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Share your quitting journey

Make A Plan To Quit

RoseH
Member
4 5 128

I remember how overwhelmed I felt before I quit smoking almost two years ago…  I smoked for 50 years so if I can do it, you can too!  I hope this will help all new members to understand that smoking is a terrible addiction, and that it is not hard to form a plan to stop killing ourselves slowly, and learn how to live a completely happy life smoke free!

[Read the book by Allen Carr, “How to Quit Smoking the Easy way”.  He believes in “Cold Turkey” quitting.  However, there are options...]

 

It isn't a matter of just slapping on a patch or chewing some nicotine gum.  Every behavior you can think of is tied to your smoking.  We smoked because we were happy, sad, mad, hurt, tired, sick, bored... etc.

 

You need to replace those habits.  Take a day to make a plan.  We call it a Quit Kit.  It can be anything you want.   Get creative and really think about it.

 

Some things folks have used is nicotine gum.  You can buy regular gum the same size, color and flavor so you can go back and forth between the two.  If you are using the patch, make sure you have an extra patch in the office, in your purse, or in your wallet, for those days when you have forgotten to put one on in the morning.  It happens more than you think!  Have lozenges available for those high stress / high craving times.

 

Have some Red Vines to 'smoke'.  Or a cut up a straw into thirds...  especially during high trigger times like driving.  Sometimes it feels good to just hold if you are accustomed to always having a smoke in your hand.

 

Grab your favorite CDs or tapes to put in your car so you can put one in and sing out loud.

 My favorite was dancing and singing at the same time.

 Your brain cannot do a 3rd thing, so thinking about smoking just disappears  🙂

 

To keep your mind and hands busy, go to a local arts/crafts store and look for things to do.  Buy something that interests you; rug hooking kits, scrapbooking stuff, or Christmas stocking kits for the grandkids.  Or, get some coloring books and colored pencils or felt tip pens.  Stained glass, floral, tropical fish or Native American motif coloring books are available everywhere now. They make you want to do a good job.  LOL!  Dora the Explorer would make me want to scribble on her face  😮

 

Make a list of everything that needs to be done, or you want to do around the house.  Go through each room and write down everything from cleaning out drawers and closets to painting, rearranging or redecorating.  Same with the garage and yard work...  Once you have your list, break it down into 5-15 minutes segments so nothing becomes overwhelming.

 

Make baggies of crunchy foods to satisfy your mouth so they are at work and handy to grab...  Carrots, celery, Chex mix, pretzel sticks (you can hold those like a cig), gum, etc.   They need to be ready to just grab at any given time.

 

This is important!  Get on BecomeanEx.com and ask for help!

 [The Old Quitnet.com way… The 3 Post Rule:  When you are craving and really shaky, post and click the “I'm craving and need some help” box.  Wait for at least 3 response posts before you make a decision to purchase cigarettes or to smoke.  Most times, you will be fine once you read the posts (keeps you from dwelling).  If not...post again and wait for 3 more...] 

 

Once you have all these things figured out you will be well prepared to handle anything, and you don't even have to think...just look at your list…  Keep 1 copy at work, 1 at home, 1 in your purse or wallet, 1 in the car. 

 If you did one day, you can do 2.  If you did 3, you can do one more.  No future tripping. You can't do a darn thing about tomorrow until it gets here. Today is a good time to quit but if you feel you can't, then take tomorrow to put together your Quit Kit and quit the day after.

 

Don't set a quit date out there for 2 weeks, 1 month, etc. All you do is make yourself crazy in your head by stressing over that date.  And Remember!  Having support here is the key to success!  It is so much better to quit together!  Rosemary  [A Repost by Grammax s. from the old Quitnet.com]

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About the Author
I was 57 years old and smoking like a chimney in September 2003. I was also having medical problems and upon my doctor’s diagnosis, I knew I had to quit smoking. I was scheduled and admitted to the hospital in October 2003. I had a total hysterectomy and was recuperating, when a nurse found me upset in my room and she told me to try to calm down, and take a deep breath… I could not take a deep breath! In fact, I had to be put on oxygen immediately! I was terrified. A medical specialist was brought in, and that is when I learned I had COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). My x-rays confirmed it, and the direct cause was smoking [since I was 15 years old]. I had double pneumonia as an infant, so my lungs were fragile, even when I was very young… I had to stay an extra week and they pumped steroids and antibiotics in my arm so I could breathe on my own, again. My nose got so sore with those oxygen cannulas in both nostrils. Hindsight is always 20/20. I should have never started smoking. However, peer pressure was awful when I was 15 years old. A few of my classmates dared me to light up and smoke one… I remember that first taste and how I coughed from the smoke. It was awful! But I wanted to “belong”, so I smoked until the addiction took hold of me! Back to the hospital room… I was terrified. I quit. I stayed that way for six whole months. My husband, Ed quit with me. We were doing great and then one day I said to him, “My life feels empty. Do you think we’ve got this quitting thing under control? Do you think we can have just a few a day? Before I could say another word, he was off in the car to buy some cigarettes… We both lit up when he returned, and I felt like my throat and lungs were on fire! I smashed it out and coughed! “I will never do that again!” But an addict’s lies are just that! Before long I was smoking over a pack a day again… The truth is that I had no idea how terrible the “addiction” to the drug Nicotine was. I smoked for another decade or two and each day I would tell myself that I would quit “tomorrow”. Don’t be as naïve’ as I was about this slowly killing addiction! Quit now! I would not be using two inhalers if I would have kept my quit way back then…