secretly smoking

[Ballerina123]

I've put this in mh section because I think it's stress related.

Basically I gave up smoking in January. I did really well till resently where I keep smoking secretly in my room.
like I go 2-3 days on the nicotine gum and no smoking then ill get a craving (usually related to stress) and then ill go buy some cigarettes. I only have about 3-4 then ill go back to the gum.
I can't seem to get out if this habit.

has anyone gone through this?
What did you do?

Thanks

[Enthused]

I have tried to quit a few times and had the same experience as you until things got so bad mental health wise for me my doctor recommended me not to quit smoking. Maybe you are just not ready yet?

[Morpheus]

I have never smoked myself but when ive been ip most people smoke, i am almost always the only one who doesnt. The nurses always say that when you are in there and in crisis, it is not the right time to quit smoking. They are not going to take away one of your only coping mechanisms. Sometimes when people are struggling they even say they could go for a smoke as they would also get out in the smoking yard, different surroundings and a bit of stress relief.

So as Darwin said, it is possible not the right time for you to stop. Maybe wait until you get a bit more stable and wont need it as much.

[Ballerina123]

Thanks

Thing is im not in a crisis right now. I'm quite well. I just have a few stresses like starting back at uni and possibly moving house. I really do want to give up.

I called an nhs helpline this afternoon and they found stop smoking group in my area for me. It's a 6 week course so I'm gonna try that.

I had 3 cigarettes today and have a sore throat so that has put me off for the rest of the day.

[Enthused]

It's hard. Apparently quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroin. good luck with the course and I hope you get your wish of quitting.

[Morpheus]

Well you say a few stresses. When i had to move flat 6months ago i was put in hospital because that alone was too stressful. The professionals around me said that in studies when people were asked, that was one of the things they found most stressful.

And on top of that you are starting university again, which in itself is huge. So maybe you are more stressed than you think.

However i do wish you good luck. I think its a great idea, i am all for not smoking. I am just not sure if it is the right time to do it with all thats happening right now. I am sure the course will be helpful though. :-)

[Ballerina123]

Thanks for the support guys x

[EvanO]

I never tried quitting but was forced to quit before. It was nowhere near as bad as the withdrawal I got from stopping vicodin. I've never truly wanted to quit. I think that's the key, you have to really want to stop.

[sherlock holmes]

I tried quitting smoking a couple of times before I was successful. It didnt work until I got to a point where I loathed every single thing about smoking- it was expensive, I stank of smoke all the time, it was damaging my health, I was a slave to the addiction.

I hated that panic you got when you ran out of cigarettes. I hated eating my dinner and feeling like I had to have a cigarette afterwards. I hated standing outside in the freezing cold rain just to smoke.

Once I hated every single thing about smoking it was easier to decide never to do it again. I went to my GP surgery and saw the nurse who runs the stop smoking service. We had a good chat and decided on the nicotine patches that were a suitable strength (you need different strengths depending on how many cigarettes you smoke a day). I used the patches for a couple of weeks before stopping those too.

You have to think of yourself as a 'non smoker'. Not a smoker who's trying to quit- someone that does not smoke at all. You need to break all associations with smoking. This is why I don't like e-cigs- it's still smoking but in a different form. You do not break your nicotine addiction, you keep it going. In order to quit smoking you need to give up the nicotine completely and not do ANYTHING that is like smoking a cigarette.

Yes you will have to use a lot of willpower, but I tell you it gets easier. I've not even thought about smoking or had any urges in years now. I never thought I'd get to this point!

[Ballerina123]

Thanks guys that's really helpful.

I'm so addicted to smoking I think i might have to go back on the patches. I bought more tobacco today just so I could have 1 cigarette. That's all I wanted 1 but now I have cigarettes I don't really want.

I'm going to visit my parents next week and im cant buy or smoke tobacco there so I'm gonna use that as a way of kicking the habit out of my system.

[Ballerina123]

I just did 4 days without a cigarette and then had 2 tonight. I'm finding doing this on my own really hard.

I didn't enjoy the ones I had so I'm gonna try and start over tomorrow.

Why is this so hard?


EDIT: I've just written a list on my phone of reasons to give up smoking. I'll look at it next time I feel impulsive and hopefully that will help me stop this cycle.

[Ballerina123]

That's a good idea thank.

The reason I smoked was be a use I went in tesco for milk and suddenly got the urge to buy cigarettes and thought "no one will know so why not". Well I knew and felt guilty straight away.
Hopefully I've learnt my lesson.