helpful and cheap ways to quit smoking.

[jess.hinkle88]

Ok i'm not rich and i dont have any health insurance right now, and i need help quitting i have just smoked my last smoke. (a-i cant afford anymore and b-i have no more) are there any tricks to help me curve cravings. i heard about maybe trying vitamins but im not sure what ones would help has anyone heard about this? i dont have much to my name which is stressful enough and was also looking for suggestions of any sort. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

It's about changing your thought process to accept quitting  not resist it.

It's Wake Up And Quit Day 

/blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months 

[Giulia]

Reading about the addiction, knowledge,  is the most helpful and cheapest way I know of to quit.  Reading will give you the tools and tricks necessary.  Check out Best of EX You can always get there from the Home Page.  Quitting is a skill.  Like any learned skill it takes homework.  Don't be afraid of it.  Glad you've joined us!

[CommunityAdmin]

Education is key as those have said above. You may qualify for assistance through your state.  Check your state's quitline for more information.

Mark
EX Community Manager

[Jennifer-Quit]

Here is my tip - stay busy!  Click this link for ideas!

100 Things to do Besides Smoke

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking.  It is one you will never regret!

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. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 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.

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! 

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

[maryfreecig]

Take it one day at a time. Make quitting the most important thing on your to do list one day at a time, and to that end read and follow suggestions, tips, tricks to get you through the initial craves. There is far more to quitting than abstinence or a special quit aid or product-- give yourself some credit for quitting. You can do this. And Ex has so much support to offer--and there is plenty of info in here and online to bolster your confidence. If you have been smoking but can't afford it, you are in for a pay raise. Ka ching. Money is a good motivator, and as you quit you'll be able to pick up all kinds of motivators. 

[elvan]

jess.hinkle88  Drink lots of cold water, distract yourself, keep yourself busy...there are lots of free things you can do that will keep you away from smoking.  I did not use any Nicotine Replacement Therapy...I used this site.  I read anything and everything that they suggested, I read and commented on blogs, I listened to what the elders told me, I listened to what other people were doing to get through tough times.  I believe that education and support are the keys to a solid quit.  You can get both on this site.  The best thing you can do is to stay connected here...I came every single morning and every single evening and I still do, for the most part.  Do the suggested reading.  Expect that there will be uncomfortable times but be honest with yourself about what smoking did FOR you...I can tell you with absolute certainty that smoking does nothing FOR us, but it does lots TO us.  It stops our emotional growth, it endangers our physical health in countless ways, it makes us less appealing to others AND to ourselves.  We feel shame because we are doing something that is socially unacceptable, our self esteem hovers somewhere below feeling disgusted with ourselves.  I do not know anything about vitamins helping.  I can tell you that staying well hydrated, eating as healthy a diet as possible, and staying physically active are the best ways that I know of to get through the withdrawals from this addiction.  It IS an addiction.  I used the mantra NOPE all the time...Not One Puff Ever along with many others that I got from this site.   We will do whatever we can to help you, we cannot quit FOR you but we can support you one day at a time and when that's too long, one hour or one minute at a time.  

Welcome to EX.

Ellen

[JACKIE1-25-15]

http://community.becomeanex.org/pg/blog/read/8313043/activities-you-can-do-to-keep-yourself-busy-ins...