Quit Date January 18th. Am I Ready?

[cgressel24]

I set a quit date for January 18th. I committed to not smoking in my car or apartment yesterday. I did not smoke in my car, but smoked in my apartment. I smoked around 25 cigarettes yesterday. I did not even enjoy most of those that I smoked. When I thought about changing my quit date and quitting on the spot yesterday, I felt a weight come over me that seemed unbearable, and I smoked. I know that cigarettes hold no value to the person I want to be. I am not perfect, but can I do this?

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome!

Of COURSE you can do this.  But - you need to educate yourself about the addiction before you embark on an uninformed plan that will probably not be successful.  The 18th sounds like a date that will allow you to do that.  I wrote a blog for our newly quit and solicited help from our members that you might find helpful:  https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/109313-for-our-new-years-quitters-and-community-members-t... 

For now, read, read and read some more.  Do the tracking and separation exercises suggested on this site.  Most of us here were anxious about quitting - it never killed any of us.  I won't tell you it's easy (after all, it IS an addiction), but it is absolutely DOABLE!

I'm glad you're here.  We can help.  Be sure to ask questions if you have them as you do the suggested reading. You might surprise yourself and be excited instead of terrified of your quit date.  You are embarking on a journey to be FREE!

Nancy

[Thomas3.20.2010]

It doesn't matter what day you quit - you will most likely feel that heavy weight come down on you. That is a sign not that you aren't ready but of the power Nicotine Addiction has over your Life! Do you have to wait 2 more weeks? Not really, Just be prepared for that initial freak out and remind yourself that quitting smoking may be uncomfortable but it never killed anybody but smoking does kill more than 480,000 people annually – more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.

You can 100% do this! Give up the idea that it depends on willpower! It depends on keeping your focus and determination. We have a whole Community of Successful Quitter who are here to show you and to walk the journey with you step by step! All that time you spent smoking - spend it here reading, writing and commenting! You will succeed!

It's that simple - I didn't say easy - but doable!

[MichelleDiane]

You can do this cgressel24.  I started my quit on 1/1/18.  I've had to and am still working through many thoughts and urges.  I come to this site often and have found everyone here to be a positive support in my quit.  There were moments within the first half of the week that I thought I would go insane, but I held on.  I took it one second at a time and did not sit in the thoughts.  Rather, I did whatever I could to distract my thoughts.  Cleaning my fish tank, taking down holiday decorations and dusting the house, chewed some gum, drank water, came to this site and blogged commented and/or read, did laundry, or just sat and knitted.  I've had issues with going out because I didn't want to buy cigarettes and was afraid that I would.  Now on day 6 I feel a little better, but still am vigilant to poor thinking.  Hang in there and come up with a plan on how to work through the thoughts and cravings.  It is not a competition.  Go at your own pace and, something I have started to learn, congratulate and praise yourself for every challenging moment.  Everyone see is supportive and knowledgeable.  They will help you as they have and continue to help me.  

All the best,

Michelle

[freeneasy]

Are you ready? Only you can answer that. Can you quit? YES, you certainly can quit. You can learn how to quit. Keep reading and learn as much as you can about addiction. The more you learn the more confidence you will have. The discomfort of quitting is temporary but the benefits will last the rest of your life. A good place to start is click on "My Quit Plan" upper right hand corner and read everything on the Welcome page.

[MarilynH]

Yes you can quit, believe in yourself and be willing, determined and totally committed to succeed, read everything you can about quitting smoking and remaining quit 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, welcome to the site and know that you can be successful with your decision to quit smoking because it's the best gift that anyone Will ever give themselves which is the gift of LIFE and all of our lives literally depends on us to quit and stay quit.....

[crazymama_Lori]

use the tools under the My quit plan.  Start tracking your cigarettes using Tobacco Tracker Tool | Guides & Tools | BecomeAnEX .  This allows you to stop and think about when and why you smoke.  I never realized how much I just lit up just 'cause one after the other.  Filling that out made me stop, log it in, and fill out the rest.  It gave me those few minutes or seconds to realize what I was doing

[prjimm01]

i got antsy waiting for my quit day so I moved it up a week.  Three years ago.  You are ding this and we are celebrating with you!

[Mandolinrain]

Short answer is Yes and No.

YES~ because you seem to recognize now that being a smoker is NOT what you want to be. It is already messing with your habit...once you decide you don't want to be a smoker and are contemplating the quit...the cigarettes you smoke begin to not be as desirable as they once were. So YES...your ready to quit

NO~because ( and this is my opinion because I don't want to see you fail at this awesome decision your making...) because your QUIT will come easier, smoother and without so much fear of whats about to happen to you If you prepare first to quit. I am under the impression you have not yet totally prepared for this......BUT..

THE GOOD NEWS IS...you gave yourself a date that will give you time to get your tools ready to fight the craves and be a successful quitter. Like mentioned above, the reading is especially important, so please please read ll the links above. You will learn about the territory your about to cross over to and what has helped others make the transition so much easier. These links above, well I just can't say enough, how important it is to get very familiar with them.

AND.....come here often. let us help you, share with us whats going on. While many of us have different styles in our quits, your sure to hook up with a few who you relate well with that will keep you motivated and on track! Blog often. Even if its only one sentence, we don't care. We are here to help you.

So welcome to EX. A great community full of great peeps who will help you along the way in your journey to freedom from Nicotine. 

Missy

[cgressel24]

Thank you for your wisdom! Today I commit to read the links above. Already committed to smoking 10 cigs or less today before reading this. I'm not sure that was wise, but I'm going to be stubborn and try anyway. Have to go to work now. Will read as soon as I can.

Sincerely,

Chris