Ankush

@jillar Thank you, here's hoping that a crave like the one that hit me today doesn't re-occur. Maybe it will occur, maybe it won't but I hope it won't and if it does I will reach out to the SOS board.

@jillar Thank you for your advice. I did think of posting an SOS, but remembered reading a post somewhere by sarge that if the motivation comes from within, one shouldn't need to post in the SOS board (or something along those lines). So, I fought off the crave on my own, almost didn't but I did eventually fight it off.

@Doreensfree Another 1 and a half hours and I will reach the 72 hour mark of being smoke free. Staying smoke free, does make me free. My routine no longer revolves around the 3 to 4 cigarettes that I used to take. I never even realized my routine used to revolve around those cigarettes till I quit. I watched many of Joel's videos. He was right when he said that a light smoker has the hardest time, not physically adjusting, but psychologically adjusting to a quit. Still adjusting.

@jillar I had a stressful moment this evening, and I almost relapsed. Even went through my things for half a cigarette. Obviously didn't find any since I had thrown away everything. But I successfully fought off the temptation to go and buy a cigarette. I will not let my quit fail. I have made this commitment and I should stick to it. Would have felt like I've let myself down had I taken a stupid puff. But I didn't take a puff. Rewarded myself with a small bag of chips instead.

Nope

Nope

@Lilly Thank you!!! Getting through Day 3 now

@Mona Besides a dull headache since last evening and the irritating thought that a cigarette will stop the headache (which i successfully fought off), Day 2 was fine. I had plenty of juice, water and green tea. How was your Day 2?

Nope

@Mona Good thinking!!! NRT may work for some and not for others. What's important to realize is that NRT is just substituting Nicotine from one source to another. That may help some to quit smoking and may not help others. However, Nicotine is an addictive substance no matter what the source is and has harmful effects.

@johnny5 Thank you!!! I'm half way through Day 2 now. The headache which started last night is still there. I had a lot of juice, plenty of water and some buttermilk. However, the headache persists. Its a dull pain, not severe but its very annoying. @Linda Thomas Thank you

@Lilly Yes, I've nearly finished the first day. I do have a slight headache now. Going to have some green tea after dinner and juice which I hope will offset the headache. Living with smokers and not smoking shows character, good to know that you still stay away from cigarettes.

@jillar Thank you!!!

@Mona I'm quitting cold turkey as well. As far as I know, there just isn't any other way to break the grip Nicotine has.

@Mona Welcome to Day1 of your quit!!! Day 1 for me too. If you feel grouchy, try some physical exercise. It will be difficult and you will run out of breath. So take it slow, but do try it. Its a great way to start getting fit and to get some angst out. Will also help you build confidence. Also, as many people here will suggest, some breathing will help whenever the urge to smoke arises. Watch Joel's videos.

@sgt.barney Thank you for your advice. I do want to quit. Honestly, there is the desire to smoke a cigarette. But, I have to learn to be smarter than the cigarette (as Joel puts it).

@Lilly Thank you for your words of encouragement. Day 1 went fine. I thought I wasn't going to make it. Started my day by throwing all remaining smokes and remaining paraphernalia. Then cleaned my room. Stuck post-its wherever I could think of in my room that say "Never take another puff". Then did some breathing, watched some of Joel's videos related to Day 1 of a quit and did some physical exercise. Ate a couple of sandwiches, had plenty of juice and water (besides my regular meals). There was one thing though - I almost would forget today was quit day. After a meal I would think, "right, time for a smoke" and then immediately remember, "oh yes, today is quit day and no more cigarettes for me." I would then find something to keep myself busy and forget about smoking. I thought that you thought I was some sort of trickster/troller by changing my profile name or something like that. Good to know that that's not what you thought.

Today is my quit day. I pledge NOPE.

@Doreensfree Yesterday, I made a list of the reasons as to why I want to quit smoking. I do want to be free of Nicotine addiction.

If you've written down the reasons as to why you quit smoking, read them again. Look at the positive, you managed to stay away from cigarettes all through the bad times you've had after quitting. That's a good thing and that should give a boost to your confidence. At the risk of sounding repetitive (especially since I've given the same advice before), punching and kicking something (even if its just the air) will help to get your anger and grief out. If possible, take up Boxing or something similar. And even after getting your grief out, Boxing or whatever you decide to take up, will be a great way to keep physically fit and build confidence. If possible, talk to some friends and/or to a family member who will listen to you, and will communicate transparently and openly with you without judgement.

@notsmokinjo Thank you for your words of encouragement. Yes, there is no such thing as luck, I will just have to persevere and stick to my quit. I'm nervous and I sincerely hope I can pull off the quit.

@Lilly I have decided that physical exercise will be a good way to deal with stress after I quit, but at the same time I should not use exercising as a crutch. Besides exercising to keep myself physically fit is another goal of mine. So, stress or no stress, doing physical exercise on a regular basis is going to become a part of my life. I will do a lot of deep breathing as suggested in Joel's videos initially though. Before I started smoking, I used to just walk stress off by listening to a lot of music. It was work related stress that finally did me in. I thought that's it, I can't cope with work-related stress anymore. I am going to go buy a smoke. Biggest mistake I ever made. This was way back in 2005. Should never have started smoking. I am not Redemption3, I do not even know who that is.

@Jet Black Vaping cannot be harmless water vapor. It contains Nicotine and a chemical called Propylene Gloycol and the latter's effects on the human anatomy have not yet been fully understood. I find it hard to believe that a person can literally get addicted to cold turkey meat. In any case, the lesson for us all is never to start smoking in the first place.

@jillar I just wanted to add that one of the side effects of such medication is insomnia and for someone who is a chronic insomniac and on psychiatric medication, dependency on such drugs (like Chantix and Zyben) may be a bad idea. Btw, is there a thread on Quittrain for people who do take psychiatric medication and are trying to quit smoking? I searched a lot, but I could not find such a thread.

@jillar Yes, quitting smoking is the goal. I was just speaking from experience. I had tried Nicotine gum for a few days. It just made me want to smoke more. There are other forms of NRT as well, (medications such as Chantix and Zyben) but that will just shift the dependency from one source to another. Maybe such medication is helpful for people who take psychiatric medication, however, all medication comes with its own side effects which may not be disclosed by the doctor or insufficient information is available on the internet about such drugs. Again, its just about shifting dependency from one source to another source.