Please help

[pappasal]

I guess I just get stressed out. I have family problems and bills to pay and I'm always tired and I spend the little money I have for me and my elderly mom and other family members and food and laundry days and depression and gas money and work stress when things go wrong and suicidal feelings and car problems and I'm always left with no money and smoking cigarettes is keeping me sane. 

[CommunityAdmin]

Thank you for being so vulnerable here, @pappasal, and sharing some of your journey. It's clear that you're dealing with a lot, and I can understand why smoking feels like a way to cope. 

I don't want to diminish any of the struggles you've expressed, but if you ever decide that you want to quit smoking, we at EX are here for you. We offer information, support, and resources to help you on that path. Reach out as often as you need to, and maybe start with this guide as a helping resource: EX Guides.

Wishing you strength and support. 🌟 We're here for you.

Todd

[maryfreecig]

How can you quit when smoking is the one reliable thing in your life? 

A lot of us smokers got caught in the belief that smoking helps us deal with life. I believed that too. It cost me a lot of money to smoke in a year, but that didn't concern me. I thought I needed cigarettes to cope, to live. But the truth was that I needed to smoke because I was addicted.

Making the decision to quit is a hard one for most of us. Decades of being addicted, the memory of not smoking gets long forgotten. And so how get out of the trap becomes the question.

Give yourself time to learn about nicotine addiction, to learn about your options about quitting and get to know how others have quit. Let yourself have some space to figure out what you are willing to do.

One step, one day at a time  you can start to figure this out. Ex is here to support you as you sort it out. 

[Barbscloud]

@pappasal Welcome to the Ex.  Quitting is hard and smoking to relieve stress is a temporary solution.  We actually do get a short term high from that that hit of dopamine.  But that high was designed not to last long so we need another smoke shortly after to keep that feeling going.  That's how we become addicted.  Think about the all the money you're spending on cigarettes.  That money could go towards helping to pay bills, etc.  I don't think we realize how much we're actually spending until you start saving that money for other things. 

Right now, you're working through the process of your desire to quit and the addiction wanting you to keep it up. You can win that internal battle by educating yourself about nicotine addiction and putting a plan in place with how you'll deal with cravings, identifying your triggers and creating the new associations you'll create instead of smoking.

And you just found an amazing group of quitters the are here to support you on this journey to becoming an Ex. There will be ups and downs, but that is part of the journey. We're here for you, so just reach out anytime we can help or want to share your experience.

This link is a great place to get you started on the right track. https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex

Pick a date, do the preparation and join us on your journey.

If you're have suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide Hotline at 988  They're there to help you through these thoughts. 

Stay close.

Barb

[MarilynH]

Deep breaths @pappasal! believe in yourself! You can quit it's definitely NOT easy at times BUT it sure is worth all of the cravings and moodswings and lack of sleep to be Free PLUS anything worth having takes time AND effort AND kicking nicotines butt into oblivion is TRULY THE GIFT OF LIFE! Stay close and read everything you can there's a wealth of information right here on this site to strengthen your resolve to quit and stay quit, we're all here to help you in any way we can! 

[Augustus44]

It sounds like you've got a tough row to hoe, and that's too bad. With your problems, I suppose it's easy to fall off the wagon. What I can offer is the following: 

The longer you stay away from cigs, the easier it will be. 

I've been quit for 40 days--I have $200.00 doing nothing--that might be a really good incentive.

Stay on this site--everyone here has been through it. They know how difficult it can be. 

Read Carr's Book--that will help you in a really big way to understand the fans mindset we talk ourselves into. 

Go get em tiger!!!!!

[Wozlik]

Welcome @pappasal .  You have found a wonderful place. Please visit often.