Stopping Smoking - a few home truths

Hello there. This blog is all about stopping smoking, and most importantly, how the hell do you actually do it? There are millions of smokers around the world and there are millions of people telling you how to quit. This whole business is a nightmare, full of loads of conflicting information, full of people who will tell you that their "amazing" method is the best. All wanting you to part with your cash. Stopping smoking is simple, you just stop smoking! Sounds easy when you lay it out like that, but it is one of the most difficult things to do if you are a smoker. I used to smoke, and let's get one thing straight right away. I am not some anti smoking preacher who thinks he is better than everyone else. I know first hand how smoking affects your mind and body. I know how it drags you down and keeps you there. I am not trying to sell you anything, i am just writing this blog because i had 20 years experience of smoking and what it does to you.

I am no stop smoking bloody guru. I will tell you a few home truths. I will not try to scare you into stopping, this never would work, it certainly didn't do it for me. I will just tell you what worked for me, how i stopped, and more importantly, why i stopped. There are hundreds of methods out there, some work and some don't. I believe there is no one way that fits all, everyone of us is different, and so everyone will find a way that works for them, and swear by it above all others. The only thing that really matters is that you stop smoking, however you do it.

I know what worked for me and will tell you all about it in future posts. However, what worked for me may not work for you, so keep that in mind. Quitting is a very personal thing, it is down to you to want to stop. I believe tat is the main thing in all of this. If you are not serious about quitting then get the hell away from this blog. Having said that, i bet there is not a single smoker alive who has not toyed with the idea of stopping, somewhere in the deepest parts of their brain. Even those who say they enjoy smoking and will never give up. Are you crazy? You can see what it is doing to your health on a daily basis. As the years go by the effects become more and more evident, you just choose to ignore them and carry on because it is just the way tings are.

Fear is the biggest problem in quitting. How can life ever be the same without those cigarettes? How will i be able to enjoy my life without lighting up every 20 minutes or so? Your whole life is based around wanting another cig, day after day. You wake up and the first thing you want is a cigarette. You go to bed and you want another. You go through the whole day wanting another. This is drug addiction people, plain and simple. This is what smoking is, drug addiction, or to be more exact, nicotine addiction. Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs known to man, and this is what is in every cigarette. It is not in there for the hell of it. It is there to keep you wanting another.

Once you understand what is really going on when you are smoking it will make it easier to stop in the future. When i decided to have a go at stopping i was totally unprepared. It took me 3 attempts to stop. The first two times i armed myself with all of things that people say you need to do. These being nicotine patches, nicotine gum and the pastic inhalers that mimmic smoking a cigarette. I failed miserably. I lasted one week before i was smoking with all the patches on as well. Talk about nicotine overdosing. If you have tried stopping with patches i just know you will have done the same thing. Many people do this, but many people also manage to quit using them. They use their will power to stop. Will power is a powerful thing, and it means you are struggling to stop your brain from wanting another cigarette, because that is all it wants.

If you are one of the many smokers who have stopped using those patches, then well done to you. I just didn't have the will power to do it. When i tried using the patches and failed, i felt inferior, afterall, this is the established way to stop right? Everyone is doing it this way, so it must be the way to go. Not true at all. When i stopped i didn't use the nicotine patches, or the gum or the sprays, or the inhaler. Nope, i just read 3 books. And when i mean read, i mean i really read those books, cover to cover. I was at my wits end, i just felt i could not bloody stop no matter what i tried or did. This is what worked for me because i understood what smoking was all about before i made another quit attempt. I make no excuses here, i am a firm believer in these methods because they worked for me. But that is just me. What worked for me may not work for you. Just remember that the goal is to stop smoking, no mater how the hell you do it.