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Give and get support around quitting

Stleo2asa
Member

I don't want to smoke cigarettes. Need help

I want to stop smoking, smoked for a year and 2 months and want to quit in 2 days. My question is if I participate in a support group would that help, or should I try doing this myself?

Thank you

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10 Replies
Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the Ex.  Being part of this group certainly helped me be successful.  I smoked for 50 years and I almost at 1 1/2 years smoke free.   Stick to your quit date and give the group a try.  We're here to support you.

Barb

Barbara145
Member

Good morning.  Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking.  I smoked for 52 years.  I also decided to quit smoking after a couple of years. I tried so many times to quit smoking.  I was unable to make it happen.  Six years ago I found this site.  I have not smoked since.  Yes, being a part of this community will help you.  You can do this.   

PastTense
Member

Stleo2asa‌ I am glad your found this site.  This has been a lifeline for me and my precious, fragile quit.

There is no reason to do this alone!!!  I pledge every day, which reminds me of my commitment.  I check in a couple of times a day and read other people's posts, and that helps me stay focused on quitting.

This site is part of my quit plan.  I hope you make it part of yours.

PT

Keep the Quit
PT
Daniela2016
Member

Please stay with the group and use us!  There is so much to learn, and to help your won quit, just by showing up.

You can also stay motivated by playing games, or taking a daily pledge, learn about what's to come in your quit, from people who've been through it.  One think which helped me get a good grasp on the addiction to nicotine was reading Allan Carr's book: "the easy way to quit smoking".  Of course it is not that easy, but understanding how addiction work on us, is a big step towards conquer it!

Welcome and please stay, being here will make your quit so much easier

Stleo2asa
Member

I appreciate all of your responses. Thank you all so much! I know this is a battle and I have tried to quit so many times, I failed all of them. I will definitely stick with the group and do my best to stop smoking.

PastTense
Member

Stleo2asa

Everyone is different, and you'll figure out pretty quickly what's working well for you and what isn't.

I've had dozens of failed attempts and I learned two things make a difference

1. A written plan: cover your start date, what your triggers are and how to respond to them.  I also included a list of rewards!

2. Post here every single day.  Take the pledge, ask a question, check in, encourage another newbie.

It's working for me!

Keep the quit

PT

Keep the Quit
PT
JACKIE1-25-15
Member

This what YoungAtHeart‌ would tell you. She is not available right now but I thought this information would be vital to your situation 

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 I recommend, please do give this a read.

 

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.


 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.
 

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!

Gwenivere
Member

I don’t know how someone could do this alone.  I’m alone in it in real life and grateful for this site for support.  I know there are people that have decided and walked away from it on their own, and before this technology, you would be on your own.  This is also a good way to meet some awesome people.

PrimeNumberJD
Member

Well, welcome to this virtual support group! If you feel the need, seek out a real support group; you can never have too much help. 

The quitting business is easy if you remember Not One Puff Ever (NOPE).

A little helpful trick, if you feel you cannot make it through and you are going to cave, post here BEFORE you give in. Then wait, hit refresh 1000 times, crush some candies, but do not give in BEFORE you receive a reply. It shouldn't be terribly long, by the time someone comes around, you probably will be over and past the crave, most last 3 minutes. 

You've got this!