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Give and get support around quitting

radxi
Member

When to quit?

Hi, I just joined this community. I know I have to quit for health reasons and just so I can prove to myself that I have self control, but I don't know how and where to start. No single day seems motivating enough. It seems like a distant goal that you have to achieve someday. How do you know, this is it, it has to end here? 

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6 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

I am glad you found us.  I think after you do some reading and preparation your quit date will be easier to set.  You should choose a date that has significance to you - of one is close.  If not, just pick one 2 weeks out or so and GO for it.  In the meantime, get READY!

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. 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. 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

Roller831
Member

To add to what Nancy mentioned, there are some other blogs you may want to check out below.

Welcome!  I know when I first found this site, many Elders told me to read read read….and I did.  Elders are those with one or more years of being quit.  If you like what someone has to say, then you may want to read their blogs.  I have some listed below.  

 

Is anyone really ever ready to quit?  Is there ever a good time to quit?  I think you just need to be it until you see it or fake it until you make it!  Act like an ex-smoker and you will end up being one!  I think the single most important thing that helped me was Alan Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking book/book on tape.

 

A list of our Elders ELDER'S LIST 

 

So here's the thing.....and you may not like what I am about to say....and that's ok.  I get it.  You need to accept that this is an addiction.  Before you do that, it will be much more difficult to quit and stay quit. 

 

Read read read.  Do the steps to PREPARE yourself to quit.  Do the steps so you are PREPARED on quit day and for the days AFTER quit day.  

 

Some of the things I read in my first few days that helped me:

Dale’s Welcome to New Members My Welcome To New Members (10 Years Of Watching) 

 

Youngatheart.7.4.12 Nancy’s Blog101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke 

 

jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007  Dale’s Blog What To Expect In The First Four Months 

 

Visit Best of EX

And read what has been posted there.

 

JACKIE1-25-15  gave me the link to Alan Carr’s book, “Easy Way to Quit Smoking”.  I actually didn’t read the online PDF, but purchased a book on CD from Amazon and listened to it in my car over and over again for the first two weeks of my quit.  The link to the PDF:

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

 

Keep this site close and keep posting and asking for help.  You will get it.  You will get things you like and things you don't like, but don't give up!!!  We have been through similar experiences and can share our strength and hope.  We are here to support you!

elvan
Member

Welcome to EX...first of all, there is no WRONG time to quit, but you can prepare for your quit by doing the recommended reading that YoungAtHeart‌ has listed for you.  You can come to this site every day and read blogs and see how other people are beating this addiction one day at a time.  Go to the first page of Becomeanex and read, "My Quit Plan"...it gives you all of the tools to get on the path to freedom.  I tracked my cigarettes, wrote down my triggers and rated them from 1 to 5 with 5 being the strongest and then as I smoked, I tried to figure out if my trigger was relieved.  Was I less stressed?  Was I in less pain, physically or emotionally, was I happier, was my anger gone?  The answers were always no but that little shot of nicotine that I got distracted me for a couple of minutes and then, of course, the next crave started building.  Once I had identified my triggers...I found that they got weaker, it was easier to delay smoking and I was able to plan for my quit.  What would I do instead of smoking when triggers occurred?  They will always occur, our addiction wired us that way.  We chose our addiction.  Quitting is not an event, it is a journey, a process...one day at a time.  Stay close to the site before you quit and after you quit.  You will "meet" so many different people and you will learn ways to handle hardships in every possible form.  I used the mantra NOPE, Not One Puff Ever from the beginning of my quit until several months later and I still know it's there if I need it.  You CAN do this, we are all in your corner so to speak, we all want you to succeed.  I smoked for a long time and I have significant issues as a result of that but, thanks to this site, I have not smoked now in over 3 years and 9 months.  I had many failed quits over 47 years of smoking.  I have grown into a different person since I quit, a stronger and more resilient person.  You can do that too.  Again, welcome to EX.  I strongly recommend reading JonesCarpeDiem‌'s blog /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months 

Again, welcome.

Ellen

I believe our routine of smoking drives us to smoke as much as addiction to nicotine.

What Ellen suggested works for some but it also makes people skittish as they get less nicotine and approach their quit date, especilly when they set a daily limit and  have to push to keep lowering their intake.

Will you try something for me? This is what I did. I only quit once and I believe it was a one time quit because of my approach.

Here it is.

Whenever you would normally smoke, just tell yourself, "I'm going to wait a little longer."

Don't count, don't deny, just tell that to yourself.

Then, notice if you are buying them less over a few weeks.

When you get down to 5 a day, you should realize you don't  have to smoke just because you thought you did and you should feel ready to quit.

maryfreecig
Member

    Seems to me, that people in the pre-quit stage often feel that they can never feel good again without a cigarette. This isn't so. The addiction just makes it seem so. Nicotine dependence makes it hard to quit just by say so alone; that's why a strong plan, support, education, nicotine replacement therapy (if chosen) are combined.

    There is a large community of caring and loving former smokers here at ex with a lot to offer you. 

    Being comfortable in your life without the cigs is the endgame. And this happens for quitters one day at a time. The fever breaks, the focus on cigs ends.

    A good starting point to a quit is to trust that you have a right to quit. 

MarilynH
Member

Welcome to the site please do the recommended reading above me because there's a wealth of information here to strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb and start living a life of Freedom, believe it and be willing, determined and totally committed to succeed and you can and will be successful one precious smoke free day at a time or one hour, minute or even one second at a time but get yourself ready to pick a quit date so you can get ready for your Day WON......

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