| Note: This post is intended for smokers who are seriously addicted, as I used to be.
A year ago from today I was graduation college, and I smoked a pack a day sober and a pack an a half/two packs when drinking. I couldn't go two hours without intense cravings.
Now I havent had a cigarette in 4 months.
How I did it:
It took a lot of attempts. First, I made a pack to quit sober, cause its too hard to quit while drinking. So every sunday or monday (if I drank Sunday) I would start a new quit. At first I would get anywhere between a few hours and 3 days, but it would be a struggle. But after about 4 or5 weeks of this it became pretty easy to get a few days. Then, once I got over the 3 day hump I noticed I started to feel better... every time. After about 3 months of this (restarting every week but each week becoming easier), I was just like, f*** this, Im quitting for good. So I took 3 weeks off of drinking and had no problem not smoking, and the first few times I drank I didn't smoke.
I did have a few relapses and fell back into smoking for a weekend at times, but with no withdrawal effects after the weekend.
BIG HELPFUL HINTS when your quitting:
1) Workout. I started working out every day when I was first quitting. When you work out you dont want to smoke, and when you smoke you dont want to work out. Working out also sweats out the toxins making the withdrawal periods shorter.
2) Eat healthy. If you eat healthy, you think healthy and for some reason changing my diet really had an effect on my psyche. I went from a standard college kid diet to eating fruits, veggies, green tea, water, and very little soda, fast food, chips, etc.
3) Avoid trigger situations. Things like driving, getting out of class (graduating got rid of that one), after dinner, etc etc. Make a conscious effort to not smoke in these situations or avoid them altogether.
4) When you have an intense withdrawal, go for a brisk walk or do push ups. The cravings seriously last no longer than 5 mins.
Now, not only do I not smoke, but I am healthier in many other ways. My diet, exercise, and mindset is soooo much better than it used to be.
Hope this helps, gl!
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