "Quit Smoking" and chanced upon WhyQuit.com, whats that about? I thought.
Well I devoured every piece of information on that site like heavenly beef (still do) and was hard pushed to finish my 10 remaining smokes that day, but by 11pm, Tuesday 2nd of May I was done with smoking, and I felt I was in the right headspace to confront it and overcome my addiction to nicotine, and leave it and call it the past, a long past, but finally done with.
I sit here writing this and I am still amazed looking back at my first 72 hours of cold turkey. Not a problem. Sure, I had a few grumps at my wife, she understood that I had bit of withdrawl anxiety, she has been there, and is glad I quit, she has been smoke free years before I met her, but she never put me under pressure to quit, just the odd comment here and there!
9 Days down and I am still feeling good, I have plenty of "thoughts" of smoking but not so many things that I could definatley call "craves", maybe it will come later, maybe not at all, I don't know, everybody is different. But for now, its pretty cool and definately managable. Nothing I can't handle.
We are going away for a week break to Corfu tomorrow morning. I am real glad I don't smoke. I am really going to enjoy that flight down there without any hassle about smoking (a first for me and I have done so many flights where smoking has always dictated my behaviour before, during and after the flight) so it will be a nice change to feel relaxed and calm with no smoking pressure.
Directly after that I go back to work....2 weeks in India...away from home with a load of collegues who love a smoke. I think it could be tough...or not....I'm not sure until we get there. I will have 3 solid weeks under the belt by then and definatlely the best frame of mind and support reference as armour, I know I will be ok!
I really believe in myself this time to stick to my guns. I know I will never ingest nicotine in any form within myself ever again. I feel clean, healthy and fresh for the first time in more years than I can even remember. I won't blame my surroundings and upbringing for my addiction, but I feel like until now I never knew a time without cigarette smoke clinging to my skin, clothes and hair, and also without nicotine deciding my actions and pulling my strings like a puppet master...l will not be a slave to a nicotine addiction anymore!
Well it was good to make myself known and even better to get to know to the story of so many other ex smokers and fellow nictotine addicts.
Thanks
Mick
Free for 9 Days and 20 Hours. 200 Sticks of addiction, incapacitation and death not smoked, 50 Euros of extra cash in the backpocket.
My Smoking Story:
I'm 32, I have smoked at least a pack a day since I was 17, often more. I had my first cigarette when I was 10, my Dad and Grandma were big time time smokers and I used to nick the odd one or two from my Grandma's packs every now and then when I was 10, 11 &12 years old! And smoke them in my bedroom! What for! And at that age! I am still not sure. I was hanging out with an older "bad" crowd then, we used to make "rollies" out of my dad's pipe tobacco and foolscap paper and smoke them on the way to school. At thirteen we went to different schools and thankfully I forgot about smoking for a while, till I was about 15 and started smoking with new school buddies after school & weekends & stuff. Then of course leaving home and going to college at 17 set up a whole new world of smoking freedom, no parents no rules no worries! I loved it! And so did everybody else, 99% of my course smoked (and there was only 16 in my first year class!
Since then I made a few half hearted attempts at quitting in my 20's, mainly due to pressure from my family and girlfriend at the time, of course since I didn't understand my addiction and wanted to still smoke and as the pressure was external (not my real decision, I just thought I was keeping the peace and keeping loved ones happy) these attempts all failed and plenty of blame, guilt and finger pointing were dished out all over the place. And of course I also went through 2 years of hiding smoking from friends and family, like the horrible addict I was, living through lies and deciet.
Before now, my last serious attempt at quitting was in 2005, I was on tour ( I work in Event & Theatre Production) and away from home for a long time and was working with many die hard smokers. After an intense period of work and then partying,
I woke up one morning and had no smokes left, and so I just thought I would stop, cold turkey, but I still didn't understand nicotine addiction and of course I relapsed within a month (after a few quick grabs here and there in the pub and watching my friends and collegues smoke their heads off) and within 2 months I was a 4 star, full fledged smoking demon again!
My No smoking Story:
I woke up on the 2nd of May 2007, had breakfast with my wife then had my first coffee and first smoke of the day on my balcony and just thought, this really tastes horrible, I am so over smoking! I looked in the pack, 10 left, mmm, well maybe that is enough for the day I thought, maybe after that I quit. Woah! Radical thoughts! Don't freak yourself out! But I thought, well why not, you know you want to quit so why not now? I thought, ok lets make a plan, got all day. I could buy some patches or some gum, ok thats serious, and expensive. While I thought about that I had a look on the net, Googled, "Quit Smoking" and chanced upon WhyQuit.com, whats that about? I thought.
Well I devoured every piece of information on that site like heavenly beef (still do) and was hard pushed to finish my 10 remaining smokes that day, but by 11pm, Tuesday 2nd of May I was done with smoking, and I felt I was in the right headspace to confront it and overcome my addiction to nicotine, and leave it and call it the past, a long past, but finally done with.
I sit here writing this and I am still amazed looking back at my first 72 hours of cold turkey. Not a problem. Sure, I had a few grumps at my wife, she understood that I had bit of withdrawl anxiety, she has been there, and is glad I quit, she has been smoke free years before I met her, but she never put me under pressure to quit, just the odd comment here and there!
9 Days down and I am still feeling good, I have plenty of "thoughts" of smoking but not so many things that I could definatley call "craves", maybe it will come later, maybe not at all, I don't know, everybody is different. But for now, its pretty cool and definately managable. Nothing I can't handle.
We are going away for a week break to Corfu tomorrow morning. I am real glad I don't smoke. I am really going to enjoy that flight down there without any hassle about smoking (a first for me and I have done so many flights where smoking has always dictated my behaviour before, during and after the flight) so it will be a nice change to feel relaxed and calm with no smoking pressure.
Directly after that I go back to work....2 weeks in India...away from home with a load of collegues who love a smoke. I think it could be tough...or not....I'm not sure until we get there. I will have 3 solid weeks under the belt by then and definatlely the best frame of mind and support reference as armour, I know I will be ok!
I really believe in myself this time to stick to my guns. I know I will never ingest nicotine in any form within myself ever again. I feel clean, healthy and fresh for the first time in more years than I can even remember. I won't blame my surroundings and upbringing for my addiction, but I feel like until now I never knew a time without cigarette smoke clinging to my skin, clothes and hair, and also without nicotine deciding my actions and pulling my strings like a puppet master...l will not be a slave to a nicotine addiction anymore!
Well it was good to make myself known and even better to get to know to the story of so many other ex smokers and fellow nictotine addicts.
Thanks
Mick
Free for 9 Days and 20 Hours. 200 Sticks of addiction, incapacitation and death not smoked, 50 Euros of extra cash in the backpocket.

