Not so happy James the happy quitter

[Budalan]

Hello everyone, I see some old comforting names here! Congrats. Some may remember me from being ecstatic  about quitting in 09. Was easy for some reason and I was thrilled. Well fast forward to 2021, picked up a cigarette!!

and the crazy thing was I didn’t even buy any for 2 weeks after that! Anyway  I always found this site most helpful. I’m back! Not so easy this time. I’m sick of it but addicted once again. I had smoked 36 years when I quit. This time going on 3 years.

Thanks everyone.

[Barbscloud]

@Budalan Welcome back.  I didn't join the Ex until 2018.   I'll be celebrating 6 years next week.  I understand your frustration.  It took me 50 years and multiple attempts.  If you learned something from your previous quit, than it's a lesson well learned.

Pick a new quit date and develop a new  quit plan.  Remember to always reach out before your smoke, not after.  It really works.  

Join many of us on the Daily Pledge to stay on track one day a time.

Stay busy and stay close.

Barb

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome!

 Your body DID heal, and you have learned the lesson that you can never, ever, have even one puff, so all was not lost from the previous quit time.   You are quitting again now, and that is the important thing here.  I don't know how much you remember, so I will provide my usual welcome.  If you didn't do the work before, more reason to do it now!  

Understanding the addiction and having a PLAN going forward will reduce the anxiety of quitting.  Get busy learning and preparing, and I think you may actually start to look forward to this journey!  You will do this one day at a time, so don't be looking further ahead than that. 

An important thing you can do right now is to educate yourself on what nicotine does to your body and mind. I was amazed when I learned that the stress reduction you feel when you ingest nicotine is caused by the brain receptors calming that have gradually built in volume jonesing for their next fix!  I highly recommend Allen Carr's “The Easy Way to Stop Smoking”  that brings light two other things you might not know.  You can purchase a digital version online or borrow it at your local library.  Here is a video to inform you further about nicotine addiction: Nicotine and Your Brain.

I quit many years ago , and I base my overall recommendations on my experience and that of others here over the years. If you decide to use a quit aid, I recommend those that don't let the addict control the dose such as Rx drugs and the patch. Lozenges and gum are fine, but don't sub them for every cigarette you used to smoke.  That will simply be substituting one addiction for another.  Have a plan to reduce use over time. Each cigarette you smoked contained about 1 mg of nicotine. If you use more than one form of NRT, be sure you aren't getting more than when you smoked.

To better deal with the habit part of the addiction, change up your routines so the smoking associations are reduced.  Drink your coffee with your OTHER hand in a place different from when you smoked. Maybe switch to tea for a bit.  If you always had that first smoke with your coffee, try putting your walking shoes on right out of bed, going for a quick walk, then taking your shower and THEN your coffee! .  Take a different route to work. Take a quick walk at break time where the smokers AREN'T.

After you have eliminated as many associations as you can, you need to distract yourself through any craves.  You can take a bite out of a lemon (yup - rind and all), do a few jumping jacks, go for a brisk walk or march in place, play a computer game.  Keep a cold bottle of water with you. Don't let that smoking thought rattle around in your brain unchallenged. You might visit Games: The active ones are at the top of the list going down the left side of the page.

Here is a link to a list of things to do instead of smoke if you need some fresh ideas:

101 Things to Do Instead of Smoke - EX Community

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.

You might want to join other site members by taking the daily pledge when you quit. It helps to hold yourself accountable and also accountable to others here. Find it at Home (top left), then first box titled Take the Daily Pledge.

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

[ReallyReal]

Dear @Budalan , I wasn't around in '09 to celebrate your ecstatic quit back then, but I am around now to cheer you on with this quit.  I had a failed quit in 2022, and it took me a year of smoking to recommit to quitting and come back here.  I am so glad you have come back too.  I don't know all you went through in your mind brfore coming here again but I know I was  embarrassed and a little defensive when I first returned after my relapse.  So, I say, congratulations on coming back to Ex.  I have learned that it is incredibly helpful to really analyze the failed quit and get a good handle on everything that went into the relapse.  Knowing what went wrong is empowering and ensures that the same mistakes won't happen again.  I myself have a totally different mindset this quit and even though I am only just shy of 5 months quit I am much more committed and grounded in the reality that I have an addiction and I cannot have even one puff, ever, or I will be back to a pack and a half in no time.  I wish you all the best on this quit and look forward to hearing about your journey.  Cheers.

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I came here in August of that year so I definitely remember you.

Losing a long quit is a tough story to my ears. So how will you get happy again? 😃

what can we do to help?

[Budalan]

@ReallyReal  I blogged for about a year post quit. I never understood why people were embarrassed. I think we all have failed at something, especially this crazy addiction. So I just said Sydney or the bush and jumped back!! Lol

thanks

[biscuit9]

@Budalan   Happy to hear you are back.  Noone deserves this awful addiction.  Quit day 533.

[ReallyReal]

@Budalan I am so glad to hear that embarrassment was not a factor for you--that's great and sounds like you have a pretty healthy attitude.    Good for you.

[JACKIE1-25-15]

You know the drill.  You were mentioned in many of the elders' blogs.  James the Happy Quitter. 

[CommunityAdmin]

@Budalan Welcome back! I think having that mentality that slip ups happen and you can recover from them is great and a great way to set yourself up for success! Cheering you on!

- Danielle, EX team

[Blueeyes58]

@Budalan. I also had quit  for 7 years, but relapsed and have been smoking for 10 years.  On day 2 of my quit journey.  Good luck with your quit