Nervous

[Jconger0004]

My quit date is tomm.  I don't feel prepared. Im scared.  My kids are counting me. I've quit smoking cigarettes in the past and was able to stop for a couple months with chantex. But I've vapping now for several years. Chantex doesn't seem help me quit that.  I have a horrible lung condition,  I know this is for the best.  Yet im constantly under tons of stress.  Any suggestions for stopping vapping? Help please.  Tia 

[Treehugger85]

Right now my mom is actively dieing.....I can't see her in the nursing home due to covid restrictions.  Yet I am day 7 now on my quit.  I am staying quit.  Have I cried? Yes! Do I feel stressed? I am having a mental breakdown right now and don't know wrong from right.

It's not a hard choice just don't smoke. Come here post, use an NRT if you have to but come here, post, pledge, do what you need to do to stay smoke free.  Don't let stress become an excuse.

[Trisha76]

For the first several months I did not REALLY believe I could stop smoking.  The fear after 50 years of smoking was very intense.  You just have to do one day at a time and eventually you get to the other side of the fear.  You stay very close to this site, post when you need too and read to educate yourself.  You will always find something that helps you on your journey.

[Jconger0004]

Thank you both! Very encouraging!!!! 

[JACKIE1-25-15]

Welcome to EX you have come to the right place for support to quit smoking/vaping  It is natural to be a little nervous.  If you educate yourself to know what to expect that would help take some of the anxiety out of it. 

.  It is all a nicotine addiction, just a different device.  I would start at the education of nicotine addiction and making a plan of how you are going to about it.  Whether you are going cold turkey, medication or use NRT's Nicotine Replacement Therapy. If you go to My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX  review the videos and track when and why you vape.  Just replace the word smoking with vaping.  Also, you can follow this linkQuitting E-cigarettes | Guides & Tools | BecomeAnEX is more specific.  I also researched other websites for info www.whyquit.com was one of them. Read Nicotine 101 and Journey to Freedom.  There are EXcellent articles to read.  If you have questions you can use the magnifying glass top right corner and enter a key word to research. Community Help  is the link to help find your way around the site. Stay close read study ask questions and again Welcome to EX.  We are here to support you. 

[CrazyQuitter]

Look into other NRTs. I.E the patches. Look into other ways to distract yourself. Got a craving? Replace it with something else to do! Something relaxing. Maybe do some reading/ internet research. Let us know how you go!

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex and congrats on your quit day tomorrow.  If you're still thinking about using an aid they're others to choose from.   Use today to prepare and read everything you can on this site to educate yourself about what works for a successful quit.  We're here to support you.  Just reach out anytime you need  encouragement or want to share your journey.

Barb

[maryfreecig]

When I quit against my will (for an employer) it didn't work out very well. Of course deep down inside I really wanted to quit all along, but when I felt I had to, I got very resentful. Although stress is a normal part of life (at least some of the time) I had become a stress factory by the time I quit for my self in October 2013. I reacted to everything as if it was a 10 alarm fire call. 

When I quit I had very few coping skills, but I was armed with the decision that I would give my quit all that I had to give it. Let's just say that my relearning life for my quit was and still is a one day at a time project. I didn't need to be perfect to quit, just willing. I'm learning to see the ten alarm call as a one alarm, or no alarm!!! What have I gotten out of quitting? Everything. I found out that I'm more than the addiction. That I don't need to think of or smoke a cigarette every 15, 20 minutes. I found out that I could live extremely comfortably without smoking.

You might want to start looking at your stress response and follow the arc of the problem. Sometimes problems resolve on their own, sometimes with a few action steps the problem is solved. I know I used to huff and puff about problems as if nothing should ever bother me. I had a low tolerance for solving or fixing things. It was a deep physical angst as if my world was going to fall apart unless I got the problem solved in minutes. Of course I wanted to smoke!!! Hits of nicotine gave me something, a problem gave me nothing but angst.

Well that's all turned around now. Hits of nicotine don't matter, problems can be dealt with one step at a time.

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

 Congratulations on your decision to quit vaping.  It's common sense that anything you put in your lungs that isn't clean air can't be good for you!  You will need to substitute “vape” or “device” as you do the reading I will recommend. Research suggests nicotine may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Because vaping is available to you most anywhere, anytime, I believe it might be more difficult from which to break free than regular tobacco products - but it CAN be done!  Here is a blog written by one of our success stories that you might find informative: https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/AnnetteMM/blog/2019/09/08/how-to-quit-juul-or-vaping-in-ge.... If you would like to use a quit aid and would like information on the various ones, let me know.

I recommend that you educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind To that end, I suggest Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” . which can be found online or at your local library.  Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be. 

The idea is to change up your routines so the vaping associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from where you vaped. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first puff 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 vape so the view is different. Take a different route when you are out and about so you aren't driving by your vaping supply shop.

You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all),, 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 vaping thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged.  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 vape 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 to vape" 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

[MarilynH]

Welcome to the community 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 thankfully with commitment and perseverance you will succeed in living a life of Freedom! Deep breaths and believe in yourself because we believe in you and we're rooting you on You've got this reach out to us because we are here for you....