So there it is. A momentous day for sure.. 5 years quit.
I sort of wish I could tell you it has been a struggle and that I have built up an arsenal of coping mechanisms that I use to combat the urge to have a puff. But for me it was the first 6 months that were hard and after that .. I only have felt urges compelling me to smoke on very few occasions. Even if I found myself wanting to give into temptation -- I work from home and don't have quick access to a store to do so. Just that environment alone helped immensely during that first 90-180 days. My daughter lives downstairs and still smokes -- I find that while the smell of smoke does bring memories and - from time to time - will bring on an urge to light up - I can easily distract myself with some other activity and the moment passes.
And in the end .. I guess that is my advice .. find your reason .. and find your distraction.
I know it isn't much for advice this time .. but I've been more prolific in my comments in the past.
As with most anything you do in life .. if you want it bad enough you'll find a way to make it happen.
When I was a smoker and not looking to quit - I smoked because .. well .. because I did.
I didn't make an effort to find ways to smoke more often -- I smoked.. sometimes a pack a day . .sometimes twice that.. but it was like it was a reflexive rather than conscious action. Maybe I smoked more when I was stressed or nervous - however I never actually visualized it as such .. I just smoked.
When I decided to quit -- those reflexes were still there. That, for me, was what I had to change in order to stay quit.
I found distractions in work, in playing games on the phone, in reading, and other such activities.
I picked up riding a bike a couple years ago -- been a bit sporatic since I tend not to ride in the winter - so I lose a lot of the previously gained fitness but I still have a good time. This last spring and summer I rode almost every weekend and finally joined with a local group of 6 other riders this last October and we rode our bikes from Pittsburg, PA to Cumberland, MD - a total of 160 miles over 4 days. (about 40 miles per day). It was a blast.
It just comes back to -- find your distraction.
ArmyLifer98 (Hank Schupp)
