On day 2 of not smoking. I try not to think about cigarettes, however, it has been apart of my life for 40 years. I have read Allen Carr, I am using the patch and in the book he states use nothing. Please provide any information that can help me through this. I am truly trying not to smoke, any advise will help.
I am using the vick's and it is helping
Congratulations! I have a quit date coming up on January 2 so I am preparing but I am also scared to give up this emotional crutch. What do you mean by using the vick's?
BaileysGirl Welcome to EX...please do the reading, prepare for your quit...it will help to take away the fear. Stay close to the site and read and blog and comment and become a part of this community. My mantra for several months was NOPE, Not One Puff Ever. Putting a dab of Vicks under your nose blocks the smell of smoke if someone else is smoking. I sucked on Sour Patch Kids and drank GALLONS of water. This is a journey...it will start on the 2nd and you will be stronger every day after that.
Again, welcome.
Ellen
Thank you, Ellen! I do have some vicks...great suggestion.
Someone told me to put vicks vapor rub under nose. It helps when you inhale. I am actually reading this site as much as possible. Today is day 5 a great day for me so far. Read, Read Read and I pray, pray pray.
Congratulations!
Welcome to our community!
I recently wrote a blog that you might find helpful, and asked others here to add their advice: For Our New Years' Quitters (and community members, too)
I'm glad to hear you are reading the Allen Carr book. As with anything you read, take from it what applies to you and ignore the rest!
Congratulations on TWO DAYS of smobriety! Keep at it (and keep reading!)
Nancy
Here is a link that will give you some help for cravings. As you already realize you will think about smoking. However you have to commit to whatever it takes not to smoke you will do it. Read blogs, go to www.whyquit.com is a very helpful site. Go to the top right and click on my quit plan and get started. Reading and watching the videos. Distract by staying busy. I cleaned and organized and got rid of the smoke odor. Drink lots of water. You have to go through the withdrawal just like any other drug. It is doable. NOPE not one puff ever will keep you free. This is a journey and not an event believe that you can do it. Stay close. Congrats on 2 days keep stackin those days.
Congrats on your quit. This is your quit and as is with everyone your quit is yours. Each quit is unique in the journey, but the result that we all celebrate is that we have quit. I am using Chantix to help me quit and it has worked for me, but I also know it does not work for everyone. The first couple of weeks I thought about smoking a lot- it is the addiction and years of habit. Think about it, don't fight the thoughts, but then think of other things you can be doing and do them. Then celebrate and be proud of yourself for each time you don't light up. I used breath mints as my go-to for times when I was thinking about smoking, but did not want to smoke, because I no longer did that. You can do this, keep reading, blogging and asking questions.
Tabbie
Welcome to EX, this DOES get easier, everyone here has been where you are so we all understand. I remember wondering if I would ever think of anything BUT smoking. I will not tell you it is easy because that was not my experience. I will tell you that staying close to this site and making a quit plan and a quit kit were vital to my success...I will celebrate 4 years of freedom in January after smoking for 47 years with the exception of pregnancies and some short term, failed quits when I did not have the education and support that I got from this site. You CAN do this, read blogs, comment, see how people have dealt with things in their early quits and how they maintain them...it is worth every minute of discomfort.
Best,
Ellen
I'm 61 and smoke free after smoking for over 40 years of smoking! It wasn't easy, but I wouldn't be smoke free for this long if it wasn't for the GREAT support of this site. Still keeping real one day at a time, but I am comfortable being a non smoker! YOU CAN DO THIS! Just stick around with this site and all of these wonder family/friends to support you during this journey!
~Kathy 613 DOF
Many people will state many things about how to quit. It's all based on their personal experience. You will have your own personal experience. Use what works for you and let go of that which doesn't. It may work for someone else. Point is, if the patch is working for you - keep using it according to the directions.
We can't just stop thinking about cigarettes after 40 years of smoking. Ain't gonna happen. But we can begin to discover the right way to think about them. And that's all about educating ourselves. Just read. Reading will give you the necessary knowledge to overcome this addiction. The strongest and longest quitters on here have a vault of wisdom to offer. Though you may not always like what they have to say - listen to them. Keep an open mind and sense of humor about you. And believe you CAN do this. We know you can. Because we all were in your shoes and thought the same way you do.
So many people on this site used the patch successfully....and just like you, they had to navigate the first few hours and days of the emotions of quitting. I know at times you're miserable, I know you think about smoking constantly. I know you're tired and cranky and I know you feel lost. Guess what else? You quit smoking. Everything you're experiencing is your addiction's temper tantrum. Try to remember that you choose how you react to it. It's not easy; here's my blog about this period of time: Diary of a Madwoman
It will get better. It does not help at his point to hear that time will fix this for you, because you want instant relief, so I'll just remind you that you never have to to day one or two again. Never again, because you quit smoking. You did it.
Hang in there. Reach out if you need support; this site and these people will not let you down.
Susan
Don't eat the bark off trees and you'll make it!
Keep a positive mindset, keep telling yourself that you can do this and you will do this. We all know how hard it is but stay focused on your quit. I found that cleaning kept me occupied (My house has never been so clean and tidy) as well as a cinnamon mint when I felt a crave coming on. Everyone is different in how they cope. This site also is a great help and has kept my mind focused on the positives. Please stick around and vent as you need to. We are all in this together and we are you routing for you!!! Welcome aboard!!
It's OK to have the thoughts - you will. So now what? Also add thoughts about Sickerettes that challenge those thoughts you are having. If you can't distract then get educated. Understand if not viscerally - at least logically what Sickerettes are and what they are not. Understand what Nicotine is and what it is not - what it does to you and not for you. Examine your thoughts and feelings and challenge their validity. Delve deep into your relationship with tobacco. Find out what is believable and then let go of those thoughts that make no sense. They'll come back and you can let go of them again... and again. Eventually they'll slow down and down the road - stop.
Mon2 Those thoughts come and go and they don't do any damage...unlike cigarettes. There will come a time when you are in an hour long class and you realize that at the end of it...you are not among those racing for the door so you can smoke. Freedom is amazing, it opens all kinds of door to us and FOR us. We get to feel things we did not feel for years...sometimes that is really challenging because those feelings seem SO intense...after all we did not allow them to come out for as many years as we smoked. It IS a journey and it IS one day at a time, oftentimes it is one experience or event at a time. Stay close to the site...I cannot begin to tell you how much it helped me.
Ellen
Congrats on day three and please know WE is you and all of here not using nicotine moment by moment by loving each other to keep on keeping on and for ME in Jesus name amen Please blog BEFORE you taje that first puff over you thank you.
Thank everyone for the support, I greatly appreciate the support. This is a hard road, but I am an ex smoker. The thinking will change. I am still hanging in there. Again thank you!
Great attitude! Keep working your quit and welcome to Ex.
I disagree with jonescarp. DO eat the bark off the trees if necessary to help your quit! Whatever works! lol
Beaver cutting down a tree in West Nipissing, Ontario, Canada - YouTube
wonder if bark from fruit tree tastes like fruit? Cherry bark is toxic to horses, I know,...lol....just saying...being silly but its true about cherry bark and horses
Cheery bark is toxic to horses. Who woulda thunk it?! But then there are so many toxic plants out there to animals - Joe Pye weed to cattle, Azaleas (to cats, dogs, horses), Daffodils, etc. For me, I've chewed birch bark - the green part just under the paper white. (Tastes like - yup, birch beer.) Sort of as difficult as trying to separate the nut meat out of an un-ope'd sunflower seed. Fortunately most animals don't be chewing on stuff they oughtn'ta. Unlike many of us dumb hu-people who are stupid enough to chomp on the Carolina Reaper peppers and get themselves on youtube throwing up.
(Edit: make that cherry bark. Cheery bark ain't toxic to no one! Aminal (sic) nor huperson. Well except a curmudgeon.)
Welcome! Glad you found the best resource available to help you on your journey to a brand new smoke free life! Having read the book by Allen Carr where he states to use nothing besides the cold turkey method to quit is absolutely ridiculous! He seems to think that smoking is all in our heads, not a chemical addiction. That's why he says that any withdrawal symptoms will be non-existent to mild at most. Wrong. Right now the patch, the Ex site, your personal goals and reasons, and most importantly your strength and will to quit is what you need to focus on right now. This is rough and I sympathise completely! I didn't have an easy first month, nobody does but those of us on the other side of those first hurdles will be here to help you clear the top without kicking it over!! Stay Strong and Stay Here!
Julie
61 DOF
Keep doing what you have done.. do not smoke. NOPE! Not One Puff Ever. The drug nicotine will be out of your blood soon. Getting it out of your mind will take you to another level of recovery from this powerful addiction. Face the challenge as an amazing adventure and AWESOME victory. Happy New smoke free Day.. Year... Life!
what I did for the first 30 days is I went around my house and made a list of all the things I've neglected over the years. I had the same shelving paper on my lower cupboards for years, just never got around to ripping it up. That took a few days. Washed all my curtains, ceiling fans, walls, ripped off wallpaper, rearranged my office, washed windows. I was so busy that first month, but I made myself busy to distract myself from constantly thinking of smoking, smoking, smoking. Took a lot of rides to get out of the house. Take up a new hobby that involves using your hands, try coloring
Hi ....short and sweet ..3 deep breathes in and out very slowly when having a crave ,cut straws into thirds chew or breathe through them ( they were lifesavers to me in the beginning ,my pacifiers !) Think positive thoughts and just say Nope ,I don't do that anymore !
NOPE=not one puff ever ! I also used the patch to quit and stuck to it to the end about 10 weeks it wasz so worth it !
I'm also on day 2. Sometimes the thought of smoking is not there and then it pops in. I do my best not to dwell on it and it usually is gone within a couple of minutes. I try to think about what needs to be done today or what I would like to do on my day off. I think it mostly comes up when I would normally have a cigarette, but sometimes it just happens. I know for right this moment since yesterday morning I have not smoked, so I am moving forward. I'm with you on this mon2.
-Michelle
I too am on DAY 2!!! Staying busy is HELPING.... Had hoped for a Nice weather day, so I could walk outside in the fresh air. Not possible, so will do my toning/strengthening stuff inside. (I have opportunity for exercise classes several times a week at our Senior Community.
It is raining, a cold front arrived, it is only 50 in southern Texas. It was perfect yesterday at 89 and sunny. Ugly weather to hang around a couple more days. I made a pot of spicy shrimp/black bean and corn chili (spicy food fights inflammation, as well as helps me manage my cravings today) Strong peppermints or cinnamon hard candies help.
Work in the gratitude journal. Read posts and post. Ladies take a hot bath, do your nails, etc....I've started an afghan. I play PC games, read,cuddle up with my doxie. Worse comes to worse, always seems to be some cleaning or organizing that needs to be done.
Anything that will take your mind off wanting to fire up a sick-stick... Endless possibilities.
Sorry all but I think Allen Carr is full of crap. I read that book three times over the years trying to figure out his logic and reasoning for many of the things he says and there isn't any other than it's what HE did. HE is not me or you. Take what helps out of the book, there are some good things in there but don't consider his message the be-all and end-all of how to stop smoking. There is a lot better advice and help from everyone here. I can attest to that highly. Burn the stupid book now that you've read it and stay close to Ex. We can get through this. I promise you we will be here every step of your journey. Keep the faith and keep your quit sacred!
Julie
Spicy food,fresh fruits and veggies. Changing routine has been very helpful to me. So glad I was already exercising daily. Just before quit, had added other new activities. I understand only retired people can do so. 45 yrs. was a very long time as a smoker. I pray often for God to Help me through this battle. I started an afghan, have art supplies to dabble with. Since I return to the north in a month and will probably still be wintry there. Think spring and summer the art will come in handy. Do you like to read,play pc games,dance while you clean your place? Do you have a pet? My mini doxie is a great comfort to me. Work with plants outside once spring arrives.Pinrest is a good place for ideas of new things to do.........
PRAIRIEROSELADY We got a Moving Challenge group going if you interested: Let's Get Moving 2018 Just ignore my last humongously long comment, it was mostly meant as a fun distraction.
Welcome to Ex.....2 Days is outstanding and in 24 more hours all the nicotine will be out of your system. Read Carrs book again. Highlight areas that stand out to you and use the book as a reference. Use this site when you can. READ many blogs, new and old. The more you learn about the addiction the better prepared you will be wen urges come.
Blog here as often as you want. Knowledge truly is power. Every time you smoke you wake up the receptors in your brain that turn on the craves. The more you deny the crave the less strength you give...the sooner your headed to freedom. You must go through tonged the breakthrough, we all did and while patches, gums and such can help...you still have to make the choice not to smoke. I used nothing. I had tried it all but was not successful. I truly feel that for me ...knowledge...was the best tool I had to beat this crappy addiction....and this site and Carrs book. I wore my book out . By the end I had darn near the whole book highlighted.
im glad you here. We are here for you. Oh, and buy Vicks vapor rub, a little under the nose. I had the little blue bottles and the nasal inhaler everywhere. It literally killed my craves instantly. I used it all for about a month, then never needed them.
Good luck, hope we see you here a lot!