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Christiany14
Member

Christiany14's Status Update on 06/21/2019

I am new to this site, I don’t know where to start my journey, I don’t know who to talk to. I need a foundation to build on.
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7 Replies
CommunityAdmin
Community Manager
Community Manager

Welcome.  Reading around the site, asking questions and commenting around the site will be helpful.  Check out Best of EX on the home page for helpful information from other quitters.
EX Community Admin Team
Giulia
Member

Hello there!  Welcome.  Where to start - "Let's start at the very beginning.  A very good place to start..."  As Mark said, reading is the first step in learning how to overcome this addiction.  The more you know, the more prepared you'll be for the journey ahead.  If you feel comfortable, put up a blog and tell us a little about yourself and your smoking history.  Blogs and discussions are part of the foundation here.  And each new piece of information you gather builds your quit house, brick by beautiful brick.  We're all on the same team, just in different stages of the journey.  Grab a hand!
e3ff1215
Member

I'm tryiing to get started chatting with a support group
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e3ff1215
Member

hello, i'm confused and do not know how to get involved in your program
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CommunityAdmin
Community Manager
Community Manager

e3ff1215 There isn't a synchronous chat here on the EX Community but you can respond to any post you find here on the community and those who are participating in the discussion/blog/question will get notified.  Check out the information in the https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/  area and the Getting Started Guide on the home page.

​There is also a magnifying glass in the upper right of the page where you can search across the site to answer questions you have or you can go to places like https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/  and then click the pencil icon in upper right and then compose a question.

​Welcome!
​Mark
​EX Community Manager
EX Community Admin Team
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YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

 A good bit of the action here centers on the blogs.  You might write one to introduce yourself, giving us your smoking history, your reasons for wanting to quit, if you are planning to use a smoking aid, and anything else you care to share.  Go to "Home" top left, then "Post to my Blog."  Write it and then hit "publish" and you will be on your way to participating.  To read what others have written lately, click on "Latest Updates" from Home, too.


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-instea...
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


 
elvan
Member

You have gotten great advice here Christiany14  and e3ff1215 reading blogs, commenting, perhaps posting your own blog can do nothing but help you to go forward on your journey.  Please remember that this IS a journey and not an event.  There is much to learn and you cannot be too educated or too supported, you need to bring your own commitment but everyone here started at the same place.  We have all moved forward at different paces, we all have our own histories, some of us had more than one failed quit, some people actually quit the first time they tried.  I smoked for 47 years and have now been quit for over 5 years...thanks in great part to the support and advice I have gotten from this site.  I also have COPD so I am constantly reminded of my reasons for quitting by my shortness of breath and my fatigue.  I am so glad that I quit and I have never regretted it.  I came here every single morning and every evening when I first quit and I am usually here every day even now.  I did have a plan and it helped, My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX  I read everything that was recommended and then some.  I identified my triggers and planned for what to do instead of smoking and I stuck with my plan.  I used the mantra NOPE that I learned from here...Not One Puff Ever.  I drank tons of water, I took many deep breaths, I learned how to FEEL my feelings instead of stuffing them.  You can do this and you do not have to do it alone.
​Ellen
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