Free in 6

[DDfree]

So, I have 6 more days until my quit date. I am not exactly sure how I will reduce or wean down at this point. This site has been a great help! The people here are very inspirational and motivated about not only quitting smoking; but helping others as well. Support is a huge thing when it comes to fighting an addiction. Accountability, although sometimes tough, is necessary. The variety of plans, discussions, groups, and expert advice allows each individual here to choose topics, discussions, and groups that fit their situations. People that they can relate to. People they can chat with on a personal level! People who can direct and give them advice as well as hold them accountable. This site allows you to make your journey to quit smoking as personal as you want. You can identify triggers in your life that cause you to reach for a cigarette as well as learn how to replace that cigarette craving for something positive. You can set your quit date as well as study all the information this site has to offer to get a real grasp on your plan of action! This goal IS attainable! Will it be easy, not one bit! But nothing worth having comes easy right? But being ax ex is so worth it in the end! How bad do you want to become an ex? And what steps are you going to take right now to make that happen? You can do this! I can do this! Together, We can do this! Today I choose to #becomeanex! Best wishes and God Bless!

[dwwms]

Best wishes to you as you take this monumental step!! Glad you're here and seems you've been working towards that goal of becoming smoke free! This site is very helpful - seriously doubt that I'd be where I am without the support and knowledge that I've obtained here. And you are absolutely correct - while there are lots of similarities in the quitting process, each individual's quit is unique to them. As I counted down to my quit date, I chose to keep track of the cigarettes I smoked, what the trigger was, how strong the desire was, and how much I enjoyed it/ how it made me feel. I didn't necessarily try to cut back, though I did find myself reducing from 15 per day down to 10-12 just before I quit. This made me realize that I really didn't enjoy smoking near as much as I thought I did! The goal is certainly attainable! Attitude makes all the difference and your attitude is in the right place!! You're not giving up anything, there are only positive gains to be made! Looking forward to your success!!

Doug

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

I am sorry to be so late with my welcome - but I was in VA Beach whooping it up with others who have successfully quit. Mark your calendar so you can join us NEXT year with a year quit under your belt!  With the "quititude" you are exhibiting, I have no doubt you will be a member of the 6% Club (stats show only about 6% of people who quit are still quit after one year)! 

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 also highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

 You should also read the posts here and perhaps go the 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  The idea behind the separation exercises is to put off each cigarette for just a bit - getting busy.  It's kind of practice for your real quit when you will need to do that when you want a cigarette.

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. 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.  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:

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/Youngatheart.7.4.12-blog/2013/02/25/100-things-to-do-instea...

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

[Puff-TM-Draggin]

Welcome, DDfree!  I've seen comments you've left on other blogs.  You're well on your way!  Count down those six days with eagerness and excitement.  You're going to learn how to harvest 100%-organic dopamine straight from your soul.  The really good stuff will be ready for consumption in about a year, but you'll be nibbling the sour berries in a few short days, maybe a month.  The key is understanding and denying your addiction to nicotine.

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 you've 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.  How difficult it is, more than anything else, is how you perceive 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 addiction for so long, you appreciate 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.

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site! I also recommend the Carr book mentioned above. That - plus sticking around here - will make a huge difference! You can do this! 

[Thomas3.20.2010]

When you do smoke pay attention. Don't let yourself get into a state of constant withdrawal - when you smoke less than 5 a day. You'll unnecessarily make yourself miserable before you even begin!

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Just tell yourself to wait a little longer. that will get you off auto pilot. the time between cigarettes will increase automatically. So stress, No denial

[JonesCarpeDiem]

No counting. You are just noting change not trying to bum yourself out.

[elvan]

DDfree‌ You will get the best advice, support, and love here that you can imagine.  You will get educated and you will have the option to choose YOUR way.  I got so sick that my choice was pretty much taken out of my hands...I wish I had quit and stayed quit much earlier but there is nothing I can do but go forward from THIS day, one day at a time.  Once I identified my triggers and how strong they were, I was able to plan for different ways to deal with them INSTEAD of smoking.  I also promised myself very early in my quit that if I had a trigger that was particularly challenging, I would ask myself a question and I would answer completely HONESTLY...what difference would smoking a cigarette make?  Would it take away my physical pain?  Would it take away my stress, whatever the source might be?  Would it make me happy when I felt sad?  Would it take away my anger?  The HONEST answer was always no, I could not justify smoking...there was never a reason that I could HONESTLY say it would help.  I went through some tough times but I knew smoking was not going to change anything, I also knew that a crave never killed anyone and that it would go away whether I smoked or not.  I did NOT do the white knuckle thing that I have done in the past, I quit with knowledge of what smoking did to me, undeniable knowledge.  Quitting was the best thing I ever did for myself, hands down.  

You CAN do this and we will help you.

Ellen

[Mandolinrain]

Congrats on a great decision! Allen Carrs book 'Easyway to stop smoking, read, read read, blog, come here.

Ditto to all that's said in previous responses! This is doable and YOU are worth it. Glad your here,

We have your back!