Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 23 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 4 months ago by
.
- Posts
What is it really like to be addicted to smoking? How do you feel when you haven’t had one for a while? Why do people bother to light up for a short period of time – like when they won’t even have enough time to smoke a full cigarette? And what makes it so difficult to quit? Or to not restart? Thanks for your answers – I’ve never started so I’ve never had to stop.
User Detail :
Name : Maggie, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 25, City : Cologne, State : NA, Country : Germany, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Smoking is not only an addiction, it REALLY becomes a habit. I recently quit and after the first three days, which were an out of control nightmare, it’s the habit that I have to break. When a smoker first quits, it takes about three full days to purge the nicotine out of the system. That’s the withdrawal. Personally, I couldn’t control my moods. I screamed, cried, swore: it was a temporary case of extreme manic depression. Small things turned me into a raving maniac. But after that, I no longer craved the cigarette – I wanted the habit. Smoking becomes a part of who you are. Do you crack your nuckles? Bite your fingernails? It becomes part of your daily routine and it’s comforting. And leaving the comfortable is not an easy thing to do.
User Detail :
Name : Tracy Z., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 37, City : Aliquippa, State : PA, Country : United States, Occupation : Clerical, financial, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,What’s it really like to be addicted to smoking? For me, it’ horrible, I’ve smoked for so long now, that it’s a part of my life that I don’t even think about, like going to the restroom. There doesn’t seem to be any thought process to it, I just reach and get a smoke and light up. It’s very very routine, when I get in the car, I light up, after my lunch break at work, I go outside in the cold and light up. When I haven’t smoked in a while, I’m a bit edgy, but it can get to a point that’s all I’m thinking about, when I’m going to have a smoke. Why is it difficult to quit, because the most addicting drug on the planet, Nicotene, is running through your veins. Cigarette smoking kills more people than all other drugs, cocaine, alcohol related accidents and illness, heroin, etc. combined! And I still haven’t been able to quit, even after watchng or knowing of 20 of my Dad’s brothers and sisters have died of lung cancer, it’s literally insane.
User Detail :
Name : Robin, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 38, City : Tipp City, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer scheduler, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,An addiction to smoking is like having a really great friend who always lies to you. You know he’s bad, but you like him so much, you can’t bare not having him around. When you decide that its best to live without a person like that, you feel as though you’ve made this great life-altering decision. Then, a social event comes up or stress enters your life or you finish a task and you feel as though you deserve that ‘job-well-done’ cigarette. These are just some of the psychological addictions. The physical addiction comes in the form of an edginess if you go too long without a cigarette. A constant prodding to have it until you succumb. The habitual addiction; waking up and not being able to get out the door without a cup of coffee and a cigarette. The post-prandial smoke that follows a meal or even a snack. Getting into your car. After relations. I even crave a cigarette after biking, basketball or any other healthy workouts. I get the ‘you must be crazy’ looks. Those in short are the addictions that I’m personally aware of. The challenges that I face every time I attempt to quit smoking. People light up for just a short period of time primarily because they’re in a hurry and don’t have time to smoke the whole cigarette or they get interrupted. In my case I usually smoke the entire cigarette unless I’m cut short by time. I think I may have explained why its so difficult to quit with my previous comments…psychological, physical, habitual. I’m in my 21st year of smoking, so I can’t say much about what keeps one from restarting, but from every single person that I know who has ever quit smoking, they say the same thing,’I’d love to have a cigarette right now, but it would never be enough to have to endure the hell of quitting again’. That seems to keep them clear of it. They have cleansed themselves of the physiological dependency on nicotine and even restructured routines to overcome the ‘habit’, but there really is a delicate faultline on which reformed smokers balance. Maybe thats why reformed smokers are the most intolerant towards smokers. They’re always in recovery. My only words to you would be to never start. I began as a college student who simply ‘bummed’ a cigarette now and then from a friend. The funny thing is that most of those same friends have quit long ago. Good Luck.
User Detail :
Name : Robert, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 41, City : Milwaukee, State : WI, Country : United States, Occupation : Telecommunications, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,When you are addicted to smoking, you are just in the habit of lighting up and don’t really notice that much until you haven’t had a cigarette for a while. It’s like some people’s ‘morning cup of coffee’ habit, but much worse. You get into the habit of having one ‘first thing upon waking’, ‘right after breakfast’, ‘on the way to work’, ‘when you first get to work’… it goes on all day, till ‘last one before bed’. It’s also an ‘aquired’ taste… cigarettes taste great after you’ve gotten into the habit. If I had a puff now, after 5 years of not smoking, it would taste terrible. When you don’t have one for a while, you get this intense urge to smoke. People get a buzz similar to drinking coffee. It increases your metabolism, etc., so they will light up just to get the nicotine into their system. It is so hard to quit because you are battling a constant urge to smoke. I’ve heard it’s worse than quitting heroin. It goes on for days like this, and you can’t think of anything else. When I quit, I couldn’t even go for a few minutes without craving one. Eventually, like after a YEAR, the cravings kind of faded away. And it’s very easy to get tempted into restarting… even smelling someone’s cigarette can make me think about how nice it would be to have one. When I quit the first time, it only took a couple of cigarettes to get me hooked again. I used to smoke a minimum of a pack a day since I was about 14… and smoked for about 15 years. The patch and gum work pretty good… but they keep the nicotine in your system (this is the addictive substance…imo); the trick is to get it completely out of your body and wean yourself off of it.
User Detail :
Name : Jennifer, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : San Jose, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : software engineer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,There are two parts to being addicted to smoking, physical and psychological. I have been smoking for twenty years now. I think about stopping, but cigarettes are my best friends. There’s always one there when I need one. They help me calm down, they help wake me up, they help me concentrate, they give me something to do when I feel unsure about what to do next. I can go about two hours between cigarettes and then I begin to feel edgy, irritable, and anxious. If I have to refrain from smoking for an extended period of time, like taking an airline flight, when I get off the plane, I want a cigarette so badly, I will light one up to have just a couple of puffs before I pick up my luggage. With the various patches and gums now available, the physical addiction can be pretty easily overcome but it would be very difficult to give up these friends of mine that are so calming. My mother, who smoked for 40 years has quit again. This is the third or fourth time she had tried to quit. Usually what gets her started back up again is stress over something. The physical addiction has passed, but the calming effect of the cigarette continues to pull for a long time after you’ve quit. You are very smart not to have ever started.
User Detail :
Name : R.A. Nelson, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Episcopalian, Age : 42, City : Carol Stream, State : IL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,What is it really like to be addicted to smoking? You don’t notice you are addicted until you try to quit. Before you quit it is as natural and essential as taking a shower or reading the paper in the morning. Something regular and integral. How do you feel when you haven’t had one for a while? When I smoked regularily I was never without cigarettes – it was unthinkable. When I decided to quit, that was when I had to go through that torture. I felt disoriented, like my life was falling apart. Imagine not eating for three days – how you would feel. A constant craving for food. That was how I felt when I didn’t have a regular supply of nicotine in my system. Why do people bother to light up for a short period of time – like when they won’t even have enough time to smoke a full cigarette? Because the first few pulls give you all the nicotine you need. When I quit, for a few packs, I would light each cigarette, take a pull and then put it out. That was my way of cutting down. (And showing how wasteful I was being smoking at all.) And what makes it so difficult to quit? Or to not restart? The craving makes it difficult. To a smoker – nicotine is like food. Going without it creates cravings and hunger that are hard to manage. Nicotine has been proved to be more addictive than heroin. Also being in situations or with people when one used to smoke makes the loss more acute. So have patience with people quitting! They may not do it the first, second or tenth time they try – but with encouragement they will… A. B.
User Detail :
Name : Amy31581, City : Ottawa, State : NA, Country : Canada,I wouldn’t say all people who smoke are addicted. I smoke one or two cigarettes at night and when I go out on weekends. I have gone several days and/or weeks without smoking just because I felt like it. I think the addiction is more of a nervous habit for a lot of people, just like biting your fingernails or something like that. I also think some people just have addictive personalities and can’t control themselves. I smoke because it gives you about 30 seconds of a light-headed groovy feeling, and then I just go back about my business. It relaxes you just a little bit.
User Detail :
Name : Steve F., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Longview, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The best analogy I ever heard was that it’s like being really hungry (or maybe needing to go to the bathroom badly). Obviously it’s not such a life-or-death situation as hunger: if you don’t satisfy the need to smoke you won’t die (the opposite, ironically). But that nagging physical need that just interrupts everything you do and gets progressively worse is similar.
User Detail :
Name : Sue G, Gender : F, Age : 27, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom,Yes, it is an addiction. Back when I started it was generally suggested that it was ‘not particularly good for you’ or ‘not attractive’ – of course since then we have more information on the health implications and growing evidence that as a chemical it is perhaps more powerfully addictive than heroin, alcohol, or others. Maybe if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have started. When I haven’t had one for awhile there is a growing sense of urgency that is greater than the need for a drink of water when you are really thirsty, and only a little less than the need to go to the bathroom when you really, really have to go – like when you would abruptly cut off a conversation with someone because you can’t postpone a trip to the restroom any longer. So you’re paying less and less attention to the conversation (or the movie,or the meeting, etc.) You are thinking, how can I speed this up, when will it end so I can go, and after awhile you get increasingly tense and testy. To alleviate that, half a cigarette is better than none if that’s all the time available will allow. I haven’t made a truly serious effort to quit, let alone having a chance to quit and restart, so I can’t address your final questions properly.
User Detail :
Name : Catte, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 50, City : Dallas, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Social Worker, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I smoked for more than 20 years before I quit. When I was a smoker, if I could not get a cigarette, it would make me feel anxious, almost like stage fright, a queasy feeling, not so much in my stomach, but between my stomach and lungs. I quit three years ago, and though I still miss it sometimes, I hope to never smoke again.
User Detail :
Name : Mark22093, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Hartford, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Police Officer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I smoked for 20 years and managed to quit (its been 18 years now!), so feel I have some angle on the answer. Have you ever had an itch on the bottom of your foot? You HAVE to scratch it … no matter how much you ignore the itch, it won’t go away. The itch is always there, although sometimes scratching it just a tiny bit is enough (hence the quick drag on a cigarette when there is no time for a whole one) but eventually it will return full force. Sometimes the itch is there while you are wearing a laced up shoe and you have to go through major contortions to scratch it (you know the people I mean, who will go to any lengths to get a cigarette)! It is an addiction and like alcoholism, is always a threat – just my two cents worth!
User Detail :
Name : Sue-Hutchinson, City : Merrickville, State : NA, Country : Canada,Smoking feels like more of a habit after a while than it does an addiction. The act of having a lit cigarette is sometimes more appealing than actually smoking it. I’ve lit cigarettes before that I’ve taken one or two drags from, but let them burn in my hand until they were done. Sometimes you just need to take a drag.
User Detail :
Name : Holmes B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 30, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Game Designer, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I smoked for a few years, and though I haven’t had a cigarette for about two years, the temptation is always there, even though I know smoking is not good for me. My father had problems with depression, and he was a chain smoker. I think I know why: Cigarettes lifted his depression. They do the same for me. Smoking was a quick and easy ‘fix’ that was legal and didn’t require a prescription. I suspect that to some extent, the same is true for people who are not clinically depressed. Cigarettes give you a lift, and they appeal to a powerful part of the brain that doesn’t care whether you’re doing something that’s ultimately self-destructive.
User Detail :
Name : Elliott, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Raised Baptist, not agnostic, not a big believer, Age : 37, City : Dallas, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I remember wondering the same things before I smoked, and yet it is not easy to answer now that I have. The first time I began to get cravings, I didn’t immediately recognize the feelings. I felt somewhat anxious and agitated, but the rush from the first drag would clear that all up. The addiction is primarily a function of nicotine, as most everyone knows, but the reason people will smoke even when they know they can’t finish the cigarette is more related to the habit. There is a ritual to smoking – how you open the pack (ever notice how some people pound the pack against their palm to pack the tobacco), how you hold the cigarette, how you light it (matches? Zippo? Bic?), how you inhale/exhale -and after awhile the ritual itself can be as comforting as the drug. I smoked in high school, and when late-afternoon cravings hit during class, I could stave them off by mimicking a smoke with my ballpoint pen. I can’t really answer the last questions, beyond saying you get cravings. You know you won’t feel comfortable until you smoke one. Over time, this feeling lessens, but you always remember how you felt better after that drag. I ‘quit’ several times before finally smoking my last butt several years ago. Each time, some trigger (often alcohol) would make me smoke ‘just one’ and before I knew it I’d be back to the level I had been. In the end, I quit because I felt worse after smoking than before. I don’t know if I have an acute sensitivity, or if a mental mechanism kicked in to fool my body into quitting, or what, but I’m not sure I would have been successful quitting without it. At your age, you’ve made it past when most smokers start, so I probably don’t have to tell you this, but don’t start. Once you get past the taste and smell, smoking gives you a little drug-induced lift; later, when you are addicted, the lift is less and doesn’t last, but you still need the nicotine. It ain’t worth it.
User Detail :
Name : Keith Babberney, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Taoist, Age : 34, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : arborist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.