January 2019: Welcome new members!

[CommunityAdmin]

The January Quitters and New Years Day Quitters have arrived!

There are always new members joining the community. A portion of those new members haven't set or haven't synced their quit date to the community so we can help celebrate your milestones.  

I'll be welcoming our new members and encourage you to get your quit date set and synced to the community so we can help you celebrate when you hit those milestones.

To get started you'll need to do the following:

1. Set your quit date on your Set Your Quit Date | Guides & Tools | BecomeAnEX  (or make sure it's set if you aren't sure.)
2. Log out of the community by clicking this link.
3. Then log back in to the community.

When you log back in it will sync it over so it appears on your community profile. If your quit date is synced and you've indicated how many cigarettes you used to consume before you quit(update it in your community profile, otherwise we assume 20/day), your Quit Stats* will calculate how many days you've been quit and how many cigarettes you've avoided.

Be sure to check out our Getting Started Guide to learn about how to do other things on the site.

Mark
EX Community Manager

*To see your quit stats.  Hover over your username and then click the EX icon in lower left of the pop-up hovercard OR go to your profile and then click the tab for My Quit Stats.

[Giulia]

That's the attitude!  If we just stop and think before we take that next puff - that's the beginning of our new smoke-free life.

[maryfreecig]

Welcome to Ex KDQuin2018!

[AnnetteMM]

Welcome to my friend in real life lschwierzke!

[CommunityAdmin]

AnnetteMM‌ great to see IRL friends here on EX! Welcome lschwierzke‌!

Mark
EX Community Manager

[CommunityAdmin]

cmarie1971 shesapistol Emmarickenbach christy1973 brianamuse reallyneed2quit kplummer9 Keylee teags327 2019peaches Blanca62 sjenkins rosegriffin ldj00730 Jac123 Ppatch  danashackelford61 LittleSteve jamesb86 Softailmike Jilliebean01 mheyboer milesfrommo Tara_Bara Byby NancyJTrudelle Kschipani Billy420gamer Kins008 Mommybest mamadro92 Lburgett1973 frankwilker Chatt riaan Dtripolino AnnaM0912 Brianarod mrsangelasellers Ajjn2015 desimone.wendy1 Stephy62290 cathyswartz gramX2 xanastreasures bamybrown saraloveof5 Ayuzh tracy0919 paulucci Red_Chip stclairbabygirl Nsloan258 

Welcome, please check out  my post above to set a quit date and get it sync'd to the community! If you're unsure about what day to pick, check out this for suggestions.  If you haven't filled out your community profile or uploaded a picture get that set up too. We'd love to hear from you and see where you are in your quit journey!

Mark
EX Community Manager

[Ajjn2015]

Hi, I quit December 23rd. I am 36 years old and have smoked sadly since the age of 15. A pack a day smoker. This is the longest I have ever went without lighting up despite probably over 30 attempts over the years with better planning and organization of even this time. I am using nicotine patches which in the past has never ever worked for me. But this time was different, absolutely no reason or rhyme I was just ready. I am going to be wearing patches up to 3 months, I know for a fact I will never ever pick up another cigarette again. I have been tried and tested in so many ways, people smoking in front of me and started right at the holidays with family drama, I have faced every day life this far without wanting a cigarette even my teens hormonal fits. I still get the urge every once in a while but very easy to say no because the addicted part of me wants a cigarette, however I do not want a cigarette. Every day life is only becoming easier day by day as so many ways. Saying no to smoking only gets easier every day. I believe you absolutely have to be ready, have to think deeply about your health and have to be completely tired and fed up with smoking. The most challenging was the first week. I never ever believed this could be possible for me, my mindset was that I would never be able to give the habit up until it killed me.

[CommunityAdmin]

Ajjn2015 wrote:

Hi, I quit December 23rd. I am 36 years old and have smoked sadly since the age of 15. A pack a day smoker. This is the longest I have ever went without lighting up despite probably over 30 attempts over the years with better planning and organization of even this time. I am using nicotine patches which in the past has never ever worked for me. But this time was different, absolutely no reason or rhyme I was just ready. I am going to be wearing patches up to 3 months, I know for a fact I will never ever pick up another cigarette again. I have been tried and tested in so many ways, people smoking in front of me and started right at the holidays with family drama, I have faced every day life this far without wanting a cigarette even my teens hormonal fits. I still get the urge every once in a while but very easy to say no because the addicted part of me wants a cigarette, however I do not want a cigarette. Every day life is only becoming easier day by day as so many ways. Saying no to smoking only gets easier every day. I believe you absolutely have to be ready, have to think deeply about your health and have to be completely tired and fed up with smoking. The most challenging was the first week. I never ever believed this could be possible for me, my mindset was that I would never be able to give the habit up until it killed me.

That's great! Thanks so much for checking in!

Mark
EX Community Manager

[elvan]

CONGRATULATIONS on your quit, that's awesome.  Welcome to EX...may I suggest that you read a couple of great messages on here?  The first is a welcome by YoungAtHeart‌ https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/community/conversations/blog/2018/10/10/nancys-welcome and the second is a blog by JonesCarpeDiem‌ that I read over and over again when I quit /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months .  There are many more, the best thing you can do is to stay close to this site, you will get education about this addiction and support from people who have been where you are.  I had countless failed quits in the past...the difference between them and THIS quit is EX.  I am really glad you are here.

Ellen

[Ajjn2015]

Thank you! I will definitely check them out!

[elvan]

Just found out that you will not be able to access Nancy's welcome because I saved it as a draft...SOOOOO:  here it is in its entirety:

Youngatheart.7.4.12

Welcome to our community!

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: 

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. 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 Beijing 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:

 101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke 

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

You cannot be too educated or get too much support...stay close to the site.

Ellen