So my body decides to tell me no more smoking

[GeneralElectric]

So I've been smoking cigarettes since I was probably 12 or 13 years old and I'm 22 now. This has been pretty much non stop aside from maybe a few months here and there of non smoking. Currently I smoke about half a pack to a pack a day and every year I get sick throughout the fall and winter.

Last year I had several recurring bouts of tonsillitis and now I've pneumonia. No kidding, I had a fever well over 100 degrees and it felt like my eyes and ears were going to explode. I spent my day in the ER yesterday to be seen by a doctor. I felt patently awful and I couldn't stop sweating and hawking up chunks of green goop. So far as I know there isn't anything green in your body. At least there shouldn't be...

My problem with smoking, is that its not so much a nicotine thing for me. I'm very antisocial by nature and I don't want to be. Cigarettes help me with my social anxiety. I can just step outside for 10 minutes to smoke one and not have to deal with anyone, or puff on one in the middle of a conversation and collect my thoughts.

So I guess this is it for me and my love of cigarettes. You were a harsh but sweet mistress.

[kesslari]

You will find another coping mechanism. And for an anti-social guy, you're pretty awesome in your dealings with others. I recall at least one entire, very long thread on that topic.

Hang in there, amigo. You'll be much the better for it.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

So far as I know there isn't anything green in your body. At least there shouldn't be...

I think bile, made in the gallbladder, can be greenish in color.

Anyway, quit smoking, I guess. I hear its good for you. Im attempting to follow my own advice.

[MonetBass]

My father dying of cancer at the age of 34 as a direct result of smoking told me to never start!

+1 to kesslari's comments. You're a good soul and I'm sure you'll work it out. Be good to your body, man!

[Skitch it!]

I always considered green mucus to be a sign of bacterial infection, the link has some info. Best of luck with giving up, I've still to give it my all on that one unfortunately

Green Mucus: Causes Symptoms and Treatment

[Relic]

Ah yeah the whole "social anxiety" thing... when I smoked it was for much the same reason. You're going to have to quit, it's killing ya. You know it...
Quitting is tough but doable. Might as well just get it over with. Good luck dude!

[Randall]

Well you can spend less money on cigs and more moola on gear

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Social anxiety?

You're on a bass player forum, welcome to the world of anti social wierdos!

[mrb1974]

You are relatively young and still have, I suspect, that invinciple feeling within you. Nicotine is more addictive than smack. Try the patch and also, you must substitue the ritual of smoking with something else. I didn't start but only about 3 a day when I was 50, that was 5 years ago. If I decide to start running again, it will be MUCH easier for me to quit. Besiges at my age, I have to start thinking about how much time I'm gonna have left to to really measter the bass. Plz, just don't become one of those overzealous anti-smokers - they are just too much. I'm sure u can get gum or the patch for a low cost or free and start putting pressure on your lungs. Most people feel find until they try and run 3 miles, then there's a big difference. Good luck. Why is this question here? If you want to hear better further into your old age - stop smoking!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nature, gives no free lunches. Good luck.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Social anxiety?

You're on a bass player forum, welcome to the world of anti social wierdos!

Is that why we play bass? No wonder us bass players tend to have so much in common...

[MJ5150]

Maybe this will afford you the chance to get to the root of your social anxiety and overcome it. Best wishes on your path kind sir.

-Mike

[GeneralElectric]

Yar, I should've quit last year when I almost lost my tonsils. Or I should've quit in 2008 when my father died from lymphoma/lung cancer.

[TBird1958]

It isn't easy but quit.........The bacon you love so much will taste even better.

[runmikeyrun]

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death... so good on you for quitting! You'll adapt to the social anxiety. Force yourself to face your fear and your brain will adapt and the social anxiety will abate. I used to suffer panic attacks as a kid and teenager. So I decided to become a paramedic/firefighter at 18. After a rough first few months I never had another panic attack again.

[Chebass88]

Use your current sickness to your advantage. When you get better, don't smoke any more. Don't futz around with a patch or any other placebo smoking devices. Just quit. If your mind is strong enough, you can do it. If not, work to make it stronger, and decide if you want to quit badly enough.

[Ziltoid]

e-cigs then perhaps a "real quit"?

[Muziekschuur]

More sex lad..... It's the Answer........ (Bob Marley told me so...... ) And Reggae is the best rytmn for Sex man....

[fhm555]

I once told a shrink I was anti social. He corrected me by remarking I was in fact asocial.

Apparently the difference is an asocial has no innate need for social interaction to feel complete. it can make one awkward around strangers, but in the shrink's opinion, asocials tend to be more self sufficient and better able to function under stress than their company craving counterparts

Anti social is one who is actively attempting to tear down the prevailing system of social norms.

I don't care how people act in a group setting, I just have no need to be a part of that group to feel whole.

But I'm wandering off the res...

I quit smoking after waking up in a hospital bed with 20 pounds of sand on my leg where they had punched in to the big assed blood vessel in my thigh to install a heart stint. I came up out of a dream to find my doctor standing over me explaining how he's done everything he could for me without cracking my chest. He went on to explain how important it was I quit smoking...I took him at his word and have not smoked since.

Fortunately you are smart enough to not need a medical professional (or near life ending experience) to tell you how important it is to quit.

I was motivated enough by fear to not need it, but I know 3 people who quit with the aid of hypnosis. It took one of them a couple sessions for it to stick, but it's been a couple years for him now and so far so good.

Good luck and godspeed.

Oh and BTW, just because you don't care about hanging around other folks, we here have grown kind of fond of you so what say you help us keep you around for a while longer...

[Kawai-chang]

I did it, you can too.

[sloasdaylight]

I went and bought an electronic cigarette kit at a gas station over a week ago, and haven't wanted a real cigarette once, and I've noticed I now want less nicotine during the day. Some people don't like them or think they don't work, but for me, so far, they have.