So now I'm a seasoned smoker, year in and year out.
Occasionally I see a story sbout some guy who is dying of lung cancer and he refuses to quit smoking using the logic of "well I'm dead anyway so why quit now ? I might as well enjoy my last few hours.
" this is the addict talking and as a fellow addict I look at this and think "That's him, never happen to me.
That's also the addict talking.
So not being a psychiatrist I can only speak about how an average guy deals with his addiction? The answer for me is totally internal.
I know that the nicotine addict is in there and so am I, so it must be a battle between the two of us.
It starts by telling your addict that you have had enough and it's time to quit.
The addict,of course will come up with a thousand reasons why your thinking is all wrong.
That's it.
That's the battle.
So each time the addict says "A" you answer with "B".
This goes on until you almost convince the addict that it's right to stop smoking.
I say almost because you will never totally convince the addict that you need to quit smoking.
What you need to know is that the cigarette addict will always be with you, but he becomes weaker as time goes by.
So you're still smoking and the battle rages on until finally you have worn the addict down and you're ready to give it a try and you quit smoking.
If you say "give it a try" you have probably lost round one.
At some point you must say "I'M QUITTING"! So you quit.
Each time the clock arrives at a time when you would normally have a smoke the addict in you will say "Now in order for everything to be normal, yoiu need to have a cigarette.
" The addict is friendly, logical and firm so it makes sense to have a cigarette.
This is what you must guard against if you are going to succeed.
I had been a non-smoker for six months when I was out raking leaves and I stopped to catch my breath.
As I was standing there the addict in me said "In order for everything to be normal, you need to have a cigarette.
" My reaction was Wow where did that come from?I chuckled to myself and went back to raking leaves.
But that's how it goes.
Each time you come to one of those places where you would normally smoke, the addict in you will try to push you back into smoking, but don't do it.
If you resist, the temptations will become fewer and fewer until you arrive at a point where you are rarely tempted.
The trick is to resist each and every temptation, one at a time until finally you can say, "Yes I'm a smoker but I haven't had a cigarette in ten years.