Today is the day. - Al-Anon Family Group

carolinagirl · ~*Service Worker*~

Today is the day.

Diva · ~*Service Worker*~

Good for you CG! Doesn't matter if you have tried to quit 100 times, as long as you keep trying. You will succeed.

I did this 24 years ago myself...cold turkey...which I think is the only way to go. Only bit of advice I have for you is to keep a pack of cigarettes where you can see them. Worked for me. I left a pack on a table in the living room for about two months. If you do not have a cigarette in the house, you will awaken in an overwhelming panic late some night or early morning. Having them there keeps your mind at ease. Just don't reach for them; or if you do, gently place them back on the table and tell yourself you can wait a half hour.

Do not quit for 21 days. Quit for one hour. Then another hour. The addiction to nicotine lasts about four days. It is the addiction to having something to do with your hands that you really miss long after you have beat the nicotine addiction.

I know you'll do it. I send you my best wishes and prayers. Quitting is the most important thing you can do for your health. Second is losing weight. I stay very lean...but it is a struggle. The smoking...YUCK! Cannot imagine how I ever indulged in that nasty habit.

Good luck,

Diva.

carolinagirl · ~*Service Worker*~

yes, one hour... maybe even one minute LOL.

Denoraphy · Veteran Member

I have been smoke free for almost 8 years. When I told my Dr that I wanted to quit, but it was the only time of the day that I got to take a break and get away from the kids, etc. (I smoked outside) he suggested I find another hobby. Sounds simple enough? At the time I thought, 'Yeah, right.'

It turns out he was right. I started thinking of what I could do during my usual smoke break time. It turns out it was pretty easy to find things to do, reorganize a closet, clean the crumbs out of the silverware drawer, go for a walk with the kids, play a video game with the kids (it is amazing how much hand eye coordination some of those games require!), go through the kids clothes and get rid of the ones that don't fit. I think you get the idea.

Ultimately, what really worked for me was just reminding myself WHY I didn't want to smoke. And by telling myself over and over again, 'You are not weak. You are not weak. You are not weak.'

Oh, well, it worked for me..... best of luck to you.

carolinagirl · ~*Service Worker*~

Thanks but those breaks hardly seem like breaks lol. Sounds like more work and no break. I have already quit several times and two of those were for over a year so I know I CAN I just am not sure I WANT to or I am ready. I am already getting sleepy and coughing and I know the hell that's going to come and then eventually pass I'm just dreading it. I picked now because 1 I really can't afford it and 2 I have 5 days off in a row to recoup.

ddub · ~*Service Worker*~

This is a great on line site that has helped many.
http://www.quitsmokingonline.com/

You can do this

hugs, ddub

serendipity · ~*Service Worker*~

I smoked 5 months into my first pregnancy. When I saw the sono I quit. I didn't know I was quitting. I was just not smoking till I was done being pregnant. Then, I was nursing so, I had to wait till I was done with the breast feeding. By the time I was done with that (she was 16 months) I finally realized that I had quit smoking and it was no longer who I was. What helped me in the beginning was to be around smoke. I loved the smell of someone else smoking. Now it makes me sick but then it really helped. That and the whole idea that I had the choice to pick up again if I wanted to. And if I was hit with a craving and I felt like I had no choice but to smoke, I waited. I would give myself 5 min or 10 and think "I'll smoke in 5 minutes" but in 5 minutes the thought had passed or I started something else while I was "waiting" and that usually changed my focus. I haven't had a cigerette in 13 years but I have had "The Dream" quite a few times and have woken up feeling so disappointed in myself. Be a B**** if you have to, it's a nasty addiction and getting thru withdrawl is no fun. Seeing how awful it is to withdraw might actually have an impact on the choices your kids make.

My mom never even told me that she quit. She just got really pissed when 3 weeks later no one had congradulated her on quiting. She's a B anyway so that is probably why we didn't even notice that she was going thru withdrawl.

I was a nut when I quit, but I was also pregnant, comming off of drugs, and living with an abusive crack addicted alcoholic. Just remember that you'll never have to do it again! Oh yeah, I chewed the ends of pens. That went on for a couple of years.

lilms · Senior Member

Yup,

Addiction is addiction is addiction. My A has quit 10 times in the last six months also. I always tell smokers to try and quit before they rage about the A's lack of ability to do so.

I am not at quitting smoking yet but am at the thinking about it stage. Scares me to death. Sure gives me a tiny little bit of empathy for the A.

Good luck, post often and let us know how goes the battle.

lilms

omajoy · Veteran Member

Those who smoke usually don't like this advice, but here it is: go visit any hopsital floor where cancer patients are being treated. Stop and put yourself on the receiving end of chemo and its terrible side effects. Try hard to envision yourself here. Try hard to imagine that if you keep smoking your odds of having breast, lung throat, bladder, or other cancers skyrockets. I have never had the smoking addiction but lived with second hand smoke for over 20 years. When I was diagnosed with sarcoma early this year, I didn't really think about that exposure. No one can pinpoint the reason for sarcomas...it is often called "the bad luck cancer", but chemical exposures is suspect. I think second hand smoke is chemical exposure. So try hard to think about whom you may be exposing as well. My husband quit smoking well over 25 years ago. BUT he still has CDOP, spots on the lungs, and as of this week, is undergoing bladder evaluation for recurring infections. If you can think of nothing else, think of your health. Please. Quitting smoking is, in my opinion, the very best thing a person can do for him/herself...bar none!! Good Luck, Carolina. If you have done it before, you can do it again.

Jean4444 · ~*Service Worker*~

cg, you will quit when you are ready to. I did. Nothing special happened, just one day I stopped. It is possible that one day you just wont want it anymore. Also, I could feel my life force being sucked right out of me everytime I inhaled/exhaled. I woke up tired. I started running and its just not possible to run and have a cigarette habit at the same time!!

I loved to smoke. Its fun. I think some of the best people in the world are smokers/ex-smokers. I loved lighting up with a bunch of good folks outside of work and yucking it up- it was really comforting. I get that in al-anon now.

I have recently gone through a phase (I am sure its just a phase) where all my cravings have disappeared. I no longer eat compulsively, I no longer smoke, I do not drink, etc. I have lost a bunch of weight (which I needed to lose) and I am just feeling really good. I think its all connected for me- letting go and letting god and detachment is something that frees me in other ways, too. Its pretty beautiful.

I wish you luck but you know there are lots worse things than smoking cigs so try not to be too hard on yourself if you find that you just need to smoke again. I think its quite understandable with what we have been through. Just know that its all part of your path, it was part of mine- who knows it might be part of mine in the future, too! I could always take it up again, like I said I loved it. I dunno, I sometimes think we can be way too hard on ourselves about stuff like that.

PS: nicotene is one of THE most addictive substances on the face of the earth, btw- much more addictive than most other drugs/alcohol, etc. I worked for a public health lobbyist and read through all the stats & research, etc, and its the worst so its not just hard to quit because you think it might be- it really is extremely chemically addictive!!!!!

-- Edited by Jean4444 at 13:54, 2007-11-08

Jen · ~*Service Worker*~

Good for you CG. Try to be gentle with yourself. Just appologize to the kids if you gnaw on them a little. They will understand.

I quit 11 yrs ago on my third attempt. I know they say not to taper off, but I was down to just 1 or 2 cigs a day. The most important thing for me though seemed to be that I worked on myself for a year and a half convincing me how gross and unacceptable it was. I would very deliberately try to notice how dirty it smelled and how nasty my mouth tasted. Eventually I got to be unaccepting of how my hair and clothes stank, my breath was yuck and teeth were stained, throat hurt, coughing all the time. I really got to hating every aspect of it. I know some people really love it, the smell, the taste, but we can use the affirmation process to reprogram the way we think and, therefore, the way we feel about things. Anyway, it worked for me. I can honestly say that since I quit the last time, I can count on one hand how many times I've had cravings, and those were fleeting.

Good luck,

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.