I seriously hate myself for smoking! I'm disgusted in myself but I can't give it up!
I have a very stressful lifestyle, mum of 3 kids and two jobs and my husband works away a lot. I managed to quit for almost 2 months but then my brother died who I was extremely close too and I took it back up as a sort of coping mechanism, then my stepfather died a few months later and after that I just gave up on the idea of giving up!!
It's been nearly a year now and things are slightly better mentally for me and I really want to quit again, I hate my kids seeing me smoke (I smoke outside and away from them, they can see me if they look out our loungeroom window) and I just want to be healthy and lead a long life and always be there for my children.
I gave up cold turkey last time and that was the best way for me, but trying to give up this way this time sends me around the bend, I just can't emotionally hack it! I stress out way too easily and I can't get cranky at my babies! What do I do?
How do I quit smoking?
How do I quit smoking?
Posted in:
Parenthood Guilt, Health & Wellbeing
5 Replies
Have you tried hypnotherapy? My sister in law did that 8 yrs ago and hasnt smoked since . Patches? Distraction techniques? Seminars? These things can be expensive but have a high success rate . I should really do it myself as I'm a current 12 year smoker my trigger is alcohol as it goes hand in hand. If i quit social drinking, I'll quit cigs. Know your triggers so work on those first.. Good luck
Agree with hypnosis... my sister gave up for about 8 months and had no problem. I think there is 3 sessions and she only had the one (felt strong and didn’t even feel like a cigarette from the time she left the office). She is about to go again but she wishes she had have gone for the other two sessions the first time (even though she was doing so well). If you do make sure you complete it and take the time to do it all for you. Sounds like you also need new ways to manage stress too so that would definitely work hand in hand with successfully quitting. Best of luck.
This is going to sound harsh but the first thing you need to do is stop making excuses. Now I'm not saying you haven't had a really shit time and I really feel for you. Now you need to make a commitment to quitting and follow through. It is probably going to take you several attempts but you need to get out of the mindset that you need them to cope with shitty situations because they happen! Speak to a pharmacist or doctor about the most suitable method of quiting for you. Sign up to a quit program (they have been shown to definitely improve chances of long term abstinence) and remember the change isn't going to happen overnight it takes time to wean off the addiction and then break the habits! Also look at some counseling in order to help improve your mental health and develop different coping mechanisms for when you are put in stressful situations otherwise any progress you make will be for nothing when the next stressful thing happens. Good luck!!! Make sure you ask for help you dont have to do it alone!!!
I have a large number of friends who swear by the book Easy Way to Quit Smoking by Alan Carr. Many of these people had tried to quit numerous times before and as far as I'm aware they have not taken it back up.
First of all don't feel bad about relapsing, it takes quite a few goes for most people to successfully quit. I know quite a few full on smokers who have quit and never had another cigarette no matter what stressful situation that they are in, so it can be done. My husband is one of them.
He had failed attempts too but then his doctor put him on Champix and patches which was the answer for him. He found it had some pretty heavy side effects and I'm not gonna lie, it was a rough time to get through but it took away the desire to smoke. He also had to give up his triggers such as coffee and alcohol for a while as he associated that with smoking. He is also very careful with money and it was killing him to pay so much for something that was doing him no good (this was 13 years ago too so they weren't anywhere near as pricey as they are now) He liked looking at the info on how your health improves after so many days/weeks/months of quitting and how much money he'd saved as incentive. Like you he was conscious of the kids seeing him smoking as well.
I'm sure you'll find what works for you, hope some of this has been helpful, different things work for different people. Don't give up on giving up! 🍀🚭