I've come to face the fact that those cravings may continue to pop up for a lifetime . Just wondering, I think I have a good chance of developing dementia in my later year, hoping if I do that I'll forget I ever smoked!?!
You will not be having cravings pop up for a lifetime unless you believe you are giving something up and are not willing to do so. Fighting to stay quit is a never-ending battle. Accepting the fact that nicotine is an addictive substance and you don't want to be an addict anymore is all that is required of you.
Otherwise, you will have a passing memory kinda' like "gee, I always used tp take a smoke break when I was doing a marathon Xmas shopping trip to the mall." A shake of your head and a reminder to yourself that "I don't do that anymore" is all that will be required.
Dementia is something I would not wish for my worst enemy. If it is of importance for you to know, you will get to a point where you will not remember anything from your previous life...smoking included.
You don't have to fight cravings forever. But I will agree with you, as a ten year+ quitter they CAN pop up any time. But as you have experienced yourself, they become fewer and father between WITH time. We just need to always watch our backs and be 'aware' of our weakness to this addiction. And have warning bells in place. And staying connected to this quit site (even if you only read, but better if you participate) will help ensure the needed cognizance to recognize a relapse trap when you see/feel one and skirt it.
Hello everyone, just wanted you all too know i am doing well still smoke free and enjoy everyday of my new life as a non smoker, yes i still have cravings but nothing like before and they are gone in a matter of seconds i am good with that.Hope all is well with all the ex smokers on this site. ...Sharon
I work with dementia every day and I have never witnessed exsmokers having cravings under these circumstances. Relax! Your Brain can come up with the strangest "reasons" to stay addicted!
The cravings may come, we learn to shout back NO! I don't do that any more. We have a toolbox full of tools and we learn how to stay free. All we really need to know is we have a choice and if we choose not to smoke we wont. It may not always be easy, but YOU are worth the effort! You can do this!
I read in your blog that your mother has dementia. I understand your concerns about getting it yourself. It's not only about genetics. There are a lot of things that you can do to reduce your chance of getting it yourself. Not smoking is one of them. But I'm sure you know this already, so I'm curious - what prompted your question?
I just think of them as smoking thoughts and then I replace them with the thoughts of all of the benefits of being an EX smoker. You know what they are!
