Leaderboard

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min Hour Day as required!)

Welcome aboard, Layla! Read, read and read some more here....then take a look at some of the videos. There is a lot of knowledge here and it is good to go over it as it will be helpful with your quit. My motto when I first quit.....one day at a time! Deep breathing and drinking water was also key for me.

Hi Layla. Smoking does not help your PTSD and actually mostly likely makes it worse. So, you are going to have to "bite the bullet" and just quit smoking. The first month is a little difficult but you can do it. I smoked for 42 years and never thought I could quit. The support here is awesome and they will help guide you through. I promise not only will your health improve but you will become a much stronger person. Stay close to the forum, educate yourself and play some games. You can do this!!!

Thanks all. I'm doing much better today I hope all of you are too!!

Nope Nope

Fabulous job Steven! 3 weeks quit puts a lot of the really tough trials behind you. I like the way your rationalizing smoking as it relates to difficult personal times too. That's a very good sign that you will continue to be successful long term! After all, that's really part of what quitting is. Learning to rebuild our lives without hiding behind a smoke for every joyful and tearful moment we experience. Well done sir

Proud of you Steven .... You are doing something very positive .....amongst the sad times you have had ... You are strong my friend ...you can do this .... Your nearly at one month ....well done ....

This is great Steven. Three weeks down and one week from your first month. Congratulations, you deserve to reward yourself for these accomplishments. Wee done.

Nope!

Glad your doing better, remember nope!!!

Hi and welcome Layla... Takes time to look around and get familiar with the board ... A great place to start is on the Main Smoking Discussion Board ... We have great information there ...they are pinned with green .... You can do it ...

NOPE...

NOPE!!!!!!

NOPE!!

NOPE

NOPE!!!

NOPE!!!!!

NOPE

Hi, I’m new here...I would really like to quit smoking...I have been cutting down some, making myself resist the urge of having the cigarette. My struggle is that I have Complex PTSD, and I don’t drink or use any other substances, but the cigarettes have become a coping mechanism, albeit one that just makes me feel crappier ultimately. Anyway, I just figured I’d join the group to be inspired by you all and maybe for some encouraging words as well...great to meet you all :)

Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the encouraging words, tips and sharing your stories and what worked for each of you...it is very helpful. I agree that smoking is, in fact, making my condition worse in several ways: increasing my anxiety/depression Feeling like I am committing self-harm as I sometimes recoil towards the cigarette, despite craving it strongly, and force the puffs down anyway, feeling sickened and feeling the energy drain out of me with each puff Increasing feelings of social isolation which makes PTSD quite a bit worse I want to respect myself enough to stop smoking and to feel like I can trust myself to stop harming myself. I have been a smoker for 27 years minus the 4 years I quit between the ages of 23-27 (which was QUITE a while ago). I remember during the time I had quit feeling free, enjoying deep breathes of clean air, having much more energy and feeling physically stronger...a feeling I would love to have again! I am going to go get a box of patches tonight and start by trying to get through one day without smoking, so I can get a taste of that feeling of not self-destructing and taking deep breathes of clean air. From there I hope I can quit...I need to at least try...I realize that now. I will keep posting, & thank you...this community is amazing from everything I’ve been reading!

Welcome aboard, Layla. Quitting smoking may seem like a tough thing to do but it is definitely a great thing and worth any early struggles. Education about nicotine addiction and support from fellow quitters helped me in quitting for good. You can find plenty of support and knowledge at this site. Read up on nicotine addiction and feel free to reach out with questions or if you are struggling. We all have been where you are and quitting smoking is definitely doable. It is good to have you here.

NOPE

Welcome aboard Layla we're glad you joined. Quitting smoking is the best gift you can give yourself. I'm sorry about your PTSD, we have quite a few successful quitters who have struggled with mental issues and they have found that quitting has actually helped them, hopefully you'll find the same. At any rate cutting down never works, trust me! What you CAN start doing now is to quit smoking in the areas you're used to smoking in. This helps disassociate these areas with smoking so that after you quit you don't get gnarly craves by going into these areas. It worked great for me

Day 45 - NODE

Congratulations on 3 weeks smoke free, Steven. I'm sorry for all of the difficult things you have had to deal with but you had no control over that. You do have control over your quit and are doing great. Keep up the awesome work.

NOPE

NOPE!

Doing great Steven! Three weeks is awesome. California has sure had it share lately. So sorry for you losses. Stay focused on a life free of nicotine. You can do this!

Congratulations on your three weeks of quit. You are rocking it!!! Even through your hard times. So hang in there buddy and keep going forward

NOPE

Nope

Welcome to the site Layla. You`ve made a great choice to quit and reach out for support from others. It will be tough but we have all been through this and believe in yourself and you will find your way to quit. None of us had any special gift except we finally had enough. Stay close to the board and reach out if you need. Lots of fine people here to help. Best wishes and hope to see you around.

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOPE

NOPE!

Linda, I think one of the keys to quitting is redirecting those thoughts. When the urge would strike, I would close my eyes and breath deep; picturing the clean air filling my lungs. Another thing I did was truly look at people standing outside smoking. Look at their demeanor, and how sad they look. Think what life would be without that addiction. Learn to focus on the good it will bring you not on the urge!! I loved the people on this forum. I couldn't believe how fun they were and how they made me feel important. Stay close and play some games. YOU CAN DO THIS.

NOPEY NOPE!!! Despite many cues and triggers today. Its getting easier. At least for now it is. Just for today.

You keeping your mind busy Linda ??? Try taking up a new hobby ...we have had folks learn to paint ,knit .ect... Is there something you fancy learning ... Jillar also mentioned our games section ...could always use another chick in the counting game ... Don't have too much time on your hands .... I learned QI Gong .. check it out on You Tube ...great way to calm the mind ...

Aside from dealing with the fires ( I'm from California, too.) and some deaths of some friends, I am dealing with the withdrawals better than I thought I would. Last week was also the one year anniversary of my girlfriend Katherine passing away from lung cancer. I just keep telling myself that one won't be one and I can get through this. I want to keep my quit. I'm glad you folks are around for the support. It means a lot to me. ❤

@Linda, Some days just won't make a difference early on but between all of us there are a lot of great ideas to get past those days. did you try the air cigarette with your licorice sticks or a cut straw or my invisible JAC? Have you tried distracting your brain from the constant thoughts by maybe checking out our social section, playing games? Looking at the cute cat, dog, bunny, goat and pig threads?

Linda ...you need to be patient .... Your body has Alot of healing to do ....you,ve abused it with poison,s for a long time ...Decades.... Don't over think .... Just take it one day at a time ...it will get better ....and the rate it gets better differs to each person .... This is why we call it a journey ....not a race ....keep going ...

@Linda, just curious if you have spent some time learning about nicotine addiction. That is something that really helped me. I'm assuming that you are still using the nicotine patches. The patches should help you with the phyical withdrawal symptoms but you still need to work on the mental aspects of quitting. This is where education comes into play. If you don't educate yourself, you'll likely feel like you're really missing out on something by not smoking. This is not the case at all and educating yourself on nicotine addiction will help you to see this which will make sticking to your quit easier.

Good for you Steven! Sorry for all of the difficult and sad things that you are going through. You have something very positive though...your quit. Keep it going...you'll be glad that you did.

Three weeks is fantastic Steven, congratulations! Quitting is the best gift you could give yourself and an honor to your girlfriends memory. I'm glad it wasn't as hard as you thought it would be. And you're right, you can get through this, heck you already are

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope!!!!!

NOPE....

NOPE!!!!!!

NOPE