Becoming a quitter

Blog Post created by Hbingham8 on Jul 19, 2019

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Im new here, although NOT to becoming a quitter. I started smoking at 15. Someone told me how cool i looked smoking and it was over from there! I am 42 years young, exercise 5 days a week, and recently started running. Which BTW kills me. My lungs are terrible. I am scared to death i will be one of those people from the brutal quit smoking commercials . Yet here i am smoking like a chimney.

I love the trigger advise on changing the routine during trigger moments, which is alot!! With everything i do! But even prolonging smoking by minutes, is a very long time. I have started this phase today. I have not yet set a date. I am struggling with this part of things. I have a vacation coming up in 3 weeks. Should i quit before or after? This vacation will be a huge trigger. Help!

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jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 Jul 19, 2019 1:19 PM
Everything is a trigger when you're used to smoking for any reason.
Start telling yourself "I'm going to wait a little longer" every time you think of smoking.
Don't deny yourself, don't count, just say that phrase. If you'll say that every time, your smoking will decrease automatically and in three weeks you will have proven you don't need to smoke just because you thought you did.
You will be ready to quit without any stress.
PS I didn't set a quit date either. I did what I've told you for 4 weeks and went from a pack a day to 5 a day.
I quit one time 12+ years ago.
https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months
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gregp136 Jul 19, 2019 10:23 AM
Let's review.

1. You Smoke.
2. You want to quit.

That is all that is important. You can do this. Even weak whoosies like me have done it. Learn as much as you can here, learn as much as you can about yourself and push forward to a wonderful life as a ex!!!!!

You can do this!
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sweetplt Jul 19, 2019 12:24 PM
Hi and Welcome to Ex’s...Hbingham8

I don’t think I or anyone can answer your question about quitting before or after vacation. This is your quit and you need to decide my preparation...My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX click here and read and pick your quit date (that is a step you must do in order to quit smoking)...then prepare for that day like no other. Also, gain knowledge about craves and triggers. Then work that day like no other...YOU can do this, but it takes work and you must work at it...This is an addiction and you must go step by step...no matter what, someday you will have to quit smoking...let it be your choice...we are all in this journey together...and have/had the same issues and yet we didn’t die from quitting...Ok now get working...~ Colleen 228 DOF

100 Things to do instead of smoking!
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indingrl.01.06.2011 Jul 19, 2019 1:10 PM
Welcome and thank you so much for sharing and SUGGESTIONS to ME long ago - that SELF EDUCATION is the key - that was SUGGESTED to ME - YEARS ago and still HELPS ME to keep learning and growing and HEALING inside of ME TODAY - also SUGGESTED to read what EX Team offers here and to go and watch the early death videos at whyquit.com and to read the book by Joel called - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF EVER - and I also stayed on this site EVERYDAY for ME - now YOU get to CHOOSE YOUR OWN PERSONAL WAY -- ALL those here share their PERSONAL - whatever - worked for them - to live their OWN NON SMOKER LIFE STYLE - please take what HELPS and let go of the rest - to be HELPFUL is MY only aim - thank you - also I was still USING MY DRUG of MY CHOICE NICOTINE and reading blogs here when I arrived in October 2010 and TODAY 2019 to ME - it is SUGGESTED - please blog BEFORE YOU take that FIRST puff over YOU - constant learning ALL about ME to NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF EVER - over ME - gentle hug❤
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Youngatheart.7.4.12 Jul 19, 2019 3:41 PM
Welcome to our community!

Since one of the things we recommend is that you change up your routines, it seems to me that quitting before your vacation might give you a unique opportunity. Be sure to have a PLAN (which I will discuss later on) for other things to do during your usual smoking times.

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. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.

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. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

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 after you have tried to delay and distract. 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. You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them.. For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum. For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four 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, 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.

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-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
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Strudel Jul 19, 2019 6:57 PM
Hi and welcome to the site! I say - go for it now! I really liked the Carr book Nancy mentioned above. Plus - the support here will make all the differ no! Make a plan - you can do this!
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Barbscloud Jul 20, 2019 8:48 AM
Welcome to the Ex. Think you have to decide if you quit before going on vacation. But here's a thought. You're technically supposed to still be smoking when you read the Allen Carr book. (some us did read after we quit). But the quote below is from Allen Carr himself. So, if you decide to quit after your vacation, take his book with you. His book has lots of good information, but I don't agree with his premise that it's easy. Don't know if you're going to use an aid, but with Chantix and Welbutrin you continue to smoke at first while on these medications. They could also be your started while on vacation. Wishing you the best on whatever you decide.

"People often dismiss an attempt to quit smoking until after their holiday. Just the prospect of having to suffer without cigarettes by attempting to quit smoking while on their annual vacation is enough to scare most smokers away from even trying. The belief that it has to be hard to quit smoking is so firmly ingrained on smokers minds that just the thought of attempting to do so is likely to be banished from any holiday plans smokers might otherwise have.
On holiday (or just before going) is actually a great time to quit smoking. I spent my Easter family vacation in Cyprus and was intrigued to notice a lady staying in the same complex as ourselves reading and smoking her way through the book (Allen Carr’s Easyway To Quit Smoking) during our stay. It felt very strange seeing our book “in action”. It’s something, of course, which is normally impossible for us to see. Naturally, I didn’t make it known to the woman that I was involved in the worldwide publication of the book. I just noticed how each day she relaxed at the poolside reading the book, smoking whilst doing so, hoping to find out how to quit smoking easily. About half way through the holiday I noticed that she had quit reading the book, having moved on to a Michael Connelly novel instead. I was thrilled to notice that she had indeed quit smoking. She seemed very happy and, if anything, even more relaxed than before.
It was wonderful to see the easyway to quit smoking book in full action and although I am certain that she didn’t notice it, I hope that lady would forgive my understandable curiosity and interest in her holiday reading.
Quitting smoking is easy as long as you don’t try to ‘quit’ smoking. Once you understand the smoking trap you realise there really is nothing to quit. Quitting smoking on holiday, or just before, is a great idea. Why put it off until another time?"

Allen Carr

Barb
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elvan Jul 20, 2019 12:44 PM
Welcome to EX, you have gotten GREAT advice already, I cannot add much except to congratulate you on your decision to quit while you are still so young! You will likely feel the benefits of quitting very soon after you quit...unlike someone like ME who developed COPD and who struggles to breathe just walking to the mailbox. It ISN'T worth it to keep smoking.

Best to you,
Ellen
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maryfreecig Jul 21, 2019 9:16 AM
Take what you need, leave the rest. My two cents worth? If you can quit peacefully then do that. If it is going to be work (and it is for most of us) then accept that you will be going through the process of saying no to the urge to smoke. Time works a quit very well, no matter how you come to the quit--happy or upset.

I don't believe in reducing smoking before quitting if the reason is that you believe you will be less addicted when you quit. Learning not to smoke every time you think of one (prior to quitting) is a good mental exercise, like taxi-ing a plane before flying. Eventually though you need to get through some urges to smoke whereby you are fully committed to looking beyond the crave. One day at a time gets this kind of work done.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/newbie-quitters/blog/2019/01/27/one-of-the-greatest-tools-you-can-use

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6753-dopamine-the-double-edged-blade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z16vhtjWKL0 Dr. Mike Evan's advice for quitting smoking

No matter how you craft your quit--now or in four weeks when you are done with your vacation, you can do it. Stick around, Ex is here 365--ready when you are.
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Hbingham8 Jul 21, 2019 10:37 AM
Hi.
And thanks all for the many comments and advise. I did purchase the allen carr book via kindle as suggested. I also picked a date. Which is after my vacation. The last day to be exact. Each time i "quit", haha, i revisit old hurdles of my habit and learn new ones. I do not wish to use NRT, ive noticed it only keeps me smoking and or brings me back to smoking. Patches, vaping and recently acupuncture, which after 4 sessions i smoked alot more. I have used chantix, i quit for a year on it. I was however a very mean human being that year. Ruining 1 life in particular for quite some time. 1 of my biggest fears in quitting cold turkey. At this point in the game i hate it so much its not even about physical withdrawals. Its about smoking cause its something to do. My body doesnt need it. My hands do. Anyone else like this? I am very bitter about other smokers. How can an 80 year old lady smoke like a chimney and still be ok! Fear # 2. I have to accept that other people smoke and its just not for me. I do have chronic bronchitis and the beginnings of emphysema at 42. Bad lungs and bad hearts run in my blood line. Oofta! Heres my sign! I am an ex drug abuser and putting that habit down was way easier. I need to trust myself the way i did putting drugs down. Plain and simple.
Signing off for now..
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- Youngatheart.7.4.12 @ Hbingham8 on Jul 21, 2019 11:32 AM
  The nicotine is out of your body in about three days, then it takes a couple of weeks for your body to adjust to life without it. It isn't fun and it isn't easy - but it IS doable. Take lots of slow/deep breaths, sip from a cold bottle of water, get lots of exercise and get through each day the best that you can. You can cut up straws to cigarette lengths for something for your hands to fiddle.
  One day, sometimes an hour at a time, is how it's done. Be sure to get rid of ALL cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays. No sense in having temptation near at hand.
  Your mind is your most powerful tool. Think you CAN; think you WILL!
  Nancy
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elvan Jul 21, 2019 2:27 PM
The psychological addiction is the most powerful part and recovery is a journey. You know that from your drug addiction recovery. I listed my triggers when I was still smoking and I rated them 1 to 5 with 5 being the strongest, then I wrote down something I could do INSTEAD of smoking when I quit. It really did help, it also cut back my smoking because once I was aware of the triggers, they lost much of their power. You CAN do this and we are all here to help you in any way that we can, stay close to the site. Use the vacation to read and think about what a wonderful decision this is for your future.
Ellen
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Becoming a quitter

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