It has been a journey several times throughout the years of trying to quit smoking. I had a health scare that made me say this is enough, No more smoking. I now have told my children who come over to visit daily and yes smoke to not to give me a cigarette even if I beg for one. If you can't do that then just call me and talk to me on the phone. It so far has been good. Even Christmas with every one here not once did I go outside with them to smoke. Lord only knows I wanted to really bad. I just kept reminding myself of my scare and yes got my lozenge out. Which by the way comes in spearmint and cinnamon flavors. Cinnamon being my favorite just because the spearmint gives me the burps which I will continue to deal with as long as it helps me not smoke. The lozenges doesn't really help with the mood swings or agitation that comes on quickly and doesn't leave as quickly. So any suggestions there would be greatly appreciated.
Great job!! It was also my first Christmas without smoking for quite some time. Fortunately no one smokes in my family so it was a lot easier time for me than it sounds like it was for you.
Staying busy helps exercising, walking being outside as much as possible all can help control mood swings and irritability. Find something you like or liked doing and add it to your daily routine
Now this is me. I found early on in my quit that playing music from my younger years helped tremendously to calm me down
Great job on not smoking on Christmas and here's to a Smoke Free 2021
Congrats on your quit and welcome to the site. I would recommend reading lots of blogs on here and continuing to share your story. The support here is great. Also, there is a great book by Allen Carr - “Easy Way to Stop Smoking” - which helped many of us here. You sound determined which is what you need! If there is a way to do it, I would recommend letting your children know they should not smoke when they come to visit - if at all possible. You can do this! I smoked for 40 years....I came here, did lots of reading, got great support, and I quit! That was over 10 years ago. Stay close.
Congratulations on your first smoke free Christmas. I agree that exercise helps & so does music. I quit cold turkey after 47 years as a smoker. I never smoked in my house & never allowed anyone else to. I quit when l got seriously ill. This is a journey and it gets easier as long as you keep going. It is worth every step. Ellen
Mood swings and agitation are very common when I first quit smoking. I found I needed to use sunflower seeds or licorice to satisfy my oral gratification. And then I came to the site several times a day to read and educate myself. That often helped with my mood swings along with music.
Congratulations on getting through Christmas. Keep up the good work.
Drink plenty of cold water. Listen to your favorite music. Dance like noones watching. Hop on one foot. Call a friend. The cravings don't last long. U can do this keep your eyes on the prize.
I have also put little notes on my mirrors in house and on truck, on my refrigerator, dressers that says I don't smoke anymore. I had a talk with my significant other and we talked about my agitation and he agreed to help with them like going for walks with me in the cold, or just leaving me alone for a minute. The thing is I wanted to surprise him since he hate smoking and he is a x smoker, so when he was confused with my agitation and then I told him, I'm glad I did tell him and now I have his support and understanding.
That’s great that you have support. Yes, staying busy is key and for me I pop in a piece of candy, usually Werthers, drink good teas, eat popcorn and chocolate. This keeps my mouth busy. I’m doing less of this now that I have over a month under my belt. So much of quitting is talking yourself out of smoking. I don’t want to be carrying around an oxygen tank and I certainly don’t want lung cancer. I know I’ve done enough damage to my body and I cannot make it worse. That keeps me keep my quit. Good luck to you! Stay strong!
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