Today's the Day

[lbh]

So today is the day that I am supposed to quit smoking, however, unfortunately I smoked two cigaretts this morning.  😞  I have smoked since I was 16 and I have tried numerous times to quit but failed at it.  I realize this is going to be hard I pray about every 5 minutes to have the strength to get through this,  I don't have a lot of will power when it comes to smoking but I'm definitely going to give it all I got this time.  I'm trying to have more faith in myself because with that will give me the strength I need to quit and never go back. I know at this point I've tried to quit so many times that nobody has faith that I will this time, so I'm out to prove them all wrong.  Smoking has always been my crutch and when things go wrong thats when this will get real tough for me.  I am learning though that I dont need a crutch,  I'm a strong person who can get through anything including giving up many years of addiction.  I read stuff on the internet every single day the reasons why I should quit so I'm going to keep on doing that so every single day I remember all the harmful effects of smoking.  Plus I have 3 children who have asked me numerous times to quit so I not only want to quit for myself and my health but for my children and their health. 

[nancye2014]

I did the exact same thing on my first day, May 12!!!  I think it was being scared to quit!!!  But I didn't do it on the next day.  Believe it or not it gets a little bit easier each day.  Don't be too hard on yourself, you can do it.   

[Brenda_M]

Well, there's still quite a bit of day left. I quit in the early afternoon on my quit day. You can still make today THE day!

[Terri103]

Keep reading.  Keep quitting.  Write up a plan that you can work with.  Figure out if you need patch or gum to help you initially.  Plan when, where and how you are going to smoke your last cigarette.  After you smoke that last cigarettte, destroy completely any that are left.  throw away all lighters, ashtrays, matches.  Go get a big glass of ice water.  Maybe even have bought a special cup that you will use.  If no icemaker, buy a bag of ice.  Then drink drink drink water.  Some other things that help.  Pour a 1/4 cup of M&Ms or peanuts, other nuts, little snacks.  eat each one, one at a time, making them last as long as possible.  

Whenever you think about smoking, tell yourself I don't do that anymore.

And just keep saying nope nope Nope NOpe NOPe NOPE to yourself.  Not One Puff Ever.  

YOU can DO this.  Just be willing to travel this path that is a little rough.  But easier than a jungle path full of snakes and creepy bugs.  

[linda258]

Welcome..... You can quit... just start reading and prepare for your quit.  Read through the blogs.... check out the pages connected to this site... come up with a quit plan.  I wish it were as easy as saying I quit and then you are done but you have a much better chance when you prepare and understand what you are dealing with ... an addiction. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

start now. 24 hours from now is the completion of your first day.

You can't smoke if you don't have any around.

Get rid of them. There is no emergency in life that requires smoking.

Don't use those two as an excuse to smoke the rest of the day or it will be unfortunate.

[lbh]

Thanks everyone! I don't have any cigarettes and haven't since early yesterday my problem is that people around me smoke, but thats ok cause I can do this! And I'm using chantix, although I havent figured out how it's helping yet. lol. Cause it's still hard.  I can't stand the gum and i can't do the patch because I'm alergic to it.  My brother quit years ago using chantix so I figured I'd try it.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Willingness NOT Willpower. Click on my cat and read my page

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

I know this is not funny but you just told the story of every member here at EX. We all started when we were 14-18. We’ve all quit numerous times . We all felt we had no power over our addiction. We all had to make that choice every few minutes to smoke or not. We were all where you are today & every one of us here will tell you that you DO have the power to transform your life & become a non-smoker. If you want to change your life, change your mind.

We will help in any way we can but you have to do the hard part. Listen to what those above me have told you. It’s all about choices. Make the right one.

Keep on keepin on,

M n @

[djmurray]

Welcome to Ex!  The very best thing you can do is educate yourself about this addiction.  The first thing I suggest you do is to read Allen Carr's book The Easy Way to Quit Smoking.  Here's the link to the free, online PDF of the book --

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

I smoked heavily for over 50 years and reading that book completely changed how I looked at smoking and what it is and is NOT.  The basic premise is that no smoker actually enjoys smoking and all we're doing is satisfying the crave we created when we smoked the last one.  Therefore, quitting smoking is giving up NOTHING.  Every other time I quit I felt deprived, like I was foregoing something of value.  But it's not true -- there is no value to smoking.  Boy, has that understanding made a difference! I am at Day 108 of my quit and I know that I will never smoke another cigarette.  

Also, read everything you can find here and at sites like whyquit.com (which has a ton of really good information).  Come here regularly and read the blogs, see what people are experiencing at every stage of their quit.  We have people here who are planning to quit just like you are to people who've been quit for over 10 years and come back to reach out to the new people.  Comment on the blogs -- you will find that when you do it benefits you as well.  Write your own blog about how you're feeling about your quit.

The bottom line is that a successful quit is based on education, attitude, acceptance and determination.  Education:  Once you've learned the truth about this addiction it's much harder (for me impossible) to go back to smoking.  Rather, it helps us unlearn the connections we had with smoking.  Attitude:  Your attitude or mindset is key to whether your quit feels like torture or feels like something very doable.  If you feel deprived, if you feel sorry for yourself and just use willpower to get through not smoking, it will be torture (and you'll read more about that in the Carr book).  But if you have that attitude that smoking is nothing and you are willing to go through the discomfort that is generally associated with quitting, then you can be a happy quitter.  I am definitely a happy quitter!  Acceptance: If you can accept that you will have craves early in your quit and sometimes later in your quit than you would imagine, and don't fight them but observe them and say "Yeah, I don't do that anymore" and find something else to do you won't have as many craves.  It's true. Determination:  This is tied up with the willingness I mentioned.  You have an addict's brain, just like the rest of us.  Your addict's brain will whisper to you, scream at you and plead with you to come back.  There will be times when you find yourself thinking "oh, what could it hurt to have just one."  That's your addiict brain trying to entice you.  Determination is your ability to say NOPE -- Not One Puff Ever.  

So welcome to EX -- we're a wonderfully supportive group who've been there done that or are being there doing that right now.   There's no better resource than a good support group to get through the initial discomfort of quitting.

You can do this!

[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 also highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking.”

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. You should also do the tracking and separation exercises suggested on this site

After you have completed the recommended reading, it will be time to make an informed choice of the quit aid, if any, you will use. If you go that route, I personally recommend the aids that don't let the addict control the dose such as the available prescription drugs or the patch. But – any method that you think will work well for you will be best for you.

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

[kickit_cricket]

The first step is always the hardest!  I am on day 14. The Allen Carr book really helped me and instead of battling the thoughts in my head, I just tell myself 'NO, smoking is no longer an option'.  It get's a little easier each day.  Good luck to you!

[foxsmama]

I'm new to this site as well and completely understand where you're coming from! I had my last cigarette last night. I wanted to stop and buy a pack but decided that I wasn't going to let a few minutes of being uncomfortable to control my day. I don't have any good advice to offer, but I wanted to give you a high five and tell you that I'm sending you good thoughts. Hang in there!!