Slipping and Sliding - Tales of Trouble Part III

[Giulia]

Patty Permalink Reply by Patty on June 18, 2008 at 5:51am
         Most of my quits that are less then a month fail cause of rage... I will have a fight with the spouse and then i will run to the gas station and get a pack...sometime i will start the fight just knowing that i will end up smoking! I am learning to not let my emotions get me back into the niotine trap!
    8 years ago i had quit for two years...Was doing Great ! Started a new job and met a girl that i became best friends with. Well her husband was in a band and she had invited My husband and I out to watch the band one night. After drinking a few, I asked her for a smoke and my husband saw this and Said.... "You Know that thats a mistake?" I said Yeah i know and lit it anywayz.... Then he asked for one too (he was 2 yrs quit too) and then we became smokers again!
    I know know that I HAVE to stay away from that ONE cigarrette!!!
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on June 18, 2008 at 8:43pm
    Thanks for your post, Patty. Wow. Yeah. Anger and drinking. Two major relapse traps. It's all about staying away from that ONE, isn't it?!!!!
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on June 30, 2008 at 9:59am
         (This was posted by Reshad on June 30, 2008:)
    It's easy to slip back in...
    I had quit for almost 8 years and I ended up slipping, It was a gradual thing, "oh I'll just have one today with this drink", then it turned into 2 and pretty soon I was a full blown smoker, buying my own ciggs and now I am/was up to a pack a day, I guess my point to this blog is that to remember you can never quit, all of us out there are just not smoking right now, if you keep that in mind you should be able to stay away from ciggs... it's a black hole that can suck you up at any time, Stay on your guard...
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V Permalink Reply by V on July 3, 2008 at 4:36pm
         I am so glad I read these posted replies. I started slipping because of pain. One would think that after being near deaths door the last thing that person would want would be a cig. When I realized what I was doing I stopped. Thank goodness I never smoked more than one or two a day gee how stupid of me. I am now smoke free for almost two years. Lesson learned think think what are you doing and why. Some times we dont know why. The Golden Rule Not One Puff Ever. Proud to be a non smoker
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Carlie Permalink Reply by Carlie on July 3, 2008 at 5:29pm
         I found this earlier today, and posted on it - I thought it was a really good topic...
    Gosh - 2 years; glad you are staying a quitter !!! There are SO many lessons to be learned...and anything that keeps us smoke-free, is a lesson well-learned !!!!
    Day 3 and counting !!!!
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on July 4, 2008 at 3:03pm
        Thanks to you V, I'm starting a new Trap called the Pain Trap. Congratulations on the length of your quit. Keep it close.
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Carlie Permalink Reply by Carlie on July 3, 2008 at 12:11pm
         I thought it would be a good idea to bring this post up top again...it's really relevant !!!
    I'm on Day 3, and doing fine (boy - am I surprised!) My husband made a comment the other night, that as long as one of my kids don't show up, I have a chance of succeeding !! I realized he was right !!! I have 2 grown kids - each with their own set of problems. I had quit for 9 months one time, when my daughter showed up, needed some "help" and after staying with us for 1 week, I was smoking again. Darn near needed therapy !!!
    When I had quit for a whole year one time, my son and his girlfriend showed up at my door - needing help. Only took me 3 days to start smoking that time - his girlfriend was a wacko !!!
    I wasn't aware of my triggers well enough to know what set me off - much less fight it off !!! I'm definately going to be more aware and vigilant this time !!!!
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on July 3, 2008 at 8:20pm
         Great lessons learned. But beyond ALL of that you have to learn to say NO, no matter what, no matter children, no matter tension, no matter grief, no matter boredom, no matter anger, no matter celebrations, no matter fond memories, no matter being drunk, no matter "I don't know why I picked one up." It's about making a decision to say NO - NO MATTER WHAT. And THAT is what will keep you smoke free FOREVER. A 100% commitment. - no matter what. Have you got it?
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Carlie Permalink Reply by Carlie on July 4, 2008 at 11:22am
      Ha - love you, girl.....YES - I've got it !!!!
    To all those "no matters".....I quit drinking 16 years ago - not a drop since; no matter what !!! I am treating this nicotine addiction the same way...no matter what !!!
    I sure appreciate what you say...and ALL the support I get here !!!! ...Thanks....
    Day 4 and counting...and LOVIN' IT !!!!
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Jim Taddeo Permalink Reply by Jim Taddeo on July 5, 2008 at 4:15am
         Hello all,
    I'll mind my manners and tounge over here if you folks don't mind. 🙂 It is very simple for me, I'm an addict, period! If I touch it I will use it without control, period. Start and stop, stop and start are cop-out rationalizations for me that fool me into believing I ever had control to begin with. It simply is not true! When that slams home to my addict psyche I am good to go. NEVER AGAIN. My Higher Power says NEVER AGAIN! If I do I'll be right back where I started. Period! Strait, tough, and simple. I'm lucky I can control the pickup truck........LOL
    Day 13 and accumulating like snow in Buffalo!
    Jim
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Mel Permalink Reply by Mel on July 5, 2008 at 8:15am
       I know i'm a little late getting here,but oh well...I tried quitting by using Chantix,it actually worked,I was 25 days into it and wanted nothing to do with a cig.That lasted 2 weeks then i started slacking on the pills and finally quit taking them thinking i was good to go,WRONG! I slowly started smoking again untill i was back up to 2 packs a day.So I tried starting them over but I had every side effect possible,I finally quit taking them because the nightmares(not dreams) were out of control and i was sleep walking.This past April i heard about a hypnotist who helped several of my friends quit,so for $60.00 i thought it couldn't hurt to try.On April 2nd I went to see him, he takes up to 15 people in the room and I was there for an hour.I walked out not thinking about ever smoking again.A whole week went by and i was just amazed.My husband smokes and so do some of our friends,everyone continued smoking in my house and around me,I thought I was fine,WRONG!Like a little kid,I snuck a cig of my husband and hid in the backyard and only made it through a couple of hits before i felt sick and dizzy.But later that day I did it again,then I just gave in and began smoking AGAIN.The Hypnotist said everyone gets a second chance if we should need it,so I took him up on the offer.He came back to the area April 16th,I have been smokefree since.Although I did change a few things this time,my husband and friends smoke outside,i even go out with them now,but to have to be trapped in a confined area was too much for me.I have C.O.P.D and my husband knows how sick I can get so he was all for me quitting,and I don't pressure him,he he he...but he doesn't smoke as much now that he smokes outside.I just wanted to share my story with those who may have been in the same sinking boat, we can use any life saver we think will work rather then go down without a fight!
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on July 5, 2008 at 9:21pm
       Jim - straight, tough and simple. That's it. We're addicts. We have one, we've lost control. We have one - it's over. We have one - we have a pack. There is no such thing as one. Like the old Lays ads "bet ya can't eat just one..." no, we can't.
    Mel - coming up on three months...that's great. Sounds like you are NOT going down with the ship. I admire you're stick-to-itiveness. You've a winner's attitude. NEVER EVER GIVE IN AGAIN and you will be Captain of your vessel.
    Debbie, I'm just so dang proud of ya! Keep it sweet.
    And thanks to all of you for sharing your stories here.
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Giulia Permalink Reply by Giulia on July 7, 2008 at 9:13am
    Great post jackie! READ, READ, READ is right! Congrats on your lovely smoke free time. Cheers!
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Mike in @lanta Permalink Reply by Mike in @lanta on July 7, 2008 at 9:14am
    
    Congratulations on the smoke free year Jackie! Cold turkey is best in my opinion but not all can do it that way.
    My story is similar to yours. I had "tried" quitting several times but none lasted more than a few hours so I've always considered this my first quit. I had to come to a point where knew that I had a problem & was not only killing myself but also harming those around me. There were several times during my quit that I went to pay for gas & asked for my brand of smokes. Several times they were rung up before I had the chance to tell them "Hey I don't smoke." They would just have to take it off my bill or credit my card. I'm proud to say that I haven't even had one little puff in the last three years, nine months, six days, 12 hours, 9 minutes and 49 seconds...50...51...52...53...
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Gwood004 Permalink Reply by Gwood004 on July 9, 2008 at 8:43pm
       I really enjoyed this post and the epiphany you relayed at the conclusion of it. Relapse is not an act of failure, rather it can be a part of healing and enlightenment. Thanks for sharing your tale of relapse.