Hello
It's nice to find this Quit Smoking forum. I think it will be very useful to have a place to visit during the early quitting stages.
I smoked my last cigarette on New Year's Eve, and it actually felt quite exciting to make such a meaningful New Year's resolution.
My first attempts to quit were about 15 years ago, and I managed to quit for a few months, but then tried to be a "social smoker". Needless to say, it didn't work, and it has taken this long for me to brave another attempt.
However, I think I've learnt a few things from previous attempts, and I've tried to keep these thoughts firmly in my head during the first week. These are;
* I will never be a social smoker
* I'm not capable of limiting myself to one cigarette per day - that cigarette before bed. I've tried that before, and that never worked either!
* I can only give up smoking if I commit to never having "that one cigarette".
* Cravings are intense, but they do pass, often surprisingly quickly.
* Feelings of deprivation from not smoking often mask the fact that smoking was actually inconvenient, expensive, and compulsive rather than enjoyable.
* Deconstructing smoking, and focusing on its unpleasant qualities, is a huge psychological shift to make. A powerful observation I remember from a previous quit smoking course, was that we often associate cigarettes with very pleasant things, e.g. A nice cup of coffee, a nice meal, a relaxing environment, and so on. However, it is these other things which are actually the pleasant things, not the cigarette!
* People talk about quitting as being one of their greatest life achievements. This could be one of mine too!
Anyway, these messages to myself have helped to keep me smoke- free for nearly four days now, and I really need this to be my last quitting attempt. I've smoked for about thirty years, and I also started VERY young!
I really look forward to reading about other people's experiences on the site, and to perhaps share some war stories!
All the very best.
Kaitie
