Combat Smoking While Studying? Forum

[XtraordinaryMachine]

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[James Bond]

Blow

no but seriously, I heard exercise helps. certainly not first hand knowledge though

[bissey]

Search much?

One of many:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=92958

[RMstratosphere]

Don't replace.
Cowboy up and quit.
/Thread.

[MC Southstar]

Find a woman you love who also hates smoking.

[XtraordinaryMachine]

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[izzer]

Get the book The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Alan Carr. Quick read, you have to smoke the whole time you read it, and by the end you are done. The only warning is he makes it extremely easy to quit but it's also very easy to get cocky and start up... which is why I'm on my 3rd time through it.

[tallboone]

Did "The Easy Way" really work for anyone else? Now i'm curious. As for quitting...if you are going to be taking the February test, now is not the time to quit. You should keep doing whatever vices have allowed you to get to this point, and you can work on self-help after the test is over.

[tallboone]

Oh, missed the "June/october" thing...why are you studying this early in the year for june?

[Welp2277]

So I picked up the nasty habit in college and can't seem to kick it permanently. I smoke <pack a day for 4 years. I am now studying for the June/Oct LSAT and need to jump 20 points (you can imagine the stress!!). For you former smokers (or not), what have you replaced smoking with? Also, the gum, patch, and other nicotine alternatives are not an issue, as smoking is more psychological for me (I've quit cold turkey for months before).

Thanks!

FWIW I started running. It worked and I've quit smoking. As an added bonus I also lost 20 lbs where many who quit gain weight. The only problem is now I'm addicted to exercise.... wait that's not a problem at all. My advice: get your ass in the gym and quit smoking. You'll be happier for it.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

Pop a dip in while in the library . . . haha, just joking; but I have seen it done before.

[reasonabledoubt]

So I picked up the nasty habit in college and can't seem to kick it permanently. I smoke <pack a day for 4 years. I am now studying for the June/Oct LSAT and need to jump 20 points (you can imagine the stress!!). For you former smokers (or not), what have you replaced smoking with? Also, the gum, patch, and other nicotine alternatives are not an issue, as smoking is more psychological for me (I've quit cold turkey for months before).

Thanks!

Lol @ "psychological" because of the context you're using it in. Cartesian mind/body debates notwithstanding, and assuming your mind is part of your body, of course it's psychological which is also quite physical. Nicotine = real effect on neurotransmitters, it's not just "psychological" in the sense you've described. There's more: When you inhale cigarette smoke, nicotine is rapidly absorbed into blood and starts affecting brain within 10 seconds. The result is the release of adrenaline, the "fight or flight" hormone. Physically, adrenaline increases your heart rate, blood pressure and restricts blood flow to the heart. Then, you experience more rapid, shallow breathing. Adrenaline also instructs the body to dump excess glucose into the bloodstream. A lot of this is far more than just "psychological."

[jonas586]

You're probably not going to get many helpful answers to this question because there is only a limited amount of solutions to the problem. Whether your addiction to smoking is psychological or physiological is irrelevant; either way it takes extraordinary commitment and will power to quit.

Personally, I don't think quitting while studying for the LSAT is the best way to go. It will only serve to compound your stress levels and drain your mental energy. I was also a < 1 pack a day smoker, and instead of quitting, I slowly reduced the amount of cigarettes I smoked every day. It averaged out to about one-less cigarette per week, so the change was slow, but by the time I took the test I was averaging around 3-4 cigarettes a day and it wasn't difficult at all going without during the test. Also, during this time I would make sure that I didn't smoke between 8 am and 1 pm to train my body (or in your case, your mind) to go without cigarettes during the time of the test.

I also feel like this method made my LSAT preparation a thousand times less stressful since I wasn't having to struggle with the difficulty of quitting at the same time.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

You're probably not going to get many helpful answers to this question because there is only a limited amount of solutions to the problem. Whether your addiction to smoking is psychological or physiological is irrelevant; either way it takes extraordinary commitment and will power to quit.

Personally, I don't think quitting while studying for the LSAT is the best way to go. It will only serve to compound your stress levels and drain your mental energy. I was also a < 1 pack a day smoker, and instead of quitting, I slowly reduced the amount of cigarettes I smoked every day. It averaged out to about one-less cigarette per week, so the change was slow, but by the time I took the test I was averaging around 3-4 cigarettes a day and it wasn't difficult at all going without during the test. Also, during this time I would make sure that I didn't smoke between 8 am and 1 pm to train my body (or in your case, your mind) to go without cigarettes during the time of the test.

I also feel like this method made my LSAT preparation a thousand times less stressful since I wasn't having to struggle with the difficulty of quitting at the same time.

Good advice. I purposely did not try to quit smoking during my 1L year just because I was already stressed out enough. Smoked like a chimney as a 1L. The last thing I needed was the added stress of trying to quit smoking. I quit soon after my last final of the spring semester and haven't had one since.

[macattaq]

I think that using the logic of "what you're doing is stressful enough, therefore don't quit" is bunk. There's always going to be something stressful to deal with. A thesis, law school applications, 1L first semester, 1L job apps, OCI, bar prep and exam, etc. If you want to quit, which the fact that you are posting on an internet forum for help in quitting suggests, then do it. "The easy way" may help you in the short term, but in the long term, you need to be aware of what triggers you to smoke. If you find yourself linking smoking to stress, then you should find other ways of combating that stress. Someone before me mentioned exercise, and that is a great idea. Another method of relieving stress is meditation, which can be difficult to pick up at first. It can pay massive dividends in the end though, particularly in terms of concentration and patience.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

I think that using the logic of "what you're doing is stressful enough, therefore don't quit" is bunk. There's always going to be something stressful to deal with. A thesis, law school applications, 1L first semester, 1L job apps, OCI, bar prep and exam, etc. If you want to quit, which the fact that you are posting on an internet forum for help in quitting suggests, then do it. "The easy way" may help you in the short term, but in the long term, you need to be aware of what triggers you to smoke. If you find yourself linking smoking to stress, then you should find other ways of combating that stress. Someone before me mentioned exercise, and that is a great idea. Another method of relieving stress is meditation, which can be difficult to pick up at first. It can pay massive dividends in the end though, particularly in terms of concentration and patience.

Let me ask you, have you ever been addicted to cigarettes? And did you successfully quit? I hope so, if you are on here dispensing advice on how to quit. Seriously, I don't mean to come off like an a**hole, but you didn't mention that your theories on quitting actually worked for yourself, so it's a fair question.

That said, you make a good point in that there's always going to be stress. I never said don't quit if you are experiencing stress. I think the first year of law school is more stressful than most other things, which makes it unique. I said, don't worry about quitting during your first year. I said this from my experience. I quit once finals were over. It worked for me. And yes, there were still some stressful things to deal with when I quit (summer job, transfer apps, finishing a paper, etc.), but it was less stressful than the day to day grind of being a first year law student.

[macattaq]

Yes, I actually did smoke. I quit partway through taking an intensive summer class. Haven't smoked since.

[Grizz]

Pop a dip in while in the library . . . haha, just joking; but I have seen it done before.

I will still throw in a lip occasionally (about once a week), but I did give up cigs (used to smoke 1/2 to 1 pack/day). I actually did not dip when I was quitting. Cigarettes are psychological for me as well. Exercise really helped, because it sucks to smoke and run, plus my girlfriend hated cigs.

It's easy to just not buy a pack, but being around people who smoke makes it easy to bum. I would avoid those people when they were smoking (difficult, but not impossible). During my psychological trigger times (after meals, studying, at bars etc.) I would try my best to do something to try keep my mind off it, but often I just had to suck it up and be miserable.

Stay strong, it's not impossible if you really want to. If you don't want to quit but just feel like you should then it's going to be a lot harder.

[XtraordinaryMachine]

Thanks to everyone who responded!

I have decided to 'cowboy up' and just do 10 minute runs when i have a craving (you can imagine what my running shoes look like now--eeek!)

This is my 6th day cig free! WOO-HOO!!

[Grizz]

Thanks to everyone who responded!

I have decided to 'cowboy up' and just do 10 minute runs when i have a craving (you can imagine what my running shoes look like now--eeek!)

This is my 6th day cig free! WOO-HOO!!

Congrats! You should be proud of yourself. The running is a great idea.

[macattaq]

Thanks to everyone who responded!

I have decided to 'cowboy up' and just do 10 minute runs when i have a craving (you can imagine what my running shoes look like now--eeek!)

This is my 6th day cig free! WOO-HOO!!

Congrats! You should be proud of yourself. The running is a great idea.

Seriously, congrats! Also, you'll probably see an increase in libido, as well as stamina. Go get some ladies (or dudes, whatever)!

[sophie316]

I'm one of the only people I know that had success with cutting down slowly. I got down to one a day(after smoking ~ a pack a day for 6 years) and then after that it was easier to just stop having the one. I quit sept 08 and since then have smoked 3 cigs(one the day i got my lsat results, one after I took my last final last semester as a reward for not smoking at all during finals and one on NYE). I don't even miss it anymore really, you get used to it.

[Mike12188]

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[lawman335]

i dont think smoking helps u to study well , better suggest you to quit smoking ...........

[maks25]

I quit smoking solely because of the lsat...I found not having a smoke helped me think clearer. I also hit the gym between lsat study breaks. For example I would write 4 sections in the morning, then hit the gym, and the practice another 4 sections later in the day.