To take the plunge.....

[emostruggle]

I am completely new to actually writing anything here but I have been reading on this site for about a month.  Sorry if this is long...

A little bit of backstory.  I tried to quit about a month ago, I read Alan Carr's book twice and jumped in without any preparation or anything.  It was horrible to say the least.  I was mad at the world for 6 days (not a fun person to be around) just sat and dwelled and grieved on the fact that I didn't have my "one thing" that was mine.  I caved on the 6th day after crying uncontrollably all day for no reason.  I thought I was just to different.  I have since read so many things on here that lead me to believe that it was all normal, even the grieving which I thought made me a freak because why would you grieve over something that is trying to kill you... anyways here is my actual question, my quit date isn't until next week. But this is my second quit day...the first came and went and I went into panic mode and just didn't. So I have all the hard candy, stuff to do, toothpicks, straws etc.  I have been making my own smokes and now I am almost out of tubes. I told myself I won't go buy anymore tubes, but that means quitting early which even thinking about it puts me into panic....I don't know if I should take the plunge early or buy a pack instead of buying 200 more tubes or to wait until my actual date.... sorry I don't know if this makes any sense or if I am just rambling, thanks for being out there and putting in time on here so I can see I am not a complete basketcase lol

[gregp136]

Biscuit‌, stick to your quit date.  Keep the plan, it was a great one!  Read, prepare, learn, talk, make friends, follow advice, and get to know yourself.  This is going to be quite a ride, but you will love yourself so much at the beginning, in the middle and the end.  Welcome to the best place on earth!

[elvan]

Biscuit I agree with gregp136‌ that you should keep your plan, not sure where the text came from but maybe you signed up somewhere else.  You do the reading and the preparations, plan for what you will do INSTEAD of smoking and then you will feel more prepared and will be more successful.  We are here to help you.

Ellen

[freeneasy]

How many times in your smoking life have you quit for 6 days before?  I think you should look at that as a success and a trial run. Lot's of people here lose quits even after one or more attempts. That being said read up and study about smoking and nicotine addiction. Start the next time better prepared and with more confidence.  Don't worry about buying cigarettes or smoking supplies.  Worry about not quitting and what the cost would be not only in terms of money spent but health issues caused by smoking What difference does it make if you are able to start a quit committed to being successful wanting to not smoke enough to get through craves (which are only temporary) and regain freedom from nicotine addiction.Quit Smoking - Articles and Advice 

[bonniebee]

Each and everyone of us is unique even though there are many things in common about withdrawal we may handle them differently I quit cold turkey once many years ago I cried a lot nearly every night for weeks and then I went into a pretty bad depression until I started walking at a fast pace for 30 minutes or more daily I made it to 3 months with that quit , It was so difficult that it scared me out of trying to quit again for over 10 years

This quit i used the patch it made  a world of difference in the withdrawal symptoms for me as kristen_9.7.15 said above "It really took the edge off "

   I also read Alan Carr's book and I found it helpful but I did not agree with it being the easy way it was not easy for me . 

You are not a 'freak ' grieving over the loss of the cigarettes is a very common part of our emotional attachment to the cigarettes I thought of them as one of my best friends for a long time I finally had to face the fact of the addiction and the so called friend that was stealing my money , my health and my freedom ! Not very friendly ! 

Positive thinking is so important when it comes to achieving a goal even with this addiction. Being on this site daily helped me to adopt a much more positive outlook on quitting and the quit became so much easier..... it truly did !

[gardenancy8]

This is my first quit and I am doing it Cold Turkey!  The thing to do is, just quit on your quit day, so you don't have regrets going in the quit. And also, just take it a crave, trigger, day at a time! I told myself, I am giving myself a day at a time, if I find I can't live without it, then the quit is done!  Surprisingly I have not had a day where I have almost died because I quit, so I am still going a day at a time!  But it has gotten easier! 

[Sootie]

Only you know when it is time for you to quit. We can support you and advise you, but we can[t quit for you...nothing can...only you. So you need to decide.

But as to the support and advice I promised let me say that it sounds to me like you are "scaring" yourself about quitting. Seriously, there is no reason to be afraid of quitting. Be afraid of smoking. Yes, you'll be a bit uncomfortable for a few days and you'll be sort of grouchy and possibly out of focus. Nothing that is impossible to withstand. It also seems as if you are "romancing" the cigarette a bit.......just an observation. Try going to whyquit.com and reading the articles there. I found it to be very helpful in the first days of my quit.

Sleep if you can, scream if you must....cry, eat, run, walk, sing, dance, hit something (don't hurt anyone!) do anything you want that's legal.....just don't smoke!

Stay Strong

[elvan]

Welcome to EX, you have come to the right place, you need to keep reading, start commenting, and make your plans...put together a quit kit, that means that you figure out your triggers and you PLAN for them, you plan for what you will do instead of smoking.  I quit over three years ago after smoking for 47 years with the exception of pregnancies, I found this site and I did all of the preparations and then I got really sick with pneumonia, THEN it all sunk in.  Fortunately, I made it through that but I did a lot of damage over the years and I have COPD, I had both of my upper lobes of my lungs removed in November of 2015 and I try very hard to remain active and eat right and stay away from pollutants that make it harder for me to breathe.  The hardest part of all of this is not the quitting smoking, it is dealing with the fact that it took me so long.

Glad you are here.

Ellen

[Yess]

My heart goes out to you Ellen.  How brave and resilient you are to go for the quit and forge through.  You are an inspiration to me and I truly believe to many others here. Thank you.

Pamela

[elvan]

Thanks Yess‌ I am not sure I feel like an inspiration but I can tell you that I am really glad I did this, I am really glad that I quit and if I can encourage anyone to quit BEFORE they get to where I did, there is no reason to allow this addiction to continue to ravage your body.  No matter what, the craves are not going to kill you...smoking will, one way or another.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Take it!

Take the plunge

Knowledge

Soak it up like a sponge