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Share your quitting journey

More than just not Lighting up

Hiker
Member
9 18 204
‎06-25-2020 02:46 PM

I have been reading so many helpful comments and suggestions.  I'm amazed!  What I am learning is that quitting smoking is just not about "not lighting up".  What I didn't  expect was the soul searching that came along with it.  A comment was made about looking at those who were smoking and thinking "They GET to."  VS "They HAVE to".  That opened up a whole door into my deepest thoughts about this whole process.   So along with all the little tricks to get you not to light up, for me the biggest hurdle is the thought process.  That's the part that I wasn't ready to deal with.  That's the part that this site is helping me with the most.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

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About the Author
Lets see...I have been a smoker for way too many years. My last quit was for 3 yrs. We moved cross country from NJ to AZ to this new place. I got thru the move and even finding out my husband has early Alzheimer disease, all without smoking. But for whatever reason I picked it up again in the fall 2017. Moving to this area created so many opportunities to explore and find groups to meet new people. We joined a hiking group that meets once a week. We joined another group that meets 2 times a week that works to build new trails and repair the old ones. We adopted a rescue dog who loves to go for hikes. We also joined a yoga session that meets 2 times a week and joined the gym. This was for my husband to help with the disease but also for myself. For the first 5 months of moving here all was great as a non smoker. The elevation sometimes got to me but I adjusted. When I started smoking again it didn't seem to effect my activity. I only smoked 6 to 7 cigarettes a day. But then it did become a problem. I couldn't keep up with the hiking groups and my asthma inhaler wasn't all that effective. My husband would take the dog for a walk, which in this area was full of hills, and I would come up with excuses why I didn't go with them. I would stay home to smoke. My doctor noticed my oxygen levels were low. My night vision was getting worse. I was avoiding the activities I loved to do. My hiker friends noticed I was slowing down but I made excuses to stop to look at the scenery or drink or blow my nose. The constant commercials on tv about smoking effects bothered me. Seeing folks with oxygen machines while they were in the store or at the park effected me. My husband "caught" me a few times and just shook his head and said "you're going to die before me." Coughing and constantly clearing my throat was real annoying and hurt. My adult children who would come to visit wanted to see all the trails we found. Knowing how active they are in their lives I wanted to keep up with them. So it was time to knock it off. I had tried a few times and could go a few months without lighting up. Then I would get through a week at a time. I thought I could just smoke on and off like this and still work it out. But when I quit all I could think of is smoking and when I smoked all I could think of was quitting. Way too much on my brain! Somehow I found this site and it has been a great help.