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Share your quitting journey

Don't let the door hit ya where the sun don't shine or something like that

crazymama_Lori
2 15 21

Okay, on the outside chance that I'm going to be getting that message of “site is having problems, can't post this or whatever, don't smoke over it”, the font is going to look funky because I'm doing this on other program.

 

So........ I'm proud to announce that NML's door is shut and we are skipping down the road. Well, in my head. Physically if I would have done that, I'd probably hurt myself. 130 days have arrived. It's hard to believe that 5 months will be later this month and so on. I am in such a better place now than I've ever been. I am so excited to come on to the site now and see all the other behind me at 10 days, 20 days helping all those people just coming onto the site beginning their quit. It really does encourage the newcomers but yet strenghthens the adviser. Thumbs up to you all.

 

Now, for those of you that are new to this, the first 30 days are crucial. Remember back in the days when you were learning to ride a bike. You were wobbly. You were scared that you'd fall off. You never thought you'd get the hang of it. You'd get frustrated and go try something else. OR think of this as going on a diet. I've been a serial dieter my whole life. I've always chalked it up to being genetics, who knows. Sounds better, anyways. But the minute someone said you can't eat cake, cookies, etc., you craved it even more. Now, I'm now saying this to make you think oh, I can ration my cigarettes and quit. But sometimes we cut out the things we love or enjoy when we quit because we do them while we smoked.

 

If you have friends that smoke, all you have to do is tell them that you're quitting smoking. If I ask for a cigarette, please do not give them to me. Most establishments only allow smoking outside, simply don't go out with them. They're going to be back in in about five or ten minutes anyway. You're basically the dieter standing in front of a bakery. If you see it, smell it, you're going to want it even more. If they ride in the car with you, please do not smoke in my car. If you need to smoke, I'll be more than happy to pull over and let you have one. If you smoke while enjoying coffee, as they tell you on here all the time, simply drink with the other hand. It's not the coffee itself, it's usually where you drink it. If you drink it sitting down, do it standing up. Kitchen table, stand on your porch. I would make a list of the things you do when you smoke. They offer this on this site, but sometimes when you have it in front of your face all the time, it makes you think about it more.

 

Tracking your cigarettes on this site, I think, is very, very important. It helps you to understand your habits and also your emotions at the time. I had a previous blog about the main reasons why I smoked and it was my negative, dark emotions; sadness, loneliness, anger, frustration, boredom, etc. Think of yours and add the question of “when I feel sadness, I will …......... I'll share one of mine. When I feel boredom, I will play one of my oldies. I'll search on YouTube for songs of the '60s and scroll through.

 

But for most of you, yeah, you're going to gain weight. That can always be taken off. Yeah, you're going to go through some emotional changes. It's the see-saw of my angry, I'm sad. Oh, wait, no, I'm sad and then angry. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't ever want to go through that again. That has stuck in my mind through all of these days. But you will make it through to the other side. You won't think you will. You will think this is never going to end, why bother, this is a waste of time. BUT it does get easier. Instead of focusing on that moment and how bad it is, just sit back, go with the moment, and experience the aftermath. It does pass. And then you're on even ground again. I thought that rollercoaster ride was a PITA, but I decided to have fun with it after awhile. Like Dale always says, laugh at it. It does go away. Force yourself to think of something else. Close your eyes and imagine something else. Your brain can do miraculous things. Give it a shot.

 

And you know what, you'll always have that fleeting thought of boy, I could go for a cigarette right now, it's no biggy. It's only a thought and it passes. Boy, could I go for a rootbeer float right now. Same diff. I think in my case once I got off of the stranglehold of that I quit smoking, that imaginary white stick, and began having the mindset of that's just something I used to do, that's not part of who I am anymore, the chains were broken. At 130 days, yeah, I think about having a smoke. But it's just that, a thought; not an action anymore

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About the Author
Never be afraid or embarrassed about your "smoking thoughts" while quitting, they're there to remind us how strong we truly can be. Always remember, you will always WANT to smoke, but you have to CHOOSE not to. We can't break the ties that bind us without first changing the cycle that created it.