This is my second time quiting. First time lasted almost a year... I'm super nervous about tomorrow. I know how intense and moody I was last time. I know I can do this. I just have to get through the first week.
It has helped me a lot. I visit everyday and read something. I posted everyday until the cravings got weaker. I have 3 weeks not smoking and it’s not a struggle anymore. The first few days are the roughest, but the people here will help.
Welcome to the Ex. You'll do great. The support on this site is what I really needed to be successful. The moodiness is normal and just remember it will pass.
Welcome to EX aka_net, and just remember, you can be moody whether you smoke or not! Your brain has been telling you that smoking will help during those moody moments, but then after you put that smoke out, it tells you it needs more! That is the nicotine addiction speaking to you through your brain! If you quit for a year, what made you go back? That is a long quit to give up!
Well you have come to the right place for support, and lots of good reading, lots of great advice, and lots of tools to help! Sit back settle in, and share your journey! Wishing you success and freedom!
This site amazes me, really! It's the BEST place to come for support especially when you don't have a support system at home. I've been here everyday, for hours, since I quit last Saturday. I've been here so much that my friends on facebook got worried, lol. There are SO many people here with good advice and ideas to keep you from smoking. I'm going to get my craft bag out. My plan is to bring the art of macrame back and funny thing, our public library is having a macrame class next Tuesday! If that's not a sign, I don't know what is! When I find myself struggling, I come here and read, read, read. We're all going through the same thing here. That, right there, makes me feel better and stronger and gives me hope. Hope that, one day, I'll have years between me and my last cigarette. Although 3 days feels pretty darn good too! It all boils down to this: what are we going to do with these hands instead of putting a cigarette in them?
The most important thing you can do 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 or at your local library. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
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. Today, you should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php
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. 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. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three 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, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
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:
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!
I moved and started a new job.. the people around me were smoking and I figured a few here and there wouldn't hurt.. next thing I knew I was back on a pack a day and addicted again
Perfectly normal! It's why I never want to go back to those early days again. You can always take slow, deep breaths - going slower and deeper with each. Keep a cold bottle of water handy from which to sip, and some sugar-free mints or gum, and maybe some straws cut into thirds with which to fiddle. If it gets too difficult, get up and get walking - or do a few sets of stairs, or a few jumping jacks. The early days require some effort on your part, but it gets easier and easier to do. Don't EVER just sit there and think about smoking. Get busy!
Well you know what to do now if you are put into this situation again, right? Walk away, come visit your new family of friends here, and we will help you get through it if it becomes too hard to do on your own! Feel bad for the smokers who are still smoking, and know that you are doing the best thing you could ever do for yourself! It's clear that you are capable of being a lifer at being a quitter!
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