Day 6

[sue10]

This will be my first smoke free weekend in many, many years. Part of me just wants to curl up under the covers and go to sleep, and the other part of me knows I must continue throughout my day keeping busy and doing my best not to think about cigarettes. So for now I choose to go onto this site, a great website to read and write.

I still would love to have a cigarette but know that is not an option. When I think about it the thought really puts me on edge. I am sure many of you, probably all have felt the same way. (Knowing that truly does help.) I have read that the dreaded "just one won't hurt" is the worst thing to do. I have thought about that but am not obsessing over it. I don't want to undue the 6 days of hard work I have already done. In addition, I would really beat myself up over it if I did give in.

I must say I admire all of you "cold turkey quitters" out there. I am on the patch so at least I am getting my slow dose of nicotine during the course of the day. Right now I am working on the psychological issues that go along with quitting. As a patch user, the nicotine patches mg strength becomes less and less as you step down, eventually allowing you to become patch free. Being on the patch and being a member of "The Patch User" group on this site makes me realize just how powerful the drug nicotine is. OMG No wonder quitting smoking is one of the hardest things to do. If I knew it would be this difficult to quit, I never would have started in the first place. (I am sure all of us have thought about that.) But reality is, we all were former smokers and are quitting for various reasons, the primary reason I would think would be to prolong life. It seems strange to write I am a non-smoker. Almost seems like getting an A on a paper when I am used to getting B's and C's. We all need to be proud of ourselves, WE ARE DOING THIS FOR LIFE!!!!!

[dawn4]

you keep going, Sue!
and keep coming back. we walk this journey together. one day at a time.

[Carenda]

Sue is right, we will walk this journey together, one day at a time. For me it became one minute at a time. LoL You may need to lie down and take a nap. For some of us, sleeping is what got us through the first few days.

[sandra5]

Hi Sue, Naps are good!!!!! Your body is going through a transition -- so walks and naps and good nutrition all help! You are doing terrific!!!!

[edith2]

I did too. When I first quit, I wanted to smoke so bad. But I decided after the first 24 hours that there was no turning back. The constant urges and thoughts do leave. And before you know it, you'll feel so much better! Not only physically, but you'll feel better about yourself. It was strange at the beginning of my quit to think of myself as a non-smoker too. It was hard for me to believe I quit because I thought I never would. But deep in the back of my mind, I always wanted to. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.

[patricia6]

You are in HELL WEEK ONE and you are so near the end of it as well! YEY YOU SUE!. I would love to jump through the consol screen and wipe that L word out your vocabulary in connection with the addiction. Let me assure you that the messages that are lieing to you that that curse and bully propaganda your addicted brain assures you "is love" is NOT EVEN A FRIEND! Never was. It is like we have been told killing ourselves is a good idea when it is done slowly and when some greedy corporations are lapping up the money. Today you are doing the right thing. The one thing to do is to breathe and to let every second add up to another day and then another untill you are completely healed. Did you read that it takes six months for our bodies to produce our own natural dopamine so that we are feeling good like we are intended to without any help form JQINC?I know that spending time that seems "unproductive" when we are changing our lives around and out of addiction is really doing the very hard work of handling the battle and winning this life that belongs to YOU.

[liz4]

You can do it Sue!!! I'm at day 9, and now I don't want to lose the time invested. I went cold turkey kind of by accident (went to a hynotist and threw out EVERYTHING before I went)... so when the hynosis didn't work the way I thought it would, I just didn't have anything around to tempt me.

[dawn15]

Way to go Sue. Keep moving forward. Sleep if you need it to get through the day. You do whatever you have to to stay smoke free for one more day. My husband and I approached this differently, we quit on a Friday, he slept for two days, and I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned for two days, until I was so exhausted I feel into bed at night. So there is no right or wrong way, and no rules at this point except DON"T SMOKE.