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Give and get support around quitting

baizelovers
Member

Initial Quiting Phase

Is it true the first 24 hours is the worst? How do people make it through the initial rough part?

19 Replies

I used NRT patch and basically hid in my room and watched movies.

indingrl
Member

Welcome and please know it is different for EVERYONE - education is the key - read all the stuff here and at whyquit.com there are videos to watch to discover - YOUR OWN PERSONAL NICOTINE addictions and habits and patterns - ONLY YOU know YOUR addiction - SUGGESTIONS - made by MANY here - keep in mind - what works for EACH individual - YOU choose yiur very own plan  -  then YOU get to CHOOSE for YOURSELF -  please take what HELPS and let go of the rest - to be HELPFUL is MY only aim - thank you- SUGGESTION - blog - BEFORE you take that FIRST puff over YOU -  gentle hug❤

avian3
Member

I don't remember it being the worst. As a matter of fact, I was so pleased with myself that I made it 24 hours that I gained more confidence with each day.

What helped me get through those first few weeks was planning and carrying out a project. Mine was landscaping my backyard. It really helped to pass the time and kept my mind off smoking. 

jonimarie
Member

Everyone is different as to how they react and handle the quitting journey

Education about the addiction is key as it eliminates the vast majority of the fear/aniexty of what to expect

There are many blogs and readings  suggested if you work through the quit plan on the site

Others will be along to give you specific readings

For me making the decision what's harder than the first 24 hours

Once you commit and believe in yourself and do the work you will be surprised that all the hype out there is just that

DonnaMarie
Member

The first 24 hours can be the easiest for some as the determination factor is so strong then. It took me personally 10 days to feel like I had really quit. So much up and down with emotions and physical junk.

Do this one minute, one hour, one day, one week..... at a time. After a while, you'll be like me and forget what day it is

Let us know how you're doing! Congrats on your decision to quit.

Donna

Day 212

elvan
Member

Welcome to EX.  YoungAtHeart‌ will be along soon to give you some wonderful welcoming advice.  Stay close to this site, read everything you can find about nicotine addiction, commit to your quit, make it your number one priority and you will do fine.  I suggest reading a couple of blogs written by JonesCarpeDiem‌ that you might find very helpful, I am going to link them here: /blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-in-the-first-four-months  and https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/6040-my-welcome-to-new-members-12-years-of-watching 

You can do this and you do not have to do it alone, we are all here to help in any way that we can.

Ellen

0 Kudos
maryfreecig
Member

I accepted my decision to quit and chose to do other things rather than smoke---even when I felt upset. One day led to the next. Give it time and all your best effort, accept support. 

sweetplt
Member

Hello and Welcome to Ex’s...baizelovers 

How do people make it through the first 24 hours quit...? With Preparation, knowledge and hard work...and getting rid of all smoking paraphernalia.  Please read at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX there you will decide on a quit date.  You will plan for that day like no other...read everything you can especially blogs here about quitting and smoking...You can do this...it is replacing smoking with healthier habits...it isn’t easy and a bit uncomfortable, but definitely doable.  

You are worth the Quit...Keep close to the support site and do the recommendations...~ now get working...~ Colleen 226 DOF

/blogs/Maggie_quit_8-1-2010-blog/2012/03/19/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoking?sr=search&searchId=a... 

YoungAtHeart
Member

Welcome to our community!

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. If you do nothing else to get ready for your quit, please do give this a read.


 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. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpWMgPHn0Lo&feature=youtu.be.

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 after you have tried to delay and distract.   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.  You need to start out with a plan to reduce use of them over time - which the patch does by decreasing the dose contained in them..  For the gum, you can start by cutting each piece in half, then in quarters, then sub regular gum of the same flavor in between, adding more and more regular gum.  For the lozenge, you need to start subbing a mint in between to begin, increasing the number of them over time.  I do not recommend the e-cigarette for four 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,  3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire and 4) you can become addicted to that and it has not yet been proven safe .
 

It will be informative if you do the tracking and separation exercises recommended here on the site. As you track each cigarette smoked, note its importance, and what you might do instead. Put each one off just a little to prove that you don't NEED a cigarette just because you think you do.
 

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