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Give and get support around quitting

kodylee
Member

Any suggestions

Today is my first day of trying to stop smoking, I've been smoking science age of 16  I'm now 59.I need some suggestions what to do when I really need a cigarette like now

22 Replies
DrAmandaGraham
EX Team
EX Team

Congratulations on your decision to quit this year kodylee‌!  Glad you found us here on EX.  There's tons of great content on the site about how to cope with cravings in the early phase of your quit... and people here in the Community who know exactly what you're going through.  I'm copying some of them here to weigh in on what worked best for them... GiuliaJonesCarpeDiemThomas3.20.2010MarilynHshashort‌.

Also be sure to check out other posts in The Best of EX.  Read, read, read... stick with us... take this one minute at a time... and know you CAN do this. This is your year!

Craving Buster Technique 

I tried everything 

Warmly - 

Amanda

Self Talk is your most powerful weapon. Start saying "I don't do that anymore" every time you think of smoking.

maryfreecig
Member

     Welcome to Ex. You've come to the right place for day in and day out support, so keep coming back, read and share.

     The club of quitters who smoked most of their life (well into their 50s, 60s etc.) is getting bigger and bigger every year. 

      As to your request for ideas as to what to do at the start of your quit--do anything that you like to do and do it in short bits. Get your brain focusing on something, anything other than smoking--but do this bit by bit. There are specific suggestions as to what you can do such as breath deep, walk, change routine and many more--and these may inspire you to make the effort, but also look to those things that you know you like to do or are willing.

      Give yourself credit for quitting, but don't expect yourself to be happy as hell for the first few days. The reward of quitting and the joy come in a little bit. Hang in there.

      The pain of quitting that you are experiencing now will die off. The effort you put into your quit will pay you back ten-fold and more.

      As always in Ex, take what you need, leave the rest.

      Yes you can, one day at a time.

0 Kudos
Sandy-9-17-17
Member

In response to your request for suggestions kodylee I hope you were able to get some answers just by doing some investigative exploring through the site, and frankly I am sad that I did not get to the site over the last few days, as I see you did not really get any answers from your request until the next day!  Honestly, I believe this is quite unusual, and I can only say that I am sorry I was too busy with the holidays and family functions to sign on and check in with possible newbies!

I hope you did not get discouraged by not getting a response right away!  It really is unusual!

Quitting is the best decision you can make for yourself.  The fact that you are here says you are ready to start this journey!  We have something in common, and that is we both smoked for 43 years!   I quit 107 days ago and I couldn't be more content with my decision to become a quitter, as it truly was killing me! Right from the very first day I started!  

I hope that you will check back in and work hard at becoming a quitter, as it will only do good things for you!  

There is so much information here that will help you to stay strong and stay quit!  It is quite do-able! 

Sincerely, 

Sandy

MichelleDiane
Member

Hi Kodylee.  I am into day two.  This morning driving to work I became a little nervous about not smoking, but then I began to think about the money I'm saving already.  I would have spent at least $20 in the New Year that I have now put in my pocket to treat myself to something.  Also, I feel clean and fresh.  I don't have to worry about my coat smelling like smoke and I enjoy the scent of my hand cream (not because I'm covering up the smell of cigarettes, but because it smells wonderful).  I do a lot of self talk, which helps me redirect my thoughts to positive events coming up or new ideas I have about home improvement, crafts, what flowers I will plant in the spring, and so many more.  Good luck to you and congratulations.  This site has helped tremendously and I have been checking in several times a day for encouragement.  I am always receiving something.  It's wonderful.

-Michelle

indingrl
Member

Eat oranges and drink tons of water and for ME i lived on this site for the first 90 days..... reading blogs and venting on blogs i wrote yet NOT ONE PUFF OVER ME.... the ones STAYING QUIT suggested I educate MYSELF on MY nicotine addiction here at expert advice blogs and at whyquit.com with Joel I seen an early death video by Bryon and i sent his family a thank you note for sharing the video and that it helped ME to STAY QUIT and i been coming here since....keep on keeping on and please blog BEFORE you take that first puff over you.... thank you for helping ME stay quit with you!

TW517
Member

Hi kodylee !  Welcome to EX!  I second what Sandy-9-17-17 said. It is unusual for your post to take that long to show up.  I kept looking for your post last night, but never saw it.  I'm guessing it was because no Admin's were available last night. You shouldn't have that problem any longer.

Two of my favorite "welcoming of new members" come from YoungAtHeart‌ and roller831‌.  Hopefully they will chime in here too.

My favorite ways to cope with craves were to chew on a cut coffee stir straw, and take a vigorous walk.  (Actually my favorite way was to yell as loud as I could, but that was usually not practical ).  How is your Day 2 going?  Are you going Cold Turkey?.  Using patch/gum/lozenges?  Chantix?  Let me know if you need any help navigating the site (or if you need someone to listen to you yell!) Glad you are here!

- Tom

YoungAtHeart
Member

Sorry to have missed this initially, and thanks to TW517 for alerting me.  I wrote a blog a bit ago and asked for input from our members that you might find helpful:  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/17060-for-our-new-years-quitters-and-community-members-too 

You have also gotten some great advice above!  The most important thing in the early days is to understand that you can't win an argument with yourself - so don't have one.  You have decided that you don't want to smoke another cigarette NO MATTER WHAT.  Now - you just need to honor that decision.  When you get that urge to smoke, find something to distract you.  Just don't do it!  Kinda; difficult in the early days, but it gets easier and easier - I promise!

Nancy