Welcome! Please Introduce Yourself

i am a new member today. today was supposed to be my first day as a non-smoker. i feel really silly because i thought i could wing this. i am a substance abuse recovery counselor.

my plan for today is to clean all the the tobacco & by-products (ashtrays, empty packs, etc) out of my house.

i woke up this morning & there was half a cigarette in an ashtray on the table. i was able to resist it for almost an hour. i have some lozenges. will try again tomorrow with one of those instead.

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Smoking Cessation: The 5 Phases

Here's another bit of information I think will be useful for all those recent quitters.

When you quit smoking cigarettes it is important to realize that you are not only ending an addiction, you are also breaking a habit.  Cigarettes have become ingrained in your daily life and may have become a crutch for you whenever you have any intense emotions.

Cigarettes are something you have probably come to rely on as a friend that gives you comfort, which is why you always need one when you are angry or frustrated.  This also means that when you quit smoking you will be losing a friend of sorts.  It is important to understand this to fully understand, and prepare for, the emotions you will go through once you quit.

In 1969 Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book that outlined the five stages people go through when facing their own mortality.  These stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  You will be experiencing these same phases as you quit smoking and are experiencing the loss of something you have come to rely on emotionally.

The first phase you will experience is denial.  You may be experiencing it right now, thinking to yourself that you won’t miss cigarettes.  After all you aren’t even addicted, right?  

Or you may experience it later on when you are feeling cravings and you start thinking to yourself that you can quit at another time, or that you are not strong enough to quit.  You may also come to believe that you will never be free of cigarettes.  Be aware that you are going through the first stage of grieving.

The second phase is anger.  It will be really easy to tell when you enter this stage.  You may start kicking yourself for starting smoking in the first place, and become really irritated and frustrated at everything.  This is the most volatile phase of the process, but it is also the turning point when you start entering the home stretch.

The third phase is bargaining.  Ok, I made it this far, now I can reward myself with a cigarette.  Sound familiar?  If it does then you have made it to the bargaining stage.  Be careful here because you may convince yourself to start smoking again if you are not wary.  Be mindful that you are in the third phase and let that pull you through.

The fourth phase is depression.  During this phase you may isolate yourself from others or just feel sad overall.  During this phase you may start to believe that you can beat cigarettes this time.  This phase is the period of mourning for your old friend the cigarette, but if you can stick through this phase you will move on to phase five.

The fifth phase is acceptance.  During this stage you will accept your new identity as a nonsmoker and you will accept the fact that you have finally quit smoking for good.

These stages can take different lengths of time for different people, but usually take only a few weeks.  Keep them in mind the next time you quit and let them help you track your progress to eventual success.

Visit http://www.3stepstoquitsmoking.com/quit-smoking-blog.html for more of my tips and advice, or free tools to help you along the way.

Welcome! Please Introduce Yourself

i am a new member today. today was supposed to be my first day as a non-smoker. i feel really silly because i thought i could wing this. i am a substance abuse recovery counselor.

my plan for today is to clean all the the tobacco & by-products (ashtrays, empty packs, etc) out of my house.

i woke up this morning & there was half a cigarette in an ashtray on the table. i was able to resist it for almost an hour. i have some lozenges. will try again tomorrow with one of those instead.

Get the Cigarette Tracker on your mobile!

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Moms And Dads Who Are Planning To Quit Smoking

Separation Exercises