cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Give and get support around quitting

richavera
Member

Am i guaranteed to fail the first time I attempt to quit smoking

Am i guaranteed to fail the first time I attempt to quit smoking 

Tags (1)
14 Replies

No.

Many of us quit the first time.

Most of those smoked for 40 years.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6040-my-welcome-to-new-members-12-years-of-watching 

Barb102
Member

No you are not. Believe in your ability to do anything you set your mind on. Protect your quit. Hour by hour, day by day. You can do this!!!

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

My answer to your question is a resounding NOOOOOOO!  If you educate yourself, do the planning and preparation, COMMIT to never smoke another cigarette NO MATTER WHAT, and take advantage of the available support, you can absolutely quit on your first try.  A lot of folks who started here with us, even having failed a bunch of times before, were successful.  Put in the effort, keep your quit your #1 priority, and you CAN join those of us who were successful on their first attempt (or their first attempt with the tools available here).

The important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. To that end, I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. You can search for it online or at your local library. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.


 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go to the pages of folks who you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com, quitsmoking.com and livewell.com for the good information contained there. @https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex has lots of blogs written by members of this site with their experiences and guidance. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort after you have tried to delay and distract.   I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke 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 smoke so the view is different. Buy your gas at a different station. Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.
 
You need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), put your head in the freezer and take a deep breath of cold air, 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 smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. Sometimes you need to quit a minute or an hour at a time.  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 smoke 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 a cigarette" 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

AnnetteMM
Member

Of course not! There are some who relapse, of course, but that does not mean you will. Everyone's quit is different and precious. I'm glad you're here!

JACKIE1-25-15
Member

Look forward to success, not a failure. Education is the key to a successful quit. 

You have come to the right place to get support to quit smoking.  Start first by educating yourself on addiction to nicotine. Foundation For A Successful Quit‌ this blog will give you a jump start.  Read the suggested material provided by YoungAtHeart Another good site to get info is www.whyquit.com.  There are several articles to read.  Nicotine 101 and Freedom From Nicotine My Journey Home.  Quitting takes planning and preparation go to EX Plan | BecomeAnEX  to decide how you are going to go about quitting. To get help on navigating the site go to. Community He My lp‌.  Again Welcome, there is more to come.  If you have any questions you can do a search with the magnifying to respond glass type any keywords and research.  If you have any questions just ask and give us the opportunity to respond.  We are here for you. 

TW517
Member

Not if you learn from our mistakes .  

I really don't mean to sound glib.  I had many relapses before finding this site.  After doing a bunch of reading here, and coming on everyday to post how I was doing/feeling, I am now 47 months into my final quit.  I never made it past 11 months before.  Welcome to our community!

Jennifer-Quit
Member

Absolutely not!

Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the Ex.  When I first read this earlier today my first thought was, do you believe on a quit smoking website that anyone is going to answer in the affirmative to your question?  Most of us have attempted more than once to quit.  That's the reality for most of us.  Does that have to be you?  No.   It's not easy, but we're here to support you. If you're successful, so are we. 

Barb 

SimplySheri
Member

Isn't it nice to hear "It's all up to you"?!!  It truly is.  My sister and her husband quietly put them down and never picked them back up.  It's been 8 years for them now.  They didn't look back, didn't relapse, didn't complain.  It took me longer.  It's as individual as we are  

Glad you found us, glad you are asking questions, and so glad you decided to quit smoking!!

Sheri