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Give and get support around quitting

rrrich7
Member

Cutting back

My quit date (which I am very skeptical of) is December 1.  Previous to this, I want to cut back to something under a half pack.  When I started using Ex Community I was smoking 1-1/2 packs per day.  Yesterday I cut back to 1 pack.  This may not be the way Ex Community recommends, but it feels good to me and I will continue on to cutting back until I am down to less than 1/2 pack before my quit date of Dec 1.

I have used Deep Breathing to deal with cravings.  This seems to be fairly easy to do.  I also try doing something (an activity) to change my focus.

For some reason, if I go out and do errands I can go 1-2 hours without a smoke.

Anyway, that's where I am.

8 Replies
bonniebee
Member

Sometimes we need to find our own way along with being open to advice from our Elders i know i used both my own knowledge learned from previous quit attempts and from the elders on Ex .

i did something that was pretty unconventional I began the patch a week before my quit date and cut down to about six cigarettes a day and each day cut down to one less until my quit date where i gave up all . this worked for me but may not for someone else . 

You are finding your way to a wonderful new life and freedom !

When I quit, I cut down as well. When I started tracking my smokes, I was smoking between 30 - 35 cigarettes a day. By the time I quit, I was down to, I believe five. I also did what I call practice quits where I would go for up to five hours without a cigarette, just to get a feel for what it will be like. The thing is, those practice quits weren't quite like the real thing because I knew I was going to end it with the standard reward: a cigarette.

 Please keep reading as you have been and also continuing to develop a quit plan is important as well. I wish you much success!!

ONWARD TO FREEDOM!!!

Chuck

Mortalzeus
Member

In early October 2016, I set my quit date for 12/1/2016.  I was tracking every smoke and trying to see how long I could go without one each time.  At the end of the day, I would go home and celebrate how well I did with a couple of beers and some smokes! I was only smoking 5 or 6 cigarettes, but I was doing it within a 3 hour time span. However, on October 21, 2016, I was slapped silly by Allen Carr and have never smoked since.  Find your way to Freedom

Stay Strong and Embrace the Journey

Darren

elvan
Member

rrrich7‌ You have already gotten some great advice...I was down to less than half a pack when I quit but it wasn't really because I was TRYING to cut down.  It was because I was getting sicker and sicker with COPD, I read that in Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking."  I do not think quitting smoking is easy but there definitely are some worthwhile things I got from that book, that was one of them.  When your BODY is trying to quit it's a no brainer that it's past time.  I had more than one failed quit in the past, the big difference this time was my commitment, taking the time to become educated about addiction to nicotine, and the support and help I got from this site.  I stayed very close to the site, I still do and it has been 3 years and almost 10 months.  This site has some of the most amazing people on it who are willing and able to help you understand what you are feeling and help you to get through the hard times.  Welcome to EX and stay close, do the reading, be open to suggestions, and believe that you CAN do this.

Ellen

maryfreecig
Member

     You are edging your way toward taking a healthy and wise action. If you are skeptical of December 1, try saving all your spent butts in a clear glass jar--the ashes too-- for the next two weeks. Keep the jar out in the open, rather than hiding it away. Stacking up days of smobriety is much better than stacking up spent butts. 

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

We have a saying here:  "take what you need and leave the rest."  Every quit is as individual as the person pursuing it.  We will offer advice based on our experience over our number of years of observation on the site and in our own quit journey.

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. You can search for a free pdf of it on the net (copyright enforcement won't allow me to post the link here).

 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. I am happy to hear you are working to cut back before your date.  Try just to put each one off a bit instead of counting them all day long. I think the counting just keeps smoking at the forefront of your mind.

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

elvan
Member

YoungAtHeart‌ has given you great advice, we are here to help, please stay close and take advantage of that.

Ellen

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