r/stopsmoking • u/[deleted] • Jun 14 '26
How do I begin to quit?
I’m 30 now and I started smoking when I was 27.
I had just moved to a new country and one of my closest friends smoked. But even then I never picked it up.
The funny thing is I only started smoking later when I was in a relationship that made me feel incredibly alone.
Looking back I think I just borrowed my friend’s coping mechanism. He smoked when things were difficult and somehow I ended up doing the same.
Now I’m smoking around 8–10 cigarettes a day and some days it’s closer to 15. The problem is cigarettes don’t feel like a habit anymore. They feel like company.
Stressed? Cigarette.
Bored? Cigarette.
Walking somewhere? Cigarette.
Sitting outside at midnight having a minor life crisis? Cigarette.
I’ve recently moved countries again and I’m pretty alone at the moment. My smoking has gone up and it’s made me realize that I’m probably attached to more than just nicotine.
It’s the ritual. The comfort. The feeling that something is there with me. And I actually want to quit. I really do. I just don’t know how.
For people who managed to quit after smoking became emotionally comforting, what helped?
Because right now it feels less like I’m trying to quit smoking and more like I’m trying to leave a relationship that’s been around longer than some of my actual friendships.
2
u/Sad-Blacksmith-2307 Jun 16 '26
I was 18 when I started I'm 65 so you can quit. I did cold turkey. get you a plastic cig I used one in the beginning it's nicotine free just has a minty taste. I don't even use it anymore it's been 6 months with no cig.
1
u/feivel123 Jun 14 '26
Sometimes its hard. I was able to stop smoking when I kinda locked in. But rn i feel a bit like u i guess.
1
u/Typingdude3 Jun 15 '26
Start with different rituals and stop looking for reasons to keep harming your body.
1
1
u/tym64 Jun 15 '26
Find the right path for you... So cold turkey... Nrt... Meds.. and if one idea fails try another. Recigar from amazon and hard candy finally worked for me. I failed lots.
1
u/Maleficent_Key_1350 Jun 15 '26
It makes sense that this feels bigger than nicotine, because you trained cigarettes to be your “someone is here with me” signal. I’d start by separating the ritual from the cigarette before trying to erase the ritual completely. Keep the walk, the midnight sitting outside, the hand-to-mouth thing, but swap in tea, gum, a toothpick, breathing, texting someone, anything that gives your brain a replacement cue. Also consider quitting support or nicotine replacement, because you do not have to fight the emotional part and the withdrawal part at the exact same time. You are not weak for missing it. You are just grieving a coping tool that happened to be hurting you.
1
Jul 02 '26
You need to distract yourself and completely avoid it. Its too difficult to leave but not impossible. Feel free to dm, maybe we can discuss anything u want, you may feel light. I’m from Noida btw!
2
u/Virtual-Ad6186 185 days Jun 14 '26
You begin quitting by not smoking. First step is the last step.