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Quit smoking-take two

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

Hi everyone,

First, I want to say ``Thank you`` to todash, Jim, leelaknight. and memie for all the support and encouragement. It feels great to know there are people out there supporting me, and who have gone through this, and succeeded!!! I will definetly stick close, the love and support from this group is unbelievable!!!

Todash-You are absolutely right, the cigarette just added to my irritation, because I was upset with myself for not being strong enough, and falling back on my old crutch. But I tell myself that I will learn from my past mistakes, and use those lessons to succeed this time.

And Lainey, you`re right, there is nothing wrong with feeling emotions...it`s just that I am a fairly positive person, always smiling, and I felt during those three months not smoking that I was drowning in a sea of negativity-I couldn`t even force a smile. Which is something I had a hard time with, I felt I was becoming a different person, and it scared me. It;s ironic because I was happy to not be smoking-in truth I get no pleasure from cigarettes, of course there are those that are better than others (like after a big meal), but really I felt smoking was gross, it stinks,and I`ve seen first hand the damage it does on the body and on the wallet!

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 4/8/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 1
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 15
Amount Saved: $5.70
Life Gained:
Days: 0 Hrs: 3 Mins: 10 Seconds: 28

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 3875

Hi Hotgal! In answer to your question, yes, it does get better, every single day. And yes you will be emotional, that is part of quitting. We all used cigarettes to cover up emotions, to numb us, because that is what cigarettes do best, numb emotion and try to kill us. There is nothing wrong with feeling our emotions, we just had to learn how to do it again, without smokes.
You have a great attitude, and you already know you can do it, because you did it before, and you can do it again.

This time, close the door behind you and never look back! Smoking is NOT an option! So you have to do something else.

Allen Carr's book is a great start. Also, read all the threads you can here, there is a ton of helpful info here to help you.

Smokers are addicted to nicotine! Once you realize that you are an addict, it will help you in your quest to be free of nicotine. There is only one way to break an addiction, and that is to STOP!

Rearranging your surroundings where you used to smoke, helps tremendously, as does changing your routine a bit.

Get a quit kit together Hotgal, candy, gum, cold water, licorice, straws, things to keep your hands busy. Go through the program here if you haven't already, there are deep breathing excerises and a wealth of info to help you do this.

Congratulations on quitting! You are on your way to a new life and a fantastic freedom is waiting for you!

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1131
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 28,275
Amount Saved: $11,932.05
Life Gained:
Days: 155 Hrs: 18 Mins: 12 Seconds: 59

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 242

Hello Hotgal,

Congratulations, and Welcome to SSC you will love the support you get from this site. Best of luck on your quit.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/25/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 73
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 730
Amount Saved: $292.00
Life Gained:
Days: 9 Hrs: 0 Mins: 30 Seconds: 8

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 98

fantastic advice!!! todash, really good...stick with us hotgal... i work in fashion and keep telling myself it's so not in style to smoke.

and me like you, my dad smokes...luckily nothing yet, but i am just waiting everyday, it's painful. i do hope the best for your mom

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 3/12/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 27
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 675
Amount Saved: $337.50
Life Gained:
Days: 2 Hrs: 4 Mins: 11 Seconds: 36

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hey Hotgal!!!

Welcome to the SSC!!! You have gotten some great advice so far from your new quit buddies! It sounds like you have a Positive Mental Attitude going into this quit, which to me is one of the keys to success on this journey. Next is the planning. You've heard of the 6-P's haven't you? Proper Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance! It looks like you have done some great planning, so it looks like you are on track for a great journey!

Read and learn and then read some more!! If you have any specific questions, the search function works really well and will take you to some great threads! I also used this place as a distraction to keep me from smoking! You will find that you will need many distractions to help keep your mind off the smokes!

You can do this, and yes, we are all rooting for you!!! Stick close these first few weeks... it will definitely help!

Jim

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 764
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 19,100
Amount Saved: $3,151.50
Life Gained:
Days: 131 Hrs: 15 Mins: 34 Seconds: 37

Quit Meter

$44,265.00

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1059 Hours: 8

Minutes: 13 Seconds: 28

Life Gained
Quit Meter

5902

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

177,060

Cigarettes Not Smoked

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 984

Oops, meant to say 'you can't get there WITH the smokes'...

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1193
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 27,439
Amount Saved: �7,545.73
Life Gained:
Days: 106 Hrs: 11 Mins: 20 Seconds: 4

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 984

Welcome to the SSC, HG.

That Allen Carr book was the first step I took towards my quit (didn't quit for ages afterwards but it got me thinking and that was the important thing).

I've had a battle with emotions and it's emotions that have shaped every aspect of my quit and my healing process. I'm like a walking psychotherapy session these days, but without the smokes this all gets easier every single day, til you wonder what on earth all the fuss was about. But you can't get there without the smokes. So I tuned straight into what you said:

It was my emotions that got the best of me, I was feeling irritated and down, and I started to have a smoke here and there, and next thing you know, I'm buying packs again.

If you haven't done already, now it's time to ask yourself...

...Did smoking make you less irritated or simply feed the nagging voice that says nothing else but 'I want'?

...In all honesty, didn't smoking that first cigarette after a long quit make you more irritated because you caved in to the addiction?

...Just how long did the smoke pick you up from feeling down? Five seconds? Twenty? Then you reverted straight into that irritation I suspect...

...Can you identify the specific situations which you've labeled 'here' and 'there'? Why did they push you into smoking that one and another and then lead you into the shop to buy another pack?

...Didn't you go back to feeling irritated every time you lit up?

Oh I'm sure the answer to the last is yes. But you are irritated enough to be here and that's HUGE.

Look, your tag is hotgal and your photo doesn't lie, you are indeed an attractive woman. But put the smoke in your hand and you go from 'hot' to 'not' in the blink of an eye.

You can do this. Be strong, dig deep and DO IT. You've got folks rooting for you!

x T

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2007
Smoke-Free Days: 1193
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 27,439
Amount Saved: �7,545.73
Life Gained:
Days: 106 Hrs: 11 Mins: 19 Seconds: 59

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for your support, I also am using patches (as I did last time), but I am reading the book as additional support. I figure, I may as well use as many tools as possible to help me succeed along my journey!

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 4/8/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 0
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 0
Amount Saved: $0.00
Life Gained:
Days: 0 Hrs: 1 Mins: 1 Seconds: 27

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1080

Welcome Hotgal- sounds to me like you've got the right motivation to keep this quit, and its a very similar one to my own. I too was tired of being enslaved to the habit. My whole life revolved around where smoking fitted in, like booking hotel rooms, flights, concerts etc, all had to be able to accomodate my habit and we all know that it is not always possible.

So, believe me when I tell you the freedom is priceless! I know you experienced this when you quit in October, but I feel sure you can turn this around and make this time a success.

I read Allan Carr's book too, and although I didn't use it as my main quit aid, it certainly was thought provoking and really made me analyze my habit ( and myself too!!)

I myself used patches, but all of us here at SSC agree whatever gets you to your goal is good.

I wish you all the very best and I am so excited to share your quit journey with you.

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 5/10/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 698
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 17,450
Amount Saved: $10,470.00
Life Gained:
Days: 85 Hrs: 5 Mins: 19 Seconds: 31

14 years ago 0 +0 / -0 5

This group is great!!! Only an hour online, and I've had so much great advice!!! Thank you so much!!!

Ashely, the vision board sounds like a fantastic idea-I'm going to start working on it right away-thank you!

Brenda-Thanks for the quit kit idea-sounds like a sure way to get through those cravings!

And congratulations on your 342 days of being smoke free!! That's great!!! So tell me, does it get any easier? The last quit, I found that even after 12 weeks, I was still thinking about cigarettes. I also found it so hard to deal with my emotions. I realize that I was using cigarettes as a way to numb myself, but I have no idea how to deal with the intense emotions I'm feeling

My Mileage:

My Quit Date: 4/8/2010
Smoke-Free Days: 0
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 0
Amount Saved: $0.00
Life Gained:
Days: 0 Hrs: 0 Mins: 57 Seconds: 28

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Quit smoking-take two