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Ahoy! I really wanna stop.......

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Ahoy! I really wanna stop.......

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

Stopping smoking is still (as it ever was?!) on the agenda. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. A list of coping strategies for when a crave hit’s sound’s like a good idea.

Life is hectic and challenging and sometimes it seems that I’ll never have the time to sit down and really absorb all the information on this site. I don’t have internet and rely on internet cafes and I keep changing neighbourhood! It can be quite stressful and is not always ‘wind in the wilows’.

One of the issues I have anticipated being a challenge to my quit is my land (water?) lord, who can be part of my life almost daily; as he also lives on a boat and we cruise in tandem. I am worried his emphatic stressing of slowing down gradually rather than quitting entirely straight away will be discouraging and undermine what I think is the quit method for me which is abrupt cessation cold turkey. As much as I enjoy his company sometimes I think his qualifications as guide to substance dependence solutions are limited!

One of the foundations to my quit is going to be the ebook ‘Never Take Anothe Puff’ by Joel Spitzer. Which Ive downloaded onto disk but I need to buy a new battery for my laptop so i would be actually be able to read it! At the moment quit date is waiting for my life to stop being hampered by seemingly endless ‘to do’ lists. And as I am a bit all over the place at the moment - I work 6 or 7 day’s a week at two jobs and sometimes have to travel quite far to get home to frequently unknown bits of a large metropolis . And just staying warm and fed can be logistically daunting; chopping wood; charging the battery; emptying the toilet; filling up with water; cooking etc.

One of the other things that looms in my head as a challenge to staying away from the first puff is my preoccupation with trying to get a better job within one of the companies I work for. Although being smoker undermines any effort at self-advancement. Pressure on myself to negociate for a more satisfying position and perform in it are the thing that incite my head to be convicted that my old crutch is indispensable.

But ‘whatever it takes’ must be my attitude. Smoking cessation has to be in some sense my number one priority. Because ultimately anything that would threaten my quit is not worth dying for!

I haven’t quit yet . It looms as an ever present imperative (as it has ever since I started 15 years ago!). I expect to be able to make more time for reading and interacting on this website over the coming weeks.

Max

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 618

Nice to see you again Max!

Now that you are taking a little more time before you quit, have you started making lists of Coping Strategies......things you can do when a crave hits. Making lists of all the imagined/or real problems, which may rear their ugly heads, is useful at this stage, as you can refer to these lists when in the panic of a crave. There are lots of posts on these boards on the subject of how to cope.

It's good that you are visualising life as a non-smoker....it is great - the Freedom is amazing! But, as you say, getting to that stage is the fight. I imagined that I was in a battle with the Nicodemon, ie. my addiction, and I vowed that I would win. My mantra at the start of my quit was "Whatever it takes!" I did anything I needed to do to win my fight.

Good luck with your preparation.

Lolly.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 153

I can't add much more to all the great suggestions everybody has given ,other than the people on this website have been and continue to be a tremendous support to me. Every time I log on and read, I find a new morsel of wisdom. Congratulations on your decision and know that you are not alone.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

WOW! Lot's of feedback that's really encouraging. I am going to be mindfull of Lolly's warning of givings in to thoughts like " It's too hard!" or " Wait a bit, it's too soon!". But I am already thinking of moving my quit date into sometime next week. Just to give me a bit more time to prepare. I still have to go through all the milestones in the programme here, and there is some other literature I want to get hold of that I am expecting to reinforce what I already believe about smoking. That is that however hard it is to stop, whatever benefit's to smoking one might think there are - they are illusory - completely. And by comparison life as a non smoker is GREAT!. But it remains to be seen what tune I'll be whistling once my quit is underway - ha ha! I am not going to be using N.R.T. and am going to be relying on education and the solidarity of my new peer group - you guy's/girls. Anything I could say I would be expecting to make my quit harder (ie specifics of people/places/ things - I'll go into those a bit lator) are thing's infinitely more dificult to accomodate as a smoker! The stress of living in this repeated synapse of self destructive stupidity is unreal.

Good to hear from everyone

Max

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 618

Hello Max,

Welcome aboard the SSC. Do take your time getting to know us and doing the programme, but not too long. The feelings of dread can build up and the Nicodemon will be whispering in your ear saying things like, " It's too hard!" or " Wait a bit, it's too soon!"

"I really wanna stop." You have said that, now prepare yourself well. There are so many things you can do ahead of time. One thing though...if you REALLY want to do this, you will succeed. You must be determined that NOTHING will stop you from quitting.

Do ask us all for help, as we have been where you are going, and we know the road ahead. It's not an easy road, but it is possible to get to the end with hard work. I stopped after 40 years, and it's the best thing I did.

Stay Strong Max! Be determined!

Lolly.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hey Max!!!

Again, welcome!! Glad to see that you have started with the Program! Also, as Snice said, use the Tools, too... every little bit of knowledge you can gain will help you along the way. When you are able, read through some of the treads here on the Forums. There is a wealth of information here, too, along with all of the support one could ask for! Got a question, just ask or use the search function... it works well to find threads pertaining to many subjects!

I know what you are going through leading up to your quit date. Don't worry! Read and learn and start psyching yourself up for your final quit! I know that it can be! You just have to convince yourself that you want this more than anything else you have ever wanted before! Man, if I could do this after 37 years of those nasty cancer sticks, I KNOW that you can do this! All of those previous quits of yours were just practice rounds preparing your for this, your final quit! Positive Mental Attitude, buddy!!!

Jim

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11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 187

Hello max london, welcome to the site! I found this to be a wonderful program and the people here are great and very supportive. I found it helpful to imagine myself as a non-smoker as much as possible before I made the big leap to quitting (again.... ). I also found it helpful to go through the Ceridian program and post here often. There are some neat tools here such as your glove compartment where you can watch your quit days and life gained quickly add up. Best wishes, hope to see you around.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 816

Ahoy max london When you're truley sick of smoking throw the cigarettes over the starboard bow and be done with it. I can really understand what you're saying about the dread of quitting but if you truley want this you WILL succeed. I wanted to stop smoking more than anything else and am proud of the accomplisnment. At any rate I just wanted to stop in and offer you my support. Drinking plenty of ice water when a crave sets in I've found quite helpful. Excellent for you. breather

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11214

Living on a boat!? That sounds fantastic

Glad to hear you are thinking about setting a quit date. All your feelings are completely normal. Read the program and look through the support group - there is lots of information that will help to relieve the dread and prepare you. The more you learn the better.

So what has made you want to stop now?

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 16

Hi there. I am expecting it to take a while to get me head round the way this site and forums work. I'm really looking forwards to getting myself a crew of Quit-mates. I live on a canal-boat (hence all the nautical euphemism's!) and don't have consistently always have reliable access to the internet. But I am hoping to get into the middle of the S.S.C. bed....I haven't set a pledge yet. But I'm thinking of doing so for sometime over this coming weekend. Sometimes I can feel that old optimism about the life beyond smoking with a mix of excitement and dread.....I really really wanna stop!

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