The first five days have been rather difficult. Not because I quit smoking but because my life had dozens of issues pop up at once. Though it has all been terribly stressful and it's not nearly over yet I've found that it actually keeps me from focusing on quitting. Since I am so busy tryig to work through all of the other issues I've got going on I just haven't had the time to think about smoking.
Long drives and quiet time have been my only rough places, so just in case I've kept a pack of gum with me. The times when I have experienced a particularly strong craving I found that just standing up and walking to another room washed the idea away.
My husband is on his way to quitting as well. He hasn't chosen his day yet but he has significantly cut down his smoking. He doesn't smoke in the car, or bring any tobacco home, and he takes fewer smoke breaks at work.
My sister has slipped up, but she didn't let it get her down. We sat together and talked about what to do to prevent future slip ups and we talked about how she felt. I encouraged her not to think of it as a failure and not to use the one slip up as a reason to give up on quitting. We've found that being around others who smoke, such as our mom, makes it really difficult for my sister to quit so we've decided it would be best she not accompany me when I visit my mom each weekend until she is more ready.
I'm having a little trouble convincing both my husband and my sister to read some of the things I have read that helped me. I'm hoping that they will read and find the resources as helpful as I did, but if not at least I can tell them some of the information I have found.
My life with out cigarettes is going well and I am happy to be living at last.
Thank you everyone for your support. 😃
