Reset Quit Clock?

[jaynalynn]

I have heard a lot of people here say they have slipped and had to start all over and reset their quit clock.  So what consitutes a relapse in your book?  Is it a puff, a cigarette, is it smoking for 1 day, a whole pack, a weekend, a week, a month......I'm just curious what other people consider a relapse.  Do you hold yourself to the same timeframe if you have not smoked for a week vs. 10 years?

Last updated 7 hours ago by Jaynalynn

I have been completely  smoke free for 3 days now. If i subtract the one ciggerette that i smoked friday night it has be 5 days. But  I don't think that does me any justice. I would have to say that any nicotine in your systems would be a relapse. At the end of the day its the reasons we quit that really matters. 

Stay strong

Digitalcheffe 6 hours ago

I'm with the above.  Sneaking a drag or smoking a whole cigarette - or whole day or pack - bottom line is, you smoked!  It's time to be honest with ourselves.   We can sneak around and hide our smoking from our spouse, our parents, our coworkers - but dang if we can hide it from ourselves.  You KNOW it's going to taste bad.  You KNOW it's going to smell bad.  You KNOW how hard the first few days are.  Is it worth it?  Then it's worth resetting your quit clock.

Just my opinion - more reinforcement for myself than anything!

Sunbow 6 hours ago

Delete

[419gottaminute]

way to go bigjohn,

besides, counting the quit days is for someone who wants to quit for a certain amount of time.

not every one of us can quit right out of the gate.

I did cause I was mentally prepared

I was done

goodluck

[419gottaminute]

I am done not was

[laflamme]

If you're a former pack-and-a-half smoker and end up sucking on a crumpled cigarette butt you found under the entertainment center, I don't think you should stop making X's on your calendar. Why bring on a sense of defeat to mess with your forward momentum? The idea is to maintain confidence and if that means fudging that one, nasty slip, I say fudge away. Of course, if we're not careful, we'll end up opening the door to the "what constitutes marital cheating?" debate.

[strangeangel]

A slip is a slip.  What do you do though, when you 'slip' and buy a whole pack of cigarettes?  That's not a slip, it's an intent to slip and keeping on slipping through the whole pack.  I had a quit date.  I went cold turkey with no patches or meds.  I went through the triggers and identified mine.  I tried separation.  I tought I was ready.  I was ready, damnit.  This time I was going to make it.  After 24 hours I 'slipped'.  I bought a whole pack.  I couldn't bear to thow out the rest of the pack - what a waste of money. ';/.   What a wast of cigarettes.  So now I have a new quit date of New Years Day.  I've banned myself from smoking upstairs in the house (which is where I smoked the most).  So far I've held to that. Next week we get a new couch- on that date I'm banning all smoking in the house.  A week after that, no more smoking in the car.  Then on New Years, no more smoking at all.  I think it's a good plan.

My husband hates it.  He thinks I am backsliding again.  I can't say I blame him.  I've promised him many many times in the last couple months that I'm quitting.   Each time the quit date comes around, I slip.  I come up with a new 'plan'.

Am I kidding myself?  Do I need to just go cold turkey again, or should I try my way of separation in preparation for a new quit date?

[catcat]

Just be strong and remember - you must never take one puff. I must tell all of you this. I smoked for 13 years and quit in 1987 (cold turkey) and did NOT take one puff for 16 years. Then one night, I was with some friends (drinking) and thought I would smoke one, just one. Well, a few weeks later, I smoked another one and bingo, I started back. Not regularly all day like before, but enough to be an issue. After 16 years! From that point, I smoked for 5 years. Then in May 2009, I thought okay what am I doing? So I quit cold turkey again. To me, that is the only successful way to do it. But the most important thing is that you have to want to quit. If you do not truly want to quit, then you won't. All the outside pressure to quit does not matter - it's what you think that matters. I do not ever want to smoke again, so I joined this community so we can all support each other. I totally agree with the statement that Rachel H. made above, "it's up to the individual to figure out their own standards in quitting". That is a great way to look at it.

[fortyears]

Jaynalyn

I see this is an older post....  but I read all the replies and saw how different everyone feels about the subject of measuring time free of nicotine.  So I thought then, this may have to be something we define/decide for ourselves.  Maybe a "rule or law" isn't in (my) best interest ... and we are just successful non smokers!   🙂   All my best. 

[sawmaw]

I have been reading this for a while.  This principal is based from the 12 step fellowships.  AA calls it a slip, NA, calls it a relapse.  It's all the same.  The core of it is based on YOUR program of honesty and accountablity.  Yes, it's a program of progress not perfection.  The Idea and goal if complete abstinance of all Tobaco/nicatine products.  Since this is not a formal 12 step program, nor modeled as one, it should be noted that the principals really don't apply here as well.  Again, this is supposed to be about Our own personal recovery from what we have allowed these damn dirty rotten little crappy sticks have taken away from our lives.  The core principal needs to be focused on rebuilding our focus on Today, where we are Today and being accountable for Today.  We can't just stay abstinant from these things. We need to find the life that we substituted with these @#$%#$ things.  So, if we leave a loop hole in our program, of allowing us to "slip", the Idea some of these fine folks, are trying to say, is when does it stop.  2, 3, 4, a hafl a pack.  Smoking a cigarette, isn't going to kill you, correct, yet, and maybe it wasn't that one that started us back down that path.  Remember. the easy part of this whole deal is putting these down.. The hardest part is not picking one back up.  I know, my best attempts to controling my using ciggarates was a complete failure and maybe we're playing with fire.  Yet, we must still move foward.  I want to not only quit from these damn things.. I want to get what I can recover back and save what I can,  Today.  It's a personal choice and this isn't about approval and validation.  If this is based on any 12 step followhip, then there is a tradation which states that each group down to the person is auotonymous.  Each person is responsible for their OWN program.  We are here to stay away from  cigarettes and I do.  It is up to each other to be tolerant and honor the others rate of recovery, program and Ideals. 

[susanj]

I am a major relapse.  I have not been successful.  I consider one cigarette the start of my downfall.  As in my profile, I'm a closet smoker.  I'm not around people who smoke, they are banning smoking in bars/restaurants in NC Jan 2, 2010, but that doesn't bother me.  I rather just find an excuse to go buy a pack and sit by myself smoking.  I think this is a combo of depression/anxiety and it is a comfort - a friend.  How do I get people to respond and help me?  I've been down this road so many times I'm sick of it.  I hate myself for continuing this habit.  I smoked my last 2 cigs this a.m. 

[smokelessinsaltville]

you can't be almost pregnant, either yes or no!

Have not smoked in 27 days

[dpenny]

Last Sunday I had a slip up.  My quiet date was December 4 2009.  I haven't smoked since Sunday