Did you or do you smoke?

[Changing4Best]

I never was in a mental hospital during my smoking years, so I did not get that as a break. I have been with folks who were in the hospital, that LIVED for their smoke breaks though. They were in the regular unit, with physical ailments, but yeh, those cigarette breaks helped them to keep their sanity when they were in there, waiting to be released especially.

 

[Teasel]

@SheilaKathy you seem to be keen to take up smoking? Hope not, there are horrible horrible down sides to it too. X

 

[Changing4Best]

I wanted to take up something like the vaping, without nicotine, just to have something to handle the urges I still have to smoke. Even though I am in my mid-60s, and quit smoking when I was 23, I still get the urges to have a cigarette! I am under a lot of stress right now, with a new job, and so the urges are quite strong. But I agree, taking up smoking would be a big mistake and I don't plan to do so. I'm just suffering and don't know what to do about otherwise. However, vaping looks to be rather expensive, so I am supposing that it is not really an option for me either, unfortunately.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

Maybe find something fun and crafty, or productive around your place, to do with your hands while practicing breathing exercising that mimic the same breath work you'd be doing while smoking?

I remember the 4-4-4-4 breaths reminding me of smoking a bowl, you breathe in through your nose while counting to 4, hold it while counting to 4, exhale gently through your mouth while counting to 4, and then hold that space while counting to 4, rinse and repeat often. Increasing the count as you get more used to doing it.

It reminded me of taking a hit off a bowl or a joint, minus the smoke, but I discovered that oxygenating my cells via the breath work also felt good, not exactly like taking a hit, of course, but close enough to satisfy me, and so much healthier. Win/win. Now it's a regular part of each day, multiple times a day.

 

[anthony]

I am wondering how many of us smoke.

I gave up smoking back in 2004, I think it was. I had tried before, and successful for some years. Then I would start, then I would stop for months or years again. Last time was 2004... haven't since.

Smoking is often performed by those with anxiety. Any anxiety, smoking helps curb it. Most smokers are anxious without it, and many are still anxious with it. Go figure.

 

[Changing4Best]

Yup, I seem to recall that smoking eased some of my anxiety, but as soon as I put the dang thing out, the anxiety returned! Yer right, go figure....

 

[lostforgottensoul]

They were in the regular unit, with physical ailments

That is far to walk with a physical ailment! Our hospital won't allow you to smoke until you are in the parking lot. Cannot smoke next to or anywhere around the building.

In Kansas they said you could not smoke in your own car that is parked in the hospital parking lot. I said f*ck that! It's my car!

I gained a whole new level of respect, though, of non-smokers when I started to watch the vloggers The Frey Life. She has Cystic Fibrosis (a "lung disease") and they went to Scotland and everyone was smoking everywhere. It seemed 75% of the people walking or standing outside was smoking. She had a really hard time just going down the street, being pushed in a wheelchair. Which is sad.

So you never know, when you are upset about no smoking signs and no smoking policies or you want to smoke where you are asked not to, why that policy is there and who else might be in that location as well that smoke could be literally life or death for them.

Smoking is often performed by those with anxiety. Any anxiety, smoking helps curb it. Most smokers are anxious without it, and many are still anxious with it. Go figure.

Psychological. Nicotine is a stimulate. I never knew just how much smoking causes anxiety (mostly heart racing but also hard to breath without actual blood oxygen dropping at all so I call that anxiety and not the vapor) until I started to vap. I vap a lot at night while waiting for my sleeping meds to kick in and I have to force myself to slow down on it or put it down all together (though I normally pick it back up....addiction) due to this increased anxiety.

So, the cigs seem to ease anxiety but being a stimulate, that is just a psychological thing and also being a stimulate, it is why smokers are still anxious while smoking.

 

[Cannottakethis]

I started smoking in high school, in the 80s. Cigarettes were $1.10 back then. Quit several times, sometimes for a few years, but usually went back to it during a hospital visit or other stressful time. I quit for good September 8, 2010 in order to have a voluntary surgery. And I was ready. I was hating the taste, smell and inconvenience. I've gone through a divorce and about 6 hospitalizations so I think I'm good and won't go back.

I do smoke weed. I have a medical license for it in my state. I'd like to get the vaporizer for it but it's pretty pricey. We don't have anything but the actual flower here; no oils or edibles, so smoking is my only choice, but I don't smoke that the way I smoked cigarettes, throughout the entire day.

 

[Deanna]

I smoked in high school ( like Shells) in the 80's all the way to last year. I just stopped. I don't have smoker- hack or anything like that. A person wouldn't even know I was a smoker or ex-smoker. It was the money, I wasn't getting anything out of it. So, I quit. I stayed in bed for three days and I was really mad. I was mad because I thought I was suppose to be invincible after the three days. I guess that's an old-wives tale because it takes 3-4 weeks to start feeling better.

So, after about 4 weeks, I got real pissed and started again. I was smoking 1 cigarette a day but I had to do all over again. I went to bed for three days. I thought I'd be invincible after the three days and I was not. It took 3-4 weeks to start feeling better. Now it's been a little over a year, I think. I don't count because I really don't care. Non of family smoked. My dad did for a little while because my step mom smoked. I have no idea why cigarettes were hot in the 80's and 90's, but everyone had a cigarette in their hand. But I didn't count because I don't care.

Now, I don't smoke, drink and I cut out caffeine. I know one poster said if they thought about all the money they spent, it would be a lot. For me, it was the hand to mouth thing. It was so dumb because I absolutely didn't get one thing from smoking. Also I got tired of traveling to get them. They were too much maintenance and then they got waay too expensive for me.

I don't smoke pot because I have mental block to pot. I don't want to share "why".

 

[shogun20]

I smoke 1 cig per day. While I was working last year I'd smoke 5 - 10 cigs a day. (Doing crappy labor/construction helper cleanup. I so hate that) On my days off I went back to smoking only 1. I have done this for years and years. I am really good at doing a little tiny bit of things that are addictive rather than give them up. I was in my late twenties and I was smoking a pack a day and I was like "you have to cut back to almost nothing or you have to quit." So that's what I did. Cut back to almost nothing. I'm in my late fifties now. I'm happy with my level of smoking and glad I don't smoke more because how could anyone afford to smoke cigs at 10 bucks a pack what's up with that? Plus society has changed so much. I hate to say it but it's like only the trauma people smoke now lol. When I was a kid, everyone smoked!

 

[lawmax52]

I am wondering how many of us smoke. If you did or do smoke, what made you start? If you have quit,...

I started when I was about 13, I quit at 19 and started again at 43 the day after my mothers funeral. I quit again 5 years ago.
I quit because I knew that it was unhealthy. Also I was a chain smoker as it relieved stress, I lit one after another.

 

[EveHarrington]

I've heard it's the deep breathing that is a big part of the stress reduction factor. So maybe work more on your deep breathing? Doesn't vaping come with its own set of health issues?