2001-07-13 - 12:51 a.m.
I have been trying to quit cigarettes. Perhaps to say quit is too harsh. Cut down, minimise the addiction, reduce dependence, etc. Apart from putting on 3 kilos and walking around like a cranky bitch, I have accomplished little. I tried cold turkey for 4 days, placing myself under strict house arrest. On the fifth day, I rushed out, and chain-smoked half a pack. I remember thinking to myself then, 'This is bliss. What the hell was I thinking?'. I put it down to a matter of readiness. Let's draw another parallel.
Say I was trying to quit a relationship. I attempted to leave him several times before, only to have lapsed back into the routine, succumbed to my cravings. Everytime, I did what the experts recommended- wrote up a list of pros and cons, built up a strong support system (consisting friends, family, and plenty of alcohol), I even planned a holiday. Friends may have pleaded with me to follow through with it, family may have begged for me to live again. Even I thought I was prepared to execute it. But time and again I failed, and I thought at first I was just weak. Weak-minded, weak-willed, of weak character. And then one day, I decided I was finally ready enough. I was prepared to live with the consequences, I was ready to give up whatever good there was in the relationship, and most importantly I knew there would be absolutely no looking back.
The point of this long example? Quitting cigarettes is no different from quitting anything else. It's not about being strong-willed. It's about being ready to deal with the absence of something which has been an integral part of you. A million people could tell you to quit, but unless you are ready yourself, you can't do so thoroughly. When you've established that readiness, going cold turkey would best guarantee no relapses. Without traces to tempt you, without the phonecalls and letters to confuse you with a cauldron of guilt, lonliness, vulnerability and convenience, chances of sticking to your guns would be high. And when you cease to consciously suppress cravings and regrets, you've mastered the quit trick.
