Still winning

Hi Carly, Hopefully you will pop back before Monday. If you do you could maybe get some ground work in, or start early ;) Whatever feels right for you. Make a list of all the reasons you want to be smoke free to carry with you. Helps to look at your own words. Notice when your bigger triggers are, ie where you smoke consistantly like with first coffee, after meal etc and make a new plan for a new "habit" at those points. For instance I had cough sweets for the car and this page for the morning cup of tea and some fabulous dance moves to distract etc etc. Write a list of things to do when a crave hits, again these should include physical and mental things from googling a fact to cleaning a worksurface. This is useful when a thought to smoke takes your brain and you have a back up plan all ready. Notice where previous quits have gone wrong and plan for that, are there certain people or situations you can avoid or make a new thought process around pre quitting? For sure you can't plan everything but some of these PLUS this board and making a conscious choice that no matter what I was not going to smoke really helped focus me. And shhh, but quitting was easier than planning it actually lol. You'll be fine as long as you make the choice to quit and keep reading here and on whyquit.com about why and how we became addicted smokers. xx

Hi and welcome :) xx

nope

Blimey, still slightly out of whack with sleep patterns ey Beacon, oh the trauma of holidays :D . Hope it fabulous!! And nope of course. x

SQUEEEEEE OMG chicky, I will crack open a bottle and drag up a chair!! The lido deck no less, 1 year is AMAZING!! Aside, Gabby, sorry I missed the run up. I genuinely care and am so very happy to see you at this celebration. Much love beauty. xx

OMG I'm so excited!!! You're here!!! What's done is done, history is past, today is present. So focus on today. My friend, non smokers get stressed too. There is no reason to create a reason. it all passes if you let it, if you stay on the path and stay close to the support. Much love. xx

You sound great about it :) I love this!! For all the times it feels a bit tougher there is also the euphoric times when you feel like it's an epic win and I don't think you ever appreciate that can happen until you've quit! You are giving yourself the best gift here Nixter. Maybe try and write a list of all the reasons you don't want to smoke to carry with you, then if you feel yourself wobble you can simply read your own words to re-assure yourself that not smoking is your best idea to date. xx

no, what's it on? and about?

Nope back atcha beacon :) Happy holiday!! x

It's good to have self awareness about it but I would say don't scare yourself about it. You've had many opportunities to smoke Evelyn, you chose NOPE and you speak strongly to others about that opinion. I agree with the thought that you are no longer a smoker. The mindset is changed and it's now a waiting game to cross off all the triggers so the thought doesn't worry you. Believe in yourself :) You are doing great.

Lemon scents keep smoke at bay Evelyn. Get an oil burner and burn the oils or lemon based scented candles. There is also sprays here that take smells out of furniture and carpets etc. I'm sorry you might have to deal with this. But I promise is doesn't always make you crave. Quite the opposite! The smell would turn my stomach and I found it so bad that it actually made me not wanna smoke. You will be a beautiful non smoker and may even inspire one of them to quit. Don't worry too much my lovely. You're all good. x

Happy birthday to the beautiful Nancy, and Mary. xx

In a moment of clarity after a healing course I decided to throw everything at quitting for one last time. That included support, I had none at home as we were all smokers terrified that someone would actually win and break away from the gang! I had been attempting without support and it was incredibly unsuccessful for me. However each attempt contributed in one way or another in terms of learning. Even if some parts of that learning were fairly obvious like I can't be a social smoker! This place gave me a ton of suggestions of things I could do instead when I wanted to smoke, like a list of top 100 things to do instead and I knew I was home. I didn't really know how to get through a day without cigarettes, they were a big part of my life at 40 a day. The reality is most smokers hate smoking...they just don't know how to be a non smoker. Actually though, it's easier in the long run. Yes there are some mental moments, some early cravings but mostly it's just crazy thoughts of wanting to set fire to something, put it right up to your face and inhale all the drugs and chemicals.... when I broke it down like this, it seemed more than a bit daft to carry on doing it. It also educated me, on why I was addicted, as in how it actually duped me. Why I thought it relaxed me and shifted my understanding to the fact it was doing the opposite, revving me up but it was quieting the need for a fix which made me think that it was "helping" to calm me. More than all that though was the being accountable. A couple of times I would have thrown myself off the proverbial cliff but the thought of telling what was now friends here and maybe even having to leave them...that stopped me. It's a crazy, wonderful place :) Off to look up this Leo chap. He sounds interesting. x

Hi and welcome! Pleased you've found somewhere that will support your decision to quit nicotine as well. Good for you!! xx

nope.

nope.

http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_01_01_junkie.html - a bit in this saying smoking is the biggest killer got me thinking, wow, that's not what I signed up for all those years ago?! http://www.quittrain.com/forum/15-joel-spitzers-quit-smoking-video-library/ Videos here. They help. http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksAAddiction.html Dopamine pathways description Some early suggestions :) x

It's not all about the eating, although be aware your blood sugar levels will dance around for a week or so, just have a plan in place for something to distract you a bit at those times. I am unsure what your diet consists of but it sounds like natural sugars may be an issue to add in? But that's ok, it just helps a bit is all, not the end of the world :) You can chat to us if you feel a bit shaky or tired. x It is a little daunting if you think on it as a whole quit. I found the guys here helped me see I should only worry about today. Today I won't smoke and tomorrow I will make a choice again, one day at a time, one hour at a time etc etc. So day 1 is fantastic!! It's a shock isn't it, but it's also exhilerating, you are already quit. You're a non smoker RIGHT NOW. Pretty cool :) It helps a little to read about why we end up addicted to smoking. Understanding anything helps us to fight it off. I liked whyquit.com too. Lots of great advice and horrific stories actually, make you see the reality of being a smoker a little more. Made me choose not to be, go read up if you have some time. Oh, and keep posting so we know how best to support you if you want that...or vent away if you need to. This place is your sanctuary now. xx

Welcome back Michelle, really pleased to see you and that your on day 3 already. Sorry you're feeling listless. Are you sipping fruit juice to combat the blood sugars jumping around? x

Pleased you did tan and work out, it cancels out my beer garden and burn lol.... Seriously though, well done. Brilliant work. x

nope

Good work Karl!! Great effort, especially if that was today as england finally had some sunshine with heat!! You know someone nicked your head right??

Hey Sag, Where you at. Come and check in and tell us how you are. xx

Agreed, vent away my lovely. Sending strength and hugs. xx

Delighted to see this great choice. The wisdom if you want it, is you now do anything you like, within reason, except put something in your mouth and set fire to it. This gives you a whole lot of options on things you can do :) It also brings a bit of the how crazy is it to smoke, to put chemicals and a drug in some paper and inhale it into your body after setting it on fire, really near your face!! It's a wonderful thing you are doing for your future and the future of everyone who does or will know you. Read up on the addiction. Get some distractions ready, sometimes the best way is to go do something so you think of something else and the thought of smoking fizzles away. Don't be scared is my other tip. A thought is simply a thought...give it 5 mins and you can be thinking of something totally different and that's a fact. Those thoughts really won't hurt or harm you, just some mental discomfort but smoking really truly can do serious damage. Great to welcome you. xx