Give and get support around quitting
Can anyone tell me why it is sad to think of a future without smoking? I haven’t reached my quit date yet, but I’m getting close. I just don’t understand — because I hate smoking – why it feels like life without a cigarette would be sad.
You think you are giving up something but you are not. You are gaining. Once you addictive brain starts to think that it better you will be on a clear path to freedom. You just have to start. It takes time. It is a process of relearning behavior. It is not easy but doable if you make a commitment to NOPE not one puff ever no matter what.
I’m going to go back to the way I was doing it before I read that book. I was down to four cigarettes a day, but the book said smoke while you are quitting. Maybe he has a different personality than mine.
Lynda Fitzgerald
Author, LIVE Series
www.fitzgeraldwrites.com
Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse any typos or "auto corrects."
I certainly do.
Lynda Fitzgerald
Author, LIVE Series
www.fitzgeraldwrites.com
Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse any typos or "auto corrects."
It's part of the process.
You remarked May 14, 2018 as your quit date. How are you doing?
Awful. I lasted until 330 yesterday, and had half a cigarette. I got to work on this.
Lynda Fitzgerald
Author, LIVE Series
www.fitzgeraldwrites.com
Sent from my iPhone. Please excuse any typos or "auto corrects."
That’s ok, Lynda. But now it’s time to dust yourself off, flush or break the rest of the pack and start again.
The Mantra “NOPE” not one puff ever may help. The premise is that one “hit” of nicotine will load up your receptors and reinforce the addiction. To quit, you must allow your brain chemistry to normalize.
It takes time, it’s not pretty, but it is Oh! So necessary.
We have ALL been there, and we are all here to support you!;-) It’s tough, but it can be done!
Yes, there was a lot of good takeaway from that book, but it definitely didn't make it "easy."
Now I have my new plan, and my new Quit Date (May 30). I'm cutting down daily, so it won't be such a challenge. I'm recording each cigarette I smoke now: time/why/where. That way I can see the total number of daily cigarettes decrease and get a handle on the major triggers.
This sounds so "all about me," but I don't want my lungs damaged any more than they already are. I know I deserve better. I just have to make it better for myself.
I like writing, too, and have always kept a journal, ESPECIALLY when struggling with something in my life. Funny, but looking back through it I always realize that I don’t journal as much when I’m in a happy place! Obviously journaling is where I work things out in my head so, like you, I started tracking feelings and events last week of my journey to The Valley of NOPE.
Here’s something else I’m doing, too, based on a theory I learned in a previous support group - I stick POST IT notes all over the place, including in my car and especially in the drawer where I used to keep my cigarettes, with messages to my sub-conscious ... I AM A COMFORTABLE NON-SMOKER, I’M PROUD TO BE A NON-SMOKER, I DID IT-I QUIT SMOKING, I’M HAPPY SAVING MONEY AS A NON-SMOKER, I ENJOY BEING ABLE TO BREATH BETTER AS A NON-SMOKER, etc. The premise is that, since the sub-conscience doesnt know truth from fiction, it simply responds to what it is fed and starts making us move in that direction. In essence, we are what we think.
Oh, and P.S. Every time you read one of the notes, don’t worry about whether or not you believe them. The act of seeing them, alone, will filter them into your sub-conscious mind.
Boy, that's a fact! I like the post-it note idea. Besides, we don't expect to see post-its there, so they'll get our attention. Super idea!
I love the idea to journal the when/why/where of your cigarettes. I wish I had thought of that when I decided to quit. You should tag that idea into one of the newcomer conversations. Mark where is a good place for her to mention that idea (if it isn't somewhere on here already)?