Oh no, here I go again

[SamDy]

I want to smoke again. I tried drinking water, Deep breaths, a walk. The craving won't go. 

[Doreensfree]

Spend time reading all the stuff here ...the Main Discussion Board ,has lots of good info ...

You ticket says 5 mins since your last cig ....so you shouldn't be struggling just yet...

Do anything to keep busy ...take a nice long shower ...

Stay in touch ..

[SamDy]

I had reset the tracker, since I smoked 1. Back on the wagon now. 

[Doreensfree]

Education of this addiction ...stay close and learn ,it will be your tool to fight ...

Read ,read ,and read some more ....

Glad your here ...you can do it ...believe in yourself ....

[Sazerac]

We are here to support you but, this support falls on deaf ears until you are serious about quitting. Deadly Serious about quitting.

 

Have you been educating yourself about nicotine addiction ?

Watching any of the films ?

Looking at any of the links that have been posted for you ?

Making the commitment to yourself and standing by it ?

 

All these things are potential tools at your disposal to help you build a successful quit but, they won't work if you don't do the work.

 

You are putting yourself through much more misery by stopping and starting again.

 

Sure, cravings at the beginning can be quite gruesome but, they won't hurt you, they won't kill you like smoking does.

 

Think of the question our friend, Sirius,  poses;

"The next time a craving plunks down on your face ask yourself, "What price you are willing to pay to own yourself?"
 

This is your life, the quality of your life that you are choosing.

The cravings will only get easier and eventually disappear with time.

 

You just have to live through them, there is no magic bullet 

EXCEPT

Your commitment to yourself to NOPE (Not One Puff Ever).

 

 

[SamDy]

@Sazerac I want to quit smoking but something in me keeps going "one is ok, you'll feel better." And I feel better, for 5 minutes or so. But then as soon as I put one out, I crave again, instantly. It's a big mental game. I've read so many articles, yet I'm weak. 

[SamDy]

It's like I don't know how to act without smoking? 

[Sazerac]

You will reveal your power with every damn crave you conquer.

You are smarter AND stronger than your addiction !

You are NOT as weak as you think you are, this is a lie that your addiction requires to keep you addicted.

Break the chains one link, one crave or trigger at a time

and reward yourself, these are v. important esp. in the early days.

The Significance of Rewards

 

Good you are reading, read until your eyes bleed, sweetie.

 

[Paul723]

You must tell yourself that smoking is not an option.  You can do anything else, but no more smoking.  Most of us are/were just like you when we first gave up smoking; we had no extraordinary abilities.  What we did have was a firm commitment to quitting.

[Sazerac]

8 minutes ago, Samantha&Dynah said:

It's like I don't know how to act without smoking? 

 

Quitting smoking gives us the great opportunity for getting to know and understand ourselves.

The 'real you' will be revealed and you will be able to act in a truly authentic way when you are free of addiction.

By smoking, you are simply indulging the addict, acting like the addict.

 

We all had to re-adjust and find our free selves.

This is exciting and rewarding work.

 

For now, just sit with being uncomfortable.  It is OK.  It will pass.

 

Watch your blood sugar !  Drink fruit juice and cold water.

 

 

@Paul723 really helped me with this;

"We all had to re-adjust and find our free selves.

This is exciting and rewarding work."

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Sazerac

[SamDy]

7 minutes ago, Sazerac said:

Watch your blood sugar !  Drink fruit juice and cold water.

What happens if I don't watch that? Will something bad happen? (I have an anxiety disorder amongst others, things freak me out easily) 

[Sazerac]

Sometimes, blood sugar can get low and make you feel crummier (sp?) than you actually feel.

 

Nothing bad can happen to you by quitting smoking. EVERYTHING bad can happen to you if you continue to smoke.

 

Chill out, sweets.  You quit smoking !  Reward yourself.  Breathe beautiful clean clear breaths.

[SamDy]

@Sazerac you're right. I have had lunch and I didn't smoke. That hasn't happenend since the last time I quit 4 years ago. That's one small victory I think. Its good to know nothing bad can happen from quitting. That clears some of my anxiety. 

[Sazerac]

The anxiety is certainly exacerbated by continuing to smoke.  You will find you have much less anxiety in general when you settle into your new life.

 

Here is a link and some text  from our friend, Joel Spitzer,

I'm Just Too Weak To Quit Smoking

 

I'm just too weak to quit smoking!"

"I can't believe it, I'm just too weak to quit smoking."

 

This statement came to me on the fourth day of a clinic by a participant who could not stop smoking for even one day.

When I asked him where he kept getting the cigarettes from, he replied, "They are mine, I never threw them out."

When I asked him why he never got rid of them he said that it was because he knew the only way for him to handle not smoking

would be by keeping cigarettes around in case he needed one.

 

This man was not capable of succeeding in his attempt to quit smoking.

Not because the addiction to nicotine was too powerful. It was his fear of throwing out his cigarettes which rendered his attempt a failure.

He figured if he needed them, he would have them. Sure enough, every day he needed one.

So he would smoke one. Then another and still another. Five or six a day, never reaching his optimal level and never breaking the withdrawal cycle.

He was discouraged, depressed, embarrassed, mad, and, worst of all, smoking.

 

Quitting smoking needs to be done in steps.

 

First, the smoker should strengthen his resolve as to why he wishes to quit.

 

He should consider the health consequences, the social implications, the fact that he is totally controlled by his cigarettes,

the expense and any other personal problems cigarettes have caused him.

 

It is helpful to write down all of these negative aspects of smoking.

In the future when he does get the thought for a cigarette, his own reasons for quitting become powerful ammunition for not returning to smoking.

 

When the decision is made to quit, the smoker should implement a program that has the greatest potential of success.

 

The first and most important step is to quit cold turkey. To accomplish this goal he should dispose of all smoking material.

Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, butts, ashtrays, lighters–anything that was considered smoking paraphernalia.

If cigarettes are not there, they cannot be smoked.

 

Then the person only needs to live through the first few days, one day at a time.

Physical withdrawal may be rough or very mild.

The symptoms will be overcome by making it through the first few days without taking a puff.

Within three days the physical withdrawal will peak and by two weeks will cease altogether.

 

But the real obstacle is the psychological dependence to cigarettes.

Most smokers are convinced smoking is essential in performing many normal daily activities.

Dealing with stress, working, driving, eating, sleeping, waking up, relaxing – just about everything requires smoking.

 

The only way to overcome this perceived dependence is by proving to oneself that all activities done with cigarettes can be done equally well without cigarettes.

Just living through the first few days and functioning in normal required roles will prove that the smoker can survive without cigarettes.

It may be difficult, but it is possible.

 

Once the initial quitting process is overcome, the rest is simple.

Sure there will still be times when the ex-smoker wants a cigarette.

But the ex-smoker must realize that he does not have the option of only one.

Because he is a nicotine addict, smoking is now, and always has been an all or nothing proposition.

The thought of relapsing back to his old level of smoking with all the associated consequences is all the ammunition needed to – NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!

Joel

 

© Joel Spitzer 1984

[SamDy]

That was a really good read. I also stocked up on sugar free lolly's, which I hope will somewhat satisfy the hand mouth thing

[Mee]

Samantha&Dynah, smoking feeds into that anxiety and does not help.  Every time you give into the crave, you are feeding your addiction.  You can power through by staying busy and concentrating on the rewards of quitting.  Everyday without a cigarette gives you more power over you life!  Stay strong!

[Sazerac]

Glad you read Joel's piece.  He has a treasure of resources, Joel Spitzer's Quit Smoking Library

 

lollys are good.  Deep breaths are free and always available.

 

Here is a link to pages of things that got us through the early days   First Week, Nicotine Free

[Sazerac]

Here is something addressing anxiety

'I'll Be A Nervous Wreck Forever If I Quit Smoking'

 

and, if you are on medications for anxiety (or anything else for that matter)

Medication Adjustments That May Be Necessary After Quitting Smoking

[mightyboosh]

All good advice from all our friends above. This is my opinion of how important the mind set is to quitting.

I think the chances of staying quit increase if you identify the core nugget that motivated you to quit in the first place. It needs to be nurtured and remembered but most importantly of all, RESPECTED. It deserves to be to the highest degree.

That thought that we all had on here, at some point, was our mind at its finest and most lucid. It was a little stroke of genius amidst our mundane day to day thoughts.

So, are we going to let a filthy, expensive and deadly tube of transient relief from an addiction win over that pure and honourable moment of clarity and truth we experienced?

NO and again NO!

In my particular case it was thought of potentially losing my leg due to claudication. It was a total no-brainer so when I was told it was getting worse five months ago, I quit the following day. It is now improving with every breath of fresh air I take.

Good luck.

[NADA]

4 hours ago, Samantha&Dynah said:

I want to smoke again. I tried drinking water, Deep breaths, a walk. The craving won't go. 

 

S&D

• You will only be successful if you change your first sentence to "I don't want to smoke again."
• Regarding cravings....there is no magic method to completely eliminate cravings in the early going.  There are ways to distract and delay cravings (as many have suggested here), but they tend to be pretty persistent in the initial stages of quitting.  The key is to get your mind to the point where smoking is no longer an option.  My early mantra: "I will not smoke no matter what you throw my way you bastard!  So bring it on!" Get your mindset right and there's no way you'll fail.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by BKP

[jillar]

2 hours ago, Sazerac said:

You will reveal your power with every damn crave you conquer.

You are smarter AND stronger than your addiction !

 

 

This! I see SamDy that you posted your SOS and then smoked. So what DIDN'T work? Did you not stay on the board and read the replies? I am proof that the SOS board works. I saved my quit several times by asking for help and members came running to help me through them.

You REALLY have to want and be ready to quit or you're not going to succeed. I'm sorry but that's the truth. 

[Jordan7]

3 hours ago, Samantha&Dynah said:

@Sazerac I want to quit smoking but something in me keeps going "one is ok, you'll feel better." And I feel better, for 5 minutes or so. But then as soon as I put one out, I crave again, instantly. It's a big mental game. I've read so many articles, yet I'm weak. 

 

 

S&D, the initial challenges will never change, whether you quit today, tomorrow, or one, two, twenty, or thirty years from now.  You will always have strong craves at the beginning of your quit and the addiction will always come up with reasons why now isn't the right time.  But guess what?  It's always "now", and it will never be an easier time to quit, so you have to do so with the absolute determination that you are simply not going to smoke anymore no matter what it takes to get through the tough moments, hours, and days.    What will change the longer you continue smoking is that your health will continue to deteriorate to some degree in expected or unexpected ways, so that makes today a very good day to quit.   You CAN do this, and, at a minimum, the reward will be a smoke-free and (finally) crave-free life.   

[Doreensfree]

May I suggest you read Allen Carr The Easy  Way.....this book has helped millions quit....

He makes you understand how the nicotine trap works ...

We have two very important slogans here ....

Never Stick Anything In Your Mouth And Set  Fire To It !!!!!

Take Smoking Off The Table No Matter What.!!!!!

I Repeated these hundreds of times each day ....if you stick to these you can't fail....

I was a 52 year smoker ....if I can you can ....you just have to want it bad enough ...

[johnny5]

Lots of great advice already given.

 

I'd like to second Doreen's suggestion in reading Allen Carr's book and doing so with an open mind.  It really helped me see that smoking did nothing positive for me at all and life was much better without it.  Seeing and embracing this truth really helps people in quitting for good 

[Boo]

6 hours ago, Samantha&Dynah said:

It's like I don't know how to act without smoking? 

 

There were moments early in my quit when I wasn't sure whether I should fart or go blind.  There was one morning when I was getting ready for work and forgot to put my pants on.  I spent my first smoke-free Friday night pacing around the house cussing under my breath and doing push-ups to exhaustion.  Those first couple of weeks were a helluva ride.

 

These are distant memories now and I have no regrets.  

 

The way you learn to live without smoking is a matter of time and repetition.  There is no quick fix.  You honor the commitment you have made to yourself, take smoking off the table, and repeat the process daily.  In time you will adjust.  

 

Buckle up, knuckle down, and drive on.