Going Bonkers

[OldBones-Larry]

Well, I am going batsh*t crazy (though I have been considered this for a very long time) being required to stay in just one room.

It is a small room and I can only pace so long.

I do have DVDs to view and there are some shows on the tube.

I got through being in my hospital room and not getting out of there for almost a month in 2013, so, I think I can make it through this.

Be well my friends and take care of yourself.

Larry

[MarilynH]

Humongous good thoughts and prayers for you Larry and for all of us to have peace of mind through this very, very trying time we will perservere......

[Cousin-Itt]

I feel for you.  I do have more than one room yet boredom still sets in Joyce my wife has just finished making bread for the second time in a week I will be cutting grass for the second time in a week don't need it.

MarilynH‌ I really hate telling you this but I think you may have got ripped off My bag of rice had

7,513 grains and I counted it twice just to make sure

[Barbara145]

Praying you will feel better Caravan Master. It might be meds making it worse? 

[MarilynH]

Lol!

[maryfreecig]

Understandable. I hope that you find a few creative solutions that work!!! Feel better soon.

[Maki]

Thinking of you Larry . 

Pacing with you.

One step at a time . 

[YoungAtHeart]

This isolation stinks - no two ways about it!  Try to keep a positive attitude.  Maybe pretend there is a blizzard outside and you are lucky to have your cozy little room in which to be safe and warm.......................

Yeah - I didn't THINK so - but thought I would try!

I am sorry your space is so small and the walls are closing in.  This all is not easy, at all, at all.

Sending you a gentle hug and hoping tomorrow is a bit easier for you.

Nancy

[Bonnie]

Is there anything creative you can do?  Start compiling your Caravan Master bestseller?  My garden right now is my creative zone...I lose track of time there and I know that means I'm "in the zone".  I'm just throwing things out there...saw this on FB and it really impressed me...am thinking of getting out my grandkid's colored pens and revisiting my "artist" side (which hasn't been cultivated in over 40 years).  People like those adult coloring books but I've found them to be boring...when I did do watercolor I took photographs and "copied" them...Pen and ink and then minimal color to highlight focal points. Even pencil on plain paper. Don't know if you have the tools but even folding and cutting things like snowflakes out of paper or such things out of paper...just ideas to trigger your imagination (as I KNOW you have a very active one) and help the time go by more quickly...Mmmmm….think I might cut and fold some Easter egg shapes out of colored paper.....

((((((((((((((((((((LARRY))))))))))))))))))

P.S.  The fact that you're going bats*** crazy tells me your mental health is excellent!

How a couple is spending their "shelter" time...fortunate them to have a partner at this time, but most creativity takes places in solitude...

[sweetplt]

Larry hang in there...OldBones-Larry ... you need to get well...and all the prayers coming your way...well you should be out of the room soon...sending out healing vibes...~ Colleen 486 DOF 

[indingrl]

 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Sorry Larry.

It's kind of tough right now.

Keep breathing!

[Sootie]

Stay strong Larry----remember....one step and then another will get you where you are going.

[RachelMB]

Stay strong Larry!  I will be thinking of you! xoxoxo

Rachel

[virgomama]

One step at a time will get you where you want to be.  We are all alone together, Larry.  Stay strong, stay vigilant like you taught us in the caravan.  it is coming your way with lots of well wishing, hand waves and smiles. 

Cindy

[ajz]

Larry thanks for the kind thoughtful words. I'm going to quit this nasty disgusting habit Friday which is my quit day.

God Bless

[angelpar]

Hi Larry,

I am so sorry you are required to stay in one room.  Stay strong!  I am glad you have dvd's.  But posting on here also means you have the internet and either tablet, computer or smartphone.  That is good too.  For one you can post and comment back in forth with people.  Use social media even if you don't like it.  At this time it will be your socialization.  Use google to find things to do.  The internet can provide hours of passing time away.  Your pacing is your exercise.  Do whatever other exercise you can physically can do.  Keeping your mind and body busy will be very helpful during this time.  I will be thinking of you and praying.  Be well.

[YoungAtHeart]

You are actually doing GREAT not to totally lose it!  This isolation and fear is taking its toll on all of us. My computer is on its last legs, and I am awaiting an external hard drive to move all my important stuff off before I try to work on it.  Yesterday it hijacked my Word document new person welcome, and I LOST it.  Slammed the rolling top to my antique ladies rolltop desk so hard I broke it!!!  Then I went slamming and cussing through the house.  I cannot REMEMBER the last time I lost my temper to that point.....................................................................................................

and now I have broken one of my favorite things!!!

Like I said - you are doing GREAT - even if it doesn't feel like it!!

[OldBones-Larry]

Here is your welcome ....

Welcome to the community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking again.  It is one you will never regret! There is no luck in quitting smoking - there is education, planning, preparation, support and commitment.  We can help with all but the last.  Just keep in mind that there is never a good REASON to smoke - there are only excuses!

The important thing you can do right now 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 easy and entertaining read provided a world of good information about nicotine addiction, most of which I was not aware.  I credit it in large part with my success at quitting.   You can search for it online or at your local library.

 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. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

You didn't mention if you have decided to use a quit aid,  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 after you have tried to delay and distract.   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.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for currently obvious reasons:

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:
 https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...

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!

 Nancy

[YoungAtHeart]

[elvan]

Larry,

How about writing some more stories about traveling through NML?  Surely, that will keep you busy.  Then again, I suspect that those stories come from a place inside of you that is not always available.  I am so sorry you are stuck in one small room, I have my house and my yard and I find THAT to be too confining.  It's funny because if I COULD go out, I probably would not WANT to.  

Ellen

[YoungAtHeart]

Oh, I would go out - in a New York minute!  I actually lost my temper yesterday, slammed (and damaged!) the rolltop to my desk, slammed a few doors and let out a stream of expletives.  I can't REMEMBER the last time I did that....must have been 40 years ago when my eldest was still around!

I AM grateful for my big house and yard, but I am done with all this now.  I am worried sick about a good friend in an Assisted Living Facility, and my bff who has a job picking up the deceased - she is in her 60's and has to go to nursing homes, hospice facilities, hospitals, etc. to do her job.  They do have protective gear - but i worry nonetheless.  

I am DONE with this!

[elvan]

I would love to be done with this but l don’t want it to come back. That terrifies me. So sorry about your desk & your computer, sometimes a tantrum can be good...that release on the pressure cooker. YoungAtHeart‌

[Maki]

I wish it was over as well .. it is very scary . I've been out twice in the last month .. out to the mailbox one day ( a five minute walk )  and to my infusion clinic another then straight home .  I feel I've lost touch with the outside world and so grateful for Ex . 

Its a rollercoaster of questions that I ask myself daily and there are no answers ..... yet . 

We can get through this . I know it's a worry for us all .. but honestly it is what it is right now . We can only do our part to keep ourselves safe and others . Pray for the researchers across the world to work together . I believe there is an answer that will come together just as pieces of the puzzle come together . One piece of the puzzle can make a difference . 

I have two of my children in the medical field , two nieces as well ...somedays it takes my breath away to see them go to work , or hear that they have been called in for extra shifts but am quickly reminded it is why they chose their field . They care about lives .  They love their job . It won't help me to worry or them to have me worry . 

We have to cope one day at a time . 

((((Hugs))) Everyone  . Sending strength cause I have a little extra today , couple days ago , you all helped me . 

Hang in there Larry . 

[YoungAtHeart]

I'll take some, too  - and a cup of patience, too - if you have any to spare!

[Maki]

[YoungAtHeart]