Five days but a worrisome change of scenery ahead

[sal-paradise]

Hello brave new friends,

So I have had this bad habit for a while, fifteen years on and off, I suppose, but not quite honest with myself about it.  I'm 32 and live alone, am writing a dissertation and some other stuff.  The problem is that all the stressful time alone at my computer has lately fueled my habit, so I've inched up to about 1/2 a pack a day, which I'm not proud of.

I have to quit because my boyfriend just had half a lung removed.  And he's never even smoked.  He's a vegetarian even!

I also have to quit because i live in New York City and cigarette packs cost $13.00.

I also end up sneaking around, hiding the habit from others.  Especially family.  I  have been at home with my parents for about 5 days and avoided cigarettes for 5 days -- I have done that in the past -- but am afraid that when I go back up to New York, my solitude... I'll be up against the same old temptations.

Plan: to work in cafes or libraries -- not at home -- and maybe with my boyfriend who is nagging me about my habit.  We have a sort of pact: 150 min of exercise per week for him, no cigarettes for me.

Friends, your own stories are inspiring, exhilarating, sometimes scary, and mostly sound.  Thanks for your company. 

Sal P

[virginia74lady]

Sounds like a good plan, keep up the good work.  Shirley

[TheNewMe_Jo]

The change will do you good... just keep tellin yourself.

Everyday is a new day with a new challenge...

I work from home, on the computer, smoked 2 packs aday, kept myself in a big puff ball of smoke my whole life

I cant quit working, I have to face this demon head on... every day every minute Cause I have to work.

Deep beathing really helps me, I didnt use to be able to do that without coughin and gagging.

Now in 1 week Im breathing, THAT is what keeps me positive

The cost of smokes is 13.00? OMG How can you afford to want to smoke? lol

Id be smokin 600.00 a month No Thx

lol

Hang tough,

Jo

[laurie37]

Instead of picking up a cigarette again, how about trying nicotine gum or lozenges? Then you can give those up in the future and they won't kill you.

Also try checking out www.quitsmokingonline.com  and  www.whyquit.com  and stay close here for LOTS of support. 🙂

(((HUGS)))

[FLORIDALJT]

You can do this. Amazing how your boyfriend has lost a lung & never even smoked. Pretty scary! Prepare yourself to quit & read read read & come here often & blog it really does work. OMG $13.00 I thought $9.00 was high in Hawaii. Imagine all the money you will save as well. You definitely can do this & we are here to help. Louise

[Mothergoose9]

You don't have a habit, you have an addiction.  Educate yourself on the nature of addiction....especially this one. 

The biggest help and the absolute key to a successful quit is mindset!!  You make a decision that smoking is not an option....not for ANY reason, not under ANY circumstance!!  Then you do not allow yourself to entertain ANY smoking thoughts whatsoever.  When they present themselves, you dismiss them immediately and move on to a different thought. 
This alone eliminates at least 95% of the mental anguish and torment that quitters often experience and succumb to.

Secondly, as an addict.....there is no such thing as 'just one!!'

Thirdly, as an addict.....we listen to lies and label excuses as "reasons."  I always knew that smoking was an addiction, but never saw myself as an addict.  (Addicts are also easily deceived apparently!!)  When I realized that I was an addict, the whole picture changed for me.  It explained totally why I could NEVER be just a casual smoker, and I also began to listen to myself think and was floored by the lies that ran on my mental tickertape 24/7!!!  That's when I knew that if I was to quit and STAY quit, I could never have just one, and I had to change the way I think!!!

That was almost 6 years ago.  Before that I was a serial quitter.  I'd get a good quit going and then want to have 'just one' here and there.  Inevitably, whether it took a day or a couple weeks, even a month....I ALWAYS ended up back in full-blown addiction.  There is no happy medium here......and this addiction is relentless in it's attempts to keep you enslaved.  But we are all living proof that this addiction can be beaten.....IS begin beaten EVERY SINGLE DAY by real people living real lives!!  FREEDOM is what we are all about here.....and it's available for you.  It's a BLAST!!! 😄

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site! Congrats on deciding to quit! To prepare I did a lot of reading - blogs here, the free course Laurie gave you at:   http://quitsmokingonline.com/ and Allen Carr's book - "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking" - free download -   http://joga.365.lt/Allen-Carr_Easy-Way-To-Stop-Smoking_Download-free-PDF-EBook

Stick around! This place is great for support!

[sal-paradise]

Hi Shirley, Jo, Louise, Connie, Laurie,

Thanks for you encouragement!  

Well, as I expected, returning to New York would be a little challenging.  I let myself bum a cigarette from a fellow at the airport in Florida and then again at the airport in New York.  

My excuse:   had a rough parting with my parents (they are very lovely people, but now that they are retired, as they get older, more isolated, I fear that they are becoming more rigid.  trips home are often fraught with a lot of "don't do this, do that" which is starting to become joyless.  when i tell them i'm worried about them, they can't listen and become extremely irritated).  But I know that's no excuse.

And I thought I'd let myself bum rather than buy.  That prevented me from starting up again.  On my walk home yesterday, from the bus, rather than buy a pack of cigarette -- walks are usually a preferred time to smoke -- I called a friend.

Today, I was still feeling a bit crappy (orphaned really -- parents recommended that my brother and I stay away for Thanksgiving and otherwise "take a break"), but managed without cigarettes.  I went to the library, as planned, and didn't think about smoking.  Been working at home for a few hours.  All good.

Thanks for your encouragement and for all the many references.  They are a good go to when I feel like stepping away from the computer for a smoke.

I've also recruited two friends to quit with me!

Many thanks!