This is a great preventative topic. In the beginning of my quit, boredom was a big factor, as was socializing. As my quit progressed, the cravings to smoke started to come during stressful situations. For the boredom, I started reading more novels. If you do not read books, during a quit is an excellent time to start. You do not associate reading with smoking, and a good book is a treasure. For the socializing, I made myself LEAVE THE SITUATION if the cravings were really getting to me, to the point where I know that if I stayed, I would make some kind of excuse to smoke or talk myself into the "just one" hoax. If that meant only staying at happy hour for 45 minutes instead of 2 hours, it was worth it to stay quit. If that meant NOT going to a party or get together at the neighborhood pub, so be it. I stayed home and watched a movie, took a bath, talked on the phone, posted on scc.
Now that my quit is further along, I can socialize with smokers and not want to smoke. I can handle the boredom effectively. It is stressful situations that attack my quit. I have a mantra. I take a deep breath and say "peaceful and free". I think that self talk really helps keep me from picking up that one smoke. As my quit evolved, different factors in life became the issue; so it was a changing thing. But, whatever the threat to our quits, we know that one smoke is not worth that fall back into slavery to nicotine. We can do this because, smoking is a choice...and we chose NOPE!
new me
My Milage:My Quit Date: 5/26/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 413
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 10,325
Amount Saved: $2,581.25
Life Gained:Days: 57
Hrs: 14
Mins: 52
Seconds: 24
