Quit day!

[kym4]

Today is my quit day again! was not sucessful last time! I feel this time I have a willingness to stay quit this time! Im certainly gonna do my best,it is so time for me, tired of living with the guilt of smoking everyday,and it is actually alot of work to smoke! always planning around cigarettes making sure i have enough before i get home etc etc! I had a dream last night of my mother she has been gone almost ten years she died of lung disease, she was a smoker her whole life she died at the age of 68 way too young! anyhow i have always prayed for her to visit me in a dream, but the dream was me walking into a room where she was intubated and tubes coming all out of her,like she was before she died! just saddened me to have that dream after waiting all these years, but then i thought to myself this morning this could have been confirmation of me to quit cigarettes now before it too late for me idk! sad to even write this and I apologize for getting off track here guess i just needed to feel this! I am using nicotine replacements patches! Not gonna lie the urges have been coming at me hard even to the point of my mouth watering for them! hahah! But today is my grandaughter 4th birthday one of my biggest reasons for quitting so will get out of this house we are going bowling! and I will be thankful for this day! and thank you all for your blogs and words, afew of you your words have really resignated with me with my line of thinking about this terrible habit so I thank you all! have a great day!

[Daniela2016]

Welcome back to your first day of freedom.  If you think you have messages today should be the day, wait no more.  Your dream is your sign, your grand daughter birthday your big helping hand for the first day.  The rest is up to you!

Please do not ignore the recommended educational materials.  Having the knowledge about the nicotine addiction would help you prepare yourself for what is to come.  Also reviwing blogs and pages like Dales's, Nancy's, Terrie's, Jackie's, Lori's.  will provide you everything you need to know about the addiction, and what to expect when you quit: the first, the second week, the first month, NML, and so on.

Congratulations on making today your first day, no one here says it will be easy, because we have all been through it all and it is not, but it is feasible, we all did it and so can you!

[c2q]

You are going to beat this addiction, sooner or later. You know you have to quit. You know you love your life, your grand daughter, the memory of your mother, enough to lay down the deadly habit. Find a way to think in the now. It doesn't matter what happened last time you tried to quit. You are not trying to quit this time. You are quitting. If your mind wanders to your last quit, bring it back to this minute. If your mid wanders to days down the road and how will you cope, bring in back to this minute. This is the moment of your quit.

Looking forward to your next blog post.

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking and your first day!  Cigarette smoking is not a habit - it's an addiction.  I hope you will avail yourself of the reading materials I will include.  I believe education is a key to a successful quit; I know it was for me.

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. 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

[JACKIE1-25-15]

You have come to the right place..  It is great that you would like to qui for your grandaughter,  It is more importan tha you quit for you. This is all about you and what you are willing to do to be smokefree.

 Start First, by educating yourself about nicotine addiction. 

Education is the key to a successful quit.

Read:

Freedom from Nicotine My Journey Home and Nicotine Addiction 101         

Here are the links    

 http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html   and

http://whyquit.com/ffn/

Also Read   Allen Carr’s book, “Easy Easier Way to Quit Smoking”.       

The link is here:  http://media.wix.com/ugd/74fa87_2010cc5496521431188f905b7234a829.pdf

 Go to the home click on About EX tab and get started. We will support you. You are in your journey for freedom.  It isvery important to do your homework. 

[TerrieQuit]

Hello, and Welcome back to EX Kym! 

We are so glad you are here!  As you know this is a great place to quit smoking. You have been given links to great information and good advice above. Please do the suggested readings. Education, willingness to do whatever it takes not to smoke, determination and commitment are the keys to a successful quit!

I would like to recommend a group called The Daily Pledge Group. It's fun and will help reinforce your commitment not to smoke!

Just click on the link below and scroll down and take the person's hand before you and promise not to smoke, and then offer your free hand to the next pledge, we keep each other strong in our quits! You can state your # of days, post a picture or whatever you want! This is your quit be proud of it! Please join us!

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/thread/4532-happy-new-year-keep-it-happy-guard-your-quit-with-a-d...   page 5

This link is also on my page and is also a featured group on our home page! Also, if you would like to join the group use this link and as you scroll down look to the left, there is a place that says join the group.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/daily-pledge

Hope to see you there!    Terrie

Don't Quit on your Quit!

If you have any trouble getting into the group, just let me know and I'll try to help!

[prjimm01]

you will so love your life in a couple of days.  hang in there.  we are with you.

[Christine616]

Congratulations for making one of the best, if not THE best decision of your life!  N.O.P.E.

[Dotgirl_1-28-16]

YOU CAN DO THIS!!! You are doing this! WTG

[Silverstar]

Welcome (back) to EX, Kym, this is a good place for your Forever Quit! 

Things that have helped me a lot:  blogging, reading blogs, reading about nicotine addiction, reading Carr's book, doing the exercises on this site, building a Quit Kit, changing my routines and finding substitute/alternate activities, deep breathing for anxiety/relaxation, and exercise.  All of these things were suggested by EXers, right here!

Also, start a dialogue with yourself, like self-talk, something that resonates, feels true, there are a bunch in use here, like "I Don't Do That Anymore" and I Won't Smoke, No Matter What, Smoking Is Not An Option - SINAO, Not One Puff Ever - NOPE, or come up with your own. 

Glad you are here, choosing Freedom.

[kym4]

Thank you all! very nice to have all this support!