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Give and get support around quitting

digital629
Member

relapse

so, i had 2 today. my quit date was yesterday. i’m extremely disappointed. 

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9 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

Leave it at those two and get back at it!!!  You can use the reading materials I give you to get through all your craves.  Did you notice they only last about three minutes?  I strongly recommend you think about why you smoked those two - what were you thinking?  Plan now what you can do differently in the same circumstance this quit.

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  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, quitsmoking.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

stAn3
Member

Proper Plannin Prevents Poor Performance

I have relapsed several times. The times I have been able to stop smoking were when I am planned ahead. I planned while I was smoking. The suggested reading here helped me. So did suggestions from people here who has stayed smoke-free for a long time.

Relapse is disappointing. You can learn from this relapse though and make a commitment not to make the same mistakes.

Sandy-9-17-17
Member

Why did you have two today?  Did you have them laying around so that you could smoke?  Did you go buy them?  You need to get rid of all of the tobacco products, and not have any laying around.  Clean out every reminder of smoking!  You will have to do this to continue on the path of cleaning out your brain's receptors.  You can do this!   

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Start over.  Do not delay.  Plan and prepare to protect your quit. https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2017/02/27/a-recipe-for-a-forever-quit?sr=...

SaraCorinne
Member

The fact that you're still here says that you really want to quit. 

Try again and again and again. 

Try as many times as it takes. 

Don't quit quitting!

Come here and blog before you light up.

Get rid of any and all smoking material so they're not right there, taunting you, calling to you, LYING to you.

Hang in there!

Please don't smoke!  

elvan
Member

You have gotten some seriously magnificent  advice above...preparation was huge for me.  Education, support, and commitment are vital to the success of a quit.  You CANNOT have cigarettes sitting around along with matches or lighters...you need to get rid of everything that reminds you of smoking.  If you smoke inside...STOP IT NOW, if you smoke in one place outside, clean it up, change it around and get it ready.  Do all of the recommended reading and PLAN your quit.  Quitting is not an event, it is a journey and it is one day at a time or one experience at a time.  Identify your triggers and accept the fact that smoking doesn't help ANYTHING...it does nothing FOR you, it does horrible things TO you.  You can do this...read, prepare, stay close to the site, ask for help before you slip again.  I am sure you are disappointed but you need to be motivated....turn your disappointment into ACTION.  

Welcome to EX.

Ellen

RachelN
Member

You can do this. Good luck!

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Bellegonia
Member

Tomorrow is a new day. See you tomorrow hopefully!

RachelN
Member

Keep trying, you can do this.  I relapsed after 35 days. I got up on day 36, and started my quit again.  We are worthy of quitting. Good luck!