THANK YOU

[dieseldoggie]

I finally figured out how to blog.  Yahoo!  I;ve been so taken up with reading all the fantastic messages I've gotten that I never took the time to figure it out.  Well my new friends, a BIG THANK YOU. 

 I had planned a quit date of 5/31 in honor of our Veterans but ended up quitting on the 4th.  I'm only a few days in now but I already feel so much better, I can't believe it.  I haven't been on the site in about a week because when my comuter crashed and I lost the Website.  Thankfully Terrie messaged me and I got an email notification whih let me find you all again.  Again, thank you to all my new friends, you are all so understanding and supportive.  I'm so happy to be back here.  Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there.  

[djmurray]

And Happy Mother's Day to you, too.  Welcome and how exciting that you were motivated to quit three weeks before your planned quit date.  This is an awesome community, and in the early days of my quit I pledged to blog every day for the first 30 days, and that meant that I was here every day, and reading the inspirational blogs of others.  I am now almost up to 500 days quit (wow, hard to believe) and I can tell you that the education and support you get here is the very best aid in staying quit I have ever found.  I smoked heavily for over 50 years, and thought I'd be the last smoker on the planet.  What I learned here (and reading the Allen Carr book, which I highly recommend) was that giving up smoking is giving up nothing of value.  Every other time I quit I felt deprived, and I learned here that the only thing we do when we smoke is satisfy the craving we created when we smoked the last one. 

So glad you're here -- and know that YOU CAN DO THIS.

[YoungAtHeart]

Welcome to our community!

So happy you found us again - and congratulations on FOUR days quit!  This is a decision you will NEVER regret.  The freedom you will gain is beyond belief!

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.

Are you using a quit aid?  If so - you might want to think about what you chose.  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. 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:

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

[tjanddj]

So glad to see you here and congratulations on your quit!

[elvan]

So glad that you are here and that Terrie was smart enough to make sure you had a lifeline in case the computer or the site crashed!  That is particularly important in the early parts of your quit.  Do your reading, do your "homework", you CAN do this!

So happy you are here.

[Strudel]

Welcome to the site and congrats on your quit! Be sure to check out the Carr book Nancy  gave you - and stay close here! 

[MarilynH]

It's great to see your blog and it's even greater to be able to congratulate you on your awesome ongoing quit, one day at a time or if need be one second at a time but Keep moving forward because as long as you live by N.O.P.E - NOT One Puff Ever - you are going to succeed in your precious quit. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

[Thomas3.20.2010]

So glad to see that you have Quit Smoking!

Smoking Cessation will bless you many times over! Stick with the Blogs where you can talk to the whole Community. Then take what you find useful and leave the rest! To be helpful is our only goal!

[Dotgirl_1-28-16]

Welcome!

[stephaniemortonmomof4]

Happy for all of you! I'm a newbie. My last one was last night at 6 pm. I'm a stay at home mother and besides my house chores and kiddos , I don't really have a life lol. My Daddy passed in September and he never fought the addiction and won!!! His greatest desire was to see me succeed and live a healthy happy life for me and my 4 girls, so I made him a promise to quit and now is the time! I still am grieving because he was my best friend and we were inseparable but I am dealing with it one day at a time and I can't allow loosing him to be my excuse for not upholding my promise! I hope to talk with yall amd get to know you and we feed off each other to do this together!!!!

[TerrieQuit]

I am so happy you were able to find us again!! I may have already sent this to you, but just in case, I am sending it again!

I Won't Quit on my Quit!

[TerrieQuit]

Hello, and Welcome to EX! We are so glad you are here! This is a great place to quit smoking. You have been given links to great information and good advice above. Please do the readings and 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 (that is featured on our home page) 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! You can state your # of days, post a picture or whatever you want! This is your quit be proud of it! Please join us!

http://community.becomeanex.org/pg/forum/topic/8352460/mother-may-i-no-mother-i-will-keep-my-quit/

Hope to see you there!    Terrie

I Won't Quit on my Quit!

Congratulations on your 6 day quit!