Because Amy , my good friend, is trying to stop smoking, it's been on my mind.
Quitting is a very, very hard thing to do.
If you've never smoked, yay.
If you have, and then you quit, you know how difficult it is.
I quit 16 years ago.
It was the fourth time I'd tried, and although I was pregnant, and found it easier because of that, what really did the trick was my extremely vivid imagination, which has been both a blessing and a curse throughout my life.
I visualized my son crying while I told him that I was dying from lung cancer. I thought about my baby-to-be and was so sad at the idea of that baby growing up with either no mother or worse, a STEP MOM.
I thought about the doctor who would give me the news and say to me, "If only you'd quit smoking. Your lungs would have never developed this cancer."
I thought about how I would immediately wish I could TAKE IT BACK and not ever have smoked. How I would do anything in the world to change it, if given the news that smoking was going to kill me.
Now that the actual date I quit is far behind me, the three weeks or so of hell that it took for me to detox enough to not be on the edge of insanity don't look like much at all.
Hang in there, Amy.
You can do this.
I hope she sees this post. It sounds like she's really struggling, but I know she can do it. You're a good friend!
ReplyDeleteIt was one of the hardest things I ever did. I took classes to quit at a hospital. I got addicted to the gum. If I had a dollar for everytime I tried to quit, I'd be a millionaire. My lungs finally gave out and I had to quit. Acupuncture really helped me. My Dr. had me on Colostrum, Lithium and Daphne Indica for recovery. He also told me to make an appointment so that he could kick my ass if I started again. That helped. It's been almost 11 years since I stopped.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to your friend. I hope she has an easier time kicking it than I did.
we paid for 2 sessions of a hypno therapist for my mother in law to quit smoking. she quit for 2 weeks and then started again. We told her, hey its out of your system, why did you do that? yeah, we were in college. Like we really could afford for those hundreds of dollars to go bye bye. Anyway.. they have some financial troubles, they still buy brand name stuff from the expensive grocery store, smoke and drink, but they are selling off their furniture, or trying to, because of a layoff they know is coming. jeez. hello? can anyone hear me?
ReplyDeleteGood for you!! I have never smoked, perhaps it has something to do with the little fact I have asthma. (you think,lol?) Blessings
ReplyDeleteGlad you did it. I have one of those imaginations. You should see the things I put my loved ones through when they are late to arrive. It's tragic.
ReplyDeleteI need to do that with my weight. I just don't seem to have the lasting effect to sustain a constant weight loss. Most of the time, I just don't care.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up Amy.