Is there a list of preparation material?
Community
Community
Is there a list of preparation material?
Great advice above.
I'll add that making your own list of things you are willing to do other than smoke might help you. It's one way of committing before you quit--you are in control--it's your list.
Helpful Blogs, Discussions, Comments, Videos, Links, Info Re Quitting
I hope the responses you are receiving are of some help. We're here to help one another everyday.
Hi and Welcome to Ex’s dollsgen
You have received some great advice above me...be sure to come to the support site often for help and to encourage others on this journey...Colleen 773 DOF
All the information given above is a great place to start. Especially with the EX plan itself, as Barbara mentioned. Prepare to Quit | BecomeAnEX Just click on the various headings from the previous link and your education will begin. You cannot read too much on here. The more you know, the better it will go. Chin up and have heart! If we can do it, YOU can too! Glad you've joined us.
Welcome to the community please read the links suggested above me and keep reading everything you can because there's a wealth of information right here on this site to strengthen your resolve to kick the nicotine poison to the curb permanently it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination BUT thankfully with commitment and perseverance you will succeed in living a life of Freedom and we're all here to help you in any way we can.....
Here YOU go MY friend and I am SOOOOO glad YOU are here
Welcome to EX. You have gotten the best possible advice from the best possible EXers. Read, prepare, stay close & ask questions, we are all here to help.
Ellen
Welcome to the family of EX’s we are very glad you are here. Any questions, problems just ask someone will have the answer, people are great. Get your plan and stick with it. Education is the best thing for you through this process.
Easier said than done set your mind and do it. Make it happen.
dollsgen I think you can see by the number of responses you've received that there is a resounding YES! Multiple ways to be successful. And at the center of it all, you're here on the community so that's an integral part of that as well. Some do it without the community but there are people here who have quit and continue to pay it forward to help others.
I have also put together a number of things based on things the community has highlighted. You can see a list of those things here in this post: Get ready for your quit date on 1/26/21-1/27/21
Hope to see you around here more often as you prepare to quit and then after your quit as well.
Mark
EX Community Manager
Welcome to the community!
I am so glad you asked!!! Planning and preparing are important parts of a successful quit.
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 easy and entertaining read provided a world of good information about nicotine addiction, most of which I was not aware. I credit it in large part with my success at quitting. You can search for it online or at your local library.
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 decide to go that route, let me know and I will share my thoughts on them.
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. You might visit “Games”: https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/games. The active ones are at the top of the list going down the left side of the homepage. 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