Moved Quit Date

[jodi-reichenberger]

I moved my quit date. Evidently I am supposed to be taking the zyban for a couple of weeks first. I had set the quit date according to my work on becomeanex, but that was before I sought out the help with the zyban business... so, I'm waiting a bit. I want to get past all this holiday business too, stressful with my family, LOL I feel a LOT better about it now. Not only because the date was pushed back, but because I feel like I don't have to handle so much stress at one time.

I've been doing little things to cut back, change things, shake things up. My biggest 'issue' trigger, whatever is sitting at the computer. To quit smoking while working (I work from home, designing websites, running a hosting company, etc) and I am on the computer sometimes 16 hours a day. I've got picking up a cig and getting it lit between programs booting up, waiting for a page to upload, etc down to a fine art.

This is going to be the hardest time to break the habit of grabbing something and giving my fingers and mind something to do in those many minutes of 'dead time' I get all through the day. One thing I did was move the cigs and ashtray into another room. So if I want to grab a cigarette, I have to get up, displace my focus (on work... something I HATE to do) this is making smoking more difficult, it takes my focus OFF working and ONTO smoking, so I have to LOOK at it, think about it, not just mindlessly pick up a cigarette. I hope this will help

[annie5]

I have never tried zyban and they won't put me on it because I am already on anti-depressants. Let me know if it works! I wish I could work at home, but I have no talents like that. I am a stay-at-home mom. That must be hard for you with your job that you have to sit at the computer and have a habit of smoking cigs while waiting for things to get done. Try chewing on a straw or reading a book. Suck on a lollipop or do stretches while you are sitting there. You know you can exersize from your chair! How is your husband doing? What does he do?

[jodi-reichenberger]

Thanks for the suggestions Annie. I had my own concerns about zyban, but since I have been unsuccessful at quitting, I thought I'd pull out all the stops. I sort of got pushed into working at home, I homeschooled my children and after catching the cheating father (the reason I picked up my first pack of cigs, LOL ) it was either sink or swim. It's been a LONG road and we've sacrificed as a family for me to be able to do it. I taught myself, through the help of others online, everything I know. It is a struggle, but well worth it. At least it is at this point, looking back at the years 🙂

One thing I've done that I think is helping already, is I put some old filters inside the big straws that I get from the drinks at our local sonic (they have FAT straws! LOL) I cut them the length of my cigarettes and when I get an urge, I pick that up. Sometimes I breath in it, like you would a cigarette, and sometimes not, sometimes it is simply picking it up that helps. Whatever cigarettes I have left, I will cut out and do this with. To use as I need them.

I am not married. I haven't been married since I divorced the children's father in 1997. I have been dating someone for the last three years, but we do not live together. He told me that if I quit, he would quit. I have every confidence that he will. I set my quit date for the beginning of his vacation. He is taking his girls skiing and I cannot go (too much work 😉 so I have two weeks to get the physical addiction dealt with and the rest will all be psychological and up to me to deal with. I'm looking forward to the extra money and the CLEAN house!

[annie5]

You are right- it is the physical addiction, then the pshychological. That is what I look forward to. Getting past the 3 days. I have thought about cutting the straw, but I actually like the long straw. Whatever works! Typing on here helps me too, and reading (I just got into that habit). I also have extreme anxiety and I am trying to take my mind off of that. That is another demon I have to deal with. Well, have a good day/night!

[hwc]

Jodi:

If you aren't ready to quit yet, I would recommend making your house non-smoking. Don't just go to another room to smoke, go outside to smoke. Standing out in the rain and snow to get your nicotine drug fix every half hour will start to make you question whether your addiction is all its cracked up to be.

BTW, the only "stress" that smoking a cigarette relieves is the stress of drug withdrawal when the nicotine levels from the last cigarette start dropping. You need the cigarette to get back to where non-smokers are all the time. Here's the catch: relieving that drug addiction stress by smoking a cigarette guarantees that the stress will return in an hour. The only way to really relieve the stress is to break the drug addiction.

[jodi-reichenberger]

Annie, you're right, whatever works!

hwc, I think I understand that about cigs not reducing any real stress, not physiologically anyway The problem with making the house non smoking is that I am the only one in it and I'm not sure I can force myself to do that or not. I will give that a try the next couple of days. Thanks

[jodi-reichenberger]

I wish I could have more faith that I could talk myself into doing that... but when I work, I smoke constantly. I mean I ALWAYs have a cigarette lit, it may spend most of it's time in the ashtray, but it's there and lit. I would get NO work done if I had to run outside every time I smoked because it is part of WHY I smoke and part of where I smoke. This is somehow going to have to turn into a cold turkey situation Or I need to use my laptop to work from out in the living room, just to shake things up.. Me, to myself.. "Akward? Don't like working on the thing for real full day work? Programs missing you need to install? Hmmmm will take away too much time to get the thing set up to really work smoothly for you? Hmm well, I suppose when you are ready, strong enough to go back into the office and work at the desk top, you can...smoke a cigarette, use the laptop to work. Simple enough to understand, isn't it self?"