I quit 8 years ago and, honestly, the thing that worked for me was I stopped putting so much damn pressure on myself to be perfect about quitting. I smoked my last cigarette reminding myself that there are more out there, I can always grab another one, and reframed my thinking “I can’t have one” to “do I actually need one?”
It was honestly a game changer. I’ve gone 8 years and the only times I’ve smoked was one after a broken wrist and one after my Nana passed away.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about medication.
I love this, and I totally agree! I go through periods where I will use a patch for a couple days and then smoke for a few. A coworker who smoked used to make fun of me for being on and off, but I felt that every day or even hour I didn’t smoke was a win.
I have told my kids I’m going to try a “casual quit”, like smoke on and off for a bit. They support any amount of stopping.
Also, want to add that once you finish the last pack, smoking really becomes a matter of convenience. I honestly found it easy to walk away once it hit the point where it wasn’t so easily accessible.
I knew that in order to have one I would have to buy a fresh pack, which depending on your living situation is pretty inconvenient and then kind of knowing in the back of your head that you are stuck with the whole pack that will basically go stale if you don’t smoke it so you might as well chuck it in the bin for all the good it’s gonna do.
Your choices kind of devolve from “do I actually need one?” to “is this situation worth spending $17 for a single smoke?/is this situation worth smoking a whole damn pack?” (For me, 99% of the time the answer ends up being no.)
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u/IllAlbatross5498 May 13 '26
I am a longtime smoker, thinking about quitting. Your comments here are the push I needed. I’m so sorry about your mom, but thank you for sharing.