Day one of my quit experience. So far so good, actually having a really good day, no major cravings to avoid yet. I did, however, get sick (bad cold) two days prior to my quit date. I feel like its providential; since I'm sick its a good time to quit and not really missing it yet as I don't feel well enough to smoke lol. Wish me luck I really want to do this!
Hi Terri! Luck has nothing to do with it. You have to make a choice, smoke or don't smoke. There is a lot of reading to be done! You can feel free to look around on other people's pages. (Elders). Blog and comment and read the blogs. There is a book "The Easy Way To Quit Smoking" By Allen Carr. It helped me the most. Someone will be along shortly to give you information that I don't have. Read it! Get prepared. Know your triggers and track the times of day you are most likely to smoke and find something to do to keep your mind occupied!
You want it...you can do it. Educate yourself by reading Allen Carr's book. I'm not sure if anyone has suggested it to you yet....but it's an eye opener and gives you several "ah ha" moments. It's easy to "quit" when you're sick and don't want to smoke, but it will take determination to stay quit once you feel better. I had bronchitis one time several years ago and didn't smoke for a week and thought I would continue on with not smoking once I felt better. It wasnt the case. Once I felt better I started right back up! I wish you the best on your journey, and blog about your feelings often! You CAN do it!
We preach here to leave luck at the door, and instead to bring education, preparation, planing and commitment through.
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 highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.” This is an easy and entertaining read. Here is a link to a free PDF version of it:
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:
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!
Welcome a'board. Every day will present you with different experiences. It's real easy to quit when we don't feel well. However it's a whole 'nother story when we are feeling like our old selves again. Because then we forget how bad we felt and the addiction starts to play upon us again. So plan for that ahead of time. If you really want to do this, then whatever life's circumstances throw at you cannot be perceived as an allowance, an excuse to smoke. The smoking door must be closed and locked. Are you ready to do that? Lock that door? If not, then you need to swallow enough reality about this addiction and it's consequences and digest it until you grasp why that door must be locked. Reading is an imperative on here. It's strengthens the commitment. Day one is almost over. Hang in.
Thank-you everyone; I think this site is great! So helpful 🙂
I'm starting day 2; so far I've had no bad cravings but I keep finding myself at work starting to say, "I'm gonna step out for a minute" then I catch myself and ask myself for what? That just shows me how much more of a habit it is than addiction. I sincerley appreciate all the advise and links etc... It really does help when you have a whole community of people on your side to support you!! Thanks so much; I will keep you all updated.
Terri 48
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