Hi Cheryl
I’m 5 days into it, also. My method of choice is cold turkey. I’ve never tried
the patch before, but I did do Wellbutrin- which was my longest previous quit.
Unfortunately, I relied too much on the pill, didn’t really try to identify any
reasons for smoking, or change any of my thoughts about smoking-so I lit up soon
after I stopped taking it. If I would have known about cognitive quitting at
the time, it might have been different. I hated being a smoker; no one in my
family smokes, my husband quit a few years ago and most of my friends quit. I
smoked almost totally as a response to the whole spectrum of emotions, anywhere
from intense joy to intense sadness; they all needed a cig to go with them. I
lost my last quit bc I had a terrible toothache and couldn’t fathom going
through the pain without a cig, even though rationally I knew the heat and
chemicals in the smoke were making the pain worse (I could have used some ABCs
that day!)
Cognitive quitting helps get to the source of why I smoke, rather than just
hanging on and hoping for the best. It has given me an alternative to listening
to the “little voice” over and over, like a broken record; I now have a formula
I can apply to those conversations.
Whew! Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on ya, but I strongly believe that a
cognitive approach can help anyone who is trying to change a behavior.
Good luck and happy 5th day!
Kris