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Give and get support around quitting

Aew1031
Member

Quit Day One AGAIN

So I quit again today, as I’ve done so many times in the past. Am tired of the emotional rollercoaster of nicotine withdrawal since I’m always HALF smoking (usually smoking only first thing in the morning and last thing before bed). My brain doesn’t have any clarity whatsoever. Need inspiration and clarity to inform my creative endeavors. I used to think smoking helped energize my creativity and now it’s only an energy drainer. There are 3 hidden cigs at home. Don’t know if I should keep them as a reminder or destroy them in an angry personal ceremony. Will check in again soon. Maybe even before day 2. Am on a plane an am planning on doing a meditation. 

16 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Easy answer to your dilemma - destroy those "hidden" cigarettes - NOW.  Put them under running water, crush them to mush and send them out with the rest of the garbage. Keeping any around is just giving yourself permission to smoke them - period.

The most important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it  or at your local library. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
 
 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php
 
 After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort.  I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
 
The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your tennies on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! Rearrange the furniture in the areas you used to smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits.    Get busy!  Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:
 
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...
 
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want a cigarette" thought needs to be, "Well, since I have decided not to do that anymore, what shall I do instead for the three minutes this crave will last?"  Then DO it.  You will need to put some effort into this in the early days, but it gets easier and easier to do.
 
Stay close to us here and ask questions when you have them and for support when you need it. We will be with you every step of the way!


 Nancy

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JACKIE1-25-15
Member

You may need to work on another method if you are still half smoking when  you quit.   NOPE.  If you have cigarettes hidden you are not properly preparing to abstain from smoking.  Discard them when you are ready.  In the meantime study and read the suggested material that you may be properly prepared with a plan to protect a quit once you start. Education is the key to a successful quit here are a few suggested readings if you haven't already.  If you have you may review them.

Educate yourself more on nicotine addiction. 

 

 https://whyquit.com/FFN/chapters/FFN_00B_TOC.pdf 


Law of Addiction

"Administration of a drug to an addict will cause re-establishment of chemical dependence
upon the a...

reading:https://whyquit.com/FFN/chapters/FFN_01_Nicotine.pdfwhyquit.com/FFN/chapters/FFN_01_Nicotine... and  https://whyquit.com/FFN/chapters/FFN_00B_TOC.pdf 

Also, another easy Read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking,

Read the blogs here.  read the articles and watch the videos My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX 

Learn how to navigate the site  Community Help‌  Take the Daily Pledge Daily Pledge

Stay close, hang tough when times get tough, Learn your triggers and prepare for them.  Quitting smoking is doable. 

 

Sandy-9-17-17
Member

Glad to hear you quit again, but as far as having 3 hidden away, I say get rid of them.  If you are serious about quitting, why have something around that you don't want to do anymore?  It would be a reason to fail as far as one's concerned.  You wouldn't want to set yourself up for failure at the beginning of your attempt to quit, would you?  

Have you done the suggested reading here?  Are you setting yourself up with the right tools for you to succeed????

What is nicotine doing for you that is good?  Smoking has never done anything good for anyone!  It is a lie to believe otherwise!  

You can do this, and you're in a great place for support.  Keep on coming back, reading, meeting all of the people there are here, and posting your successes, your difficulties, and you will be showered with tons of support and encouragement!  Happy you're here! 

Sandy

"If you've quit smoking and you're still smoking, you're doing it wrong."

Aew1031
Member

Have read Allen Carr’s book several times. Not as helpful as all of your personal feedback. Know I’ve been kidding myself for a long time about being a nonsmoker who smokes. Have been quitting completely wrong. So far so good. Keep it coming. Very motivating. 

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SaraCorinne
Member

Get rid of those hidden cigarettes.  They will only try to entice you light 'em up.  Soon they'll be calling your name!    Show them you mean business and crush them to smithereens!  Keeping them around only sets you up for failure.  Please don't sabotage yourself before you even start.    

maryfreecig
Member

      Quitting starts from the inside--everything else is either helpful or not. You've already decided that you do not want to smoke just by the number of times you've tried. If feeling bad once you quit is driving you back to smoking, then the hard work begins in saying no and dealing with the unpleasant feelings--they will end.

     Cigarettes are not magic, just addiction. Nothing in life requires a cigarette so keep looking inside for your own YES to quit.

      Hidden cigarettes...the key word is hidden. You'd think it would be cigarettes, but I'm thinking, no, it's hidden. There is never a reason to hide cigarettes unless you want them, or they are insurance for a future want. Cravings have to dealt with in another way. Make a very long list of things you are willing to do rather than smoke and do them.

elvan
Member

You have gotten the best advice there is already...this is not easy, it is one day at a time, it is sometimes one minute at a time.  Education, support, and commitment are your keys to success.  Do not accept any excuses to smoke...it doesn't do any good...it does not help with anything, believe me, I tried for years and years to get it to help.  You have to get rid of all of the cigarettes, the ashtrays, the lighters and matches, the reminders of smoking.  If you smoke in the house.STOP IT NOW...if you have a place that you smoke outside, clean it up and change it around, make it a place to BREATHE, not smoke.  Blow bubbles instead of smoking, it helps to control your breathing.  

This is not easy but it is possible, it is very possible and it is worth it.  YOU can do this.  One day at a time, one moment at a time...keep going...this journey does not end but WE grow stronger physically and emotionally and psychologically.  We build self esteem and confidence, inside of that smoker is the REAL you.

Ellen