whenever you think of smoking just say to yourself
"I don't do that anymore."
Say it every time.
It will retrain your thinking from the inside.
I was a couple months into my quit before I encountered this particular temptation. I was home alone, cleaning the master bedroom, and found nearly a full pack of Marlboro reds, my favorite, in a nightstand drawer. I did exactly what jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007 suggested, said I don't do that anymore, ran to a glass of water on the dresser and dumped them all in before I could think twice. Don't give yourself permission to do that anymore. If you encounter it, toss it as far as you can, get in your vehicle and get away from it.
You cannot give yourself permission to smoke, you cannot allow your addiction to take over your actions. No one is going to tell you it is "EASY" or that is it not a journey, it IS and it is one day at a time, one event or happening at a time, you CAN do this, you have to use whatever phrases work for you, mine was NOPE, Not One Puff Ever. Once you accept that smoking does not fix anything and that it is killing you softly or NOT so softly...once you accept that and decide you don't want that any more...you can do this. Smoking fixes nothing! If you didn't do the reading to prepare for your quit, it is not too late. You do have to start over, it doesn't matter that you didn't enjoy the cigarette...you smoked it. Back to square one but you don't have to throw everything away. Go from HERE.
Welcome to EX,
Ellen
It over now move forward. N.O.P.E. = FREE
And yet you came here to talk about it rather than slip away. Yep, life without the smokes really can be relearned with time patience, hope and a little help from friends. There is more to quitting than resisting, keep working this til you get it.
Continue to come here and read read read. There is a search area at the top of the page, where you can put words like ' how to get through a trigger? ' ' what to do to get through a crave? ' etc... That will bring you to several blogs on the subject that could help you. Also go check out more of the ' Best of the Ex ' section, fantastic blogs there. Glad you came here to blog. You will get this figured out for sure, you're so worth it!
The bad news - you smoked it. The good news - you didn't enjoy it. Remember that - since I quit, every time I've thought about smoking, I played the scenario through my mind. From obtaining the cigarette, to lighting it, to taking the first drag, to how it's going to taste, to what it's going to feel like when it hits my brain, and to how I'm going to feel about it afterwards. Doing that stopped me more than once.
Do continue to read everything you can here to educate yourself about this addiction and how to beat it. Sometimes when you read something it just clicks - it's what you needed to hear. Jump back on your quit - you can do this!
I had that happening to me too, but I was a little longer into my quit; found a pack with a couple of cigarettes; I was driving, I crushed them in my right hand, and as soon as I got home they met the trash can. And came back here and reported the event. You did the same thing, next time you'll be better prepared to face the event. The NOPE, the "I don't do that anymore" will help you along the way. Keep at it, it is feasible! We are all here proof of that, congratulations on your decision!
If you found a gun on the floor of your car, would you fire it?
All kidding aside, you need to make the decision not to smoke NO MATTER WHAT!
I am sure you are going to encounter other half-smoked cigarettes in your travels, will you smoke them?
Make up your mind and don't give in. It really IS a matter of life and breath!
Nancy