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Share your quitting journey

Another one bites the dust

crazymama_Lori
9 16 185

Who would have thunk this would have happened............

Well, today is my 3-year anniversary from smoking. Do I miss it? Not one bit. I know it doesn't solve my problems nor give me any comfort anymore. It didn't help me mend my relationship with my daughter. It didn't console me when my brother-in-law died. It didn't calm me during tubulent times with my husband. Helping my youngest through a bad breakup. Watching my son-in-law fall into the trap of heroin addiction. And gee that was just this past year and a half. If I would have lit up, smoked for those five to ten minutes, what was that going to solve? A big fat nada.

If you are new here, stick with the community. No matter if someone rubs you the wrong way or you don't appreciate their comments or what they've said or didn't say on your blog. I've had a few of my problems here also, but it didn't stop me from posting blogs or helping others. There's over 20,000 plus people here. Only a handful are dedicated posters/commentors, but know that your feelings are heard. Your blogs are being read by many people on the site. They may feel shy about posting or commenting or are just private people. Nothing wrong with that.

I've had many people comment on things that I've posted here from years ago as I'm sure other members have also. That's proof that all of our blogs are a help to someone down the line. They might not comment on it right at that moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't impacting someone. That's why this site can be so helpful. It's all about former smokers helping people who want to quit and stay quit. We can go through some pretty strange mood fluctuations during that first 6 months or so. I know I did, but I chalked it up to some brain chemistry that was being rearranged.

Look up what you're feeling on the search feature. I'll bet that you'll find many articles pertaining to what you were wondering about. Funny how all of us went through the same thing, but perhaps at a different stage in our quit process. You started smoking as a “recreational” type thing. Before too long, you noticed those strong nagging feelings and the immediate urge to light up. Think of how many years you did the same thing over and over again. You lit up after eating, after sex, after accomplishing something, just to relax, to stifle anger, to comfort ourselves when feeling sad or lonely. Years and years we smoked our way through without even giving it one thought.

As you walk through the quitting process, after the initial physical symptoms subside, you'll notice every once in a while smoking thoughts start popping up all over again, stay for a short while and then disappear again. I like to call them mood swings. They just sometimes have to do with a season change or a memory of some sour event. We all have them at one point or another. Some people call them cravings or urges of smoking. I like to think of them as my points in life where I was learning a life lesson and leave it as that.

I made it a big point at around 6 months to take note of when those most profound thoughts showed up, what exactly was going on in my life that made me want to for a fleeting moment return to smoking. That's all you have to do, is take those few seconds to simply stop yourself and think why. Right there, you are breaking the cycle. When we smoked, we instantly grabbed for that pack and lit up sometimes without even a thought. Impulsive little buggers we are.

Take those few seconds during your first year and even beyond to get acquainted with yourself. We've often used smoking to hide feeling self-conscious, lonely, angry, sad. Now we don't need to stifle those feelings with that swirl of smoke. Funny how we thought it could cure the dark side of life, when in reality it created it. Celebrate who you are and what you will become. If you stumble, never feel ashamed to ask for help. Go to Relapse Prevention and read the stories there. Use the Groups tab on here and take a look at what other people have written in all of those group headings listed. Reach out to members on the site via the inbox feature if you don't want to post something.

Knowledge is the key to quitting. You have an abundance of it on this site. Absorb as much as you can. Stick with it, commit to it. Don't put too many expectations on yourself. Take one day at a time. Wake up every morning and simply say to yourself, I'm not going to smoke today. Slow down and trust the process. Know that what you're going through is perfectly normal and it too shall pass. Tell yourself every morning how great you are and how great it is to be smoke free. I smoked for 43 years without any significant breaks in between. I'm very excited to say I've been quit for 3 years and many more years to come. Hang in there. Take each rising sun one at a time and be proud every setting sun that it's another day won !!!!

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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.