I quit once

[littleb2]

I am 68 and smoking since age 11..Yikes..I did quit in 2016 for 1 1/2 years.  I just walked away from them.  I'm not sure why I started again.  I was able to quit drinking 20 years ago with no problem, no AA & a drug problem in my 20's--also no problem, no rehab because there was none.  I smoke a LOT when I am on the computer or when I am bored.  I have COPD & spending $8.02 a day to further ruin myself.  I wrote a "Goodbye Cigarette" letter to them.  All negative of course.  Maybe that's what helped the 1'st time?  Why do we spend $ on something that is actually killing us?  I like to think I am very strong willed but am loosing the battle this time.

[CommunityAdmin]

Welcome! You've come to a great place!  

Mark

EX Community Manager

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex.  Have you picked a quit date?   Preparation and education are they key and you'll find what you need here to be successful.   The support here has made all the difference in this quit for me.

Barb

[Mandolinrain]

We spend $ on them knowing they are bad for us because we are addicted to Nicotine.

Welcome to Ex and do take the time to truly grasp an understanding of this addiction. Theres a book by Alan Carr, very fast read, unlike any other book, called the EASYWAY TO QUIT SMOKING. That book was like a lightbulb went off in me and Im like  "OHHHHHHH.....OKAY, I CAN DO THIS"!

That, this site  and another site called WHYQUIT will give you the education you need to get on the road to freedom. 

We will all gladly offer you support. Its all insanity in our brain when its fed nicotine. The receptors just want to be fed and the more you smoke the more they crave for the next one. Those receptors just set you up.

Glad your here  Welcome to EX!

[sweetplt]

Hi And Welcome to Ex's

We spend the money to get our next fix.  I am glad you came to Ex's and want to quit.  I suggest you go to 

• My Quit Plan  and read and work the plan.  There you will also make a quit date which you will plan for that day like no other.  This isn't an easy journey, but it is doable.  You will never rid your COPD, but you can make it manageable and the first step is Quitting the smokes...
• Keep it close to hear...we give and ask for help ... the support can be such a blessing...
• Now get reading and preparing...Gotcha in my Thoughts ~ Colleen

[AnnetteMM]

We spend $ on them knowing they are bad for us because we are addicted to Nicotine.

YES!  THIS!  It's critical to understand addiction and realize how it affects our minds and bodies.

#law of addiction‌

[maryfreecig]

   68 isn't too late. Maybe you didn't need AA or treatment in the past, but keeping the company of Ex might just help you get smober. I believe it is possible to just let go, but few do it. Most of us need some support at least at times--need the love and friendship that comes from fellowship. That's what Ex can be for you. Nicotine causes dependency like few other drugs--while we are hooked we don't even realize just how hooked we are. There is no huge high in smoking, it's a minor from a drug that is administered all day long. Getting over the dependency takes time. Stick with Ex and welcome!!

[elvan]

Welcome to EX, I smoked from when I was 17 until I was 64 and I quit with help from this amazing community.  I had many failed quits in the past but I didn't have EX, I DID have signs of COPD and I knew I needed to quit, I KNEW that I wasn't doing myself any favors by smoking but, despite knowing that AND knowing how much damage I was doing, the addiction was so strong that I could not travel this journey alone.  Quitting IS a journey, it is one day at a time, it is NOT an event.  The fact that you quit drinking and quit using drugs without any sort of support shows how much you WANTED that...I am impressed.  I do recommend reading Allen Carr's book but it is not the end all for this journey, I read it after I quit and there were some things that reached me but others that just did not and I suspect that others feel the same way.  Some people read it and a light came on and they quit and they never looked back.  I tracked cigarettes and identified triggers before I quit, I PLANNED for what I would do instead of smoking when those triggers appeared and they WILL appear...they are part of life and smoking was how we dealt with them.  While we smoke, we stuff all of our uncomfortable emotions down into the addiction.  We don't really feel or RESOLVE sadness, anger, loneliness, fear, even joy...we don't allow ourselves to feel. People who never used any substance learn to feel those feelings and deal with them as they grow up.  Starting to smoke as a kid, we stay emotionally stunted.  

The best things you can do for yourself are to educate yourself on this addiction and it IS an addiction, it is every bit as powerful as any addiction and you are giving your life to it as it is taking you life from you.  You need support from others who have been EXACTLY where you are and who have learned to deal with their emotions for the first time since they started smoking.  The last thing you need is your own commitment not to smoke, no matter what.  You have to accept the fact that smoking does nothing FOR you but it IS doing a lot TO you, it is STEALING your life and your breath.  This journey is filled with so many ups and downs that there is no way to cover them all but I do recommend that you stay very close to the site.  Read blogs, pay attention to what is working for others...also pay attention to what is NOT working for others.  Comment, ask for help...write blogs like you just did, this is a great introductory blog and you are going to meet people who are so much like you that you will be stunned.  The journey is not easy but it IS doable, it IS worth every single moment of angst that you may feel.  Set your date, make your plan, read these blogs...first by YoungAtHeart‌ 

For Our New Years' Quitters (and community members, too)  and this one by JonesCarpeDiem‌ that I read over and over again when I started, /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months   You cannot be TOO educated, you cannot be TOO committed, and you cannot get TOO much support.  We are all here to help you in any way that we can and we very much want you to succeed.

Congratulations on finding EX and on beginning the most exciting journey you can imagine.  We are all addicts here, we are all in recovery and we want that for you as well.

Ellen

[jconfusion]

welcome to ex congrats on quitting a second time!

[littleb2]

I'm trying for March 16th...

[littleb2]

Thank you Mark.

[littleb2]

Thank you for taking the time for all of this information.  It surely is appreciated and written so well.

[CommunityAdmin]

littleb2 wrote:

I'm trying for March 16th...

Be sure to follow directions on Re: How do I get my quit date to show on the community?‌ to get your quit date synced up and it also will show your My Quit Stats on your profile as well.

Mark
EX Community Manager

[MarilynH]

You can and will be successful in your upcoming quit littleb2 on the 16th of March which will be your DAY ONE that you'll turn into DAY WON with many more to come......