Struggling

[Breathing4]

Hi All. This is my first blog post in the history of my life and I'm needing a little bit of help. I was convinced that I was over the worst part. "It gets easier after the first week" everyone says. Wrong! It's been 13 days since I've had a cigarette and today my craving is hitting hard. Everything is going wrong at work, everything is going wrong with my boyfriend, and I am one customer call away from going to the gas station for a pack. I keep telling myself that it won't help anything but the fact is, I just want one. My desk faces outside where everyone in the office smokes and I can almost taste it. I can't get away from my desk and I can't distract myself. Anyone have any good suggestions that would help?

[Pops]

Well Breathing,

This isn't my first time around here.  I too have 13 days today, and I can relate alot to what you are saying.  "Saying", not being....Truth be told, life isn't easier, or tougher one way or the other because of the lack of smoke going into your lungs today.  What is different, is that before the quit, we (I intentionally include myself here) would escape the hard presence of life, by taking a break from it for awhile.  We would go outside, and light up a smoke & hide out for about five or ten minutes.  (Sort of like a time-out from life if you will)  This never actually got anything repaired or accomplished, but...it would give us the needed time to stay away long enough to regather our resolve to come back and deal with whatever is going on.  Well, we still need the time to disengage and get a new perspective...Getting away is still just as good of an idea as it ever was.  EXCEPT, this time...we don't smoke during our getaway, we instead use the time to truly relax & disengage.  Hang it there...don't smoke because it is the right thing to do for your body.  Smoking isn't going to make one thing that is going wrong, be any more palletable than it is now.

Hang tough my friend, we can get through this without smoking.  Then again, if we are smoking, then who really cares if we get throught it or not???

Pops

[JonesCarpeDiem]

please click on my cat and read my page. it explains the process

[Giulia]

Hold onto it.  You haven't come this far to let it go.   You've worked too hard for it.   There are days like this.  There just are.  Stress is a major craving producer.  Can you paste something on your window so you can't see them smoking?  Put up a shade or curtain that you can close over the smoking scene that's tormenting you?

Closing your eyes and taking deep slow breaths can help.  Can you get up and walk around?  If so - DO.  You need to distract yourself and get your mind off the NicoBugger!  Writing down positive sayings on pieces of paper and sticking them around your office can help.  Write 5 of them right now.  Things like "I CAN do this!"  "BREATHE!"  I had one that said "ATTITUDE STPUID!"  Gotta pull up your humor drawers and put on your funny hat.  This too shall pass.  It really will.  Come on now - WANT your freedom more than that silly trip to the store!

[JonesCarpeDiem]

2-3 weeks for most. Hang in there. say I don't do that anympre out loud when you get a crave.

put a rubber band on one wrist and snap it when you start craving to remind you.

we don't know anything about your plan, if you are using any nrt, etc.

[Storm.3.1.14]

Listen to Giulia, she's one of the smartest Elders here. And I agree with her suggesting to WALK AWAY, if possible. WALK AWAY and clear your head for a few minutes.

What's behind you that you think you don't already know? Will buying that pack of cigarettes, smoking a few, and ruining your quit teach you ANYTHING that you haven't already learned from all the other destroyed quit attempts? No. There is NOTHING NEW in relapsing. There is ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW in protecting a quit, so decide that you deserve the rewards of doing things in a BETTER way. Because the old way is worthless. If it wasn't a dead end, you wouldn't be here.

And BLESS YOU for asking for help BEFORE you made a terrible mistake!!!!!! Soooo many people don't do that. BLESS YOU for caring enough about yourself and this community to seek help. YES!!!!

[Breathing4]

I am not using anything, no gum, patch or anything like that. Like I've said I dont want to start up another habit.

And thank you all so much for your support. Its hard not having anyone here to lean on. But all of the advice is really helping. Even just seeing that people reply with positive things to say is making this time go by faster.

I cannot thank everyone enough

[j_tanner]

It seems like there was a day or two right around the two week mark for me that was horrible, but I pushed through, now I've got 32. Hang in there, it gets much better. And the good days are coming very soon! Many times I can just log on to this site, read for ten minutes, and keep right on going. Stay close ans have fun, that fun part is very important!

[hampton]

I know you have heard this beofre... But If I can do this you sure can!! I'm just over 40 days and I still have times when I just want a cig sooo bad. I haven't found one thing that has happened bad or good to make me put one in my mouth. And believe me I have been tested over and over again. I just keep breathing,reading,and more reading. Take a walk,brush your teeth,smell your markers,lol. whatever it takes to just get past that one little brief moment of the addiction talking to ya. i'm proud of you in asking for help. It prooves you are very serious about YOUR quit. This is for you,it's your freedom. You won't regret it!!!  And also remember to treat yourself,You deserve it. It helps me tremendously. TheLittle things matter the most..:) Peace to you.Deborah.

[Summer-Rain]

[djmurray]

Good for you, my friend -- you reached out for help before you went to the store!  There is such strength in asking for help.  I'm just two days ahead of you -- I'm on Day 15 and my horrible, very bad, nasty, OMG I want one so bad day was Day 8, so I know just how you feel.  One of the things that helps me is remembering how much I wanted to quit when I WAS smoking.  If smoking really was the answer to life's problems, we wouldn't be yearning to quit even while we're doing it.  That little voice in your head saying "have one, you need one" is trying to make you romanticize smoking.  But I guarantee you, if you did actually light one up now after 13 days it would taste TERRIBLE, you would probably cough your head off, and for that crappy experience you would lose your quit and have to start all over.  I don't know about you, but I really want to get to the other side of this and I wouldn't want to have to live these two weeks over again. 

We're all very proud of you for both your 13 days AND your reaching out.  Hang in there -- if you could get through the last 13 days you can get through today and keep your quit.

[linda258]

Fake It....  yes, that is what I did when the urge hit me.  I took my "smoke break" .. stepped outside in the cold air and sucked air into my lungs... and blew air out into the air just as I did when I smoked.  Early on I even pretended to have a cigarrette in my hand.. putting it up to my mouth... sucking it up.   It was odd but it helped. 

After meals I replaced smoking with my pack of sugar free gum.  Smokers would light up and I would pop a piece of sugar free gum in mouth. 

it is worth it to make it through the craves....

[Sootie]

Yeah---sorry. don't know who told you that but, it isn't as easy as "better in a week". But it is DOABLE.....because, as you can see......YOU ARE DOING IT!

now keep going. Do this day and then do it again tomorrow. Every day you put behind you it IS getting better.....but you can't see it yet. Bet you smoked a lot longer than a week. So, give yourself longer to get thru quitting.

You CAN do this.

Stay Strong.

[GreenThumb3]

It's a journey that has it's ups and downs but over all gets better in time it's so worth it