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12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 187

Hi Working on it. Thanks for asking how I'm making out. It's getting a little easier every day, I actually went to a movie last night and didn't think about a smoke even once! I can't wait until I experience more long stretches of time without thinking about it. Thank you everyone for your support. Day 24 today!

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1140

Hey snice,

I just re-read your original post on this thread. Have the little "just one" voices quieted down at all for you?

Even if they haven't settled down yet, I want to reassure you that they will. From what other former smokers tell me, the "just one" voice might never totally die, but it will fade significantly and go away for long periods of time.

My internal addict has quieted a great deal since I quit. I had two thought about cigarettes yesterday, and they came and went quickly. They didn't even escalate to the level of realistically contemplating a cigarette. From what I read here and from what I have experienced, each crave is an opportunity to say "no," and that makes makes the craves a little weaker and less frequent each time.

I kind of visualize my inner addict as a nagging/ pestering child who will test authority until she realizes that the adult really means "no." Since she's been reinforced for that nagging/ pestering behavior with cigarettes for years, she may need to be told "no" quite a bit before she finally gets a grip on this reality. She might even come back for another try after being quiet for a while. And the answer will still be "no."

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12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1853

Great words of advice!! Thanks Lolly

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 618

Dear Snice,

There is a huge amount of advice here on this thread.....let's hope it helps you. Just remember that each quit is unique to each person. That is why it is so good to read as much as you can here on the boards, as some little nugget may spur you on to succeed.

I know exactly what it is like with 'the voices' I had one 'person'...the Nicodemon...on one shoulder and my... 'Guardian Angel'... on the other. The arguments between the two went on all the time 'till it nearly drove me mad!

You have done really well getting to 15 days! Now get to 16, then 17...one day at a time. I'm afraid to say that quitting is not a fast process. You have years of habit cigarettes, psychological dependence, and physical addiction to overcome. Actually, the physical withdrawal is usually the one which is over first, though it seems to you it is not. The other factors work away in your mind. It is your body's way of trying to get it's kick from nicotine...it's reward...which you delivered each time you had a cigarette.

I did succeed in my quit as did hundreds who used this site. We all probably had different times before we could say that we did not think of a cigarette all the time. Mine was around 3 months, when I realised that I could live my life without smoking, and I wrote my letter of farewell to cigarettes. It's coping mechanisms you need to rid yourself of those thoughts....distract yourself as soon as the Nicodemon whispers in your ear. Allow that other (good) voice to win. Ultimately you will be glad you did.

Try not to have a timetable of expectation in your head e.g. "At so many days I will feel like such and such." That just adds to the psychological problems. Just deal with it all from moment to moment. It is impossible - as you said - to have 'just one'. You will reawaken the addiction if you do. I once stood crying for about half an hour with a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the other knowing that if I lit up, my quit would be over as it had been many times before.

Do visit the boards here as often as you can; look up old posts; keep getting inspiration from oldies. Above all realise that it can be done!

Stay strong, and remember to do whatever it takes! Just don't smoke!

Love Lolly.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 187

Thank you for taking the time to give some great advice working on it. I keep telling myself that it will be impossible to have just one, kinda like Lays potato chips. lol

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1140

I know the answer I'v given to myself. I'll try to summarize it for you the best I can:

"The first cigarette will not give me the feeling I am seeking. I know this from my understanding of the nicotine addiction.

In the past, when I had nicotine in my system, "just one" cigarette was taken at a time in order to maintain a certain level of nicotine in my system. That would be my maintenance or "nicotine normal" level. When nicotine levels dropped, I needed to re-fuel, just one cigarette at a time.

Now that i have no more nicotine in my system, there is no need to re-fuel/ adjust nicotine levels back to "normal." The drug is out of my system. Therefore, any craving I'm having is purely behavioral/ psychological. There is no physical need for nicotine. (I can also emphasize this point with myself by thinking about taking a nicotine lozenge instead. When I think about doing that, it doesn't have the same allure as a cigarette. Hmmm. So this must be more about behavioral associations than real physical cravings, right?)

There is, however, a critical point to remember: The minute I take a puff from a cigarette or a suck off a lozenge, my physical addiction is then re-activated.

Not only that, but the first puff or suck will not be satisfying. Why is that? Because there is no physical withdrawal to relieve. My "satisfaction" in the past was a sense of relief from physical withdrawal. Taking a puff in a non-addicted state relieves nothing. Instead, I will cough and get a head-rush. Only later, when the nicotine level from that one cigarette starts to drop off, will it be possible to get the sense of "aaah" from a cigarette. At that point, I am re-igniting the addiction and relieving its pangs "just one" cigarette at a time....to the tune of about 20 per day.

So it's really not about "just one." It's about the next one. And the next. And the next.

So why not save yourself some trouble and skip it altogether? "

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12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11226

Hi Snice,

You have received some great advice already. It is true, stick with NOPE; Not, One, Puff, Ever.

Feeling like a small peice of you has died is actually pretty common. For many people they have to mourn the loss of smoking almost like you would mourn the loss of a bad relationship. Even though you know it's bad for you the thought of being alone can be hard. Smoking was there for you for a long time and now it's not. That can certainly be sad. How can you mourn this loss? Some people write a letter to the Nicodemon, some people perform a sort of ceremony, some people talk about it. Do what works for you. Mourning the loss is a part of the process. It is ok to feel sad now. It will pass.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 187

Breather, thank you very much for the advice, I think I needed that. Bill, thanks so much for your blunt reply. It is very much what I needed to hear! And my father is constantly telling me the same. (He's going on 12 years) I know if I have "just one" that will be the end of it. I just wanted to know if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Right now I feel as if a piece of me has died, how silly is that. I'm hoping this will pass in time.

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 792

Hi snice, We are all very fortunate to have Breather here and I think you know what i'm talking about. As for me let me give you my experience with "just one" because I know it well.

I smoked "just one" every 30 minutes for 37 years. So if your up for that , go ahead and have "just one".

Sincerely, your friend.

Bill

12 years ago 0 +0 / -0 816

Hello snice , darn good question you're asking ! I think there are as many different answers as there are different people. Some people say that they stopped smoking and never looked back , others like myself took a long time to get over it. Other than the customary hell and heck weeks I found the six week mark to be particularly trying. There seems to be general concensus that the six week is particularly stressfull for some reason whether we're just tired of fighting it or starting to get a little complacent it can be a dangerous time. To be honest it took me a good year or two to stop thinking about it constantly. When something is your life it's hard to change. I used to have a lit cigarette in my mouth before my feet hit the floor in the morning and had to getup in the middle of the night for no other reason but to smoke. That was then and this is now. Of course it's tough snice but you'll just have to be tougher. Becoming a non smoker is about building a new life. It's a series of firsts , first summer , first birthday , Christmas , New Year , etc. The days go by and so will the years. You're building self esteem and showing yourself that you really can do this. I can only tell you that the hole in me that I thought needed to be filled with smoke was a fantasy created by me and for me and the committee is now quiet. You've done fantastic to make it through the past two weeks so keep it going one moment , minute , hour and day at a time. Use positives to conteract the negative addict that will suck the life out of you. Tell yourself that no matter what happens today that I won't smoke. Break the chains that bind you and be a slave no more. You're proving to yourself daily that you can do this. Excellent for you. breather

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