New, Need Help Please :)

[joy14]

Help me start? I am so overwhelmed and confused. 

I have made a decision to stop smoking again. I stopped before, for about 3 yrs, but took it up again unfortuneatly due to

too many stressors in my life at that time. Now, at this point, I have been smoking again for 6 yrs. I am 62 years old and

started smoking when I was about 18-19 yrs old.

I have been reading through this site since early this morning and it seems like a wonderful place. So much information, I think I got overly excited and read so much that I am just so confused now where/when to start.

Any advice would be welcome a so appreciated. I really want to do this. 

Do I quit now. Wait 2 weeks until I read everything recommended? Or .....?

Help!!??

Joy

[TW517]

I did not find this website until I was 21 days into my quit.  I was going to relapse, literally on my way to the store to buy cigarettes, when I decided to go online for help first.  So I guess my answer would be it is not necessary to read everything first.  But I sure think I could have saved myself a lot of misery if I had studied this addiction more before beginning my quit.  Just don't wait too long!  

Welcome to EX!

[joy14]

Thank you ❣️

Sent from my iPad

[MarilynH]

Welcome to the community you've made the best decision that you'll ever make in your lifetime so once you pick your quit date and when your Day ONE arrives stay close to this site because we're all here to help you in any way then at the end of your day ONE you can look yourself in the mirror and smile and say yay for Day WON with many more to come you can do this upcoming quit believe it, be willing determined and totally committed to succeed and you can and will be successful, quitting smoking is definetly difficult to say the least but very Doable and totally worth it to be Free. ...

[Lisaml]

Hi, Joy. I’m about 5 months into my quit, so I’m a “newbie” and don’t really know the answer to your question. Only you know the best time to quit. I would say, right now- today!;-) 

I feel like it helps to have a concrete understanding of this addiction. Knowledge is power, right? 

It truly helped me to understand the withdrawal process, and the ways our bodies change after removing nicotine. 

I would say, develop a quit plan and then jump in! The “elders” on this site devote a ton of time and energy into sharing what they’ve learned over their sustained quits. Pay close attention to what they say, as they’ve accomplished what only 6% of quitters can do! 

That statistic isn’t meant to scare you, but to make sure you go into this ready for a long haul. When you’re in, you just have to commit to the process. And you CAN succeed once you understand the law of addiction. 

We are heere and ready to travel on this journey together!!! 

[djmurray]

Hello, Joy -- you are definitely in the right place.  I smoked for 53 years, thought I'd be the last smoker on the planet, and I am two and a half years into my quit.  I recommend reading "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allen Carr.  That book made all the difference to me in the early days of my quit.  You can also watch Allen Carr on YouTube.  I promised myself I would blog for the first 30 days each and every day, good day or bad day.  I actually ended up blogging for most of the first year of my quit.  I'm not here as often right now, but I will check in and keep an eye out for you.  I know it isn't easy but it is SO doable. 

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex.  I'm also a newbie at 82 days.  This support on this site has made all the difference for me.  I also recommend taking the daily pledge to keep your quit one day at a time.  They're different thoughts, but I like having a quit day to spend time preparing for your quit.  Read everything you can to understand the smoking addiction.  You can enter your quit date on this site and if you choose receive text message helping prepare you prior to your date.  You came to the right place. 

[Thomas3.20.2010]

Hi Joy! I like to recommend whyquit/day 1.com.

There are some wonderful ideas there which helped me. 

Bottom line Recovery has everything to do with you re-claiming YOU. A good start is to decide how and when to quit. 

I quit cold turkey but since then I've learned about /blogs/SkyGirl-blog/2016/11/23/a-smart-turkey?sr=search&searchId=f08ae402-db5b-4c72-a285-345d4a0e474...‌. It made sense - to me. I set my day for the first day of Spring my favorite season, because I knew it would be harder to sacrifice that date for a Sickerette. That was only 6 days after being diagnosed with COPD. I joined multiple websites and now, 8 years later I'm here every single day first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed.

So where do you get started? Anywhere, everywhere, just be here and be open. It contradicts the addictive nature of smoking so I don't have to feel. Recovery means you will feel - lots of things. Honestly experiencing those feelings and sharing them and then learning to let them go protect your Quit Journey. 

Please share with me when I celebrate 3000 days this Wednesday. I stacked each day - one at a time. 

You can. too!

[princessdeb]

Congratulations on 3,000 days   I'm a newbie...26 hours.... you inspire me.  Thank you for being here and sharing your knowledge and support!

[crazymama_Lori]

Welcome aboard.  Once you've completed Smoking Trigger Tracker Tool | Guides & Tools | BecomeAnEX  , please visit Newbie Quitters‌ and read some there and also Best of EX‌.  Therein contains some very useful and timeless knowledge saved to share with those that are serious about quitting smoking and also understanding how nicotine works inside our brains and bodies, How Nicotine Addiction takes over (and what to do about it!) .  Be sure to use the search feature on the right-hand side of your screen to find answers to questions you may have along the way.  I can guarantee you that at some point or another someone at sometime has or had the same feelings you are questioning.  We're just a bunch of former smokers helping other smokers quit and stay quit !!!! 

As an add on, this site, I found, really works because you journal your progress.  If you feel uncomfortable doing that in a public forum such as this, make your own journal at home for a year.  After you've been quit or have been struggling, look back on what you have written.  I encourage new members to make their entries here and have other members comment.  Also what helped me a great deal was going back in other members' profiles and reading from back when they first joined the site.  that gave me assurance I was on the right path and also gave me somewhat of a preview of what was to come.

[desiree465]

Welcome to the site and congratulations on your decision to live a better life. I can't wait to see how you progress.