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Give and get support around quitting

Joykitchen
Member

Need help. Ive had a slip!

I need help!! I've had a slip from emotional  problens.

5 Replies
beazel
Member

Please just throw away the rest of those cigarettes. Continue your quit right away!!

Did smoking help the problems?

indingrl
Member

Are you in need of a doctor for mental issues-ask Mark-he is manager of this sight-please ask the medical team for your PROFFESIONAL HELP with your emotional depression-WE are NOT medical doctors-WE are men and women who are nicotine addicts in recovery-WE are NOT professional doctors-therapists-please ask them they have a team of HELPERS for nicotine addicts dealing with deppresion-thank you!

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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

It would be helpful if you make a plan NOW of what you can do during your next quit instead of smoking when an emotional crisis hits.  You might take slow, deep breaths, or march in place, or go for a quick walk, or write how you feel in a journal.  You already know that smoking did not make the problem disappear - it just allowed you to ignore it for a bit.  Life is always going to happen, so plan how you can deal with it without smoking.  Other tips for doing that follow.

The 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, 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. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site.
 
 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

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I've found a lot of help here. I know that arguments this time of Year can be especially stressful. I often think that we expect Hallmark Holidays and it's not always the way we envisioned. Just remember the reason for the Season and give yourself comfort in the less than perfect. Matriarchs tend to be especially hard on themselves about things beyond their control. I recommend the Serenity Prayer:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

You already know that smoking makes nothing better!

Gwenivere
Member

If you mean a slip like your smoked one or two, I’d say just go back to the quit and see it was a trigger.  If you’ve started smoking again, maybe you need  to start over.  I’m no expert on that as has been pointed out here.  But you did say slip, so I am hoping it was a one time deal.   Emotional problems, in. My opinion, are the toughest test.

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