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469210 tn?1219188128

Scared to Quit

Hey everyone. I just joined this forum today. I am a member of another forum and everyone on it takes it very seriously and is very supportive, so I figured this one would be too.

As ridiculous as it sounds, I am scared to quit smoking. Why? I don't really know. I guess because it's part of who I am. Do I want to quit? Yes. Do I dream of having healthy lungs and being able to climb a flight of stairs? Absolutely.

Has anyone else felt this way? How did you make yourself ready? Did you just "do it" ?

I'm also mortified of the withdrawl period. Mortified.

Please let me hear from you if you have ever felt like me.

Thanks!
Kelle
5 Responses
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385161 tn?1270081218
I was terrified as well. I have generalized anxiety disorder on top of it and my doc says that the smoking was releasing endorphines in my brain and keeping the disorder at bay and even told me the anxiety was going to get worse when I quit. One day my husband started using the patch. i watched him use it for a week and was so jealous of his success and all the positive attention he was getting from our family and friends and was so upset about the negative attention I was recieving for not quitting that I got angry and slapped a patch on. Well that was 3 weeks ago. The first week was hard I never once felt withdrawl from nicoting which was great but i missed smoking and had cravings for a cigarette so I cheated a bit and would take a drag here and there. The last 2 weeks with all the positive feedback I was getting i was convinced I didn't need to smoke at all and didn't well today was my first cheat in 2 weeks and had a few drags which made me sick by the way so i don't recommend it. Anyways life without smokes is nothing like what the doc told me. I actually feel less anxious these days and not so worried about always covering up the smell and constantly worrying about my health. I used to hide it from quite a few people and now find its rather pleasant to be able to hang out with them and not worry about covering my habbit first or having to leave early and make excuses to leave. The one thing I do worry about is what happens when I get down to the last step of the patch lol? Will I be hooked on this patch forever because I sure don't want to go back to smoking, I actually prefer being a clean non smoker and believe me I NEVER thought I would feel that way because I like you use to LOVE my cigaretts. Life was not better with them and is good too without them. You do feel more in control and more relaxed and believe me the hours go by fast when your on the patch because your never withdrawling. This patch gives me a constant flow of nicotine, I couldn't even get that when I smoked lol. Well I know many people prefer the cold turkey quit and eventually i will have to get there when I cold turkey quit the last step of this patch but this way seems to be working better than anything i've tried before so i'm stickin with it. As for chantix I've heard amazing things about it and some horrible things too, so I guess whatever works for you is what you should use. Or if you feel you can do it cold turkey go for it!  One more tip: To conquer fear of quitting there are 2 ways you can go about it, just do it and quit cold turkey and start soon so your not thinking about this and stressing or slap on a patch, get chantix and get going!!
Helpful - 0
228936 tn?1249094248
YES, i WAS SCARED TOO BUT TOOK CHANTIX AND QUIT. iIHATED BEING SCARED, WANTING TO QUIT AND STILL SMOKING. I JUST DID IT AND AM GLAD.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've never smoked before, but i could relate.
Maybe you should get your mind off things,take a long nap, see some friends.
Maybe you could find something to replace smoking, like... Chewing gum?
Good luck! ~~~~
Helpful - 0
469210 tn?1219188128
Thank you for your reply. I'll check out that website.

Thanks,
Kelle
Helpful - 0
326505 tn?1304169225
Congrats on deciding to quit! This forum is active and has quite a few members that have taken the step.
I too was scared but only when I realized that I could do it!
72 hours of physical withdrawal isn't bad considering how many years I smoked (38!). To occupy your time you can start a walking regimen or something else that involves physical activity. Cravings only last a few seconds so if you keep yourself busy while having one, then you will train yourself for the future. I used to post when I felt most desperate : )
Kelle, to prepare yourself for your quit, log onto why quit ******* (for some reason you aren't allowed to endorse another website so I wrote it out long-hand).
The articles in Joel's library are terrific but for now stay away from "motivation". Every question you have can be answered in his articles and if you should decide to quit cold turkey, then you can even join up there.
Have you decided on a method? I used Chantix and to me, it was a miracle drug! There are side effects, but the good outweighed the bad (in my opinion).

Kelle, in retrospect, the 72 hours seem like nothing. The emotional withdrawal is the hard part but if your are prepared for what to expect and if you read all the articles on what and why, you will do fine : ) Remember, we have all been where you are at and we made it out fine : )
Keep posting! We support you and will be here for you!
Kathy Jo

---
8m 1d 11:40 smoke-free, 5,396 cigs not smoked, $1,295.04 saved, 2w 4d 17:40 life saved
(you can also download a meter from the whyquit website)
Helpful - 0
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