Day One: Just Mean

[dionysus]

Nearing the end of day one . . . really the one-hundredth-day-one. Things look so repetitive from here. I just yelled at the kids, progressively more and more throughout the afternoon until I really lit into them (verbally) at bedtime . . . for being kids. Sweet, squirrelly little kids.

I'm a calm guy. There was a time in my life when I always held my composure. I can't give nicotine all of the credit for the swirling whirlwind of stupidity that I've become, but it sure has helped a lot.

I look forward to a someday in which I am calm--in which my mind responds to reason. This me is a long way from the me I thought I was becoming.

I hope this helps.

[Thomas3.20.2010]

So in the short run quitting looks messy and unhelpful but I will tell you something I want you to keep in mind - Your children really want a Smoke FREE Dad!!!! They're willing to put up with a few grumpy days to get there, too!

That being said, there are ways to minimize the grumpiness of withdrawal. 

(1) Drink lots of water

(2) Drink fruit juice, especially Cranberry Juice. It will stabilize your blood sugar which during withdrawal goes off the wall.

(3) Eat 6 to 7 healthy "meals throughout the day ( about every 3 hours.) Again, a stable diet means a less grumpy person and supports your quit process.

(4) EXercise. Use up that nervous energy on push-ups or what have you.

And most important of all -

(5) BREATHE! All the way down to your belly and exhale all the way out like you're blowing out the candles. It cuts that anxiety right off!

For more ideas look for whyquit.com Day 1. 

You will never regret quitting but you might just regret smoking! 1/2 of all smokers will get a smoking related illness! 

Be smarter than that! TODAY is a Great Day to LIVE Smoke FREE!

[Barbara145]

Quitting smoking made me sane again.  It took some work to quit smoking but it is so worth it.  Hope you stick with your quit.  What quitting does to our brain and emotions is pretty amazing.  Congrats on quitting smoking.  Stop yelling at the kids:)

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

The most 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 is an easy and entertaining read and makes a great crave buster.   Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:

http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

As well, read the sections on this site, and read the blogs, responses and pages of folks you think might be helpful. You might visit whyquit.com and quitsmokingonline.com for the good information contained there.

The idea is to change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand. 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.

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.  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.  Don't let that smoking thought rattle around your head alone.  Get busy!  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-instea...

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

[JonesCarpeDiem]

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/blogs/jonescarp.aka.dale.Jan_2007-blog/2011/06/26/what-to-expect-...

[Sootie]

I DID NOT quit smoking while I could still yell at my kids........I wish I had!

I think they would have rathered a little unreasonable yelling rather than the car they rode in always smelling like smoke

I think they would have rathered a little unreasonable yelling rather than their mom always sneaking outside while they had friends over so that she could smoke

I think they would have rathered a little unreasonable yelling rather than a mom who smelled like smoke (no matter how she thought she didn't)

So hang in there.........kids will survive and if you quit....so will you.

Stay strong

[HealthyOrange]

Hang in there, Dionysus!  Look on the bright side ~ you made it through day one without a cigarette!  Your children will be okay and in the end will be so proud of you for quitting.  As you know, they really hate that nasty addiction of yours.

Don't use being mean to them as an excuse to go back to smoking, use it as motivation to not waste this day and chaulk it up to nothing by returning to smoke.  I was a serial quitter and finally, I was like enough, my poor family.  Like it wasn't bad enough what I was putting my self through, I was putting my husband and children through it too.

I have found being humble and honest with my children is the best policy.  Apologize as frequently as need be and keep doing what you need to do to keep this quit.  I found reading Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit super helpful.  In those first days, I played my favorite music over and over as I read on this site.  It greatly helped my mood as I stayed committed.

I hope this is helpful.  You will find a lot of wonderful support here; the people are AWESOME!

[TerrieQuit]

Welcome, Day 1 almost won! My kids hated that I smoked. Only One knows I have quit but she is very proud and thinks it is awesome!  It is a decision you will not regret! Hang in there!

Terrie

[dionysus]

Wow. You guys are awesome. Thank you all so much for those wonderful, uplifiting comments, and all of the great advice.

I did read Allen Carr's book, and I will do my best to follow all of the rest of those great ideas as well. Here we go, day two!

You guys are just the kind of support that I needed. I'm going to keep coming back here as often as I can! Thank you!