STRESSED and Falling Back

[lil-mama3]

Today I had a extreme scare.  I had to rush my husband to the hospital because he couldn't breath. I was  afraid he was havng a heart attack still not sure if he didn't. He's in I C U now and for how long i don't know.  This stress has made me smoking alittle more than usual.  (Quit date Feb 2) even tho I haven't reached my quit date yet I'm afraid that I won't be able to start on Feb 2 with this coming up with my husband and taking care of him, and my children. I guess i'm feeling like i don't know if i can do this right now but i so badly want to.  i feel like I'm Falling Back from my plan

[maggie_8-1-2010]

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's health. For as long as Iv'e been on this site I've noticed that the closer people get to their quit date the more fearful they get. Add a major stressor and it's usually the same. The person thinks that "now" is not a good time. The truth is that there is never a good time to quit. There is always going to be stress. Smoking causes stress - hard to believe right now but once you've quit you'll see.  Think about it. There you are at the hospital and you cannot smoke. You know it and are thinking about it. It gets under your skin stressing you out. When you do get out of the hospital you can't even smoke because the grounds are also smoke free. You can't wait to get to your car. You get the idea. When a person smokes (and I know this from first hand experience) it is all about the smoking. Do I have my cigarettes. Will I be able to smoke there. Stuff like that.

You quit date is still a bit away. Take this time to think positive about yourself and your husband. You CAN do this! We will help.  ((Hugs))

[jawidge]

Take a deep breath and understand that smoking will not help any of these concerns that you speak of here.  I will keep you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers.  Smoking will not help him recover and will not help you take care of your children.  It will only make you feel worse now.   Quitting is the very best thing you can do for them or yourself.  Hang in there and read some more about your addiction.  We are here for you

[vickys79]

I understand your fear. I can't say what I would do in your situation. It is hard enough to quit, but add a stressor like that and I don't know if I would be strong enough to do it. One thing that may motivate you is that whatever your husband's illness is, it will be exacerbated by being around smoke. Also, if you don't quit, how long before you are in the same situation?

[Sootie]

Maggie and Jawidge really said it all. I only want to add---your smoking cannot help your husband and may actually hurt your health---then where will you both be??  Put them down. It really is not as hard to quit as you are imagining it to be. STAY STRONG.

[onelasttime]

Not to be too harsh I hope nut with the stress of all this and smoking you could be the next one in ICU if you don't stick to your plan just saying...Deb

[kim_hollings]

I know that you can be strong without your usual crush. Remember how you used to deal with things without cigarettes. Call your friends, family when you feel like lighting up. Lean on them for support instead of shelling out another $6 that's only going to make you feel worse about the situation. Stay strong, babe.

[Leeza]

Please take the next 24 hours to deal with your husband's health issue.  Don't make any decision about abandoning your quit during this time.  Try not to smoke more which I understand can be challenging.  You might try doing some deep breathing from your tummy to help dampen your stress levels.  I know that this is difficult time for you right now.  I went through something similiar when I was preparing to quit.  I kept waiting for the "right time" to quit for decades and found that it never arrived.  Be kind to yourself.

[nomoreforme]

There is no right time to quit, but this scare may be the motivation you need to get healthy so you can be there for your family. I am not sure what you are going through, so I am going to keep this short and sweet because I do not want to say the wrong things. I want you to know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. 

[sandra40]

My quit date is this Friday and I have to admit I have some fear. But overall I'm just so sick and tired of the damn things. I just want to get it over with and have them out of my life FOR GOOD. I understand how hard it is to believe you can deal with stress without the little white devils, but I know that's one of the biggest reasons I want to quit - to learn how to live my life FREE! You are in my prayers.

[eib]

Can you turn the situation around to make quitting a positive part of the process?  When my uncle died two weeks ago, I immediately thought "Oh no, this is going to screw up my quit."  But then I thought, my uncle quit when he was my age, after smoking almost as long as I have, and he made it.  So I turned my q

[eib]

uit into a positive celebration of his life and mine.  This is sort of significant for me cuz usually I cave to any stressor, "Oh, I can't quit with all this going on." but then I figured out is was one of my mechanisms to not quit.  I'm 8 days in now and I don't think there is any single stress (and believe me from death to fire, I've had um all) that I could blame for making me start smoking again.