I finally Quit Smoking

[jrogers62]

My urges are high right now but I'm wearing the patch. So now I hit the patch when i feel like lighting up. This may sound stupid but my own family pisses me off to the point that I want to smoke. But I'm telling myself I want to breath and not have my hands get tinkles so bad.

[Strudel]

Congrats on your quit and welcome to the site! Deciding you want to breathe instead of smoke, is very, very smart! For many of us, understanding this addiction helped so much.....please check out - Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" -http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

You will discover that smoking does absolutely nothing to help you deal with your family or any other stress! Nothing! Please - read! 

You are in a great place for support - stay close! 

[elvan]

Congratulations and welcome to EX, it does not sound the least bit stupid that your family and anger are huge triggers.  Please read all you can on this site and know that we have all used smoking to stuff our uncomfortable feelings.  Craves won't kill you, smoking will.  Education and support are keys to successful quits and willingness to deal with the discomfort of the beginning of your quit.

Stick with it and it will get easier.  

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Smoking a cigarette will not make your family behave ----- trust me on this!!!

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 also recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read.

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

[jrogers62]

Thanks Nancy

I'm doing my best and really trying not to smoke but it's not easy.  All my thoughts are to be my best and tell myself  I don't need them. I have an anxiety issue due to the Army. I spent three hard years in it from 1974 thru 1977.I don't have any real friends to support me in this struggle of giving up smoking. Friends are hard to come by since I live in California. I'm from the east coast. New York, Maryland, Ohio, and Florida. But that's all behind me now. I'm just living one day at a time and trying to put my best foot forward. I still remember the cadence calls we used. There going through my head right now.

I've been through smoking cessations thru VA and Kaiser. Sometimes I feel like nobody cares but I know my youngest daughter who's 25 going on 26 Dec 31 does care. She's behind me 100%. My cat Sabrina is backing me too. So is my husband Doug. He's trying to help me as much as he can too. 

I'll stay close to all mynew friends that quit.