Get the Support You Need

Learn from thousands of users who have made their way through our courses. Need help getting started? Watch this short video.

today's top discussions:

logo

11 years and counting

Timbo637

2024-10-31 6:49 AM

Quit Smoking Community

logo

Feels like hell week all over!!

Timbo637

2024-10-30 9:38 AM

Quit Smoking Community

logo

Roller Coaster Withdrawal

Timbo637

2024-10-14 12:28 PM

Quit Smoking Community

logo

Smile....and don't shoot the messenger

Timbo637

2024-09-27 3:17 PM

Quit Smoking Community

This Month’s Leaders:

Most Supportive

Most Loved

Browse through 411.768 posts in 47.066 threads.

161,299 Members

Please welcome our newest members: Snootz, Poul Ilsøe, Trina J Kriya, SG1501, Clam123

Steps of Quitting?


17 years ago 0 591 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
anglecapp, You are on the Chantix...is this your first time to Quit? Usually Chantix makes it much easier than any of the other things out there or cold-turkey. Sorry u are having such a tough time. Begin facing your trigger/craves with the raw emotions you are feeling. Once you discover what the emotion is...and even more importantly what caused it....you will be able t deal with a new action now to deal with it instead of lighting up a mask (cigarett). Speak your mind...become who you should be! auntdeb ;) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 77 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,890 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $365.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 52 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37
17 years ago 0 948 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Thank you everyone for your help and advise. It helped tremendously. I believe you are all right, I need to change, my attitude, think of other ways to handle my anger and stop obsesses about smoking like I do 24/7. Thanks again. :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 18 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 465 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $90 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 17 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54
17 years ago 0 948 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Ok, so what are the steps that we go through when we quit? Over the weekend I was depressed and crying, today I am angry at everthing! Really hate this roller coaster right now! An hour from now I could be fine and later I could be angry again. I never know from one minute to the other anymore. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/1/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 18 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 463 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $90 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 41
17 years ago 0 2830 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Angelcapp, What you are going through is completely normal! I would say that the up-down-up-down roller coaster ride lasts for about a month, and can still happen for a while after that, but not nearly as bad. For me, the 1 month hurdle was the worst, and after that, it does start to get easier. Then, you will have little glimpses of freedom for a while. You will feel frustrated, angry and sad about not smoking one day and then the next day, not even crave once. Eventually, those "little glimpses of freedom" become the norm and the days where you are frustrated, angry and sad about not smoking are the rare bad days (we ALL have those bad days where we want to smoke, no matter how long we've been quit... it's just that for me, they happen like once every few months). Then, one day, you're like "WOW! I haven't craved a smoke in like a month!" And you realize that you're over it and that feeling is amazing! Honestly, for me, that took about a year and a half, but that doesn't mean that it will for you. I think I had an especially difficult quit and there are many reasons for that, not all my fault, but yet, it was extremely difficult for me and it may not (and probably won't be) as hard for you or take as long. I hope not anyway. I saw many people at like 6 months saying that they were completely over the cravings and were fine and never felt like they wanted to smoke, and when I was at 6 months, I wanted to smoke every single day!!! I felt really discouraged, like I was "doing this wrong" somehow, but the fact is that I think I appreciate my freedom perhaps more than those who didn't have it as hard because I went through HELL and made it through to the other side! And easy or hard, I don't think it really matters, as long as in the end, we are all quit. The good news is that even if you have a hard quit, you WILL get to a time when you do not crave. Period. I'm pretty much there, despite how hard it was for me to begin with. My advice to you is to just take it day by day and take it as it comes. I don't think there's a hard fast rule about how long certain periods will last or even what stages we go through, because while they may be similar, there are definitely things that some people go through that others do not. For insta
17 years ago 0 2436 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hello angelcapp - Spend some serious time reading and reading here on this site. All of the info you need, you will find... Go back to old posts also - you will learn so much about this journey - and what to expect... Though all quits are different - there is quite a bit we seem to also have in common. It can be a rough ride, BUT this is doable, one step at a time, so hang in there and stay close... Love and Light- Healer [url=[IMG]http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/healerwithin/bearhug.gif[/IMG]][IMG]http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/healerwithin/bearhug.gif[/IMG][/url] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/5/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 379 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 13,283 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1762.35 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 10 [B]Seconds:[/B] 33
17 years ago 0 682 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
angel, over the weekend did you think ALOT about your quit? Try working at learning how to change your mood. Mood is so a choice. With practice I was able to ease those cranky moods away and it really has been so much better/easier when I choose to be a happy quitter than a icky feeling wanna be!! You can do this! I know you can! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 1/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 53 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,071 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $218.36 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 5 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 32 [B]Seconds:[/B] 30
17 years ago 0 12049 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
angel, Here is something that has helped others: Afraid to turn into a bear when quitting? Maybe you've quit and it's already happened? Explosive, quick to anger over little things? Unexpected outbursts? You are not alone, but rather one of many. Typical of letters I receive on the subject, someone wrote me the following, prompted by the support email accompanying the on line Quitting Program at the left of the page: "It is a pleasant surprise to get a message from a company, and at a precious moment. The magic word was ANGER. I got so angry and profoundly sad when I stopped smoking. Unfortunately it (the quit) did not last too long... I had a miserable cigarette and another one and so on... I am not proud of it. So when I went to check my messages there you were like an angel on my screen... I am glad that you are there because I want and need to stop smoking before the end of the summer. I need to find a solution for the anger and the sadness. It was scary to realize how intense it was. If you have any tricks to share that could help I would gladly appreciate them. Thanks again!" What happens? People in recovery do have ups and downs, and sometimes more downs than ups unless they adopt new ways of coping, none of which happen overnight. We keep saying that quitting is a process. Anger may play an unexpected role for you in this process, and better coping skills need to be developed to deal with this also. When *many* smokers and dippers quit, they go through changes that require some unmasking. Take anger, for instance: As nicotine addicts, we might have swallowed our anger, or lit up/chewed rather than make a scene when something really irked us. It might have been easier and less stressful than engaging in confrontation about some problem. I'm confident that most smokers and dippers who were "put in their place" can remember exhaling the smoke slowly at some time or other to decompress. They puffed or chewed away for dear life rather than say their piece and end up getting fired from a much-needed job, to offer one example, or be in an in-law�s bad books forever, to name another. In such anger, a nicotine fix became the crutch, the comforter and the savior of sorts, and quite a coping mechanism! (Or so we thought

Reading this thread: