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Give and get support around quitting

aakritii92
Member

Today is my first day and I am very frustrated. I have just too many smoking triggers and I cannot get my mind off. :(

Anyone has any suggestions to get me moving?

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34 Replies
Mandolinrain
Member

Welcome to EX. Have you been reading through the site? The first months of my quit I gobbled up as much info as I could. It kept my mind engaged at what I was choosing to do. Not smoke. I also cleaned every nook and cranny.

Please get familiar with this site and another site called WHYQUIT, is loaded with wonderful advice.

Knowledge is the first step, you need to understand the beast ( nicotine). You need to understand how the beast is keeping your brain cells in prison. Once you understand that then you get a toolbox together. In it you have numbers to call, things to do to replace the crave. Get Alan Carrs book, " The easy way to quit smoking" short read but LOADED with knowledge. It was what killed the beast for me. That and all the awesome people on EX , and the info of THIS SITE, is outstanding. 

Anyway, welcome and hope to see you around a lot. Get involved here, as much as time allows, it will strengthen your resolve to stay quit

Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the Ex.  Unfortunately we all have too many smoking triggers.  We smoked with everything we did--happy, sad, or in between.  Aside from the physical addiction to nicotine, the psychological addiction takes hard work and determination.  I hope you've been reading the information on this site.   There is much to learn and much to help you with your quit.  If you need help, reach out.   In the meantime, read, read, and read some more.

104DOF

Life is a trigger 

To enjoy it

YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BREATHE.

So true. Today is my 6 the day n I have COPD and God has answered my prayer .I was able to go outside n the heat n breathe. Right now I'm sitting outside my camper at the campground enjoying the serenity I feel and the tree fogs singingsingi me a feeling of peace.

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

I understand your frustration.  The idea is to have a plan for distractions because you are going to think about cigarettes for a while.  It is okay to think about them as long as you do not smoke.  The most important part of this journey is to educate yourself on the nicotine addiction.  Find things that will occupy your time and mind.  You will find that smoking took a lot of it.  It is a joy to be able to be smoke-free.  Embrace it.  Don't fight it.  Learn to breathe through the crisis.  Quitting smoking is about deprogramming the brain that you do not have to smoke.  Here is a simple one to start, when the urge hits tell yourself that you "don't do that anymore".  Stay close, read study blog ask questions.  Here is some reading to help you get started. Go to My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX  click on the tabs and read and watch the videos.  Also, check out www.whyquit.com and read Nicotine 101 and My Journey to Freedom Home. The best is yet to come.  Hang tough, stay close. Enjoy your new life. https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2008/05/03/things-to-do-instead-of-smoking 

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your launch!  This 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 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. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

 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.

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

desiree465
Member

Whenever you have a craving come on here and tell us about it. It helps to talk about what's going on in your head. And yes that means you might be on here most of your day lol. But you are worth it. In 72 hours there will be no nicotine in your body which will greatly reduce this yucky feeling you have. You'll still have cravings but they will gradually become less intense. Try to focus on quitting minute by minute. 

aakritii92
Member

Thanks for the encouragement. I guess this community is going to be my support system.

diamond01
Member

if you need anything we can help each other, today is my 3 day we can do this.

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