Struggling with smoking....

[Zachariah2017]

Hello all,

I'm having a very hard time trying to quit smoking. My several attempts to quit all failed within a few days or a fortnights time. As a person born into an christian family, I'm also struggling with my faith and having doubts, after having gone through a very tough situation in life that made me question God's existence for a brief while.

Whenever i succeed in quitting for a few days, and when my withdrawal symptoms start to wane, some unfortunate coincidence-like event occurs in my life that brings me suffering and mental agony, that i restart the habit. Which is why i suspect there is some sort of spiritual warfare or force that fights against me with great power when i try to quit.

Is there anybody here who has quit the habit? I request your prayers and advice.

 

[GeorgeJ]

Smoking is an addiction, and NOT some sort of spiritual force fighting against you. Put that out of your head. It's a physical issue first and mental issue second, not a spiritual issue.

As for me, I quit smoking tobacco and started "vaping". Still gives the pleasure of smoking without the nasty smell and other harmful chemicals in cigarettes. Yes, I still get my nicotine fix, but you can start at one level and bring yourself down to zero nicotine over time.

You folks that have never smoked would never understand my "pleasure of smoking" statement, so don't even comment on that.

 

[RaymondG]

I know people who quit cold turkey through spiritual experiences and from natural. My father use to smoke a few packs a day.....37 years ago....not sure if the contents and size of them were the same as today...but it was packs of them every day. He "came to the Lord" and just quit.....never went back to them again.....could be a good reason why he is still in reasonable health 37 years later.

I know a colleague who smoked a few cigarettes everyday, had his first child and didnt want the child to be around the smoke and quit for almost 2 years now. I also know of a guy who was told by a DR that if he smoked one more.......he would die........never smoked again.

It seems to me to be a matter of the mind........what you think and believe. If you can believe it, you can achieve it. If you stop and then believe that something will happen to get you back on it again.....something will happen. If you believe you will die if you smoke and you want to live....you will stop with the side affect of only happiness.

We can give you advice but it only matters what you believe. If you what to quit, with no self affect and nothing to trigger you to go back...Ask for it and believe it will happen.....and it will.

 

[dqhall]

Hello all,

I'm having a very hard time trying to quit smoking. My several attempts to quit all failed within a few days or a fortnights time. As a person born into an christian family, I'm also struggling with my faith and having doubts, after having gone through a very tough situation in life that made me question God's existence for a brief while.

Whenever i succeed in quitting for a few days, and when my withdrawal symptoms start to wane, some unfortunate coincidence-like event occurs in my life that brings me suffering and mental agony, that i restart the habit. Which is why i suspect there is some sort of spiritual warfare or force that fights against me with great power when i try to quit.

Is there anybody here who has quit the habit? I request your prayers and advice.

I had to quit alcohol, drugs, sex and cigarettes in the same year when I was 22. It was by prayer, some Bible study and seeking Christian fellowship. A 12 step program helped me some, but it was Christianity that helped more. A female voice in my mind told me I must never smoke a cigarette as long as I live. It was not the voice of my girlfriend or a relative. I think it was like an angel. I am 58 and I do not smoke. I saw the price of a pack of cigarettes is over $5.00 the other day. I saved thousands of dollars and my health. My fingers do not stink. The walls are not yellow. It may have saved my life.

 

[RaymondG]

I had to quit alcohol, drugs, sex and cigarettes in the same year when I was 22. It was by prayer, some Bible study and seeking Christian fellowship. A 12 step program helped me some, but it was Christianity that helped more. A female voice in my mind told me I must never smoke a cigarette as long as I live. It was not the voice of my girlfriend or a relative. I think it was like an angel. I am 58 and I do not smoke. I saw the price of a pack of cigarettes is over $5.00 the other day. I saved thousands of dollars and my health. My fingers do not stink. The walls are not yellow. It may have saved my life.

$5!!!?? That is a steal.....They are over $15 here where i live.....state added double taxes on them to try and force people to quit....There is now a minimum selling price.

 

[Willing-heart]

Life after graduation can be quite a shock. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, who wanted to go back to Egypt, recent graduates often look back to their student days with nostalgia. When we long for the past we need to be reminded that we live in the presence and not in the past.
Defeating Addiction

 

[Waddler]

I've felt as you have, OP. I've quit before, only to start up again after a stressful event. Some of that stress even caused me to call myself an agnostic for a time. Today, I'm quitting. I'm concerned, but prayer and Bible study are helping. I'm just going to take it a day at a time, and ask God to show me grace when I'm overwhelmed by my cravings.

As for spiritual warfare, I thought it was, too. In reality, you've reached for cigarettes to deal with stress in the past, so you're just experiencing the stress of resisting an ingrained habit. It's psychological. It really helps to remember that the discomfort will fade after a while if you don't give in, but if you do, you'll regret it.

 

[Evie1980]

My quit smoking, now over 11 years ago, was a long journey. It took a really, really long time and even now I sometimes hang around smokers just to passive smoke. I was also born and raised in a Christian family and I thought that the journey would be easy. Like a magic wand, I desire it and it happens for me. That was far from the truth. My brother quit for a whole year using an alternate therapy plan and still went back to it. He isn't a Christian but the struggle is very real for him as well (he now uses an e-cig which looks like fun but alas I will never know as that is a rabbit hole I can't go down again).
Anyway, the real point I think I need to make is that your lack of progress in your quit shouldn't be impacting your belief. I know that is easier said than done but take it from someone who also wanted the easier quit - I learnt a lot about my faith when I was struggling through the quit. I had to rely on God in some of the most interesting, crazy, perplexing situations of my life. And that reliance took time and trust. I could have given up on quitting and/or on God during those times. There were many times I wanted to!
I am always thankful with how faithful God was to me. He provided resources (like this forum which I only joined for the quit smoking forum), guidance and people to keep me focused. I love how my journey is my own. Sure I can sum it all up in one sentence but quitting smoking changed so much more in my life than a simple habit.
I do hope this finds you well and is a blessing on to your life. One day, you will have your own quit story. It may not be the story you wanted nor easy to explain but it will be yours and it will provide so much blessing into your life.

 

[faroukfarouk]

My quit smoking, now over 11 years ago, was a long journey. It took a really, really long time and even now I sometimes hang around smokers just to passive smoke. I was also born and raised in a Christian family and I thought that the journey would be easy. Like a magic wand, I desire it and it happens for me. That was far from the truth. My brother quit for a whole year using an alternate therapy plan and still went back to it. He isn't a Christian but the struggle is very real for him as well (he now uses an e-cig which looks like fun but alas I will never know as that is a rabbit hole I can't go down again).
Anyway, the real point I think I need to make is that your lack of progress in your quit shouldn't be impacting your belief. I know that is easier said than done but take it from someone who also wanted the easier quit - I learnt a lot about my faith when I was struggling through the quit. I had to rely on God in some of the most interesting, crazy, perplexing situations of my life. And that reliance took time and trust. I could have given up on quitting and/or on God during those times. There were many times I wanted to!
I am always thankful with how faithful God was to me. He provided resources (like this forum which I only joined for the quit smoking forum), guidance and people to keep me focused. I love how my journey is my own. Sure I can sum it all up in one sentence but quitting smoking changed so much more in my life than a simple habit.
I do hope this finds you well and is a blessing on to your life. One day, you will have your own quit story. It may not be the story you wanted nor easy to explain but it will be yours and it will provide so much blessing into your life.

Hi, Evie1980! good to see you again; glad to know that you're quit and kept quit!

 

[Waddler]

"Part of what keeps me smoking are the people in my life who want me to quit the most." That's a cop out, an excuse, and a lie I tell myself. My dad especially wants me to quit, but he doesn't know how hard it is. And he expects perfection. The slightest slip, and he'll harp on it for weeks. It stresses me out, and as any smoker knows, stress creates a craving.

I think, in the future, I'll be more selective about who I'll reach out to for support. If my dad is going to stress me out, I'm going to refuse to talk about it with him at all. I need mercy from him, not condemnation.

I'm also concerned about the pain and discomfort. I refuse to use nicotine supplements to feed my addiction, but I may have to wean myself off cigarettes. Currently I smoke about 3/4 of a pack per day. There's such an emphasis on "quit now, wholesale, do it now!" that even having one puff can feel very defeating. But what if I resisted just one cigarette a day to begin with? Then two, then three?

Eventually I'd quit, at a pace that doesn't send me into a complete panic. I think that's what I'll go for: resisting one a day, then two, and on down to one. It's not ideal, but it might make it possible. Who knows? I might get down to five and realize I can just quit completely.

 

[Waddler]

You know what? No. Forget that. I just did the math on what I'm putting into myself, and how much it's costing me to do it.

616 milligrams of caffeine, or roughly six cups of coffee. Sometimes as much as 1,064 milligrams, or ten cups of coffee.

Throw in 15 cigarettes a day, and my addictions are costing me between $18 and $25 a day.

No. This cannot happen any more. I don't care who says what, and how much it stresses me out. I'm an adult, and it's time to make adult decisions. I quit. I'm sick of being sick, stressed, scared, and broke.

I'm about to go biblical on my addictions, in more ways than one.

 

[makeajoyfulnoise100]

I used to smoke tobacco, tea (oolong and green mostly), cannabis, and I used to vape. If I can quit so can you.

First, don't fear going back to the habit. Trust God to help you with your addiction. When you feel the physical withdrawals, replace the act of smoking to a healthier action. Drinking water, eating fruit, whatever.

When the fear starts creeping in pray that God gives you courage to overcome the urge then find your healthier alternative to smoking.

If you feel your faith waning then read more of God's Word. The more you read the more you'll know of God and God's story and how you can relate to Adonai (the Lord).

Hope this helps. Have a blessed day/night!

 

[faroukfarouk]

I used to smoke tobacco, tea (oolong and green mostly), cannabis, and I used to vape. If I can quit so can you.

First, don't fear going back to the habit. Trust God to help you with your addiction. When you feel the physical withdrawals, replace the act of smoking to a healthier action. Drinking water, eating fruit, whatever.

When the fear starts creeping in pray that God gives you courage to overcome the urge then find your healthier alternative to smoking.

If you feel your faith waning then read more of God's Word. The more you read the more you'll know of God and God's story and how you can relate to Adonai (the Lord).

Hope this helps. Have a blessed day/night!

Hi; congrats. on quitting; sounds like it was a while ago now.

Yes, I completely agree about the great benefits of a regular Bible reading habit.

 

[faroukfarouk]

...tea (oolong and green mostly), ...

PS: I hadn'd heard of smoking tea before! Interesting!