1) The patch (4 wks at the strongest dosage, 2 wks at the middle dosage, 1 wk at the weakest dosage).
2) Zyban (the last 2 weeks of the patch & not for an entire month) ... I am not dependable to take a pill every day. And I often forgot & that was not good.
3) Quit smoking websites - I read everything on the web including the sad stories. They did help me. The support system on message boards is tremendous! That is the "missing link!"
4) Sleep & Crying & Anger - I slept to hide from the cravings. It worked for me. I just wanted to crawl in a hole and return to the world when I was cured. I cried often. I was intensely angry at my old life.
5) Any form of hard candy - I had it in my mouth constantly
6) Carrots - Ate them for one week solid. Moved then to any other food and am still eating!!!!
7) Music - Mostly babbling brooks, seashores, birds singing, relaxation tapes ... I absolutely love them!!!
8) Books - I read all the time. I need to read so that I can mold this new person I am becoming. I also like to read here.
9) Exercise - Going outside and riding my bike or rollerblading or walking. Anything outdoors that is active is essential right now. I would die without this!
10) Coffee and Tea - I drink both all the time. Don't know why, but when I crave - I go for a hot drink. For me, it calms me immediately. I only have to wait long enough for the coffee to brew or the tea to steep.
11) I did tell everybody I knew that I was quitting. I sent a mass email to every single person in my life who owns a computer - even if I never hear anything from them except forwarded jokes. They received a vow of quitting from me. I tell everybody I meet that I quit. I identify myself as a quitter in progress. People love it - or at least the seem to. That reinforces my continued success. If I ever slip, I will then join the church and become a monk.
12) Aromatherapy. I have several different scents that I sniff and also perfume. I love smelling things now. I love the emotions it brings to me. I believe it will calm me and so it does. I believe it and so it is true.
13) Church - I joined a church. I opened my heart to God and asked him to carry some of this burden. Not only did he do that, he taught me to fly! To fly away from the gravity bound earth that had chained my heart.
I don't know if I left something out or not. This seems to be my day each and every day. I am in a constant state of awareness. I do not and I will not lose this quit ever as long as I draw breath. I continue to mention to my children that I am a nonsmoker and my day is now 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100!!! and they hug me and I know I'm doing the right thing at long long last. It has been 30 years this year. I think that was long enough to pollute my body.
