Help Me Think Positive

[joe157]

I had a really bad day at work . I wish someone could help to keep me thinking positive!!!  I joined this site because i thought I could get some help to quit smoking but I just dont know where to turn to get that information.Is anyone out there I know everyone is under a lot of pressure but I dont here anything from this group. Im starting to wonder if this community is real !!!

[coop936]

hey joe this the toughest thing i have ever done , i want to breath better stop hacking . i joined  the 13 june 6 days im chewing the gum sometimes i have snus , i was told it take 21 day to break a habit than you can start to get off nicotine no cigs joe

[Sootie]

Hello Joe---Welcome. We are certainly REAL! I see that some of the most positive people on here replied to your first blog---Nancy, jojo (who can't be beat for POSITIVE) and several others. I see you posted your e-mail and if you are waiting for a response there---well probably won't get many. We stick to the site and we use these blogs to communicate. That way, everyone can see what you wrote , what I wrote and what everyone wrote. Quitting smoking is not impossible. It does however take committment and work. Say something positive? You will NOT believe how easy it is once you committ and make it through a few weeks! Something more positive? I am quit now for 3+ years and I have never made a better decision. Stay here and talk to everyone....stay strong. you can do this. We are EX and we are all here for each other.

[Sootie]

Oh---PS---

This site is the BEST for talking and support. but for informational reading on nicotine addiction and quitting....go to whyquit.com and read everything!

[joyeuxencore]

Very real Joe! I quit in November 2012 because of the support on this site and then actually MET some folks in Vegas in May...xo

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/ex-weekend-2013

[newlife5]

hi joe, yeah we are real... have you read allen carrs book easy way to qit smoking?... it really helped me alot... heres a free link..

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

this site is really good when you are experiencing something you dont understand... just ask and someone will get back to you..also it can give you some expert advice... which comes in handy especially when youre about to cave in...

[freeneasy]

Hi Joe- I just read your 1st blog- I used the patch and gum - the gum only if a got a really strong crave- I use the patch longer than the directions said but it worked for me. This site has been really great for support-I had quit for about a week when I found it but I don't think I could have lasted without it.

[james41]

Deep cleansing breaths! We are listening,,,,,I promise.

[Riverdance]

Hi Joe,  Sorry you had a bad day yesterday; hope today will be better.  I had trouble navigating the site at first as well.  My first blog post didn't publish, I still can't get anything I write on My Page to appear - it was very frustrating.  But I kept trying; reading others' blogs; commenting on some; getting educated using the other parts of the site.  I am using the gum and I don't think I could be doing this without it.

All that said, I hope you are seeing these comments to your post.  The community is very, very real and has been so supportive to me and I'm just starting Day 4.

[wishingstar]

This group is great. The support here is awesome.

[Nyima_1.6.13]

Hi, Joe and welcome! Right here on the blogs is where you will get support! When you write a blog, you can also set it up so you get an email letting you know people are responding! Same with your PM and message board! Looks like you have gotten great info about reading and that is the best place to start! Education about addiction made a huge inference for most of us here! So, get reading!

we also get a lot of spammers here..might be best to change your user name and take your phone number down! You can always share both privately!

PS: I quit 'cold turkey'! It wasn't pretty but I got it done! Almost 6 months

[joe157]

I really thank all of yall for your advice. I would like to say that I am really sorry for doubting the group. I am looking forward to learning from each and every one of you to give me the strength and support I need to achieve my goal in quitting smoking for good ! I need that and thanks.

[joe157]

I really thank all of yall for your advice. I would like to say that I am really sorry for doubting the group. I am looking forward to learning from each and every one of you to give me the strength and support I need to achieve my goal in quitting smoking for good ! I need that and thanks.

[Stac2]

Hey Joe.  Ok good.  You have gotten some GREAT advice so far.  I'll add some of my own below too.

As far as how you go about quitting that is up to you.  Some use patch, some use gum, some medication, some cold turkey.  Me, I used Chantix but I will tell you... I had to stop it way early because of side effects it gave me.  It did help in the beginning.  Honestly, for me, I actually did better off the medication than on it.  I have seen others do fine with patch or gum but with those you just must know that you eventually have to give up the nicotine period, one way or the other.

I am so glad you are still on the site with us.  Sorry you did not receive messages in your email.  We really do come on here to communicate.  So please come here, stick around, and we will have your back.  The very best way to get help on here is through the general blogs, which you have already done.  Good work!

Ok - some advice I hope will help you as you begin this journey to freedom. 

Strongly suggest John Ryan’s www.quitsmokingonline.com.  You can read on your computer free, or for a $20 contribution they will download it to you via Adobe. Then you can print it. You'll also get a daily support email for three weeks.

Plan for what to do instead of smoke – check out this list:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/aztec-blog/2012/10/16/things-to-do-instead-of-smoke

Write a list of your reasons for quitting and post it on your page.  Write a farewell letter to sickorettes telling them why you no longer want them in your life.  Both are great to refer back to as you continue your journey.

I also invite you to read some of the sayings on Peggy’s (ckoalaco) Page – here is the link:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/gone

Stay on this site as much as possible and listen to these folks on here. They have your back. And if you need to, do the readings (Carr & Quitsmokingonline) again. Yes, again. I say this from EXperience! The more we read the readings and delve into the wisdom on this site, the less room nicodemon has. Reinforcement is good - retrain the brain.

The readings are essential. Getting the proper mindset is THE key. Go look at that list of things to do. I’ll say it again- stay close to this site.  

When you need or want to, blog: a) distracts nicodemon; b) helps you help yourself; c) introduces you to new friends on this site; d) gives you a wealth of support from folks on this site; e) by the time passes from you writing and you reading the replies, any craving you may have had will likely have – passed!

When you find someone on this site whose comments resonate with you... go to their page and read some of their old blogs and the comments to those blogs.  There, you will likely find affirmation.  There are many golden nuggets on this site.

I PROMISE you it does get better. Please trust us when we tell you that. We mean it.

It is WIT (Whatever It Takes) time. Knaw on that gum. Suck a lemon. Jumping jacks (exercise releases that dopamine that brain likes!). A bath. A nap. A tall glass of water......

You CAN and WILL do this.

Not smoking deprives you of nothing.  Smoking deprives you of everything.

Cigarettes are not worth the trouble, and you are worth the effort.

[Stac2]

PS  - When I first joined the site I had a similar experience to you.  I posted to a "group" that was no longer active.  noone except one person responded.  i thought "to hell with this."  but the one person who responded promised me that if i posted a general blog (like you already have Joe) that I would meet folks, make friends, get support.  i thought he was full of it.  well, here i am 92 days smoke free and so glad i did it joe.  and that man who told me to stay with this site, well, i met him in las vegas during and Ex Site reunion in may and Joe, I thanked him for helping me save my life.  this site is incredible.  many of the people on here are like family to me Joe, really!  so stick with us.

also, I didn't mention before but the exercises they have on this site for educating yourself about triggers, etc are really good to read too!

please let us know when you set your quit date.  then get up on that horse and ride with us to freedom.  You will be SO glad you did Joe, I promise.

[joe157]

Thank you so much for your advice it really means a lot to me. I will read the information and take it very much to heart because it sounds like it would help me a lot !!! Congrats on your 92 days of being smoke free I really respect and admire you for that and one day soon I hope to have the strength to follow in your footsteps of success!!! Your are the only person in the group that I have gotten a response from so far since my last blog.That helps me to relate with the experiences that you went through maybe the words of one can be worth a thousand. Thank you and please stay with me to give me strength to help me to save my life and one day I hope that I to will be able o thank you for that!!! Joe