Well, my first approach to kicking the habit was unsuccessful. It is official: I am no cold turkey. I made it to the three day mark without having one cigarette, but over the weekend I succumbed to the cursed habit and smoked several cigarettes. Having been smoking consistently for almost three years now, it was simply too difficult for me to maintain the will power to quit cigarettes cold turkey. During my three days of tobacco free life, I suffered strongly from the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. I craved cigarettes intensely and noticed marked, unusually irritable behavior in myself. At night it was difficult for me to fall asleep having not smoked a cigarette all day.
Right now I am at a crossroads and am unsure of my next approach of how to kick the habit. I am in a continual process of researching the techniques and options that exist for quitting. While I have been considering perhaps using Nicorette gum or the patch, these products are extremely expensive and I also read online that the true effectiveness rate of these products is only 7%. Chantix seemed like a perfect remedy but in my previous post I outlined the strong reasoning for why I will not be using this product.
Recently I visited University of Rhode Island Health Services with flu-like symptoms. During my meeting with my doctor, he asked me if I smoked, I said yes, but told him about my battle to quit. He informed me of free clinics held bi-weekly at Health Services that are designed to assist students trying to quit through hypnosis. He told me that he knows for a fact that this has helped many students quit smoking. While I am extremely skeptical about the power of hypnosis, there is one thing that is highly attractive about this potential avenue: It is free. Living off an extremely tight budget here at URI, I simply can't afford products like Nicorette. As I said, I am pretty doubtful about the power of hypnosis, but at this point, I'm willing to try anything. Also, the fact that Health Services would actually take the time to conduct these clinics indicates to me that perhaps it can be an effective remedy. Plus, I've never been hypnotized. Even if it doesn't help me quit smoking, it will be an interesting experience. Sign me up!
No comments:
Post a Comment