was a part of this group awhile back, but relapsed back into smoking. decided enough was enough and am quit again...today is day 8. any support will be much appreciated.
thanks in advance and everybody have a great smoke-free day!
Hello, and Welcome back to EX, Scott! We are so glad you are here! This is a great place to quit smoking. Someone will be along shortly to give you links to good information. There are also some links on my page. Listen to the Elder's (folks with 1 year + quit) They know a lot about this addiction. 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! We are on page 2. You can state your # of days, post a picture or whatever you want! This is your quit be proud of it! Please join us!
Welcome back Scott! Congratulations on your 8 days! I read in one of your older blogs that you thought maybe the cause of your slip was that you felt that you wanted to reward yourself for your quit. My husband mentioned that too, he felt since he was doing so good on his quit he should be rewarded with a smoke. He did overcome that thought because he literally had to make a life and death decision. I hope that you and my husband will continue to make the choice not to smoke and not let the nicotine addiction control what you do. Making smoking not an option takes the guess work out of the decision. The tools, the support is here to help you. Come walk with us on this journey.
I love being smoke free, I love the freedom it has given me. Stay smoke free so you too can find the peace of being a non smoker.
good to hear you're back again. be sure to follow the steps here on this site and you'll be just fine. Just give a shout out when you need help, lots of very good people here to help
Congratulations on your decision to quit and your first 8 days! Looks like it's been awhile since you have been here, so I will give you the readings and advice I give to the newly quit (or getting ready to do so).
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:
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.
Are you using a quit aid? If so, I hope you made an informed choice. 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. I do not recommend the e-cigarette for three reasons: 1) the vapor has been compared to the polluted air in Bejing on a bad day, 2) they just provide another nicotine delivery system while continuing the hand to mouth smoking motion, and 3) the batteries can spontaneously catch on fire. . 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:
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 back Scott and congratulations on 8 days smoke free. The most important thing that you can do is educate yourself on nicotine addiction. Do the reading Nancy gave you and stay close to us here.. Make the committment to not smoke no matter what and you can do this
Welcome back Scott! Congrats on your quit! I would suggest deciding that this time - no matter what - this is your forever quit! No options, no going back. It can be simple in a way - if you consider that it is a choice...a single choice - to not smoke. N.O.P.E. -Not One Puff Ever! Figure out what went wrong last time and don't make the same mistake...or choice! Stay close here - read the Carr book Nancy mentioned. You can do this!!
