Hello @norwegen! My name is Quiana, and I am a part of the EX Team. Congratulations on your decision to quit! I wanted to reach out and personally welcome you to the EX Community! We are so excited you have joined us. This is a very supportive community so feel free to keep us all posted on your quit journey reach out and let us know if you need anything. You may find our Daily Pledge page helpful to make a commitment not to smoke on a day-by-day basis. Posting there will also bring visibility to your journey to others who take the pledge daily.
Here are some articles that might be helpful as you prepare for your quit date:
@norwegen Welcome to the Ex and congrats on your decision to quit. A good-bye letter is a great way to reinforce your commitment to becoming an ex.
You found a great group of quitters to support you on your journey. Spend time educating yourself about nicotine addiction and prepare for your quit by identifying tools to use, how to cope with cravings and creating new associations to replace smoking/vaping. It took me 50 years and many attempts to finally get it right. When I found the Ex I learned how to to quit for the first time. This link will get you off on the right track to be successful.
And join many of us quitters on the Daily Pledge to stay on track one day at a time.
Attitude and preparation are keys to success. You can do this. Reach out anytime you want to share your experience or need some support. We're your biggest supporters.
Congratulations on your decision to quit vaping! Inventive good-bye! I hope you will do some reading and prep work to get ready to put it firmly in your rearview mirror.
It's common sense that anything you put in your lungs that isn't clean air can't be good for you! You will need to substitute “vape” or “device” as you do the reading I will recommend. Research suggests nicotine may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Because vaping is available to you most anywhere, anytime, I believe it might be more difficult from which to break free than regular tobacco products - but it CAN be done! There is a blog written by one of our success stories that you might find informative: I Quit Smoking and Vaping - EX Community . If you would like to use a quit aid and would like information on the various ones, let me know.
I recommend that you educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind To that end, I suggest Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.”, which can be purchased online or borrowed from your local library. Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction : Nicotine and Your Brain.
The idea is to change up your routines so the vaping associations are reduced. Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from where you vaped. Maybe switch to tea for a bit. If you always had that first puff 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 vape so the view is different. Take a different route when you are out and about so you aren't driving by your vaping supply shop. Take the Daily Pledge each day, Just look for it on the home page. It helps to hold yourself accountable to your quit and the community..
You need to distract yourself through any craves. You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), 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 vaping thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. You will need to be disciplined in the early days to distract yourself when a crave hits. Get busy! Here is a list of things to do instead of vape if you need some fresh ideas:
The conversation in your head in response to the "I want to vape" 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!
Hello @norwegen . Welcome!! You've got it absolutely right in your goodbye poem--in the midst of my addiction even though I smoked about every half hour, it was a bore having to constantly feed the monster, truly I hated smoking; and yes, every smoker must realize that if we keep at it, an early coffin is likely. So in very few words you sure said a lot and I bet your words resonate with many people. Congratulations on your decision to quit and on being able to recognize the things you do about smoking. Read up on the addiction, and use the tools available here to help you quit. Rates of success in quitting go up when people plan and prepare for a quit and have a strong support network as they quit. We here at Ex are here to cheer you on, or respond with support and our own personal stories of quitting; when you post; and there are lots of things here to help you prepare and plan. Post often and let us encourage you as you go through one day at a time in quitting. Wishing you the very best in your quit. Cheers.
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