Young smoker and I need help.

[Oslo]

Hi, I am a 22 years old male from Eastern Europe and I am happy to find this forum and introduce myself, as well as telling a short story of what led me to make the decision to quit smoking.

 

I started smoking ciggarettes when I was 14 years old, by 17 I was a regular one-pack-a-day smoker and been so since. In the last 2 years I started to feel the downsides of this addiction. Everyday I wake up and go throughout the day coughing and having difficulty doing any sort of physical activity, my heart is sometimes skipping beats and my anxiety attacks worsened. Over the last year I had numerous respiratory infections and spent over 40% of my total income on ciggarettes. I feel that smoking is consuming my health, and I am afraid, as I have a history of heart attacks in my family, including my father which died when I was in my teens (he never smoked). 

 

In the recent years I have considered quitting smoking, and  my doctors also advised me to. I had a lot of failed attempts to quit (that lasted for 2-5 days at best), mainly because I never truly commited to my decision and a strong urge was enough to make me go back to ciggarettes. After all the failed attempts to quit, people close to me have lost any faith that I will ever be succesful, and unfortunately, so did I. 

The most haunting thought that I have is that my health will worsen to a point of no return, and even though I was aware that by quitting smoking I could've avoided any complication, I continued to smoke. I could never bear with this situation.

 

I fear for the worst if I continue smoking, every passing day, this addiction is affecting me more and more, mentally, physically, financially and socially. I have to quit, I am convinced of this, but I want to have a strong desire to do so, else I fear that I will fail again. 

 

I am happy to find this community and I hope that I can get here the support and trust that I can no longer recieve from  people close to me after failing them so many times. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

[intoxicated yoda]

Hi @Oslo Welcome aboard the train.  If you continue to smoke sooner or later the worst will happen.  Quitting smoking is simple but it's not easy.  There is a ton of material on this board to get you informed and a bunch of good people here who will help you as much as they can.  No one can quit for you but if you use the resources here it can make the process much more bearable

[Paul723]

Do not be afraid of quitting.  Attitude is a powerful thing to help you.  You won't like the first couple of weeks as the nicotine leaves your body but then your body will start to heal itself.  When you feel the withdrawal from nicotine know that it can't hurt you and that it will pass.  They will get weaker and weaker as time goes on.  

[KEL]

Welcome. It does get easier. Stick around, read everything you can. Just about any smoking related (or other issue) has been processed on this forum. There is no judgment only a group of folks who, like you, are (were) totally hooked on this deadly addiction. 

Glad you are here.

[nicotine_free]

You can quit it's just not easy. I am still getting thoughts of smoking and cravings after a few days. I need to stop for my health and it sounds like you do too. You came to the right place for support, use it. I hope you stick around and give quitting a real effort.

[jillar]

Welcome @Oslo, you're a wise young man to realize you need to quit at your age. If I had of quit at 22 I probably wouldn't be hooked up to an oxygen leash all day long. Yes, that's the reality of continuing to smoke. You're already seeing your health decline. I did too. Don't be me. 

You CAN quit, we're all proof of that. And at your age you should be able to reverse most of the damage done, if not all of it.

We have a ton of information on our addiction including a video section if that's more your thing. And an SOS board so if you feel your quit is in jeopardy you can post there and we'll try our best to get you through it

[Doreensfree]

Hello and welcome @Oslo.....

What a wise young man you are ...I smoked for over 60 years before I Quit... don't t let this be you ... 

You can do it ..All you need to do is Make that promise to yourself to never Smoke another cigarette ..Ever.

Take the time to read all you can here ...The Main Smoking Discussion Board is a great place to start 

all the post pinned with green will get you started ...

Get Familiar with board ...Join in ..play games ...The more you your here ,the better it will be ...

Ask any questions or concerns ...don't worry ..we have heard it all...

Glad your here .

 

[Jordan7]

Welcome, Oslo, and great job realizing that it's time to quit smoking and taking the initiative to find this forum.  It only gets harder to quit as the days, weeks, months and years of smoking add up, so today would be a great day to set them aside and start on your smoke free future.   You've already realized that smoking is only taking away from your life (worse health, less money, and strained relationships) and is giving nothing back in return except for the cravings for the next cigarette (and the next and the next and the next...it never ends until you break the cycle).   We're very glad you found us and will be here to cheer you on all the way.  

[Boo]

Welcome aboard Oslo.

 

When I was your age, I still had a naive sense of invincibility.  Congratulations, you're ahead of the curve.

 

8 hours ago, Oslo said:

I fear for the worst if I continue smoking, every passing day, this addiction is affecting me more and more, mentally, physically, financially and socially. I have to quit, I am convinced of this, but I want to have a strong desire to do so, else I fear that I will fail again. 

 

Desires and motivations are nice but fickle.  Solid quits are built on a commitment to yourself.  You recognize the need to quit.  Now is the time to commit and be relentless with that commitment.

 

It is a simple process with only two incontrovertible rules: (1) DON'T SMOKE! and (2) If you have any further questions, refer back to rule number one.

 

Quitting smoking will leave you with only one regret...not quitting sooner.

[jillar]

16 minutes ago, Boo said:

Quitting smoking will leave you with only one regret...not quitting sooner.

THIS^^ 

[johnny5]

Welcome Oslo.  You are doing a great thing in quitting, especially at an early age.

 

56 minutes ago, Boo said:

Quitting smoking will leave you with only one regret...not quitting sooner.

 

As Boo posted and Jill re-quoted, successfully quitting has no regrets, only not having done that sooner.  That was perfectly put. 

 

There are tons of benefits to quitting and aside from any early, short term struggles (which are temporary), there is no downside to quitting.

 

Welcome again.  You are doing a great thing.

[Sunnyside]

Good for you @Oslo for realising while you are still young that this addiction isn't worth giving it anymore of your time. 

 

You have already tried and failed lots of times, that says alot about the fact you are serious about quitting. Now has to be the commitment from you that no matter how bad the craving are at first you have to do anything else but smoke.

 

Have a look around watch some of the videos and get yourself in the right mind set to quit, we will be with you all the way  

[Gus]

Welcome aboard @Oslo! I’m glad that you found us and it’s a great thing that you recognize the need to quit smoking while you are still young. It’s not the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but it is so very worth it! Read everything you can on this site. It’s all good and so very helpful. I especially hope that if you feel that you are going to cave to a crave, you will reach out to us on our SOS forum. Someone is almost always on and we all really want to see newbies succeed with their quit, so we do our best to talk you through it. I’m looking forward to following your quit. Don’t worry about those that doubt you or have lost faith in you. This is for YOU. Your health. Your life. See you around.

[Rozuki]

Welcome, @Oslo! You have found a great place to help you out on your quit journey...knowledge is power so read everything you can here, watch the videos and participate in the forums. Don't let the fact that you have tried to quit before, and failed, stop you from trying again... you can do this! 

[Oslo]

@intoxicated yoda, @Paul723, @KEL, @nicotine_free, @jillar, @Doreensfree, @Jordan7, @Boo, @johnny5, @Sunnyside, @Gus, @Rozuki Thank you for encouraging and welcoming me with such warmth! After taking some days to read and re-read your comments and all the pinned threads on the forum and blog posts, I now better understand this addiction, the mechanics behind it and how to prevent relapses. I decided to forever quit smoking and after receiveing so much encouragement, I know and really believe this attempt will be succesful! I am happy to hop in the Quit Train and hope I will never leave it! Today, 17 february, marks my first day of freedom in over 8 years.

 

[Kris]

@OsloGlad you are here and making the decision to change your life for the better. It will be rough at times but you can do it. 

[Sunnyside]

@Oslohappy to have you on the train to freedom! You have got this  

 

[garry mhudson]

Welcome aboard Oslo. Wise decision to quit at a young age. I spent most my life smoking and wish I had done it much earlier. Best wishes and hang in there.

[KEL]

@OsloAnd that is just it: FREEDOM. As much as we struggle with cessation, we have to acknowledge that not smoking is much easier than smoking. I am finding that my mind has been freed up for other things and my body certainly feels better. You have this to look forward to and very quickly. Know that there will be rough days but life isn't easy for anyone. Smoking doesn't make the rough days any easier and, in fact, creates more difficulty.

Welcome aboard-stay close and reach out if you need help or (my favorite) want to share some success!

[Jordan7]

Yay for you, Oslo! You're on your way and there's no looking back.  

[jillar]

Great decision @Oslo, you got this!

[Sunshine]

Hi Oslo.  I am new too and still learning my way around.  Wish I had quit at a young age. Very smart move on your part. Can't offer much advice at this point but what has helped me is reading and learning about this addiction. Glad to be sharing this journey with you.

[Doreensfree]

Great desision ....

looking forward to getting to know you better ...and travelling with you ,on your ride to Freedom.

[johnny5]

That's a great decision, Oslo.  You can do this!

[Boo]

10 hours ago, Oslo said:

 Today, 17 february, marks my first day of freedom in over 8 years.

 

Great call Oslo.

 

Enjoy the ride.