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Give and get support around quitting

Freedomcat
Member

Preparing to quit...suggestions?

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site and in the process of preparing for a quit date of December 27th....14 days away. Last January I gave myself a year to get ready, to learn about my triggers and why I smoke. But...most of the year I just smoked with my head in the sand as usual. I did learn some things

But I gave myself a year and told myself that that would be it. My partner and I want to have a baby next year and if I keep smoking I will never have a family. 

I have never had a plan before when I tried to quit. I always did it completely on my own. Sounds silly now. 

So I need your help in creating a quit plan. 

Might you share with me some of your knowledge and wisdom from your experience? I'm looking for what worked for you, not cold hard advice. But ideas that I can work with.

Thank you! (Feeling excited and terrified)

13 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

You are very wise to come up with a plan.  I can help with that!

The 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, quitsmoking.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 recommended here on the site.
 
 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 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

AnnetteMM
Member

Welcome! Nancy the Ambassador has already found you, so all I can add is you've come to the right place! Come back every day, read everything, commit to the quit!

0 Kudos
maryfreecig
Member

     Make a list of every activity, chore, thing that you are willing to do instead of smoke. Follow it. Understand that you will have craves at first, they pass so long as you work your smobriety-- use your list and support from EX! This is a support site, here to help.

    If you are looking for ideas for to-dos on your list...Google 101 Things to do Quitting Smoking

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anaussiemom
Member

freedomcat MarkEx is happy to make this bigger or to fit your screen 100 things to do and such.  Just ask he will oblige Happily 

Lcuzivc  smaller.jpg

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anaussiemom
Member

My only advice for myself, after being here for a year.  Is to find a back pack for trinkets, things to do, when I'm out and about and such.   Seriously"  smoking seems to nag me more when I have freedom or am away from home 5 minutes or all day.



So Im kinda lookin " at this back pack.  Idk if hubby will like this one though

louis-vuitton-palm-springs-mini-monogram-canvas-backpack-0-0-540-540.jpg

Seriously, consider something to carry, for things to do, nibble on etc.  When your office visiting, traveling... or for anything to distract your thoughts.

0 Kudos

I guess your plan would depend on how long before your quit date?

I didn't set a quit date until I'd proven I didn't need to smoke just because I thought I did

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/message/70402-where-does-it-come-from 

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Freedomcat
Member

Thank you everyone for your support!

maryfreecig
Member

Good to hear from you! Yes you can, one day at a time.

Giulia
Member

Don't knock "cold hard advice" in your quitting process.  That can sometimes offer a needed reality check on this addiction.

What worked for me was a support site.  Others who knew exactly what I was going through.  That and a sense of humor kept me somewhat sane during the initial part of this journey.  And of course, through it all by listening and paying attention to those who had been there, done that before me, I became educated about this addiction.  

I smoked for 35+ years, pack and a half a day.  If I thought I might run out of cigarettes before morning, I'd go out late at night and buy a pack.  And yet it never occurred to me that this was an addiction.  When I ran out of cigarettes during the day and then ran to that corner store to buy more, it still never occurred to me that this was an addiction.  I don't know what I thought it was, but I thought, "oh, I just need to quit."  But I didn't.  I couldn't.  I thought I could.  "I'll just not buy any tomorrow," I said.  That lasted half a day.  

Somehow I thought I was in control of IT.  But I wasn't.  Until I learned how to take that control.  But I only learned that through coming to understand the nature of this addiction.  Through reading and educating myself.  

I spent a month prior to my quit date getting my head in gear for it.  I spend the majority of my time studying the ways and means, the psychological mindset that was necessary, the tricks of the trade.  I made a strong preparation.  And an equally strong commitment. I committed to quit for Lent.  After that - if I wanted to smoke I agreed with myself that I could.  Of course I knew that if I quit for 40+ days there is no way I would go back to another day one.  I had had too many day ones.  And I really never wanted another.

That was 12 years ago.  So my suggestion would be - make a plan.  Read as much as you can.  Understand this addiction and your relationship to it.  And commit 100% of yourself.  Then accept the choice you've made.  And then  go with the flow.