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today's top discussions:

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11 years and counting

Timbo637

2024-10-31 6:49 AM

Quit Smoking Community

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Feels like hell week all over!!

Timbo637

2024-10-30 9:38 AM

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Roller Coaster Withdrawal

Timbo637

2024-10-14 12:28 PM

Quit Smoking Community

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

Timbo637

2024-09-27 3:17 PM

Quit Smoking Community

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Advice Needed


13 years ago 0 331 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Yasir, this is an amazing place to be for support!  Congrats on your decision to quit and stay strong throughout this process.  Post as often as you like and make sure to read all of the old posts as they contain valuable information that may help you make this quit stick!  Don't focus too much on your last quit or your slip up....focus on what you learned and what you can do to make things easier for yourself this time around.  Wishing you much success on your quit!
14 years ago 0 23 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Thanks Alice.
 
Yea i am new to this site even though its not my first quit this year. Earlier in January I quit for 2 months before i started smoking again. And the worst part is that i started smoking for no reason. but this time i want to make sure that i dont commit this mistake again so that's y i have joined this place to get support from you ppl. Coz only an ex smoker can understand the situation of another ex smoker. 
 
I hope your Quit is going good too.  
 
Yasir 
14 years ago 0 150 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Yasir,
 
Thanks for the advice.  Welcome to the group!  I am assuming you are new here b/c this is the first time you have posted  How is your quit going so far?  Congrats on making it a week  You have survived hell week
 
keep the quit
 
~Alice
14 years ago 0 23 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
For me the best thing to do when i am getting stressed is to go for a jog. jogging, exercising, deep breathing, enjoying the beautiful scenery around u, these all reduce stress making your quit easy. u can take a trip somewhere which will keep u occupied and u wont even have time to think about ciggs.
 
Also focus on the good things that u have already achieved by quitting. this will keep u motivated and stromg. this is just a start. craving only lasts for 3 min. this craving will pass away with or without a cigg. our future, our destiny lies in our own hands.
 
You are doing a great job. keep it up.  
 
Yasir 
14 years ago 0 880 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Alice:
 
One other thing you might keep in mind.  The cravings have a beginning, an intense high point, followed by a slow but observable release.  You might want to try and see if this is not true for you.  Once you begin to realize that the cravings have a wave like form to them, it may make it easier for you to wait them out.  I got to the point of carrying around a stop watch with me, just so that I could see what I was experiencing in real time.  I found that the length of the craves where no where as long as my mind perceived them to be.  That knowledge gave me confidence to handle the next difficult time.
 
In any case, I think you are doing very well in deed.  You certainly have the desire to release yourself from the addiction and you are being very proactive.  These two things are essential.  We must remain physically, emotionally and spiritually in tune with our expressed desire to leave smoking behind.  You can do this...
 
 
stay well
 
 
nonic
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14 years ago 0 150 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Thanks for all the great (and much needed) advice.  It is always greatly appreciated.  I cannot say enough how much it helps.
 
cheers
Alice
14 years ago 0 206 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
You Go, Alice!!
You're doing great.  I hope you're keeping up with your rewards!
Nonic head the (coffin) nail on the head when he said it's just as important to be aware of what allowed us to poison ourselves so relentlessly, as well as of whatever healthy and positive replacements are effective.
 
I continue to battle weekends and "alone time," where the latent adolescent in me continues to this day to tell me that "no one will ever know" if I sneak just one.  Hello?  I will know, and this quit is all about me.
 
Yours is all about you.  Guard it well!!  You're beating that demon right into the ground!
 
peteg
14 years ago 0 880 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Alice:
 
You are doing all of the right things.  Do not for one moment begin to believe that your efforts are for not...Remember that you are working on a life change here.  This is a break from the past, a new beginning and a chance to make things better for today and onward.  These are big things and so the experiences that you have around this fundamental change are going to seem, well big...
 
Take a moment to begin to understand what you got from smoking.  Why did you feel the need to engage in this addiction?  What did smoking do for Alice, that she could not do for herself in less destructive ways.  Never forget that cessation is not about simply "not smoking", it is about doing the things in your life that allow you to accept cessation. 
 
I too ran, and ran and ran...And it helped me a great deal...I drank cold water until I could drink no more and I lifted weights all night long.  All of these things got me through and propelled me in a way that was positive and meaningful.  But I also recognized that there was something in me that caused me to engage in the destructive act of inhaling noxious fumes.  That thing is not always clear, but it is discernible...Only you know why you smoked, and you have the ability and the will to recognize it, even if that thing it is only faintly observed. 
 
Keep yourself moving forward, this journey holds a great many surprises...
 
 
stay well
 
 
nonic
 
 
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14 years ago 0 639 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
A quick stroll around the block and a glass of ice water or did the trick for me.....i also still find it helpful for a deep breathing breat at the sequence that would have been the smoke break...........The mind is a difficult thing to change....but you are well on your way!!!!

Keep the Quit,
 
Dave
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14 years ago 0 30 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
I also agree with deep breathing exercises. They really do help! I needed around 10 controlled slow deep breaths to calm me down after having (and still get after 3 weeks quit)  moments of severe anxiety do to craving and other factors from the process of kicking the habit of smoking.
 
Do you have rewards set up for yourself yet???
 
....some of my rewards were ones that actually calmed me down during my hyper moments, like for a example pizza and beer..!!! unhealthy yes....but often took my stress and anxiety levels way down to a levels that I could deal with.
 
-G

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