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Give and get support around quitting

Quickness24
Member

I can beat this!

All I have are 3 cigarettes a day!!!   I know I can beat this!!!

23 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

If you are only smoking three cigarettes a day, you are unnecessarily making yourself more uncomfortable than necessary by being in constant withdrawal mode.  If you are down to that few, it's time to just quit them altogether!

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

Quickness24
Member

Thank you so much

On Sun, Jan 20, 2019 at 11:50 AM Youngatheart.7.4.12 <

Giulia
Member

You CAN beat this.  /blogs/Giulia-blog/2018/03/01/quitting-is-a-skill-that-can-be-learned?sr=search&searchId=a01ee34b-87...‌  EX is a great site that offers a good plan and wonderful support.  So sit back, read what people have to offer, take what works for you and leave what doesn't.  We're all on the same team here, cheering you on.  And we'll walk the walk with you.  Glad you've joined us!

Quickness24
Member

Thank you

elvan
Member

Quickness24 

Welcome to EX, you have gotten some great responses, please know that we care and that we want to help you. I have a question...have you ALWAYS smoked three cigarettes a day or is this part of your quit? 

I agree with YoungAtHeart‌ that you are keeping yourself in constant withdrawal and that's a HORRIBLE place to be.  Quitting is an amazing gift to yourself and anyone who loves you.  It is so worth it...please do the reading, understand that this is an addiction and that the only way to recover is one day at a time...it cannot be rushed but as Giulia‌ has shared with you...it can be TAUGHT.  I would also recommend reading a blog by JonesCarpeDiem‌ some time ago that helped me a LOT when I quit.../blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months   There you go, you have lots of homework to do...you CAN do this no matter how long or how much you smoked.  It IS DOABLE!

Again, welcome,

Ellen

Quickness24
Member

I use to smoke a pack a day

0 Kudos

Those three cigarettes a day are likely just keeping you in withdrawal.

Are you going to use a nicotine replacement or something else?

0 Kudos
Quickness24
Member

I use nicotine patches, and lozenges to suppress my actions

On Sun, Jan 20, 2019 at 6:10 PM jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 <

0 Kudos

I don't know what patch your using or the strength or frequency of the lozenges but if you were down to three cigarettes a day you were only getting 3mg of nicotine delivered per day. The lowest patch would give you over double the amount of those 3 cigarettes or are you doing all three? 

Those actions you say you are suppressing are not for nicotine, they are for the ritual you miss in your routine. More nicotine will not make you think any less of the ritual you miss, in fact if you ingest nicotine and use it to replace the ritual you may become psychologically addicted to the physical addiction in the same way we are psychologically addicted to the ritual. Think of those as two distinct addictions and try to keep them in that perspective because the ritual/psychological addiction is much more difficult to unlearn.