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Give and get support around quitting

Does this program work?

I have been thinking alot about quitting and last night even decided I was going to do it today.  I smoked my last cig last night but when I got up this morning I failed and smoked.  then felt guilty and put a patch on but got irratable.  I found this program online and decided maybe it would be better to go thru an actual program then to try to just do it alone.  Does this program work?

27 Replies
freeneasy
Member

Yes, it works well. You need to learn how to quit and to prepare for it.  Go up to the right-hand corner of your screen and click on "My Quit Plan" and read all the information there. Here's a link to another site that I found helpful Learn How to Quit Smoking (and Make it Stick) .   There are many other sources of information. Smoking the last cigarette and waking up and putting on a patch after you smoke another one won't work. I tried it and it didn't work for me either. You can learn how to do it, commit to it and it's doable.You won't regret it. Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for yourself.  

Welcome Newbi!

Absolutely, it works, if you're willing to work it.  No program does the work for you.  You have to commit, persist and never give up.  Nothing or no one can do that for you, but we can advise, support, encourage, understand and do our best to steer you in the right direction.  Everyone's quit is unique.  For me, one of the most powerful keys was knowledge, particularly about addiction.  I'm not surprised your go at quitting today didn't stick.  It seems you went at it with a lot of good intention and very little preparedness.

I've found the more you know about beating your addiction to nicotine, the easier it is to quit smoking. And that really is what it is all about. You don't really even want to smoke. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. But you are addicted to nicotine, (all of us here are, or were.)  Once you are on to his nicotine's ways and deceitful lies, you will find it within you to say, "NO MORE." Not One Puff Ever = N.O.P.E.

One of the best ways to get educated, in my opinion, is to read the Allen Carr book, The Easy Way To Quit Smoking.   You can find a link to the free online version here.  I also recommend doing the tasks outlined on this site in preparation for your quit, (even if you've already begun your quit,) because the first couple weeks, as you probably know already, are not what most people call fun, (sorry Mr. Carr.) But if you've planned ahead what you will do instead of smoking, since you won't be doing that anymore, you will get through.  Once you beat the addiction, you will still need to master the old associations we wove with dopamine highs.  It is a process.  It is a journey.  The only way to the other side, to the freedom of living smoke-free, is through. You can do this!

There are a handful of members here we all affectionately refer to as Elders; folks with sturdy, steady quits under their belts that hang around simply to help newbies like you along. Read their blogs, take their advice, trust them. They are wise, and they mean well.

 

Then, hang around here as much as you can.  Whine, cry, scream, (wait! hit the brakes! SCREEEEEECH!!!  What am I saying?) Laugh, giggle, smile and dance your way through this journey.  It really is, as much as anything else, how you look at it. You are not giving up anything. You are gaining everything, from a healthier body, to increased wealth,to greater self-esteem, to a whole new awakening on life! It truly is freedom and it's yours for the taking. Sometimes I wonder if it is not better to be an Ex-smoker than a Never-smoked. You enjoy the same freedoms as they, but having been a slave to the addiction for so many days, you appreciate the freedom so much more.

 

So welcome aboard. We are all here to walk this journey with you. Educate, prepare, commit, and then quit. It really is as simple as that.

gregp136
Member

I am over 60 days quit because I also came here.  Read, read, read and listen to the elders, and join in the discussions.  Here at Ex we do it together.  If you want to quit, you came to the right place.

Thank ya'll for your comments.  I have been working the program getting ready for my quit date.  I took my car down yesterday and cleaned it out.  it is now going to be a smoke free zone.  I know driving is a huge trigger for me so I thought I would start there.  if I can relearn how to do things without smoking before my quit date it will be alot easier on me.  I have tried several times in the past and just didn't have the will power to follow thru.  I am praying for more will power this time.  As I charted each cig I smoked yesterday I found that being aware of each one helped.  I only smoked 10 cigs yesterday. 

You're doing it right.  You have the POWER; you WILL quit.

WILL POWER each and every day!

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pongaselo
Member

I have gotten a fair amount of heat here for recounting the techniques employed by a pay to quit program from the 1980s. One of their routines was noting when you smoke (trigger awareness). The second Big prep help was waiting after any meal or food (15 minutes week one , 30 minutes week 2 etc.).   That really kicks the chemical dependency side of nicotine addiction to the side of the road.  Wiping out your need for nicotine like you are doing and monitoring the triggers is huge. I was quit for the 20 years that I was married so the program did work. The marriage didn't unfortunately. You are on the right track. Managing your mind is key to success. You have to know your enemy. The tobacco slime have worked very hard to control us and keep us spending money on their poison.  The people that I fear for the most are those who are absolutely certain that they can not survive without a nicotine substitute or some other crutch. Learning that I didn't need the rewards, every day is not my own personal xmas where I would go through the day with my little trigger/reward crutches, was key. 

  Read Allen Carr's book, learn everything you can and communicate. It will keep you on track.

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Bree19
Member

Welcome!

I'm so glad you found us.

It absolutely works.  I'm on day 80 and they flashed by.

You need only 3 things for it to work 

1.  Commitment

2.  Reading reading reading = education

3.   Listen to what the elders are saying.

We'll chat again.

Bree

tjanddj
Member

Welcome! Glad to have you here on this journey with us! Do read Alan Car's book it helped me out along my quit journey.

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jbliesmer
Member

Welcome! We are all here to listen. The program works. 
Follow the steps. 
Educate yourself and Engage

~Jaime

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