I reasoned that I felt pain in my body when I got hurt, and that pain naturally kept me from doing again whatever it was that caused the pain.
I further reasoned that I knew that smoking was hurting me, but I couldn't feel any immediate pain from that hurt (or even see the effects in my lungs).
Therefore, I thought, if I could feel pain from the smoking, I would probably stop.
I allowed myself to keep smoking, but any time I had a craving for a cigarette, bought or unwrapped a box of cigarettes, took out a cigarette, etc., I would pinch myself on the inside of my forearm (an inconspicuous place) and mentally envision the harm it was doing to my lungs and the rest of my body to associate the pain with that harm and with the activity of smoking. The pinch was painful, but not so bad as to leave a mark for more than a minute.
It was the only thing that worked for me. After I quit, I still had recurring thoughts about smoking, and I did the same thing whenever one crossed my mind in a conscious way. Several times a day became a few times per week; then per month; then a couple times per year; then once every couple years; then virtually never. Yet if a random thought about smoking crosses my mind to this day, I still do it to eradicate the bad habit.
I've heard other people use a similar technique of wearing a rubber band around the wrist and snapping it.
I hope this helps someone who wants to quit but hasn't been able to yet.
treetalker|6 months ago
I reasoned that I felt pain in my body when I got hurt, and that pain naturally kept me from doing again whatever it was that caused the pain.
I further reasoned that I knew that smoking was hurting me, but I couldn't feel any immediate pain from that hurt (or even see the effects in my lungs).
Therefore, I thought, if I could feel pain from the smoking, I would probably stop.
I allowed myself to keep smoking, but any time I had a craving for a cigarette, bought or unwrapped a box of cigarettes, took out a cigarette, etc., I would pinch myself on the inside of my forearm (an inconspicuous place) and mentally envision the harm it was doing to my lungs and the rest of my body to associate the pain with that harm and with the activity of smoking. The pinch was painful, but not so bad as to leave a mark for more than a minute.
It was the only thing that worked for me. After I quit, I still had recurring thoughts about smoking, and I did the same thing whenever one crossed my mind in a conscious way. Several times a day became a few times per week; then per month; then a couple times per year; then once every couple years; then virtually never. Yet if a random thought about smoking crosses my mind to this day, I still do it to eradicate the bad habit.
I've heard other people use a similar technique of wearing a rubber band around the wrist and snapping it.
I hope this helps someone who wants to quit but hasn't been able to yet.
unknown|6 months ago
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