Hi, I’m pretty new here and still learning how this all works. I tried to post before, but clearly had no idea what I was doing. Lol. Anyway, this site has been more helpful then I imagined! Reading others experiences, tips and tricks on how to fight a craving are literal life savers!
My smoking journey started around 16. A friend of mine smoked Black & Mild cigars. I tried it once and it was basically the start of a long road. I couldn’t get tobacco products so it took a while to form the habit but that is my first memory. When I was old enough to go to clubs my friends and I would buy a pack of the cigars and smoke them on the weekends when we went out. Well social smoking turned into full blown daily smoking when I met my husband. He’s a cigarette smoker. So now I had someone to smoke with all the time. At 24 I had my daughter and quit Cold Turkey through my pregnancy, but after she was born I was right back at it. After a few years, vapes came out and I figured that was a sure way to start my journey to quitting. Now, I do enjoy smoking but I also know the health risks and as a person with anxiety all I think about is how terrible it is for my body. So I picked up the Vape and I did quit the cigars…..but I started a whole new slew of habits. Now I could smoke anywhere, anytime, and that has been the hardiest part of quitting.
This is probably the 5th or 6th time I’ve tried to quit, but for some reason I feel so confident in this quit. Has it been easy? No, but it also hasn’t been as bad as my anxiety ridden brain made it out to be. Sure the cravings suck, and trying to form new routines and habits has been a bit irritating, but I feel great about my quit. I have also been in therapy for about 6 months and it has changed a lot of things for me as well as good tactics on controlling your own narrative, thought processes and coping mechanisms. I don’t believe I would have ever quit if I didn’t get a handle on my mental health. I also haven’t had to many stressors just yet, so I’m thankful to have this group to turn to when that happens.
Thank you to everyone in this group for being here and being so supportive! It is truly so helpful to have this platform to turn too!
