Give and get support around quitting
My quit date is May 10, is anyone else planning on quitting on that date? Would you be interested in sharing the adventure and “ho.ding hands”?
michael
Welcome to our community!
We can ALL be your quit buddies. Everyone who volunteers here is either going through the process or has been quit awhile. I have been quit for almost 6 years, but I STILL remember what Day One was like (and it's one of the reasons I don't want to repeat it!) Be careful of accepting advice from another newbie - hand holding, though, is encouraged!
The most 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.
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, quitsmokingonline.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. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested in My Quit Plan http://www.becomeanex.org/my-quit-plan.php
After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. If used properly, gum, lozenges and inhalers are fine, but they need to be used only as a last resort. I have seen folks become addicted to them if they substitute them for every cigarette they used to smoke - just trading one addiction for another. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.
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:
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.
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!
Nancy
Miglets, YoungAtHeart is an experienced quitter so she's probably giving you sound advice.
To answer your question, you can find other people with same quit date(choose the day before as the start date and the day of for the end date) by using our directory. Maybe it's not to get advice but to share experiences and keep track of each other.
Past May 10th quitters
From what I can see May 10th might not be a popular day to quit. Or you're starting a new trend
Other resources to check out:
Find a Quit Buddy May Quitters Newbie Quitters
If you're looking for hand holding....
Some on here have advised against "quit buddies" because of the risk of relapse. One goes, and the other one goes. Use the support here every day, but don't tie your quit to anyone else's. Also, WELCOME!
Miglets Welcome to EX...please pay attention to what YoungAtHeart has advised. The key to a successful quit is education about nicotine addiction...I suggest that you read a couple of blogs...one by JonesCarpeDiem /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months and another written by YoungAtHeart https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/17060-for-our-new-years-quitters-and-community-members-too Both can be very helpful. I do not recommend a quit buddy who is at the same place as you are in your quit...someone who has been here a while is fine but it's probably best to just reach out and see that many people will take your hand and help you along the way. If you have a buddy with a similar date and you are both going through the same things, if one falls...it makes it very difficult for the other one to hang on. It's not impossible and we all own our OWN quits but it does add an extra and unnecessary challenge.
Again, welcome to EX.
Ellen
Mark,
Thanks a lot for the great advice and posts. I really appreciate it! I’ve quit before for as long as 4 years and many times for shorter periods, the posts confirm the challenges and offer ideas about overcoming the hurdles.Best, Michael
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