I really have to quit smoking. I see so many detrimental health effects. but I‘m too addicted to do it cold turkey.

I have a bit of a plan. on wednesday, I‘ll see my GP and I‘n going to ask her for medical support. until then I‘ll go with nicotine puches. maybe I‘ll stick with them after too, I don‘t know yet. the nicotine will be taken care of in some way. also, I plan to ask my therapist for her advice too.

what made my previous attemts so hard was the ritual around smoking. get my rolling stuff, roll one, go outside and relax for 5 minutes. I‘m looking for ways how to replace it.

I‘m making a sand clock to have a visual reminder of the time, so I can still enjoy a little 5 minutes break whenever I need it. in the beginning I‘ll most combine it with a nicotine pouch or what my gp is going to recommend, get that sweet sweet drug into my system and relax, and hopefully, in time, fade it out. that‘s for future me to worry about though. right now I need to focus on getting rid of the smoking habit itself.

did anyone else find themselves in a similar situation? what little rituals did you use to replace smoking with? what made the first week or two easier? any advice welcome.

(please don‘t recommend books, I‘m looking for personal experiences)