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Give and get support around quitting

Smoke dream

Last night I had a smoke dream! I didn't smoke in my dream I just saw a nice butt on the ground and wanted to smoke it but ended up swinging on a swing set instead. Random!

6 Replies
JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Glad it was only a dream. 

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emilyt123078
Member

I have those weird smoke dreams too! I had one where I actually lit up and smoked it then woke up in a panic. 

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Lots of us here have had them - isn't it NICE to wake up and discover it was ONLY a dream? 

Please share a bit about yourself.  I note you have been doing some commenting, but don't know if you are already quit, your date (if so), your smoking history, why you want to quit.  It will help us help you

The most important thing you can do 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 online or at your local library.

 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 - if you have not already quit.

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

MarilynH
Member

Welcome to the community, it's wonderful to see you extraordinaire there's definetly Life after Cigarettes as difficult as quitting can be it's also absolutely Doable and totally worth it to be Free, stay close because we're all here to help you in any way we can....

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elvan
Member

Welcome to EX, the more educated you are about nicotine addiction...the better.  This really is a journey and there are ups and downs and many tests of our resolve while we are awake.  Having a smokemare can be really disturbing, just like any other realistic dream.  I woke up from a particularly realistic dream and I had been arguing with my husband in the dream.  When I woke up...I sort of wanted to smack him in the head, LOL.  I have been really crabby all day after a bad dream.   Glad it was a dream and glad that even in your dream you didn't smoke, you went swingin'.

Ellen

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Giulia
Member

Ah yes, smoking dreams.  Most of us have had them.  Though yours is rather different.  Usually we smoke and then regret it and wake up in a lather.  lol  YOU, on the other hand got on a swing instead.  Love it!  (You might want to tag your post with smokemare or smoking_dream it'll help people find it when they're searching for such on the site.  You can put 'smoking dreams' in the community search box and you'll find a bunch.)  Here's one of my MANY dreams over the years.  /blogs/Giulia-blog/2015/07/07/smokemare-35   I usually still have them, even after a 12 year quit, about once a month.  I've always found them quite interesting.  

Anyway, welcome to the world of the smoking quitter.  Never a dull moment!