MoneySavers don't smoke!

sezdav

BARBARA: That sounds like a good plan sweety! Best of luck with the books then x

Lovingitifitsabargain

sezdav wrote:

LOVINGITIFITSABARGAIN: Sweety.....you poor thing. (Although i have to say im not that chuffed that youve lost 6lb, think ive found it and stuck it to my hips this week!) (only kidding you).

I really hope you feel better soon. Been missing our chats! Have even had to join in other threads dont you know!! Still, day 16 for me today!! And i had to think about that so its obviously getting easier! Yestruday was the first time i though, blimey i havent though about cigs for an hour! Very please i was!

Get back to sleep then little one. Sweet dreams. Senning get well soon thoughts! Sez x

SEZDAV - thanks for your get well thoughts - feeling abit better today just so bloody weak though this has well taken it out of me - at least I can swallow solids again now though ! You are doing so well and you are being so supportive of everyone - so glad you got through the night shift ok - I knew you could do it - I was thinking bout how much money we have saved - its loadsa money ! once I am back on my feet I will be off to buy myself something nice and expensive - ha ha - take care and keep up the good work :wave: and a big shout out to Ember - keep going Girlie :grouphug:

barbara22

Glad you are feeling a bit better Lovingit, and yes - Sezdav is being a positive tower of strength to all - and where's Ember got to now, I wonder - hope all is ok. At least you found the positive side of feeling ill, the last thing you think of is having a ciggie! Keep it up, everybody - I'll need you when I come to 'the day' when I give up myself.

barbara22

The ‘Cutting Down’ method of stopping smoking

On one of my so far futile efforts to give up smoking, I thought up the following way of giving up, but slowly, so as to lessen the pain. (If some-one has published this, please be assured that I am not aware of it – I thought of this particular method entirely independently, and believe me it does take patience, dedication and meticulous counting) - unfortunately I am not a very patient person, so I couldn't keep it up! NB This method is not useful to those who roll their own, unless they are prepared to roll up a whole day’s worth of smokes at a time, every day.

1) As I’ve said, this does require counting cigarettes, but perhaps not quite in the way you might think. The object is to ‘fool’ your mind – it can work very well if you have a quite perverse mind (like mine) which won’t do anything if I’m thinking well I’ve got to do this. This kind of thinking has a completely negative effect, nobody likes anyone - least of all themselves, saying this has got to be done!

2) Right, the counting. For however many days you choose (try not to put a limit on it though), each morning allocate yourself and carry with you all of the cigarettes you could smoke on that day. Count how many you’re carrying and keep a note. When you come to morning no. 2, and so on, count how many you have left – this of course lets you know how many you have smoked, keep a note of this and once again add to the ones you still have in order to provide enough to cover you for the new day, of course making a note of the new smokable quantity once again. This is boring, but worth it.

3) PLEASE NOTE If you’ve already decided this seems far too complicated, it does seem so when put into writing, in practice however it’s fairly simple to do. At least, read this until the end, it can’t hurt, can it?

4) Over a few days, you will get a very accurate idea of how many you are smoking each day – next – the trick! OK, you want to cut down – and slowly, but you don’t want to be thinking that you’re forcing yourself to do this or the ‘negative’ effect will kick in. Normally, you would look at the daily numbers and give yourself a lower target to get to, on a continually decreasing basis – DON’T! Instead, aim to increase the number of cigarettes you have left at the end of each day, remember they’ll still be there if you want to smoke them! Do not go for an actual number, when you pick up the pack to get one just pause and think - is this an ‘automatic’ smoke, i.e. not driven by a conscious need? You’ll quite soon realise that a lot of smoking is done on this basis – wait until you feel a conscious need for a smoke, then just have one, whenever you want, as long as you do want one!

5) Hopefully, now you are smoking when you want to, not like a conditioned robot. Just think about all of those extra cigarettes you’ve saved for smoking when you want to as well! Keep going, smoke when you want to, as much as you like, really! Finally, if you can keep it up……..

6) LIGHT DAWNS! Now you’re realising that as a result of all of those ‘saved’ smokes for later, in practice you’re actually buying less and less packs, because the excess extra smokes you have built up are filling up the house/flat/whatever! If you keep this up, you’ll end up quite naturally having cut down drastically, as your body is slowly (and unconsciously) getting used to a lower and lower intake of nicotine. Persevere, and in the end you’ll be smoking so little that you’ll realise that it’s not really worth smoking at all, so you might just as well STOP. Anyway, now you’ve got more energy, you feel physically good, so why bother?
WELL DONE – YOU MADE IT! :A

friendly_ghost

Firstly - well done Sezdav, Lovingit & Ember (hopefully)... you are all doing brilliantly!!! :j
Barbara - Love your reverse psychology approach - could definitely work for bl..dy minded people like me, altho' I've cut down massively since smoking outside only - well, except for last couple of days when I've been really down about my purchaser pulling out of my house sale, which happened two weeks ago and altho I've been philosophical about it until now, I got fed up because I've had no viewers since... anyway, enough digression.

Smoking was my first rebellion in life and I started only to annoy my stepdad... boy did I pay for that.
You are so right tho - when I'm told what to do or even when I tell myself what I should do, I become obsessed with it, think about it continually, and end up eating or smoking more, then I hate myself for my weakness. I will be stopping soon tho because I am psyching myself and actually have not smoked ciggies when I've asked myself,'do i really want that'.
Good luck to everyone I could have bought a house if I had saved all the money I burnt over 40 years!!!

silverfoxdude

Hi everyone, well done to those who are staying stopped, never give up, giving up to those who've had a relapse! (Sorry, havent read through the whole thread, so maybe (?) no-one has given in)

Just to let you know, we're attending the Stop Smoking Clinic in the morning at 10am, (OH and I), so we'll keep you updated, and I will def go thru this thread when we ditch the dreaded weed!!

barbara22

Thanks for your post friendlyghost, I'm sure you'll get both the house and that last bit of nasty smoking sorted quite soon! The funny thing about my 'Cutting down slowly' trick is that even though you've read it, it still works provided you have the patience for the counting bit!

Silverfoxdude - go for it! For me, this type of clinic would immediately get my 'I won't be told' mental block going, but I know it works well for many many people, so keep an open mind - also, it doesn't stop you from trying other methods of ditching the weed does it?

Lovingitifitsabargain

barbara22 wrote:

Thanks for your post friendlyghost, I'm sure you'll get both the house and that last bit of nasty smoking sorted quite soon! The funny thing about my 'Cutting down slowly' trick is that even though you've read it, it still works provided you have the patience for the counting bit!

Silverfoxdude - go for it! For me, this type of clinic would immediately get my 'I won't be told' mental block going, but I know it works well for many many people, so keep an open mind - also, it doesn't stop you from trying other methods of ditching the weed does it?

I TRIED JUST HAVING ONE AFTER MY DINNER A FEW MONTHS BACK WAS FINE FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS THEN BEFORE I KNEW IT IT WAS 2 THEN ONE IN THE MORNING AND 2 IN THE EVENING I JUST ENDED UP SMOKING AGAIN NORMALLY - GOOD LUCK TO ONE AND ALL IF YOU CAN DO IT- EVEN WISH I COULD BE ONE OF THESE SOCIAL SMOKERS SOMETIMES WHERE YOU ONLY HAVE A SMOKE WHEN YOU GO OUT THEN DON'T THINK ABOUT IT UNTIL THE NEXT SOCIAL EVENT - NAH I'M WELL AND TRULY AN ADDICT AND IT HAS TO BE ALL OR NOTHING SO GONNA KEEP AT IT - I AM A NON SMOKER I AM A NON SMOKER - I MUST BE FEELING BETTER AS REALLY HAVE THE URGE TODAY - STOOD TALKING TO MY SON IN THE GARDEN FOR 5 MINS WHILST HE WAS HAVING ONE FOR A SECOND I COULD OF REALLY JUST LIT UP BUT A COUPLE OF SECONDS LATER THE STENCH HIT ME AND I WAS GLAD I NEVER - BUT THAT NAGGING FEELING IS CREEPING UP ON ME MORE AND MORE TODAY - ANYWAY HOPE ALL YOU NON SMOKERS ARE STILL GOING WELL BIG SHOUT OUT TO EMBER AND SEZ - THINKING OF YOU GIRLIES -X- :dance:
LOZ :

barbara22

YOU CAN DO IT Lovingit! I actually couldn't give up by cutting down slowly as my original post shows and am still in the horrible process of psyching myself up to STOP SMOKING - am going to try first with the books - Neil Casey and Allan Carr, then if all else fails put myself in the hands of my doctor, his name's Jekyll though so that route's a bit worrying Anyway, my 'bibles' are due to arrive by next Monday, then the balloon goes up! God help my other half, poor soul.

YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL - KEEP GOING!

sezdav

hi guys. glad to see youre all well. Well done LOZ for not giving in! I have found it extreemely hard at times like that but am so proud after for not having given in. Went to asda this morning and was driving home with huge huge cravings... then i realised i hadnt put my patch on! Which meant that for the hour i was getting ready this morning i hadnt thought about smoking! I am struggling a bit at the moment. I think that although the habit is dying the initial excitment of giving up has pretty much gone! Anyway, must persavere. Have gone back to having the one wont hurt... oh yes it will conversations in my mind!! aaarrrrrggggggghhhhh!!

Well done to EMBER AND LOVINGITIFITSABARGAIN... nearly 3 weeks now!! Yay!

Keep at it! Sez x