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I will quit


13 years ago 0 206 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hey RS -- How's it going??
Weekend is over, Monday came back around, and enquiring minds want to know:  how's your head these days??
 
Me, I just got back from the trip from "heck," which should have been an incredible blast:  a couple of days in a new stadium, hanging out in the press box and watching them film some kind of Captain Morgan commercial on the football field.  But it was actually a crummy trip, lots of drama swirling around me,and while the work was pretty good, the non-work stuff wasn't.
 
Got back to the office this morning and all "heck" had broken loose on a couple of fronts.  Crummy day at work.
Couldn't get to the gym because I had too many other errands to run; when I got home, spouse was in a foul mood because of HER day, so there it is.
 
Ever see Rosanne Roseanna Danna on old SNL re-runs?  (I know you're WAY too young ever to have seen her!!)  She'd end every monologue with the phrase, "It's always something."
 
And RS, is it ever!
If you're having a great time, a smoke will make it even better!
If you're having a terrible day, a smoke will smooth things out a bit.
Life was so much better before I quit.
 
Wrong on all counts, and we all know it, but sometimes we have a hard time remembering it, huh?  Me, I am so glad NOT to be adding the stress, guilt, and complication of smoking back into my life.  Who knew that being so uncomplicated could be so freeing???
 
Stuff will always be happening.... the joy of not smoking really keeps those mild irritations from turning into major battles.
 
Sorry to run on... I've missed everybody a lot.
 
peteg
13 years ago 0 377 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
RS,
Listen to all the people before me..
1) Reset your meter "WHEN YOU ARE REALLY READY TO QUIT FOR GOOD".
2) Read the program until you are satisfied that you understand what it takes to really be done with smoking.
3) Come here for support as a non smoker so we can help you to not slip.
4) Get the Alan Carr book, The easy way to quit smoking, it will teach you to understand you are an addicted smoker whether you smoke 3 packs a day or have one cigarette in a week.  NOPE is the only option for 99.9% of people out there...
 
We are all here for you when you are ready, but it has to be a 100% commitment.  
We are rooting for you when you are ready... R 
13 years ago 0 1073 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
RS,
 
I think you're making this even harder on yourself.  Every time you smoke a little, you're giving your addiction hope, just stringing it along.   Feeding it just enough to keep you in a constant state of withdrawal.
 
Because, really, there is only one way to quit... don't light the next one.
 
Figure out what is is that causes you to slip and find another way to satisfy the urge, or to distract you from it.  You're getting the nicotine from your NRT, so what you're left with is the habit.  Alice is so right.  An emergency kit filled with thinkgs to keep your hands, mouth and/or mind busy is great. 
 
~lbugg
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13 years ago 0 3307 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Oh boy, I have been in your spot so many times .  I hope this week-end you can pull it together and starting next week work won't be so bad.  Alice gave you some wonderful ideas, try them.  Quitting smoking is the hardest thing that I have ever done.  Know this when they say N.O.P.E., not one puff ever, that is exactly what it means.  There have been many times that I thought I could have just one puff or just 1/2 of a cig, or just one cig or just one pack, or just one carton.......get the picture???  I know exactly what I was doing when I smoked.  I told myself no one needs to know blah blah blah and so on.  The sad truth is I KNEW .  Reflect this week-end and recommit and join us on our journey to freedom.
 
Keep the Quit
Sparky
13 years ago 0 150 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0

Rollingstone,

 

 

I think it’s great that you have a weekend with non-smokers coming up and that you are already planning on how you will deal with the upcoming work week.  It’s great to start thinking about a plan.  I identified the University as a weak place for me.  I would always have a smoke after reading something intense or working on a tough paper.  So I made an emergency pack that I take to University every day.  I have a lunch kit filled with carrot sticks, almonds, an apple, a water bottle, and enough money to treat myself to a coffee on a break.  I also put a crossword puzzle in or Sudoku puzzle, a novel and a journal.  These provide great distractions when the cravings get really tough.  When I go to school, I take regular breaks outside.  I realize that I enjoyed the smoke not so much for the smoke but for the time outdoors. 

 

 

I must say, however, that you seem to be in a tough situation.  You are in limbo between quitting and not-quitting.  I think that this is a much tougher place to be in than being a smoker or being a non-smoker.  You can do this.  Think about all the reasons you want to quit. 
 
~Alice

 

 

13 years ago 0 653 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hey Rollingstone,
 
Sorry to hear of your set-back but don't make that your focus!! Sounds like you have a plan for the weekend- good strategy. Be proud of yoursel for that! Don't get bogged down by one slip- I'm thinking you won't do that again soon based on your feedback of the experience. So, you tell us- what are you going to do on Tuesday?? How about re-visiting your goals and the reasons you want to quit...?
 
Has anyone else ever had a set-back??!!  We could use some wisdom and words of encouragement here!
 
 
 
 
 
Tiana, Health Educator
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13 years ago 0 14 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Day twelve.
I'm at work and I just had a cigarette. The buzz feels awful and the taste was rank.  The cause: I've planned an evening of fun for tonight and I'm just really tired of being at work. I decided earlier that I was too ashamed to bum a smoke from anybody today but that is obviously not true. This weekend I will be with only non-smokers so I will have a couple days to get clean again but I don't know what I will do once I resume working again on tuesday.
 
rollingstone 
13 years ago 0 14 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Day ten.
Sorry guys, I do not have the patience to reflect on the great encouragement that I have received since my last post. I'm having a really sh**y week. Nothing especially nasty has happened but I'm just really depressed lately. I had a slip yesterday at work but I've moved past it and am still committed to non-smokerdom. Thank you all for being here.
 
rollingstone
13 years ago 0 206 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hey RS, I'm almost jealous of you!  Tell me the slip sucked.  PLEASE.
Good for you, and WAY good for all the way cool SSC folks here are encouraging you to get back into the saddle.
 
Dude, for me, the slips are always about one-time excuses, and God help me, I've managed to avoid them so far this time around.  Maybe it would help if you looked at your temptations as "one-time only" or as "F-it; I'm done with this quit?"
 
Me, I'm too much of a wimp to do either any more, but that's just me.  I can't look twice at anything that even LOOKS like a temptation.  I'm so a Not One Puff Ever (NOPE) guy.  That one puff will kill me, which is okay with me (truth be known), but I have kids and grandkids and, believe it or not, friends and professional colleagues, who might be kind of teed off if I choose death by smoking.  I have commitments to all of those folks.  Kinda weird, huh?
 
Sometimes the bigger picture can be helpful.  The quit is all about you, but the bigger picture, with all due respect, is so not.  That's why we HAVE to take charge of the quit; to make everything else fall into place for the people who are relying on us to be there for them.
 
Maybe another way to put it is that we are accountable for our own quits, but our quits make us accountable to the people in our orbits in ways we can neither ask nor imagine.  When we're done with our selfish, all-about-me quit stuff, the people we love, work with, and live with will rightly ask, "Are you back?"
 
Are you back, Dude, or maybe not just yet?
 
Me, I need to be back now, and all the time, for good.  No excuses.
 
peteg
13 years ago 0 880 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
rollingstone
 
Good for you.  It happens but it does not have to happen again.  This is a rather potent addiction and finding the right way of going about can be fraught with difficulty. Perhaps it might be constructive to review the events that surrounded this experience.  It may be wise for you to avoid these things for a time while you build your strength.  Cessation for me has been not so much about "not smoking". It has been more about about finding a way to accept cessation. Once you find your way (this is a very personal journey after all), you will begin to gain the confidence to not look back. 
 
 
stay well
 
 
nonic
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