Good Morning All -
I wanted to pop in and say boy do I feel VICTORIOUS! 60 days of freedom today!!! It's been a rollercoaster of a journey but honestly - mostly ups - & much of that has to do with this community & what I've learned here.
Things I've learned in the last 60 days:
1. Blog before you smoke - I was surprised to realize how cathartic blogging is - it lets you get out all the angst & by the time I hit "post" - usually the craving is gone. Then before you know it, the kudos and replies start coming in and they drown out the need for a smoke. Cheering others on also gets you out of your own head and protects your own quit as much as it helps others. It's a win-win.
2. Different triggers might respond better to different coping mechanisms. In prior quits I only ever had one plan - if I wanted a smoke, I would try a hard candy etc. This time, going through the exercises on the site, had me identifying all of the my different triggers and coming up with possible solutions. As I did that, I realized for me, the new solution was different depending on the situation. When I am angry or worried instead of smoking, I found out something physical works best - go for a bike ride, stomp around like a crazy person, walk. But for the wake up smoke - that wasn't the answer - I needed a new peaceful calm thing to do in the morning like meditate or new skin care routine. If I am frustrated at work, Big Red gum was my best friend. And flipping the script by switching up the perspective on my triggers like Nancy suggested was always a big help. Be creative and bold!
3. Quitting is not a passive process. I have realized that I must take an active role in creating a plan, working it and revising it when necessary. I can't just roll through life and expect it to happen and that responsibility to actively protect my quit doesn't stop when I reach a certain milestone. Recognizing that different things helped different triggers, helps me be proactive. I can look ahead to a happy event or a tough one and have the tools in place to help me get through it.
4. Smoking is not a habit it is an addiction. Wow. This is a big one. It probably should've been #1. This takes the idea that you can have just one off the table and that is revolutionary. N.O.P.E.
5. For me quitting smoking in the past was about depriving myself of smoking and giving up something that I would tell everyone "I loved". I would say to people things like, I really love smoking - It's my one vice. I don't drink that much and it's how I relax. Giving up smoking with that thought process was HARD and it made me sad, angry and frustrated. Why did I have to give up something I really enjoyed? Reading Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" made me realize that even if I did miraculously actually like smoking (debatable) - I definitely DID NOT enjoy being a smoker and I HATED being an addict. Even if smoking actually relaxed me (debatable) - I was definitely LESS relaxed the entire rest of my life when I wasn't actually smoking that a non smoker because of my obsession with smoking. Learning all of this changed this quit from being about deprivation to being about freedom, enhancing my life and gaining so much. This let me "Welcome my Quit" (thanks @Maki for the phrase).
6. As in all things in life, Gratitude makes the process more fun. I am so thankful for people who were once strangers, that now feel like community who have offered advice, tough love, laughter, encouragement and wisdom. There are too many to thank but I am incredibly grateful to you all
