I stopped smoking after 14 years…What can I do to get my mind off of the cravings?
I stopped smoking after 14yrs, It may not seem like along time, but it has been a month and It really is starting to get to me? What can I do to get my mind off of smoking? I tried chat rooms, but the quit smoking rooms are not even talking about quiting. Are there any good ones out there? Any good idead to keep me from starting again?
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January 17th, 2011 at 5:32 am
This really works. Get some OAT STRAW EXTRACT at your health food store. If they don’t have it you can get it online. Do a search.
January 17th, 2011 at 6:12 am
find something to do with the time you spendn on thinking about the cravings
January 17th, 2011 at 6:55 am
You can’t very easily. It is all to do with assiastion.
I would have a word with a psychologist or telephone “Stop smocking support”.
January 17th, 2011 at 7:11 am
Chew gum
January 17th, 2011 at 7:26 am
Find a hobby that keeps your hands busy….like models or scrapbooking..and chew a lot of sugarless gum!
January 17th, 2011 at 7:35 am
i have been off them for 6 months with the help of Zyban and i still crave a bit and when i do i eat a white peppermint, i keep lots of them in the house, good luck, congratulations, an god bless
January 17th, 2011 at 7:42 am
congrat!!!just think about all the time you have to live and live it to the fullest
January 17th, 2011 at 8:17 am
It is good to replace the time that you used to spend smoking with a fun or productive activity. If you think about it, you had to stop what you were doing and spend at least three minutes to smoke one cigarette. Find something to do with your hands that you can start and stop (like crosswords, paint-by-numbers, puzzles, reading, learning a new language, making jewelry, planting a window sill herb garden in your kitchen, etc.) And I know it sounds gross,but put something in your mouth to chew or suck on! (hard candy, a straw, a pencil, gum, your big toe…..)
January 17th, 2011 at 9:11 am
I quit after a LOT more years than that. In the first year the cravings are the worst. I have been told that the actual smoking of the cigarette was only part of the problem. You have to look at when the cravings occur. For example, when you first get in your car (light up), your first cup of coffee in the morning (light up), after a meal (light up). It was HARD for me, but I used hard candy, and mint flavored tooth picks. Keep them with you and use as needed. Another thing I found helpful was to wear shirts without pockets. After all, where is the first place you go to get a cigarette? I hope my ideas help you. The hardest hurdle to get over was recognizing that you were ready to quit. Hang in there, it’s WORTH IT!
January 17th, 2011 at 9:20 am
I would like to make a small suggestion, maybe it will help. There is a fundamental principle about breaking habits that would also apply to addictions/cravings. To break a habit you must ‘replace’ it with another habit.
Part of your craving may be the ‘habit’ of ‘reaching for a cigarette’ or simply holding the cigarette. Find something for your hands to do to replace the cigarette habit. Maybe it can be rolling a couple of marbles in your hand (leave marbles all around so you can grab a couple whenever you feel the ‘craving’. Or, maybe one of those ‘stress reliever’ squeezy things. Maybe a ‘worry stone’ to rub with your fingers. Find something literally for your hands ‘play with’.
Whatever you choose, to make a new activity a ‘habit’ you must do it every day for at least 30 days (60 is even better). Find your new ‘play thing(s)’ and reach for them every time you feel that craving. Commit to it for at least 30 days.
I hope this is helpful. Best wishes and good luck.
January 17th, 2011 at 9:24 am
This method works for me and is the only money back guaranteed.
I quite smoking 2 years ago
Get the Facts
Easyway, founded by Allen Carr in 1983, has the highest independently verified 12-month success rate (75.8% for a smoker completing the program) of any quit smoking technique and a 90% satisfaction rating.
Compare Easyway to other methods and see for yourself why Easyway is called “The Cadillac of quit smoking methods.”
The Allen Carr Method
HOW THE METHOD WORKS
Using psychotherapy, the method works in the opposite way to the “willpower” method. It does not concentrate on the reasons the smoker should not smoke : the money, the slavery, the health risks and the stigma. Smokers know all that already. Instead it focuses on why smokers continue to smoke in spite of the obvious disadvantages.
It is fear that keeps smokers hooked!
Fear the smoker will have to give up their pleasure or crutch. Fear the smoker will be unable to enjoy life or handle stress. Fear the smoker will have to go through an awful trauma to get free. Fear the smoker will never get completely free from the craving.
The Method removes these fears
Smokers quit with the Allen Carr Method as happy non-smokers, not feeling deprived but with a huge sense of relief and elation that they have finally achieved what they always wanted….
TO BE FREE!
What about the terrible withdrawal pangs from nicotine?
The physical withdrawal from nicotine is so slight that most smokers don’t realise that they are addicts. What smokers suffer when they try and quit using other methods is the misery and depression caused by the belief that they are being deprived of a pleasure or a crutch.
The Allen Carr Method removes this feeling of deprivation.
It removes the need and desire to smoke. Once the smoker is in the right frame of mind and they follow the simple instructions, the physical withdrawal from nicotine is hardly noticeable.
No Gimmicks!
The Method does not use any gimmicks, useless aids or substitutes. No nicotine gum, patches, lozenges, tabs, inhilators or nasal sprays! No needles! No lasers! No drugs! No herbs! No shock treatment!
The Allen Carr Method is successful because:
It removes the smokers’ conflict of will.
There are no bad withdrawal pangs.
It is instantaneous and easy.
It is equally effective for long-term heavy smokers and light smokers.
You need not gain weight.
You will not miss smoking.
Medical Endorsements
A personal view from Professor Judith Mackay MBE, JP, FRCO (Edin), FRCP (Lon), World Health Organisation Advisory Panel on Tobacco and Health
“I have no hesitation in supporting Allen Carr’s work. Many clinics use some of his techniques but it would appear that few do it in quite such a successful package.”
Carole Johnson, Coronary Heart Disease Prevention Unit, Tyne Tees
“his success rate was such that, when budgets allow, we continue to use Easyway for work with specific groups and individuals.”
Dr Anil Visa BSc, MBBch., FRCA, Consultant – Royal Hospitals NHS Trust – Royal London Hospital
“I have observed the Allen Carr method at first hand and have found it to be very successful and I wholeheartedly support it as an effective way to quit smoking.”
Dr William Green, Head of Psychiatric Dept, Matilda Hospital, Hong Kong
“It is a remarkable fact that Allen Carr, on his own admission a non-professional in behaviour modification, should have succeeded where countless psychologists and psychiatrists holding postgraduate qualifications have failed, in formulating a simple and effective way to stop smoking.”
Dr Martin Jarvis, Principle Scientist, Imperial Cancer Research
Fund and Reader in Health Psychology, University College London
”…I am more than happy to testify to Allen Carr’s enduring involvement and to recognise the value of the kind of behavioural and cognitive support he provides.”
Dr PM Bray MB CH.b., MRCGP
“I was really impressed by the method. In spite of the Allen Carr organisation’s success and fame, there were no gimmicks and the professional approach was something a GP could readily respect. I would be happy to give a medical endorsement of the method to anyone.”
Celebrity Endorsements
“His method is absolutely unique, removing the dependence on cigarettes, while you are actually smoking. I’m pleased to say it has worked for many of my friends and staff.”
Sir Richard Branson
“Some friends of mine who had stopped using Allen Carr’s method suggested I tried it. I did. It was such a revelation that instantly I was freed from my addiction. Like those friends of mine, I found it not only easy but unbelievably enjoyable to stay stopped.”
Sir Anthony Hopkins
GOOD LUCK!