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New here, attempt to quit smoking again....day 3

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 58

Hiya Kim

Just been reading your post and the responses you have received and I am hoping that you are doing well ... this is an entirely selfish hope because your feelings are so similiar to my own ... panic!!

I have not yet quit ... well I DID quit ... and then I lost it ... okay ... I din't so much lose it, more like I threw it away!! and I have been back on the cigs for another year and I have to admit that those first two or three smokes that I had following my last quit were SO good .... but the thousands that have followed have been hellish and I am gutted that I allowed myself to be pulled back in ... yes, there was always a low level sense of panic but when I concentrated on the 5 minute technique I always managed to quieten the panic ... but ... I started to look to far ahead, I started to imagine never being able to have another cigarette and the panic overwhelmed me ... and then my old friend beckoned me ... whispering all the false promises that I wanted to hear ... and in fear I rushed straight back into the strangle hold. Now that my old friend has me back - the grip is tighter than ever and my friend is now continuing to quietly and slowly suffocate me. This time around I am finding even the idea of quitting again a most terrifying prospect ... but I am still here, logging in and lurking ... feeling a lot like a prisoner on death row gazing out of the bars on the window into the sunshine and open fields ...

I do hope that you are fighting on ... because I do NOT want a cell mate. Good Luck ... I shall keen a wee eye out for your posts ... let me know how things are working out for you. xx Lil xx

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 1/14/2010
Smoke-Free Days: -7
Cigarettes Not Smoked: -105
Amount Saved: �-30.98
Life Gained:
Days: 0 Hrs: 0 Mins: 0 Seconds: -49037

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 3875

Hey Kim, I had trouble when I was in my car as well. I used drinking straws, cut to the size of a cigarette or try a coffee straw or stir stick. You can suck on it or just hold it in your hand, as it resembles the size of a cigarette. It fools your brain. It totally works, and whatever works is fine with me! You are doing great, keep it up!

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1038
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 25,950
Amount Saved: $10,950.90
Life Gained:
Days: 142 Hrs: 23 Mins: 22 Seconds: 44

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

"Can someone help explain the panic you feel when you try to tell yourself that you're not going to have a cigarette ever again?"

Well, I can't succinctly explain it, but I can tell you the same thing someone told me 23 years ago when I first went into another recovery program and I was worried about the 8th Step. (Mind you, everyone starts on Step One.) Someone wisely told me that I didn't have to worry about the 8th Step, that it would take care of itself if I just concentrated on understanding my addiction for now and giving up my behavior. Here we are 23 years later.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 250
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 7,000
Amount Saved: $2,712.50
Life Gained:
Days: 28 Hrs: 4 Mins: 11 Seconds: 25

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 579

Hi Kim,

I remember the panic that you mention very well! Rather than thinking about never smoking again, try to concentrate on the next 5 minutes. Anyone can go without smoking for 5 minutes, right? Most times, your craving will have gone after this time.

Also, just concentrate on today...everyday that you get up....say to yourself "I commit to not smoking today." Promise yourself as you look in the mirror. Doing one day at a time seems to reduce the panic and make it more achievable. Those single days add up...and further along the line in your quit, you will be celebrating and the panic will have gone.

Welcome to the site and getting half way through "Hell Week."

Lizzie

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 4/23/2003
Smoke-Free Days: 2448
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 36,720
Amount Saved: �9,180.00
Life Gained:
Days: 267 Hrs: 2 Mins: 29 Seconds: 52

Quit Meter

$8,877.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 785 Hours: 10

Minutes: 9 Seconds: 6

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5918

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

35,508

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2606

I really like your analogy Todash!

Have a good smoke-free week at work Kim! Looking forward your update! As you are getting back into the routine you can integrate being smoke-free into the mix!

N.O.P.E!

Samantha, Health Educator

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 251

Congratulations
You are definitely on your way with this quit. Keeping busy at all times helped me alot too. As for snippy... once you tell people - and kidds - that it is a very difficult process and you need their support, I bet they will understand.

Keep the quit

Cristina

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 10/5/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 91
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 3,185
Amount Saved: $414.05
Life Gained:
Days: 8 Hrs: 16 Mins: 2 Seconds: 37

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2

Thank you all so much for the supportive posts. I've read them all and plan on using some of the tips/tricks. This morning is difficult. I'm a little snippy with the kids, but we've had a week off and getting back into routine again is difficult for all of us.

I've packed extra patches, gum and lots of water in my bag. Also have my good smelling stuff in my purse (Eucalyptus Spearmint from Bath n Body Works is to die for). Just need to get over the hurdle of getting in my car.

I have plenty to do at work instead of going outside and lighting up. I'll probably be surprised at how much extra time I have when not going outside.

Again, I wanted to thank all of you for your support. I'll be back later on tonight to give an update :)

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 3
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 90
Amount Saved: $29.25
Life Gained:
Days: 0 Hrs: 6 Mins: 20 Seconds: 28

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 984

Welcome to the SSC Kim. Here's wishing you well on your first day back at work.

Great advice as usual from the guys here. My own take on the panic reaction is this: If you were ever dumped by a boyfriend as a teenager, felt like the world would surely end without him, listened to sad songs on the radio, cried a lot, then you've felt the same feeling before.

The good bit is, just like the boyfriend got old, grey and fat and married a nasty cow that henpecks him to this day, you'll one day wonder what all the fuss was about the cigarettes.

Good riddance, I say. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

x T

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1099
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 25,277
Amount Saved: �6,951.18
Life Gained:
Days: 98 Hrs: 1 Mins: 6 Seconds: 49

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Kim:

All good stuff here...Kiwi laid it our very well...All of the points made are well founded. We are addicted, but we can break the addiction once we realize that it is a cycle. As you know nicotine has a half life in the body...It slowly leaves the body and the closer it gets to being totally eliminated the louder our internal alarm rings to tell us to GET MORE NOW...And that is when we light up and refill our nicotine tank...And all is well again UNTIL the nicotine needle indicates LOW and the internal alarm says GET MORE NOW...On and on it goes...

For me (and this may not apply to you) there are two layers to withdrawal. The first is the physical withdrawal as indicated above. The second part is more personal. We have each established a relationship to smoking. It has given us something. When you come to this part of quitting, you may need to find out what that relationship is all about. I had to figure out what I was getting from cigarettes. Trust me on this one "Nobody likes to smoke"...What we like is what it gives us or should I say what we get from it...Your panic may be based on this...

There is a part of you that knows why you smoke, and also is aware of exactly what you are getting from the relationship. That is where your panic is coming from. The part of you that knows why you smoke is scared to death that it won't be able to function once the you decide that cessation is the right path for you.

It sounds a bit like hokus pokus, but it is very real. Read as much as you can here. You will find that there are certain posts that will resonate with you. Pay attention to those, they may have been written by someone whose quit is similar to your own.

Come here often, I would not have been able to quit had it not been for this site. It won't quit for you but it will give you the information and insight you will need to beat this addiction...

stay well

nonic

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 12/25/2006
Smoke-Free Days: 1105
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 33,150
Amount Saved: $11,602.50
Life Gained:
Days: 216 Hrs: 7 Mins: 41 Seconds: 6

Quit Meter

$66,717.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1376 Hours: 15

Minutes: 53 Seconds: 39

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6354

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

190,620

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 433

Great bullet points Kiwi!

Especially second from the last. lol.

I drank green tea the first week.

Carnage averted.

Best,

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 4/1/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 642
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 15,408
Amount Saved: $3,697.92
Life Gained:
Days: 85 Hrs: 0 Mins: 19 Seconds: 34

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New here, attempt to quit smoking again....day 3