12 hours really?

[Le Blanc]

So I stopped last night and felt mentally good.  I was laughing in the shower this morning as I would usually have smoked 3 or more ciggies before I bathed. 
Then I found a half a ciggie in the ashtray of my car and smoked it.  
Am I never to be free?  I know people say that they have to battle cravings but mine are continual, they do not go away for days.  Always in the background trying to 'negotiate' with me to smoke just one but I know that isnt true.  
How did you deal with this?

[Doreensfree]

Hello and welcome ...

Pop yourself over to the introduction Thread ....say Hi ,and you will get a better we!come ....

You need to read everything on the board ...educate yourself ...

You will receive tons of help ...

[c9jane29]

2 hours ago, Le Blanc said:

Am I never to be free?

We are all to be free from smoking if we want to be.

You have to be prepared for these moments..."cravings" are not commands; they are smoking memories created by the changes nicotine receptors have made in your brain. Educating yourself on nicotine addiction and the changes it has made in your brain and body is one of the best defenses against these cravings. Clean out your ashtrays, have chocolate/gum/suckers and water where you would normally have cigarettes this will give you that blood sugar drop that nicotine gave you in that moment (carrot sticks of you're not a candy person) to redirect those smoking thoughts...get yourself a mantra to say out loud; mine was "Nope. You're a non-smoker now, find something else to do." 

The only way you will ever stop smoking is to quit putting cigarettes in your mouth...it's really that easy (or as hard) as you want it to be. 

It's a wonderful thing to quit smoking!! You are taking you life back from the slavery of the first cigarette you ever smoked...all the others have been are maintenance cigarettes for that first bad choice. You can change that today! How exciting!!

Get a game plan...there is abundant resources here and whyquit.com to help you along the way. 

You CAN do it, you ARE worth it!! No cigarette is worth you. Just tell those smoking thoughts that you are back in charge, you are not a slave to them anymore...Welcome to the train, friend

Edited August 27, 2020 by c9jane29

[jillar]

Welcome aboard Le Blanc and congratulations on deciding to take back your life! The constant thoughts of smoking were one of the hardest parts of my early quit too. Like Jane above I had a couple mantras. One was "this too shall pass". I said it over and over again. 

another thing I did to get some reprieve was to do something I never smoked at while doing. I also found the Social section had lots to do to distract my brain. 

as you can see, there's lots of good clues to help you get your forever quit Oh and if you get a chance maybe you could introduce yourself in our Introduction forum like Doreen suggested. Lots of great members waiting to say hi

[Layla]

Being in my car is a big trigger for me, too.  Just because you slipped up once doesn’t mean you can’t still quit.  I am on Day 2 of my quit and am using the patch, and it is really helping me, along with the support here.  Just make sure there are no cigs in your car, and the more you drive without smoking, the less you will associate it with smoking.  I slipped up last night myself and had one cig before bed last night (that time of day is so tough for me, and it’s almost like and OCD thing—I usually smoke 3 cigs before bed!) but I have the patch back on today, and I’m going to try again, because I am already breathing better from only have one cig yesterday.  Please don’t let one slip up discourage you.  Just get back on the horse.  You can do this!

[Reciprocity]

You are entering a whole new chapter in your life Le Blanc, a Great chapter because you now will have a chance to free yourself from constant, miserable slavery to your nicotine addiction! What is there in life more valuable than your freedom? Sure the early days are really tough for most of us. It felt like one constant craving for days to me when I quit - probably even a week or more. How did I cope? Sheer will power and determination not to fail because I knew I wanted to be free from all the smoking BS for good and there was only one way to it, and that was through it! There's no short cuts or skipping any of the process. Think of it this way; you are about to receive the greatest gift in your life. Surly that is worth fighting for as hard as need be and for as long as need be. The tough times don't last for all that long Le Blanc, not in the grand scheme of things so take a stab at it! What do you have to lose? Sticking around here will be a godsend to you because we have ALL been right where you are today. You're NO different than us and vise-versa   You CAN do it just like we all have!

 

[Linda]

A lot of good advice on the prior post. I am fairly new also. But you can do this. It is tough but do it one day at a time!!!

[NOPEster]

It will all be over before you know it. You just need to let it happen. Not a fun thing you're going through but it is doable. One day at a time.