Im quitting tomorrow any advice?

[Jla61]

Hi everyone my name is Jennifer. I recent started smoke enders program about 28 days ago and my quit is tomorrow. I can say that it's a great program and I'm sure it works for a lot of people under normal circumstances. I followed it the best I could. I'm a little anxious but excited at the same time about quitting. I know smoking doesn't help stress but that's one of my main issues with smoking. At this time in my life I'm going through some very difficult stuff. Stress is normal but I truly have an abnormal amount with some complex problems right now. I'm going to quit tomorrow but I know I'll need support which is why Im here. 

[karenjones · Accepted solution]

Hi Jla61‌ you are at the right place, this EX Community is a great aid for anyone who wants to quit smoking.  firstly, congratulations on making a great decision. Quitting Smoking is a real positive way of showing that you love your life, and want to make positive changes to live a better life. There is lots of information on this site to help you and many helpful people who are quitting as well. What helped me was to learn that i am not alone, my story is not unique, and there are so many people here who have successfully quit and want to support you.  Hmmm..... for your first day,  ... since you have attended the smoke enders program you probably know quite a bit about quitting, look at the top right hand side of this page, see "MY Quit Plan".  open that up and start planning. On this site, I make the daily pledge when I can in the morning, but for tomorrow, get lots of licorice in, the black kind, it really helped me, avoid having conversations with yourself about cigarettes. Breathe deeply, take lots of showers, take up swimming or knitting. Start chewing toothpicks. Start reading alot about how evil gigarettes are.  you will find that there is lots of extra time now that you are not spending time smoking,  take down all your curtains and wash them to get that foul smell of cigarettes out of them, if you smoked inside. In fact, wash all your clothes to get that horrid smell out. you know to throw out any ashtrays, cigarette lighters and for god's sake don't you dare to have even one cigarette in your house. That is asking for trouble. Stay close to this site and Let  us know how Day One is going. It is a very important day.  How Exciting. A Brand New Life.  Bless you!

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

I hope you will learn from the readings and the folks here in the community that your stress is not different from others here who have successfully quit smoking.  The truth you will learn is that addiction to nicotine actually ADDS to your stress.  It is a lie that it helps  Get reading!

 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 it online or at your local library. Here's a link to a video here on the site which describes nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.
 
 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 in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  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.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you from which to sip. 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

[Jla61]

Yep I heard about the Allen Carr's method. Sounds similar to the smoke enders program I've been doing . I've had to delay my smoking after eating, switching smoking hands,  lowering mg of nicotine, switched to menthol because I don't like them, and I picked up crocheting. My mom smokes and Im with her daily for a few hours a day and her house is stressful for me and I've marked the the times I smoke the most and it is when im at her place. I have to be at her house for a minimum of 5 hours a day because Im a caregiver and I take care of her disabled boyfriend. My mom is also mentally disabled. I smoke a lot there because they allow me to whenever I want to. I've struggled with this area with the re patterning of my habits. I realize that smoking adds to stress now. It's hard to not go to it though . It's like my first response .  

[stAn3]

I did my quit plan here. I read the suggested reading from the ex-smokers here. I prepared mentally for the worst cravings by planning for them. For example, I knew stress at work would be the worst so I anticipated what I would do when I got stressed at work.

[Deena-A-Yenni]

We're rooting for you.  When you start thinking about a cigarette drink a tall cool glass of water.  It worked for me.   Gulp it all the way down.  By the tme you get it down the craving will be gone.

[Jla61]

Thank you everyone that commented. I will stop by here tomorrow and get some support from you guys. I appreciate it thank you and if you pray, pray for me. Lol

[Barbscloud]

Welcome to the Ex Jennifer.  Congrats on your decision to quit today.   What you describe is what we all experience in one way or another.   We pretty much smoked all day so we've associated everything we do with smoking.  The key is to plan what you're going do instead when those situations arise.  There are lots of suggestions on this site.  I liked chewing on straws and sour candy.   I you need help reach out;  we're here for you.

159 DOF

[Jerica_82]

Welcome, Jennifer. Congratulations on your decision to quit. There are wonderful people on here that give great encouragement and advice.