Penguin

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I find going for a daily walk helps, both to maintain a healthy weight and to exercise my lungs. I meant to start exercising in earnest, but lately I haven't found the time to lift the dumbbells I have. The good news is I'm staying plenty busy trying to clean and organize everything in my apartment for spring, so I am moving pretty well. As far as dieting goes, I have tried to make healthier decisions, for the most part, but I also haven't worried too much about the number on my scale. It's probably best if you can talk to your doctor. I know I had started exercising about three months before my quit, and I ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung. I think the smoking had more to do with that than the exercising, but in any case, your lungs are likely to be fragile, so you want to tread carefully. Your doctor can advise you on the right amount of exertion for you, and perhaps recommend a specific routine.

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I was in the hospital for my first four days, which made my quit a lot less stressful, apart from the whole "collapsed lung" bit. That said, I slept a lot, and I watched TV a lot. I tried my best to keep my mind busy. When I got home, I threw out every little scrap of smoking paraphernalia I could find. After that, I ordered a big bag of candy--Skittles, if I recall correctly--and used those for my oral fix. I let them melt in my mouth, rather than chewing them, for the most part. Anticipate that you will not feel great, but if you can think of it as the sort of discomfort that heals you, I think that helps. Just like your muscles ache during a workout and that doesn't feel fantastic, but you know you'll be stronger in the long run, you can think of the headaches, insomnia, stomach upset, and anxiety as something to endure--or alleviate, if possible. If you are successful in passing through that gauntlet, the good news is that you'll never have to go through it again, so long as you stay quit. Every little discomfort you face on your quit will get less and less intense as time goes on. You may have minutes that feel like hours and days that feel like years. Those are the days where it's helpful to stay busy, to avoid stress as much as possible, and be on your guard against the temptation to smoke. Eventually, the days will feel more like days again, and the minutes will pass, and you will feel less and less inclined to smoke. Then, you'll come up on a "first," and you'll feel like smoking again, seemingly out of the blue. Here's an example for you: I recently had to go to the DMV to renew my driver's license. The last time I'd done that, I was a smoker, and I sat outside the DMV puffing away, waiting for my number to be called. This most recent trip, I had been quit for 16 months, but all of a sudden I felt like smoking again. Why? Because it was my first time in 17 years that I'd gone to the DMV as a non-smoker. You will experience a lot of those. First holidays. First family emergencies. First heartaches. It can be frustrating, but with each victory, it will be easier and easier to say "no" to those cancer sticks. "If you're going through Hell, keep going." The way out is through. Put in the time, endure the pressure, and claim your victory. If you smoke, you won't have to face the discomfort of quitting, but you'll still stink, you'll feel the physical effects of smoking, and you'll have that worry in the back of your mind about every little ache and pain and bump and blemish that crops up, wondering if your habit has finally done you in. If you endure the discomfort of quitting for a little while, you won't stink, your body will start to repair itself (however slowly), and over time, you'll worry less and less about those aches and pains, for the most part. Today's the day to make your choice, for today. Tomorrow, rinse and repeat. One step at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, one second at a time.

NOPE AGAIN! There are some days it amazes me I'm still tempted to smoke. It's a fleeting temptation, easily waylaid when I remember what it took to get free, but every now and again, I have a few seconds where I think, "Gosh, it would be really nice to smoke." And then my brain starts to think, "I mean, could one really hurt? I quit before. I could quit again. Once really isn't that bad, is it?" That's when I know I'm really starting to lose it, and I do my best to remember the little kid who, at 11 years old, thought he could smoke once just to satisfy his curiosity, and never smoke again. He maintained a fascination with smoking that finally overtook him at 21, and for the 17 years after that, he couldn't get away, even when he wanted to. It took popping a lung to wake him up to how dangerous smoking really is. Not. One. Puff. Ever. AGAIN!

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Welcome! We've all been there before. You have our support!

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I used a mild dose of melatonin and ASMR videos when I couldn't sleep. ASMR is a weird animal, but what works for me could be described as "guided sleep meditation," rather than the barbershop roleplays and such. My recommendations: - Recognize the events that trigger cravings. When in your routine do you normally smoke? I used to have a cigarette after meals. Knowing that I'd be craving a cigarette, I found it helpful to distract myself in those times with a brisk walk, a bowl of some sweet treat (like Skittles or M&Ms I could suck on while watching a movie or reading a book). - Embrace the suck. It's going to be uncomfortable, but think of the discomfort as steps in a journey toward healing. It's like the pain of an open wound as it closes; it aches and irritates, but you know you're getting better. Take comfort in the fact that if you succeed, you don't have to go through the discomfort again. - Indulge. If you're not an alcoholic, have a drink to reward yourself for not smoking. If you don't have health issues with fatty foods, have a sweet dessert. Get the fancy coffee. Spend some money on a movie. Enjoy things in your life--within the law and morality--that maybe aren't precisely healthy, but aren't as insanely dangerous as cigarettes. Reward yourself for not smoking, so long as your rewards aren't breaking the law, your morality, or putting yourself in grave peril (like alcohol with alcoholism). Just, whatever you do, don't smoke. - Exercise. Physical activity of, well, really any kind can be good for you, if you don't have doctor's orders against it and you're physically capable. Go for brisk walks, ride a bike, punch a bag, do anything physical to get the blood pumping and the lungs working the air. - For some people, keeping track of the days, the cigarettes not smoked, the money saved, etc. can be helpful. For others, it's torture. If it works for you, do it. If not, don't feel like you have to. - If you fall off the wagon, get back on it immediately. Just because you slipped off the wagon and fell into the mud doesn't mean you can't get back on, muddy boots and all. Even if you're still smoking, get yourself here and check in. Talk through it. You're going to get some tough love for it, but don't run away just because you've started smoking again (if that happens).

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