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How do I quit smoking?
(lemmy.ml)
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I had tried multiple times previously, but when I stopped using snus (tobacco in pouches you put under your lip) for good these are things that helped me succeed:
I actually wanted to quit (this is the most important one. If you just feel like you should quit and don't actually want to. It's gonna be really rough).
I set a deadline for myself. For me, that deadline was during a family vacation so I planned for myself to get through the last box of snus before the vacation was over. I had a single box of snus that was already opened and a week long vacation (a single box used to last me maybe 2 days normally). This made me ration it out so I had a natural decrease in amounts used before I quit.
I distracted myself from things that would normally make me want to grab a snus. Some were harder to avoid like when having morning coffee or when I had just eaten a large meal, but those could be substituted with chewing gum, breath mints, etc. I had also just recently started dating again at the time, so my daily routine was almost always different from the norm, which made ignoring the cravings a lot simpler.
And honestly, from there it was just staying true to my goal and making sure to be proud of every milestone. Even now, 5 years later, I made sure to be proud of being 5 years clean.
And you will think about it every now and then. Especially in situations where you normally go for a smoke, your brain will occasionally go back to "ahh, shit, a smoke would be nice now". I still have those moments when I have stressful situations, have been out drinking, or just randomly from time to time.
If you really want to quit, you can do it! I believe in you!