Learning to breathe through the craves

[SaraPeach]

I'm more than halfway through day 6 and feeling pretty good at the moment. I've had some ups and downs throughout this week and a few smoking "thoughts" today, such as "I should go buy cigarettes," or "it sure would be nice to smoke right now," which I have learned to counter with things like "I don't do that anymore," and "One cigarette may be somewhat nice, but I can never stop at just one." I'm learning to breathe through these thoughts and cravings. The fact that I quit before for 9 years has been a major help in this quit, because I remember that life without smoking is way better than life as a smoker and I remember that I went years and years without even contemplating picking up a cigarette. In fact, for the past 8ish years, I couldn't believe I was ever a smoker. I am so glad I am no longer wasting so much money every day on smoking and I no longer have to feel guilty about going outside for a smoke and leaving my cat (she's my baby and we're basically attached at the hip).

[SaraCorinne]

From one Sara to another, GOOD JOB ON DAY 6!  Soon we won't have those thoughts going through our minds everyday and I CAN'T WAIT!  

[indingrl]

CONGRATS 6 DAYS NON SMOKER LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME WITH 9 YEARS EXPERIENCE AT LIVING A NON SMOKER SARAPEACH! GOOD JOB-using all your PERSONAL tools to equip you TODAY!

[SaraCorinne]

AND I just noticed that you're in Brown County, I'm in Whiteland.  ♫ It's a small, small world ♫

[YoungAtHeart]

"#12.  Change your mind's direction." 

[shashort]

HI Sara SaraPeach  and Sara SaraCorinne I am in Indianapolis.  About time we are getting some EXer's in Indy. You both are doing great.  Congratulations Sara on 6 days almost won.  Breathing through it is a great tool.

[JACKIE1-25-15]

You can make it one day at a time.

[Mandolinrain]

Your doing this!

And that, my friend...would be you 

YOU can do this

[SaraPeach]

❤️ Love this! Thank you!

[Barbscloud]

Congrats on your 6 days Sara.   "I don't do that anymore" hasn't gotten my through some rough moments!

[SaraPeach]

Thanks! On day 7 now! The first week went fast.

[shashort]

Woohoo about through HELL week and on to HECK week. 

[SaraPeach]

Definitely a small world! Ha! Thank you!

[SaraPeach]

Woo! Thank you!

[Christine13]

Way To Go! 7 days is great!!!

[Barbscloud]

SaraPeach‌  LOL  How about it HAS gotten me through some rough moments.

[elvan]

Just keep going forward...one step at a time, one BREATH at a time.  It WILL get easier, in fact, I seriously hope that it is already getting easier.

Ellen

[SaraPeach]

Oh, I didn't even notice that. Knew what you meant!

[SaraPeach]

Thanks all. Tonight was really rough. Nice to log on here and see all these positive comments of support. You have no idea how much it means to me.

[elvan]

I think we just might SaraPeach‌, please remember that we have all been where you are and that is how we held onto our quits...one day at a time.

[elewis0941]

Day 12 (after 40 yrs off and on) and this really helped at the right moment!

[SaraPeach]

Made it to day 9. Still miss smoking at times. Driving longer distances is particularly hard.

[elvan]

You are JUST about to hit double digits!  I remember my first really long drive after I quit...it was REALLY long, from Virginia to NY and I HATE interstate driving, I hate traffic, it actually scares me and I had not done that drive in YEARS...I had no idea if I could handle it.  I kept my water bottle next to me, along with my Sour Patch Kids and I cranked the radio up and sang along.  I also said the Serenity Prayer over and over and over again when I wasn't yelling obscenities at my fellow drivers.  What an experience and then I had to turn around and go in the OTHER direction.  Did make it but it was one wild experience.  I can tell you that it gets better but driving is never going to be my favorite thing to do.  

You are so early in your quit, you really have a LOT to look forward to, I mean that.  Congratulations on nine days...9 is my favorite number.

Ellen

[elewis0941]

Everyone says it gets better ... I’m still waiting for the intense craves to subside (about 5-6 a day) and the intermittent clouds to dissipate.  I’ve fought this battle before but it gets harder the older I get so I have to make this one permanent!

[elvan]

elewis0941‌  It helps if you don't think of it as a BATTLE...it's a journey and it is one day at a time, sometimes one MOMENT at a time. I wish I could tell you exactly WHEN you will feel that it has gotten easier...it's different for everyone.  I CAN tell you that if you stick with your quit, you will feel stronger and stronger and that feeling that quitting gets harder and harder the older you get will go away.  I had no choice but to quit and to make this my forever quit, it really was a matter of Life and Breath and I chose BREATH.  Get some bubble juice, blow bubbles, find distractions that make you happy, that make you smile.  The bubbles were a suggestion from my respiratory therapist and she said that it helps to remind us how to breathe most effectively.  Inhale and hold and then exhale SLOWLY...if the bubbles all break, you are exhaling too hard and too fast, if you make lots of bubbles, you are breathing the most effectively for your health.  

Keep going and remember what OldBones-Larry‌ says, "One step and then another, will get you to where you want to be."  I still remember the first time I realized that I had gone through a really stressful situation and never even THOUGHT of smoking.  I cannot tell you at what point that it happened but it DID happen and that was amazing to be, it showed me that it COULD happen and sure enough, there were many more of those moments that followed eventually.  

Ellen

[elewis0941]

Thank you El for the advice and inspiration. I needed that lift, sometimes I feel isolated because the majority of my family and friends are non-smokers so they have no idea.  Appreciate the replies!

[elvan]

elewis0941‌ You are not alone...there is pretty much ALWAYS someone around since we have people from both coasts and South Africa...we are GLOBAL!   We all had to start at the beginning, there are no shortcuts (if there were, I would have FOUND them).  It DOES get easier, it DOES get better...eventually those craves turn into annoying MEMORIES and you will be able to swat them away if they even need THAT.  Eventually, the memories fade.  I would not lie to you, it's not easy but it really is worth it.  If you feel overwhelmed and like your quit is really threatened, write a blog and put the word HELP in the subject line.  Someone will be there...just give it a little time.  In the meantime, read blogs, comment, get to know people and see what has worked for them...oh, and blow bubbles.

Ellen

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your first 12 days.  You are almost through what we call H#LL and HECK Weeks.  When you are ready, you might write a blog (from "Home," "Post to my Blog") to introduce yourself to the community.  You might tell us a bit about why you wanted to quit, the tools you have found handy to help with that, if you are using a quit aid, and anything else you care to share.

The most important thing you can do  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 is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it  or at your local library. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
 
 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.

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

[SaraPeach]

I kept a journal during my first 10 or so days of my quit 9 years ago and I took a super long drive (9 hours) the first week of that quit. I can't tell which quit was harder. In some ways, that quit seemed way harder, from what I remember, but in other ways, I don't feel as committed mentally this time, like I don't feel like I want it as bad this time, which is bad, I know. This time, I mostly quit because it was making my ulcerative colitis flare up and I did not want to take the immunosuppressant medication that is the next step if I can't get out of a flare. I mean, I have solid reasons this time, but mentally I find myself feeling deprived, which, again, I know is stupid, but that's how I feel. I see other people smoking and wish I could smoke. Today I had to deal with the Indiana Department of Revenue telling me I owe $1,500 in taxes (they messed up; I don't actually owe this), and that was super stressful. Plus, just little things, like I got my haircut today at a new salon and I forgot to ask how much the haircuts cost and then she charged me $50 for a very simple haircut and she didn't even cut my hair how i like it, so I really wanted to smoke after that. And it's raining and I loved smoking in the rain. I was somewhat close to going and buying a pack earlier. I keep thinking things like "maybe I could just smoke today and quit again tomorrow." I know this is very negative thinking, but it's what is going through my head this quit. The other part of me wants to be a runner again but as of right now, I can barely run a mile or two and i used to run marathons and longer, so it's just all-around depressing and frustrating.

[elvan]

SaraPeach‌ That kind of thinking is what is called "Stinkin' Thinkin'...you KNOW that smoking doesn't really relieve stress and you KNOW that it doesn't help with financial stuff whether it's taxes or a haircut, it doesn't do anything FOR you, for anyone but it does lots TO you...like contribute to your UC flare.  I remember feeling EXACTLY like you feel, I would see people smoking in their cars and I wanted to run into them because I was SO ANGRY that they could smoke and then someone here told me that it wasn't that they COULD smoke, it was that they HAD to smoke.  I also remember someone telling me to stop worrying about weight gain because I could always lose a few pounds that I gain but if I had an oxygen tank to pull around behind me for the rest of my life, there would be no losing that.  I am on oxygen at night and I fought that tooth and nail, I have FINALLY gotten used to it...at least SORT of.  As long as I don't have to have it on 24/7...that's something.  PLEASE remember that if you smoke today, you won't quit tomorrow and even if you did, you would have to go through all of the same stuff all over again.  You don't need to WANT to quit, you need to be willing to go through the beginning of a quit and LEARN from it.  Believe that it will get better because it will.  Believe that we are not making up stories, we CARE and we are here to help you in any way that we can.  If it didn't get easier, it is unlikely that any of us would have come through.  This is a journey NOT a battle and NOT an event.  You CAN do this, no one can do it FOR you but, by the same token, no one can throw this quit away except you.  You already have people who are behind you following you and counting on you to keep going.  Value yourself enough to keep your quit and to remember that smoking is an addiction, it's no better than any other addiction...like running up drugs...always looking for a place you can DO it.  Hold onto your quit, you won't be sorry.

Ellen

[SaraPeach]

Thank you! I know you are right. Helps to be reminded if all of this!

[elvan]

There were some times early in my quit when I felt like all I thought about was smoking and I was sure I was going to go out of my mind.  My husband is a recovering alcoholic and has been since 1984, I asked HIM what HE did because he was addicted to alcohol and he also quit smoking five years after quitting alcohol.  He told me to get down on my knees and ask God to remove the mental obsession, he said I HAD to get on my knees and that I MIGHT have to do it more than once but that it WOULD work.  I will admit to being seriously skeptical BUT, I did it.  He was right, I DID have to do it more than once but it worked.

Ellen