Not really ready to quit?

[rrrich7]

Hi, I'm rrrich7.  I decided after conversation with a family member that I need to address quitting.  But my plan would be to cut down as much as possible before I try a quit.  The thing is, I don't seem to be able to make any progress at cutting down.  From my earlier conversations a while ago with members of Nicotine Anonymous, they said I wasn't really ready to quit.  So should I just keep praying and waiting for myself to get more ready to quit?

[Roller831]

Welcome!  I know when I first found this site, many Elders told me to read read read….and I did.  Elders are those with one or more years of being quit.  If you like what someone has to say, then you may want to read their blogs.  I have some listed below.  

Is anyone really ever ready to quit?  Is there ever a good time to quit?  I think you just need to be it until you see it or fake it until you make it!  Act like an ex-smoker and you will end up being one!  I think the single most important thing that helped me was Alan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking book/book on tape.

A list of our Elders /blogs/Giulia-blog/2017/06/18/elders-list-ao-december-7-2016 

So here's the thing.....and you may not like what I am about to say....and that's ok.  I get it.  You need to accept that this is an addiction.  Before you do that, it will be much more difficult to quit and stay quit. 

Read read read.  Do the steps to PREPARE yourself to quit.  Do the steps so you are PREPARED on quit day and for the days AFTER quit day.  

Some of the things I read in my first few days that helped me:

Dale’s Welcome to New Members My Welcome To New Members (10 Years Of Watching) 

YoungAtHeart Nancy’s Blog/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoke 

JonesCarpeDiem  Dale’s Blog /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months 

Visit Best of EX‌

And read what has been posted there.

JACKIE1-25-15  gave me the link to Alan Carr’s book, “Easy Way to Quit Smoking”.  I actually didn’t read the online PDF, but purchased a book on CD from Amazon and listened to it in my car over and over again for the first two weeks of my quit.  The link to the PDF:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

Keep this site close and keep posting and asking for help.  You will get it.  You will get things you like and things you don't like, but don't give up!!!  We have been through similar experiences and can share our strength and hope.  We are here to support you!

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Get some reading under your belt, and I think you might find yourself EXCITED to quit (really!).  I was not able to cut down on the number of cigarettes I smoked before I quit.  For me, it just kept smoking in the forefront of my mind ALL the time.  A better way to work on that is to just put each one off for a bit while you get busy doing something.  You can naturally cut back that way.  But - cutting back is not a prerequisite to a successful quit.  I pretty much chain smoked the night before my first and only quit attempt - and I now have been free for 5+ years.  The best way to ensure success is to educate yourself on the addiction, prepare and plan for your quit, and the commit to never smoking another cigarette NO MATTER WHAT.  This isn't easy, but with the right mindset, 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 highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 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]

I suggest you track your cigarettes and determine why you are smoking. I wrote down the times I smoked and why and then I planned for what I could do instead of smoking if I quit and I accepted the fact that the triggers were not going anywhere.  I was able to observe that every time I smoked because of a trigger...nothing changed.  My physical pain did not get better, my stress was not relieved, nothing was solved.  When I DID quit, I promised myself that I would figure out what a cigarette would do for me if I smoked and I was never able to come up with anything positive.  I have been quit for 3 years and 9+ months after a smoking career of 47 years with breaks for pregnancies and some short term quits that failed.  Once I found this community and became an active member, reading blogs, commenting, writing blogs, asking for advice and LISTENING to it...without this site, I am fairly certain that I would have had another failed quit.  Stay close to the site, on the first page, there is a place for you to devise your Quit Plan...do so carefully and thoughtfully and set a quit date.  Read a blog written by JonesCarpeDiem‌ /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months  I read that over and over again.  You need to be WILLING to quit, accept that it will not always be easy...is LIFE always easy?  

Welcome to EX.

Ellen

[maryfreecig]

    Do you have any desire to quit at all? 

    Do you know that after quitting, the attachment/addiction does fade, that you will get on with your life. The focus on cigs after a quit doesn't go on forever--cigs stop being all important. 

    Have you talked to your doctor about nicotine replacement therapy? Have you   considered other drug treatments? 

    You don't have to be a crusader to quit, but you can at least try to learn more about the addiction.

    Many smokers have smoked for three, four even five decades and have succeeded in quitting. 

    You can too, if you are willing to challenge your notion that you don't want to quit (fact is you're addicted---comes with the territory that you either think you don't want to quit or believe that you can't).

     Can't you have a new chapter in your life? If so, lots of people here are willing and able to listen and share.

[MarilynH]

Welcome to the site, please do the recommended reading above me because it'll help strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb and start living a life of Freedom, there's a wealth of information here so read everything you can about quitting smoking and Remaining Quit because it's very Doable and worth it all to be FREE.....

[Giulia]

Are we every really ready to quit?  Our addiction says, No!  But that's simply the excuse (lie) we give ourselves.  We can, however, change that thinking.  We can BECOME ready to quit by taking the necessary action to do so.  That action involves making a plan, educating ourselves, doing our homework (i.e. reading), following through and persevering.  All the tools you need are right here on this site.  Not being "ready" to quit is simply an excuse to fail in my book.  I was never able to cut down on smoking.  I am an all-or-nothing kind of gal.  Cutting down was slow torture for me.  We're all different.  

Have you ever mastered anything in your life?  Did you learn how to ride a bike as a kid?  Do you play any sports?  I'm guessing there has been something in your life, some skill that you have acquired.  Think of quitting that way.  Like a skill that you can learn and be proficient at.  Really.  It simply takes time, patience, hard work, dedication and perseverance.  You can quit.  And you don't even have to want to.  (Though it sure helps!)  I didn't want to.  I just applied myself to it and made it a priority in my life.  The process was not fun.  The results ARE!  Go for it!

[JonesCarpeDiem]

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/70402-where-does-it-come-from?sr=search&searchId=e0498090... 

[crazymama_Lori]

the only way you'll be successful is if you want to.   read many articles on here.  Educate yourself.  Go through the steps on the quit plan.  Learn as much as you can about smoking, triggers, brain effects, body effects.  To be a success, you must learn about the foe