Quitting...again

[Trish]

So today is Day 1...again.  Quit last night.  My lungs are tired...feel worn out.  Sick of smoking.  This morning is not too bad so far.  Let's do this. 

[action]

I saw you status update just now :(

 

Let's do this together - we are here for you Trish, no matter how desperate it feels sometimes, we have all been there at one time or another.

 

Hugs

[Trish]

Thanks, Action.  Haven't been able to make a quit stick since the end of April.  I am just so tired of it...so sick of it.  Just want to be done. 

[Leanna]

I'm sorry for the relapse :(, but I'm glad you're here and have quit again. We're here for you. If there's anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to post an SOS. 

[Nancy]

You can do this, Trish!!  Please let us know how we can help!!

[MarylandQuitter]

I am just so tired of it...so sick of it.  Just want to be done. 

 

Then let's be done with the smoking once and for all.  No more flip-flopping and making excuses.  Life can suck and it can also be great.  Neither need to have any influence on smoking because if it did, everybody in the world would smoke and big tobacco couldn't keep up with the demand.  My Mom has never even puffed on a cigarette, never even tried to and she's been through more than I ever have.  Life is going to happen regardless of whether you smoke or not.

 

Dig your heels in, put your head down and don't look back.  End the slavery, the potential health issues, the stink, the expense and guilt that comes with smoking. 

 

With your history of relapse and why you chose to smoke, expect that you're gonna feel like crap and want to smoke more than anything.  Get used to feeling uncomfortable and make it the norm for right now.  If you find this quit easier and more enjoyable than expected, then all the better.  Smoking is not your friend nor is it a safe place when life get's tough.  I used to think it was but it was all a lie.

 

This is your thread.  Update it at least once per day whether you feel you need to or not.  Once you do this and start to chronicle your quit journey, the magic of a support group will start to work and before you know it, you'll be celebrating one year and looking back and thinking that it wasn't nearly as hard as you thought it was going to be.  Things in life rarely are.

 

The Quit Train® operates 24/7 and somebody is always stoking the fires.  There are several people who get emails sent straight to their phones when somebody posts an SOS.  Myself and all the moderators do for sure.  There are so many dedicated people here that will answer the call when you need help.  I'm working on something even more instant to respond to an SOS...more on that later.

 

I've had to reach out to people here on the board recently and am proud to say it.  I wasn't about to smoke, but life was getting to me and I knew that I better start talking before my addict mind started to rekindle the lies.

 

Yep, you need a dose of this to get 3 days under your belt.  Watch the entire video.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEnHzV9XpL0

[Still winning]

Really pleased Trish. I see you in the photo's and you're too pretty too ruin your face and body with smoking! Right with you!!  So you know Amy has also quit today as well, in case you guys can support each other too. xx

[JackiMac]

Trish so sorry to see you relapsed, be strong you know that you can make this quit a sticky quit, its being tough on the craves, being tough with yourself and telling yourself that Smoking Is Not an Option, no more merry-go-round, get on this roller coaster, hold and tight and see it right to the end, we are all here to help and support you xx

[sharonsiff]

Trish...you can do this girl. Shout if you need to vent xx

[El Bandito]

One fluffy leg!

 

Glad to have you back onboard.

 

Ya know - its just so much less hassle to quit...

 

you have it this time ;)

 

Now - go shave the other leg.

[Holski]

Haaay!

Let's not smoke anymore....together!!!

Hang in there!!!

Now I gotta go bug Amy.

 

No more smoking for us!!!!

 

N.O.P.E.!

[Tink]

ok trish lets do this thing x

[Doreensfree]

Ok,you've smoked ,you know you hate it....your unhappy.....

Now you need to be a happy Quitter.....

Let's get this done.....

Hugs

Doreen

[Fay]

Trish, sorry to hear you relapsed but happy to hear you are back on the train!  You are one strong lady and you can do this!!!

[Nicole Diver]

Lot of good responses here.

We are here for you and are behind you all the way. No more rotten cigs for you. They don't make us happy anyway.

[Pippa]

Way to go Trish - you can do this and remember we are here for support if you need it !

[comrade simba]

Hey, welcome back. In here we suffer less than "out there" and that's good enough for me.

[Evelyn]

You can do this!!!!!

[Trish]

Day 2 starting here.  Lots to do...can't just lay around like yesterday.  Feeling ok so far.

[Holski]

Yay Trish!

:D

Remember H.A.L.T.

Hungry?

Angry?

Lonely (Bored)?

Tired?

 

If you are feeling freaky, could be one or all of them.

[Colleen]

Good for you Trish. Can I suggest you start with the pledge each day? If you need help, please reach out.

[MarylandQuitter]

Glad that you're feeling "okay" and not in some kind of dire straits.  Day 2 is almost in the books so before it ends, are you struggling with anything?  Any concerns? 

[Trish]

Concern. Well yeah.  Just that I am constantly thinking about smoking.  I know that's normal at this point but I hate it.  Didn't get everything done that I wanted to today and kinda felt like I was in slow motion but that's ok.  Had to go out today for some stuff so I was glad I didn't stop and buy cigs.  Definitely thought about it but it was a pretty quick thought.  

 

In the back of my mind..I am also concerned about getting further than I have and running into new, different problems.  Like seeing people in No Mans Land struggling.  But I am really trying not to think of that at this point.  I made it through today so that's a win. Now just need to get through tomorrow.

[MarylandQuitter]

Concern. Well yeah.  Just that I am constantly thinking about smoking.  I know that's normal at this point but I hate it.  Didn't get everything done that I wanted to today and kinda felt like I was in slow motion but that's ok.  Had to go out today for some stuff so I was glad I didn't stop and buy cigs.  Definitely thought about it but it was a pretty quick thought.  

 

In the back of my mind..I am also concerned about getting further than I have and running into new, different problems.  Like seeing people in No Mans Land struggling.  But I am really trying not to think of that at this point.  I made it through today so that's a win. Now just need to get through tomorrow.

 

Every aspect of our lives revolved around smoking so when we quit smoking, like you said, it's natural to think about it all the time and it's not pleasant if we think we're depriving ourselves of something.  Quit for just one hour at a time.

 

 

Many smokers fail at breaking free because they sell themselves on the lie that the mountain is just too big to climb.  Sadly, they've fed their mind such rubbish so long that it believes it as much as their name.  Still, it doesn't stop them from trying.  Every few years they'll take a few steps, stop and decide that the mountain is still too big.

 

It isn't that they are too lazy to climb, afraid of heights or lack the desire  It's that most convince themselves that there are just too many steps to take while having almost no insight into how many there actually are.  Not only do they not have a map home, they've forgotten who they were.

Buried beneath a pile of nicotine induced dopamine "aaah" "pay attention" memories -- possibly the most high definition memories their mind has ever produced -- they now have very little if any remaining memory of the calm and quiet that occupied their mind before nicotine took control.  It's why those first steps into recovery are often taken on faith. But if faith is to survive challenge it needs to be nourished not starved.

 

Imagine loving to eat beef but thinking about dinner while picturing yourself having to eat an entire cow (actually a steer). That's about five hundreds pounds of beef. Impossible! It'd get pretty discouraging rather fast, wouldn't it! But that's how most new quitters think about quitting. The pit their dreams, desires and faith against the biggest mental meal imaginable, "forever", that success can only be achieved by quitting forever.

 

Sitting down and eating 500 pounds of beef truly is impossible. Navigating the up to 72 hours it takes for your body to become nicotine free and for withdrawal to peak in intensity is not only possible, it has already been done by the hundreds of millions of now comfortable ex-smokers who walked this path before you.

How does one consume 500 pounds of beef? One steak at a time. How do you navigate the most challenging period of nicotine detox and withdrawal, the first three days? One hour and challenge at a time! As for beef, the average American consumes about 60 pounds of beef per year and thus consumes an entire steer once every 9 years. But forget 9 years. As with ending a fine meal, celebrate each hour of freedom and healing for the full and complete victory it reflects.

 

We smokers are impatient people.  We want results now!  But it isn't our fault.  Our minds have been conditioned by our addiction to expect immediate relief from the anxiety of early withdrawal.  Smoking nicotine was quick and dependable. Within 8 to 10 seconds of that first puff nicotine we could actually feel it arrive in our brain as that "aaah" replenishment sensation was felt.  Every two hours the amount of nicotine remaining in our blood was cut by half.  Within 20 to 30 minutes we would again sense our blood nicotine level falling to the point that minor discomfort arrived, and we'd again obtain almost immediate relief as new nicotine laden smoke was sucked into crying lungs.  A pack-a-day smoker repeats this cycle of obtaining immediate relief about 7,300 times a year.  Yes, we nicotine addicts are impatient people when it comes to bringing an abrupt halt to the symptoms of withdrawal but then we have good reason to be, as our drug was in charge of conditioning. 

 

Those successful at recovery all learned to control their impatience by ignoring the size of the cow and height of the mountain as they continue taking just one bite and one step at a time.  All lengthy tasks in life require baby steps in order to finish what we've started.  we can't build a beautiful wall with just one brick, receive a new baby after one month of pregnancy, obtain a college degree with just one class, or cook a delicious holiday dinner in seconds.  Imagine getting half the meal cooked and then leaving the kitchen or building half a wall and walking away.  Going the distance in life is normal.  Swimming half way across the river and stopping is not.

 

Do you dream of being free?  Is there any doubt in your mind that you can stop smoking for just one hour?  If so, you already have the building blocks needed break nicotine's grip upon your mind and life, but only if you fully accept the Law of Addiction, that just one powerful puff, dip or chew of nicotine and relapse is all but assured.

 

Not only has nicotine taken your brain's reward pathways hostage, it has rewired those pathways by growing millions of extra nicotinic type acetylcholine receptors in at least 11 different regions. They call it upregulation and it's related to an addiction concept known as tolerance, the gradually increasing need over the years to use more nicotine in order to achieve the same effect.

 

No subconscious crave episode lasts longer than three minutes but time distortion during recovery is as real as your name so be sure and look at a clock.  Keep your eye on the path and try not to look ahead and do your best to enjoy the hour, don't dread it.  It doesn't have to be difficult and if you'll allow your dreams to flood your mind you may even find joy in it.  The hour could be flat and level or it might be a bit bumpy. Your subconscious mind might sense your calmness and dreams and relax along with you, or sense fear and begin issuing forth anxiety command that beg you to throw in the towel. 

Either way it's just one hour, and so is the hour that follows.  See each hour of freedom as the full and complete victory that it is.  Slowly they'll build and within 72 hours your blood will be nicotine-free and your mind will have no choice but to begin sensing what it's going to be like taking a long overdue rest from an endless lifetime chemical cycle of nicotine, dopamine and adrenaline highs and lows. 

 

With each passing hour you'll move closer and closer to that moment when the underlying current of anxieties (if any) begin easing off.  Be sure and get plenty of rest as a tired mind is easier to betray.  Also be sure and drink plenty of fruit juice the first three days (cranberry is excellent) to help stabilize blood sugar and don't skip any meals.  Nicotine fed you with each puff by indirectly causing stored fats and sugars to be released into your blood.  You may need to learn to spread your normal daily calorie intake out more evenly over your entire day.  If you try skipping meals after ending all nicotine use you'll experience wild blood sugar swings and concentration difficulties that can making recovery miserable.  Also, if you were a big caffeine drinker you need to know that nicotine doubled the rate at which caffeine was depleted by the body (203%). If you were not a big caffeine user you have nothing to worry about but if a heavy user (greater than 750mg. ) you'd be well advised to reduce your intake by roughly half but do not give up all caffeine as that can intensify recovery as well.

 

Some of us have spent a large part of our life learning to be good little nicotine addicts.  Although it's not realistic for us to expect to learn to be a good little ex-smokers overnight, it is realistic to deeply believe that the next few minutes and that each is entirely doable!

 

Do you deserve to see what it's like being "you" again?  If you don't remember what it was like inside your mind prior to nicotine taking control don't feel alone as can.  Believe in your dreams and believe in you.  Don't be afraid as you're leaving nothing behind and everything you did while enslaved you'll again do as well as or better once free! Baby steps to glory! Freedom is your birthright and there's only one rule no nicotine today.  The next few minutes are doable and there's only one rule if followed provides a 100% guarantees of success - just one hour at a time, no nicotine today!

 

 

Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,

 

John R. Polito

Nicotine Cessation Educator

[El Bandito]

You are doing great Trish. It does get progressively easier - honest! Just one step at a time.