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During your quit, do you find yourself doing spontaneous things?

Question asked by Samanthadoom on Jul 18, 2019
Latest reply on Jul 21, 2019 by jonimarie

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I ask because yesterday I randomly decided I was going to learn how to poach an egg. Hahaha. For reals! I literally was driving home from work wanting to cave on nicotine and then thought....I wonder how hard it is to poach an egg? I have never tried this. I am gonna look this up online when I get home and do it. Random random random. But it makes me laugh. Hope it makes you laugh too. Can you relate? In a different example of learning or doing something totally out of the blue during your quit?

This has not been an easy quit for me at all. I have caved twice and bought a new ecig just to think how totally ridiculous it is that i did that to throw it out and start again. It’s only Wednesday. That’s the ecigs I have bought and thrown away for one puff. That cost me a lot a lot a lot of money. These are not inexpensive mistakes. I have to stay quit this week and I have to make it. I appreciate all of you and I sure hope my next post is me saying I made it more then 72 hours and on my way to over it.

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sweetplt Jul 18, 2019 7:53 AM
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Hang tough...and if thinking random thoughts keep you from smoking “poaching an egg” you do it...LOL...I found myself trying a new dinner recipe once a week (healthy one)...when quit...so I guess Yeah random thinking happens...because we don’t want to think about the smokes...You hang in there and do it...How was the poached egg?
~ Colleen 227 DOF
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- Samanthadoom @ sweetplt on Jul 18, 2019 9:29 AM
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  Thanks! It came out good for a first attempt. I was quite surprised how simple it was to make a poached egg after all. Hahaha!
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Youngatheart.7.4.12 Jul 18, 2019 8:06 AM
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Welcome to our community!

I don't see where I have given you my usual welcome with lots of good information about this addiction for you to read. I hope you might use it as a crave buster.. As you will note, having random thoughts (especially to drown out the smoking thoughts) is a GREAT idea. You are relearning your life as an ex-smoker!

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 .

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-instead-of-smoke
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
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maryfreecig Jul 18, 2019 8:59 AM
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Yes you can make it more than 72 hours. Quitting is hard work, but it can be thrilling too! You learn that you've got much more going for you than you thought. Keep following your instinct to quit --it is not lying to you. We're here for you 365.
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AnnetteMM Jul 18, 2019 11:18 AM
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I think that's pretty cool. Maybe your brain is working overtime on your behalf coming up with distracting activities to try
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JACKIE1-25-15 Jul 18, 2019 11:31 AM
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Quitting smoking opens our mind, thoughts, desires, goals, lives, and actions to so many new wonderful adventures. Keep on keepin on. NOPE will keep you free... the journey continues.
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Barbscloud Jul 18, 2019 2:54 PM
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minihorses Jul 18, 2019 3:22 PM
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My motto for life is 'whatever works and gets you through the day' so if random thoughts keep you from smoking then have them and do them as long as it's not illegal or immoral
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indingrl.01.06.2011 Jul 18, 2019 3:58 PM
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Yes I did in EARLY recovery from NICOTINE - someone SUGGESTED I use CINNAMON on MY applesauce because it HELPS clean blood of toxins - so I used the CINNAMON and still DO - gentle hug❤
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Giulia Jul 19, 2019 4:13 PM
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Next onto an omelet???? Then a crepe suzette!

Yes, I found my brain was totally on fire with craving energy. And I was much more spontaneous. I would DO ANYTHING! to stop thinking about the damn cigarettes! It can become a very creative part of your journey if you choose to head in that direction. And I say GO FOR IT.
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lqsi12 Jul 20, 2019 4:07 PM
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On a similar topic of being ridiculous, I recall a billboard while driving through Chicago. It contained a picture of 3 animals, a duck, a deer, a zebra, and a fish. They all had a cigarette in their mouth, with a caption below that read I believe, “ do you see how stupid this looks “
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jonimarie Jul 21, 2019 8:21 PM
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We all bought the pack of cigarettes or Juul and threw them in the garbage or what ever
Repeated this vicious cycle over and over
Than one day .......you get it
You get sick and tired of being sick and tired
Youngatheart.7.4.12 has some MUST readings, they will help you "get it" and see this as an addiction
Glad you are here
Belief in yourself and attitude are the biggest crave busters
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During your quit, do you find yourself doing spontaneous things?

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