COPD and Can’t Commit to Quitting Smoking

Oh boy! Do I ever know your current situation @peacelovejoy! I was a dedicated smoker of cigarettes for 42 years. It is an addiction. And to those who serve their cigarettes demands, the embarrassment of defending our little "friend" keeps us in a vicious cycle.
There is only one way to quit smoking.
What is it you ask?
The way that works for you! It is in YOUR power to stop, not a patch, not an e-cigarette, not gum...those all contain the drug you crave.
I quit January 8, 2018. For anyone with this addiction, you never forget the momentous day of ending your slavery to this little, stupid, liar. I said your same words... "I can't quit because I can't handle the stress in my life". Cigarettes lie. We think we need them to calm down. We need them to enjoy a party. We need them to think. We need them if we have a cocktail. We need them when we are happy. We need them when we are sad, mad, stressed. It's all a lie. The truth is it is an addiction. And it is the most powerfully addictive substance on Earth. More addicting than heroin. The withdrawals are nothing like heroin though...it's in our mind where the addiction lives.
May I suggest a book that really helped me? Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking. I found it fascinating how nicotine works in the brain, and the psychology behind all of it. It has been 5 years since I smoked my last cigarette. I will not say it was easy. It was really, really a battle in the beginning. But I wanted to be the one in control, not allow some stupid little object to control me. Cigarettes are liars! I won't say I still don't want one, but the times I crave them are further and further apart. I was so amazed one day when I realized I didn't even think of having a smoke once that day. That is when I knew...I made it! Every person is different. I quit cold turkey. I read that only 8% of cold turkey quitters make it. I am one of them. Some things that helped me in the very beginning: I went to the Dollar Store and got bags of hot cinnamon hard candy. I had a habit in the evening of smoking between commercials on TV, so when a commercial came on I would go straighten the linen closet, or my shoe rack, or the pantry, or my sock drawer. I kept my hands busy and my mind occupied with a task so I could ignore how badly I really wanted a smoke. It all worked eventually, but it was not easy. The Allen Carr book was helpful in the explanation of the little monster who lived in my head, demanding me, telling me, lying to me, that I "need" a cigarette. We need food, water, shelter, community. We do not need cigarettes.
I really do understand where you are coming from. I hated that I smoked. It's like we are outcasts in society and get dirty looks from people who are so much smarter and better then us. We are banned from buildings, and are just generally lowly people. I also really, truly believed, with all my heart, that I would never enjoy my life again without my little friend. I feared not having them when I was stressed. I needed them after all. But again, it is just a lie. So here is the truth: Stress will always be part of our lives, period. Whether you smoke or not, the cigarettes add no value, do not fix problems, and hurt your health. It's easy for others to look at a 600 pound person who eats all day and is going to die. Why don't they just stop eating? It's killing them! Or in your case, being diagnosed with COPD, knowing it is from your addiction. Why don't you just stop? It's killing you! It sounds easy to say unless you walk in your shoes. So @peacelovejoy, I do understand. I did walk in your shoes. And I pray you find the will to live your best life, free from the little liars as soon as possible. Make today be your last day spent serving your cigarettes, and tomorrow a new beginning. Free. The feeling of being free from them is amazing! Every year in January, I add up how much money I saved from not smoking. In my case it would be around $1,000. A year! Anyway, I buy myself a little something. Like a pair of boots. Or a pretty new outfit. The point is there is absolutely NO downside to quitting. You save your health, which is the most precious commodity, you save money, you feel better, smell better, and life is better. You know the downside. Nobody has to ask you, 'don't you know what you are doing to yourself?' Of course we know! We are just slaves to the little monster inside our head. Quitting changed my life for the better in ways I can't describe to you. Oh how I wish the same for you!
After you learn that cigarettes are just liars, what do you think will be the biggest obstacle you face?

@karukgirl Does Allan Carr tell people that cigarettes are liars ?

Hi @crystalena ,
Boy...I don't really remember now...I call them liars because the addiction part in our brains that is affected by the powerful nicotine substance is what is driving our cravings making us think we need one.
We don't need one. That's a lie...but that feeling we first get from the first puff is what makes those chemicals in our brain tell us we do. Then when we do , we satisfy the craving.
But it goes away and we need another one.
It's all in our heads.
I bought a used copy on Ebay, but have long ago passed it along...so I can't reference check myself!
Nicotine makes us slaves to it, and we have to break that cycle to get out.
The theory in his book can be applied to most anything, but in the Easy Way to Quit Smoking, it was written for smokers. He wrote more books dealing with other unhealthy addictions.
You are so wise to seek information, and so very strong that you conquered this for so many years. Truly and inspiration!

I could not have quit without Chantix. It saved my life.

@pamelaaci , I was a chain smoker for over 33 years. Cigarettes were my BFF. In fact, I had to get on an antidepressant also when I quit because I did feel like I lost my BFF. Unfortunately they had been with me since my teens.
I did Chantix first and got all the way down to 1 cigarette a day, and absolutely could not let that last one go. That's when my doctor prescribed Wellbutrin 150 two times per day. This helped me and got me over that hump I couldn't quite get over. I'm not saying it was some magic pill. I had to fight for my life!! I wanted to chew a mouthful of nails a few times! And my husband still smokes 🚬 all of my friends and family couldn't believe I wouldn't/didn't go in there an open a pack from his carton. I did not because I knew if I did that would be it! I'd be back with full time smoking again. Only by the Grace of God, the Chantix and Wellbutrin did I manage to quit. I just celebrated my 8 year anniversary ❤️ something I never wanted to do or thought I could do, but here I am. BTW, I battled Bladder Cancer because of my smoking. In November 2021 I was diagnosed with high grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. 3 years of BCG treatments and I remain cancer free almost 5 years later. Next cancer check November. Damn cigarettes I dislike you very much! Husband is sick right now because of them. The congestion is down in his chest. Only he can decide If and When or not....

@pamelaaci , I was a chain smoker for over 33 years. Cigarettes were my BFF. In fact, I had to get on an antidepressant also when I quit because I did feel like I lost my BFF. Unfortunately they had been with me since my teens.
I did Chantix first and got all the way down to 1 cigarette a day, and absolutely could not let that last one go. That's when my doctor prescribed Wellbutrin 150 two times per day. This helped me and got me over that hump I couldn't quite get over. I'm not saying it was some magic pill. I had to fight for my life!! I wanted to chew a mouthful of nails a few times! And my husband still smokes 🚬 all of my friends and family couldn't believe I wouldn't/didn't go in there an open a pack from his carton. I did not because I knew if I did that would be it! I'd be back with full time smoking again. Only by the Grace of God, the Chantix and Wellbutrin did I manage to quit. I just celebrated my 8 year anniversary ❤️ something I never wanted to do or thought I could do, but here I am. BTW, I battled Bladder Cancer because of my smoking. In November 2021 I was diagnosed with high grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. 3 years of BCG treatments and I remain cancer free almost 5 years later. Next cancer check November. Damn cigarettes I dislike you very much! Husband is sick right now because of them. The congestion is down in his chest. Only he can decide If and When or not....