I have not had a cigarette in 25 days until today. I slipped up. I don't know why but I felt the urgency to smoke one. I don't know if it's because of all the stress and stones thrown in my path that I felt the need to smoke.

[kilogram23]

Was all that work for nothing? Or is the time put in still worthy even if I did slip up one time? 

[beazel]

In my opinion, I think you felt the need to smoke because it's an addiction.

Stress and bad stuff will probably happen our entire lives and we simply can't use them as our excuses.

We have to not smoke No Matter What. It's not easy, but doable.

Education, commitment and mindset are important.

There is a wealth of information here, so please start reading.

Also, go to the upper right corner of the page and click on My Quit Plan - a good place to start.

There are many people here in all stages of quitting that would love to support you on your journey.

So please stick around, post often, and again...read, read, read.

You can do this.

[kilogram23]

Thank you! just needed to hear it from somebody else.

[RoseH]

Smoking IS an addiction to the drug, Nicotine  kilogram23‌ !  We will always be addicted to Nicotine!  An addiction does not go away...  We must both abstain from Nicotine!  One is never enough.  One Thousand is never enough!  If I want to stay smoke free, I have to say NOPE.  Not One Puff Ever...  one day at a time!  I choose to do that because I am close to being two years quit, and I love the freedom I have now!  I feel totally complete...yes, complete without a cigarette.  Abstinence is the only solution...

Quitting smoking is the best thing we can do, by ourselves, for our health!  I smoked too long.  I now have COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).  Is that what you want?  I take two inhalers a day to keep my lungs free from all the mucous I no longer can release from my lungs, by myself.  However, abstaining made my life so very much better!  I no longer gasp for breath!  I did not want to smoke until I needed to inhale oxygen, from two tubes in my nose to get enough oxygen to live?

It is all up to me and you!  This is the place to be.  Ask for support and read lots of posts here to understand the addiction.  If I can do it after over 50 years of smoking, you can too!  One day at a time!

Rosemary

[Barbscloud]

The time you put in is never wasted.  Aside from the fact you didn't smoke a lot of cigarettes, hopefully you can learn from the experience.  What went wrong?  This is an addiction and it's not easy.  Review your quit plan.  What will you do next time when the urgency strikes?   One of the things you can is come to the Ex.  We've all experienced what your experiencing so give us a chance to help you from taking the next step.  I know how much it helped me--especially early in my quit.  

The support here has made the difference for many quitters.  So whatever you do, don't give up.  Pick a new quit date an begin again!

Barb

[Mandolinrain]

As Barbscloud mentioned, the time you put into your quit is NEVER wasted and I believe that strongly.

I failed many times but I became more 'teachable' if you will, to each failed quit. I wanted the quit to stick, no doubt but I lacked the education  early on as to the 'whys and whats' of quitting.

So now is the time for you to figure that out. It had to do with more than 'you wanted to smoke'. Theres a trigger somewhere and only you know what that is. For me Stress was a huge factor. I reached out to smoke to settle and calm me. I also used it just because I wanted to relax and I was dumb enough to believe it.

I know better now. I read the EASYWAY TO QUIT SMOKING by Alan Carr and its a fast read and once I did that everything fell into place for me. This site was  also my strength, many Elders with so much great advice to help me on my way.

Know this, while we all have the same desire to quit and stay quit, we each have our own story and journey and nobodys journeys is wrong. We do what works for us, Stay near this site, read that book and reach out like you did today only try to do it BEFORE you reach to smoke, okay  Glad you stuck around

[YoungAtHeart]

If nothing else, you gave your body 25 days of healing, and the knowledge that you CAN get through a day without smoking. 

Now you need to come up with a plan of what you will do differently THIS quit.  Set a new date (SOON!), do some reading (I also highly recommend the Carr book) and have a plan for handling life's stress when it comes, as it surely will.  What will you do instead of smoke?  Might you go for a walk, call a friend, do some jumping jacks, march in place, blog "HELP" or just come and read here, find a YouTube comedy video, or put on some tunes and sing aloud to them.  Once you have those ideas in place, write them down, keep the list with you, and promise yourself you will use it instead of smoke when the going gets tough.

You were off to a great start; no reason you can't do it again - for the FINAL time!

[maryfreecig]

If you restart your smobriety, the time wasn't wasted. If you refuse to go back to smoking, the time wasn't wasted. Resetting your date is a matter of honesty, not worthiness. Stick with Ex and learn to bat back those urges to smoke. Yes you can, one day at a time.

[sweetplt]

Hi and Welcome to Ex’s kilogram23 

Your work is not for nothing especially if you learned from it...you are an addict, and the need to feed your addiction was overwhelming and most likely you hadn’t planned for the fact that cravings will come and go and often out of nowhere.  The good part you can start your journey quit again.  Be sure to read at My EX Plan | BecomeAnEX  where you will plan for your quit like nothing else in your life.  Then you will come here and get support and encourage others on this journey.  Lastly, know this is hard work, but it is so doable.  You need to replace the choice to smoke with healthy options.  You should make sure cigarettes and the paraphernalia is all gone from your sight...You got this and we are here for you...Happy Tuesday and Cheers to new beginnings...Colleen 575 DOF 

[Barbara522]

I just joined this group today.  I once quit about 15 years ago due to oral surgery.  I was successful for 6 months, and then went on vacation.  My mistake was ‘bumming’ a smoke from someone in a bar!!  I decided to buy 1 pack to have on vacation, and I would quit again when I got home.  Didn’t happen!!  So, here I am 15 years later, and a low dose CAT scan last week showed that I have a small suspicious nodule in my lung.  The hammer just fell.  Regardless of what the outcome is - cancer or not - I have the wake up call!!  I am now committed to smobriety!!  

So I agree.  Set yourself another quit date, and stay with the plan.  And I know that’s easier said than done.  But seems like a lot of members of this organization have have had great success, and I hope I do too!  You all seem so supportive!  I will be coming to this site often!

I look forward to even celebrating my first day of freedom!