Smoking.
Dirty, Disgusting, smelling, wonderful, addictive, stress relieving smoking.
I am currently a non smoker... wow just to be able to say that.. I am now a non smoker.
As of the time of this post it is about an hour and a half from being a full 3 days since my last cigarette. I know many people try to quit many times and fail. I have even done that myself. I am not going to tell you it is easy, because its not.
I already take enough medication. So I chose not to go that route. I didn't use patches, gum, e cig, or a vape. Why prolong the nicotine addiction more than I needed to, and they wouldn't be able to replace cigarettes because they would never be a cigarette.
What I do know is this. Quitting smoking IS worth it.
I still crave them, but I have several good reasons not to give in to the urge.
I shall list some for you.
1) My children have been desperately begging me for over a year to stop. They are concerned for my health and I love them for it.
2) It is bad for my health.
3) It can get expensive
4) It can take up your time. Not just in smoking, but it is cheaper if you roll your own.
5) Unless your partner is a smoker, no one wants to kiss an ashtray.
However, my biggest reason that finally got me to the point where I was ready is surgery.
Smoking can cause problems with anesthesia, as well as causing many problems for healing after surgery.
Ever since I hit puberty I was large. At 16 years old, weighting 130lbs, and in size 16 jeans I had a bra size of 32 DDD. I had a classmate ask me if they were real. *rolls eyes* Of course they are. Why would I stuff them. Even at 16 years old I was having back pain because they pulled so bad on my back.
There are so many reasons that large breasts can impede your daily functions. reaching, bending, lifting, pain. I intend to blog more on this in another post, so I will leave some of those things for later.
Smoking. Easier said than done.
The first 24 hours was excruciating for me. I had mood swings every 5 minutes, extreme ones. We are talking one min I was my normal self, then laughing so hard I was crying, then literally sobbing and crying. It was horrible. It felt like it would never end. I had cravings that would be so strong that you felt physically compelled to comply as if someone was trying to take over your body.
The second set of 24 hours found life more tolerable. I resisted the urge to apologize for my mood swings, as I knew that it really wasn't me being a problem, but a symptom of the nicotine leaving my body, and my brain going through a temper tantrum because it wasn't getting what it was used to.
Cravings at this point could be rationalized away. No more just focusing on breathing in and out until the craving passed for every single one. Now I could talk my self through them. Yes you usually take a break to smoke outside.. You can still go outside. Listen to the birds, feel the wind. It can still be good. So I started adjusting my behavior and still found joy doing things.
I do miss it a little, but now being just about 3 full days, The cravings are much smaller waves and come less often.
If you have thought about quitting smoking, I encourage you to keep trying. It is worth it. You are worth it.
"As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.""
-See source link for inspirational quote
Source Links:
Inspirational quotes: http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/OnFailingG.html
Smoking and the changes in the brain:
http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/smokers-brains-change-in-response-to-high-levels-of-nicotine/
http://smoking.ygoy.com/effects-of-smoking-on-the-brain/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061128140728.htm
