Day 1 - Again

[luvztheway]

I'm a self-proclaimed serial quitter.  This is my 10th time but I'm not giving up.  This time it's cold turkey.  I've gone cold turkey in the past but not quite like this.  I knew I'd been wanting to quit again - I've been wheezing at night lately and that just can't be good.  

I'll be 49 on my next birthday in about 11 weeks.  I've made it 6 months, over 2 years, and as long as 4 years in the past.  I won't "feel" like a success this time unless I reach the 5-year mark and even at that point, I know I can never touch even one or I'll be right back to where I am now.  

I've never been the one who can smoke just when I drink or just have one drag now and again.  I'm a smoker at heart and have been for the better part of more than 3 decades now.  

Anyway, I plan to write a ton this time so, here is to never giving up and try, try, trying again.  Happy quit y'all!

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Okay

I couldn't drink without smoking, ever.

ask yourself why this keeps happening?

pin it down so you can work around it!

don’t drink for 6 months  how about a month at a time?

make an agreement with yourself. Do this and I bet you’ll quit drinking too.

time away until you learn new ways.

how else do you think this happens? New memories replace smoking memories. Time is the great disconnector.

willingness is a superpower

willpower runs burns out!

[Macocker]

@luvztheway all that pressure you are carrying friend! Smoking or not smoking, you are doing great. You are trying. You havent given up. I once was a serial quitter with smoking. It was the hardest drug to quit for me. Try rewarding yourself for all the small wins. Instead of focusing on if you make it through this time. Example: I reward myself chocolate cake for getting through the first day. A massage after three days. Maybe this helps? Regardless your awesome for being here 🙂

[champsin97]

I hope this quit is your last.  It sounds like you are very motivated.  Stay close and stay strong.

[CommunityAdmin]

We're here to support you in any way we can, @luvztheway. And you're already a success because you sound motivated to stay on your quit journey. Keep us posted, and remember you got this!

- Danielle, EX Team 

[biscuit9]

"I knew I'd be wanting to quit again", that is one reason why I won't start again.  Glad you aren't ignoring the wheezing, and you realize smokng might be causing it.  It's scary when you get these "signals" and at first you just want to ignore them, because you are gonna be the only smoker who never gets sick or has health problems from smoking.  To be a smoker, you have to be in denial about your health.  It hit home for me now that a good friend is having complications from smoking, but he had been having an awful cough for the last two years, but he cont'd to smoke, we all did.  I had to go to God to even have the desire to quit, when all the proof I needed was right in front of me.  As for alcohol, I didn't mean to, but I have given it up, to make sure I keep my quit.  I've lost a quit over alcohol, before.  It won't happen again.  

You are determined and don't ever give up quitting.  I also went cold turkey, but before you lose your quit, use an aide.  Gum, mints, smelly things, choose what you will use.  For me, the main thing was the mindset.  I finally had the desire to quit and it made all the difference.  I thank God for showing me the way.  Quit day 426

[Barbscloud]

@luvztheway Welcome to the Ex.  Glad you found us.  I think it's safe to say that most of us are serial quitters.  After 50 years, many attempts and every aid, I finally quit when I found the Ex an learned how to quit for the firs time and how invaluable support is to be successful.  Very few people can just smoke on certain occasions, like when having a drink.  I think many of us wish could be like that, but it's rare.  We're addicted to nicotine and we're going to smoke for every every event and emotion in our lives.  

The important thing is that you've never given up.  With each attempt you learn something, not just about quitting, but about yourself.  No matter how you choose to quit, cold turkey or with aids, you need to educate yourself about nicotine addiction and have a quit plan. Many have found success with knowledge and preparation. It took me 50 years and many attempts to finally get it. I went into my quits blindly and was never successful. In addition to some aids for my final quit, I found the Ex a week prior to my quit. For the first time I learned how to quit and had the support that was always lacking.

This link is a great place to start.
https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex

Make the commitment and you can do this too. We're here to support you on your journey. So reach out anytime you need help, want to share your experience or to support fellow quitters. We're all in this together.

Join many of us by taking the Daily Pledge. It's a great way to stay on track on day at a time.

Stay busy and stay close.

Barb

[maryfreecig]

I'm a decade smober but do not have a forever quit. I have a just for today quit. I intend to never smoke again, but I can only be quit for today. 

Many, many successful quitters have to try a few times. I don't know what a serial quitter is really. Would that be me? I quit successfully at age 25 for 2.5 years. Another time in my early 30s I promised to quit for work and lasted a few days or week maybe. In 2009, I suddenly decided within one day without planning to quit. Yes this had to be it. I lasted only hours. 

You seem to be profiling yourself as a something...as a thing--a serial quitter is what? Someone who is constitutionally incapable of quitting? Someone who takes it seriously until they don't? 

I quit for a fourth time in 2013, a decade now. I was 54 then, I'm 65 now. And as I said, I strive for smobriety just one day at a time. No regrets. It was so worth it. But, had I looked back and said or thought that I couldn't because I hadn't, I'd only have been doing the work of addiction.

We aren't smokers at heart, not really IMO. We're addicts. 

The Ex community has many members who succeeded eventually. You can't have just one? You definitely belong with us !  We can't either. One step, one day at a time we shape the kind of quit we really want.