Hello

[Tacobella13]

Hi everyone,

My name is sam. I'm new to all of this and I'm very nervous and scared to be written on here. I dont know what to expect from here and talking to people is scary for me. I decided to quite smoking because last month I got hospitalized with rsv and every winter I get a lung infection. I just so done with getting sick every year and everything that smoking does. I'm nervous about this all but I'm ready.

[YoungAtHeart]

 Welcome to our community!

No reason to be anxious or afraid.  The folks who inhabit this little corner of the internet are either successful quitters or people striving to become that.  Our only aim is to help people like you be successful.   Whether you have questions, just need to vent, describe how you are feeling, or ask for support, we will respond.  This is a no judgment zone - so please don't ever hesitate to tell us what is going on and what you need.

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.

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 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 obvious reasons.

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

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

[CommunityAdmin]

Welcome Sam.  This is a great group of people. Thanks also for filling out your profile and giving us a little more info on you.  Hopefully you will quickly see how warm and welcoming people are and your concerns about posting here will wash away. 

I appreciate you also being upfront about religion being a trigger for you.  We have a mix of people here so there are some that are more spiritually driven while others are not. I expect most people will respect that if they know it about you but please be aware that you may encounter content that may have some religious undertones.  We want to support you here and not cause any triggers so hopefully nothing would be directed at you with respect to religion. If someone does, it's likely on accident as not everyone would would read this post or see it in your profile. Kindly informing them would likely prevent it happening in the future or you may also choose to ignore it. 

Let me and the rest of the group know if you require any other assistance. Thanks for being brave and posting!

Mark
EX Community Manager

[Tacobella13]

Hello nancy,

It is very nice to meet you and thank you for all the information you provide me, I greatly appreciated it. As for me being nervous and scared I suffer from ptsd and anxiety so treading new waters is sometimes hard for me. I work a lot right now because I work in a hospital then I also do home health care to help keep me busy. I did start a garden this year which I'm so excited about I havent done one since I was extremely little. I do a lot of meditation and I love being outdoors playing sports, fishing, hiking, and anything that keeps my mind busy. I feel the hardest part of quitting for me is going to be stress and my triggers. Because I often you smoking as a way to escape from conversations or take a break from being around something that is upsetting me. I'm also not big into taking medication for smoking or even my anxiety disorder because I personally dont like relying on things to fix my issues when I can just find better means of dealing with them. I do go to counseling for my mental health and get the help I need with my issues. My boyfriend is the one who introduced me to this site to help me quite smoking because I've been having health problems due to my smoking. Thank you again for reaching out to me and sharing the insightful information with me. 

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex.  Congrats on your decision to quit.  .This is the first time I've ever been on  a site like this before, so I can tell you there is nothing to be afraid of.  This community is a group of quitters, new and old, who want to help you be successful.  Read everything you can on this site to educate yourself about nicotine addiction and create a quit plan.   Understanding this addiction and knowing what to expect made quitting possible for me.  We're here to support you.  Just reach out if you need support or if you want to share your journey.

Barb

[elvan]

Welcome to EX & congratulations on your very wise decision to quit smoking. Please pay attention to the advice YoungAtHeart‌ has shared with you. Remember that quitting is a journey & not an event. It is one day at a time & sometimes has to be one feeling at a time. You are not alone, we all want you to succeed. Again, welcome to EX.

Ellen

[MarilynH]

Welcome to the community Sam you've made the best decision that you'll ever make in your lifetime and it's definetly the best gift that any of us will ever give ourselves which is the gift of LIFE please read the links suggested above me and keep reading everything you can because there's a wealth of information right here on this site to strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb permanently it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination BUT boy oh boy it's so worth it and we're all here to help you in any way we can you can do this quit believe it deep breaths and when your day ONE arrives keep your mind as well as well as your hands occupied and at the end of the day you'll be able to say YAY for Day WON with many more to come......

[Cousin-Itt]

Welcome Sam

 I'm glad you decided quit    Before I quit I was getting pneumonia every year 

 Just read, ask question, respond or play games Nothing to worry about a great group of people here

Carl

[sweetplt]

Hi Sam and Welcome to Ex’s...

You are truly making a good decision to quit smoking especially if your health is already being compromised.  You have received great advice up above me...Be sure to plan your quit, become knowledgable in quitting and work hard by making this your priority.  Also, keep close to the support site to get help and to encourage others on this journey.  You can do it...we are here for you...~ Colleen 529 DOF 

[maryfreecig]

Welcome to Ex community Sam. Feel free to speak your mind here. We all belong--some are pre-quit, some newly quit, some much longer--but we are all a community here to support each other. 

Great reasons to quit. You can make your quit work one day at a time by learning, planning, reading, joining in.

[Deena-A-Yenni]

Welcome Tacobella13.  Following the advice above and doing your homework reading and educating yourself you will succeed and become less and less scared.  Looking forward to seeing you around!!

[meWisconsin]

Welcome. Quitting smoking will be on of the best decisions of your life.

Keep up the good quit.

Terry

[Maki]

Hi .

Welcome to the Ex . You've opened a site full of support . I am an old quitster but not at this site that long and wow can can tell you , you have a team of support and encouragement behind you . 

Congrats on your decision to quit . 

Looking forward to you being here with us . 

Maki 

[Christine13]

Welcome to EX Sam, I hope you read lots and blog if you need to talk about what you are going though.

There are many wonderful people here to help you along.

[YoungAtHeart]

Keep in mind that you can STILL take that break you need when you quit.  You can go for a quick walk, or find a quiet spot and do some slow/deep breathing, or go outside and enjoy the clouds or birdsong for a minute or two.  There are other ways to escape the moment that don't involve a cigarette.  Plan now what you can do instead!

[elvan]

Tell your boyfriend that he is doing you a really big favor by sending you here.  Please pay attention to everything Nancy has shared with you and remember, you can take deep breaths or drink water ANYWHERE, unlike smoking.  You are doing the right thing.  I used to get sick every year when I smoked and I ended up doing a LOT of damage to my lungs that is irreversible...such an ugly word.  It's going to get easier as you put more time between you and your last cigarette.

Ellen

[Tacobella13]

I've been working on that this week. I've cut back how many smokes I even have a work down a lot instead I just go into a quite room and relax for awhile. So hopefully I'm able to learn new ways of coping.

[Tacobella13]

Thank you

[elvan]

You've got this, practicing is a great idea.  You can also try to delay each smoke...wait an extra X number of minutes when you want to smoke.  You are not alone.

Ellen

[Giulia]

Hey Sam, long time no hear from.