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Give and get support around quitting

MaxLongley
Member

Nervous

So my quit date is fast approaching and im gwtting nervous. Me and smoking have been long time friends and im nervous about quitting.

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8 Replies

Hey, Max! WELCOME!!!

Being nervous is a natural reaction to Smoking Cessation! Don't let that stop you, OK? We're here for you! I'd be surprised if you weren't nervous! But you will be just fine! Just take things One Day. even One Hour, and sometimes One Minute at a time! Stick with your decision! That's what will make it happen!

KUDOS for making the BEST decision of your Life! (Even when it doesn't feel that way right now!) Give it time!

elvan
Member

Welcome to EX, you are in the best place ever to get support, advice, and education.  We all want you to succeed.  If you have not read it already, you might read Allen Carr's book, "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking."  It is available as a free PDF on line or, if you are like me, you can go to your local library and take it out.  I strongly suggest that you read anything and everything you can find about nicotine addiction, this IS an addiction and recovery is one day at a time and not an event.  I think you will find two blogs written by JonesCarpeDiem‌ very helpful, /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months and https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6040-my-welcome-to-new-members-10-years-of-wisdom- There are also very helpful elders here who will most certainly be offering you support and welcomes...one is YoungAtHeart‌ and another is JACKIE1-25-15‌.  You can always click on their pages and see what they have written. I kept track of every cigarette I smoked and then I figured out what the "trigger" was and how strong it was on a scale of one to five, I prepared for those triggers because I knew they would happen when I quit, I had a plan for things to do instead of smoking.  I had to tweak it more than once after I quit but I had something.  I finally came to the conclusion that smoking never did anything FOR me, it sure did a lot of damage TO me...but it never took away depression, stress, physical pain, it never made anything better...NEVER, it just gave me a "fix", it was my drug of choice and I had to get into recovery and stay there.  

If you were not nervous about quitting, I would wonder how serious you were.  You can do this, every single one of us has been where you are now.

Ellen

Here's a blog written by a member which I think fits and shows you that you're not alone in this fight...... https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/Angie_machado/blog/2017/07/22/goodbye-to-my-best-friend 

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Welcome to EX.   If you hang around you will find that quitting is doable, many of us have.  Look forward to a new day and a new way.  It is up to you. You have come to the right place for a new day and a rebirth. This is all about you and what you are willing to do to be smoke free. Quitting smoking requires hard work.  It can be challenging at times but you will learn that it is doable if you adhere to NOPE not one puff ever no matter what. Start first, by educating yourself about nicotine addiction.  Education is the key to a successful quit.  Read: Freedom from Nicotine My Journey Home and Nicotine Addiction 101         

Here are the links: http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html   and http://whyquit.com/ffn/

I also encourage you to read. Allen Carr’s book, “Easy Easier Way to Quit Smoking”.       

The link is here:  http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 Go to http://www.becomeanex.org/how-to-quit-smoking.php#thl and get started. 

elvan
Member

Thank you JACKIE1-25-15

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

(Did I hear my name?)

Of COURSE you are nervous.  You are entering unknown territory.  I can help with that and give you information that will make it not quite so scary.  I felt just as you are feeling - and I read, and read and read some more!  I have been quit  now for 5+ years.  It isn't easy, but it IS doable!

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 also highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

 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, quitsmokingonline.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. 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.  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

elvan
Member

Thank you YoungAtHeart

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elvan
Member

MaxLongley  How are you doing?  When Is your quit date?  Please remember that we are here and that we want very much to help you to be successful.  Let us know any way that we can help you.

Ellen

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