Quitting and Memories On The Back Deck

[Augustus44]

Friends: 

I am a novice at this quitting ordeal. I am now down the road 22 days (cold turkey), having quit because i had a medical scare that fortunately is resolved. During the "scare" I was asked how long i had smoked--which is a lifetime. I'm 75 and healthy. The Doctor told me that smoking causes many problems besides lung cancer. My problem was with my bladder--too grizzly to talk about here. Before I got to the emergency room, I promised that if I could "get out of the woods" on this  problem that i would quit smoking. So agin 22 days have passed and I've been lucky so far. I've had withdrawal symptoms that last for a short time, but I have told myself that these moments will pass quickly. Today, this morning, I am just thinking about how i enjoyed smoking on the back deck--a few puffs, and a reward for something either trivial, or trying, the I had accomplished or overcome. In short, my memory of the disgust I felt over smiling in the first place, and the euphoric feeling I had when I first quit, is now a memory. Anybody out there know how to beat this memory that smoking was actually pleasurable? I don't want to slip. GK

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on sticking with your decision to quit and your first 22 days!

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.  After you have completed it, you will understand that what you thought smoking did for you was all a lie - easier to stay quit if you realize it actually did nothing FOR you and so much TO 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 on your deck so the view is different. Maybe buy a scented candle to burn out there.    Get your gas at a different station.  Find new routes to the usual places you travel. 

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

[SimplySheri]

Remember that it is an addiction.  Smoking wasn't truly pleasurable except that you were feeding your addiction....until the next time you 'needed' one.  Our brain cells relaxed once we got that hit of nicotine.  It used to  help me to remember that.  I didn't want to be 'addicted'.  So I stayed away from it   Cold turkey quitter as well.  Way to go!!! 

[AnnetteMM]

Here's what helped me:  Think of smoking as an EX.  Whenever I dream about cigarettes I treat those dreams just like the ones about my exes. No biggie, just information. Whenever you think about smoking as pleasurable, think about it like an old flame...how you only remember the good things, not the bad. We do tend to romanticize these things.

 

[sweetplt]

Hi and Welcome to Ex’s Augustus44 ...

Glad you found our site...we are here to support and help you through your journey...Congratulations on 22 days quit...however, you are early in your quit and will need to find things (healthy) to do in place of smoking...here is a list to get you started.../blogs/Maggie_quit_8-1-2010-blog/2012/03/19/100-things-to-do-instead-of-smoking?sr=search&searchId=f...  Keep close to the site and read the blogs and follow the advice from YoungAtHeart above me...Education is power...~ Colleen 334 DOF