cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Give and get support around quitting

gourdlady
Member

Not quite there yet

My quit date was to be May 1st-my 68th birthday. It didn't work out because I didn't prepare. I can't even find my plan on this site. I spent the morning in my cardiologist's office going through many tests and on May 14th I will have surgery on my femoral arteries, which are clogged.  I have been so freaked by what has been happening to my legs, it sort of took over everything. About a year ago I went through hypnosis for quitting smoking and I have a copy of the cd somewhere in this house that I need to find to listen to every day. I need to choose a new quit date and find my plan of attack.  Since I will be in the hospital overnight on the 14th and will not be able to smoke I think that would be a good time to start "the quit".  I do have patches ready for the journey. now when I press the pot button it says I am not allowed to post. geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh.

22 Replies
Giulia
Member

At least you know why it didn't work out on the 1st.  Preparation is key.  If you're sailing across the ocean, you study your route, have your provisions in order, prepare for emergencies and follow the map.  You don't just head off willy nilly.  Same is true for quitting.  /blogs/Giulia-blog/2018/03/01/quitting-is-a-skill-that-can-be-learned?sr=search&searchId=64701f5a-eb...‌  

So a year ago you went through hypnosis to quit smoking, but since you're here one may presume it didn't "take" too well?  My suggestion would be to try something else.  (Did you try the patches before, or is this the first time?)  If a tool hasn't worked in the past, it's not likely to suddenly start working.  There is no magic elixir that will make all cravings disappear.  The real magic is created by our brains.  It can happen spontaneously (from reading something like the Allen Carr book), or it can occur through repeated reinforcement, like reading the blogs here.  The magic, I believe, is a change in attitude.  When the commitment to quit overrides the discomfort of it.  When we come to think of quitting not as "giving up" something, but rather gaining something.  When we actually feel that, not just intellectually understand it.

But that kind of transformation doesn't usually happen the first day or week or month.  It's a gradual learning/growing process.  The magic begins to happen when we have that first "aha" moment.  Meanwhile a bit of self analysis and self-discipline are in order.  You cannot read too much about this process.  It will help strengthen your resolve.  

Meanwhile, you have your gourds to keep your hands occupied.  Perhaps make a piggy bank out of one and daily put the money you'd usually spend on cigarettes in it.  

Do you make things with gourds like this lady did?  The National Gourd Lady - YouTube 

gourdlady
Member

Well, we don't exactly make the same kind of gourds, but once you become a

gourd artist you are obsessed with it!!!!!!!!!

Giulia
Member

Well show us your work if you'd like.  WE'd love to see it.  Head to https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/artists  and specifically to this blog by Missy:  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/17678-share-your-art-with-us

I have a small gourd that we hatched a couple of years back and it's still sitting on my kitchen counter calling me to do something creative with it.  About the size of two duck eggs.  I can't draw worth a damn so I've never attempted to paint it.  Any simple  ideas for the artistically unskilled?

gourdlady
Member

I have a fancy wood burner with different tips on it that I use most often

and then do the painting. Pencil marks come off easily with alcohol and

paper towels or kleenex. I'll look for some pictures to share on the site.

I have over 100 gourds ready to be worked on and would be a really good

thing to get back into to keep my little fingers busy.

On Sun, May 5, 2019 at 12:17 AM Giulia <communityadmin@becomeanex.org>

jonimarie
Member

I can only speak for myself. 

Joined BecmaeAnEx and picked my quit date for 2 weeks. Tomorrow will be 14 days of quit.

The Anticipation, "what ifs "and educating myself during those two weeks was by far harder than the two weeks of quit.

Once you commit, understand the addiction and be active in the site you realize that this is doable.

gourdlady
Member

will do. Thanks

On Sun, May 5, 2019 at 9:46 AM Youngatheart.7.4.12 <

0 Kudos
Beck37
Member

I just had to share this since you are a gourd artist. These were gourds I had made for my mom a few years back from photos of her cats... amazing what you people can do. 

A761D876-7572-4EDD-9C9A-38FEA7B88ED0.jpeg

Giulia
Member

TOOOOO WONDERFUL!!!  Talent abounds!

0 Kudos
gourdlady
Member

Wow! You put a lot of work into those!!!!!!!!!!!

Gourdlady

0 Kudos
indingrl
Member

So CUTE! 

0 Kudos