Are you at day 1? 10? Struggling?

[Kate18]

Hugs to you who are at the beginning of your quit journey. I was a serial quitter. I wept at failing many times to quit and make it stick. I haunted this forum and its predecessor. I'd quit, post a lot, smoke, disappear in shame, and reappear days or weeks or moths later. Yes, being bipolar was a part of it. We bipolar people are often addicts. I wanted to quit. I kept coming back. 

 

Find your "why." Quitting for someone else may not be a strong enough reason. If you have a child, and you want to know that you're doing everything you can to be alive for that child's life, then yes, that may be a strong enough reason. Is it?

 

For me, it was Covid. I used to attend infectious diseases medical presentations. The coming pandemic was a topic of discussion, perhaps once or twice a year. I saw a slide about how the next pandemic would spread...along air flight routes. 

 

Early 2020, when I saw, on the Johns Hopkins internet map, that Covid 19 was marching across China, I knew that this was the pandemic the infectious disease community was expecting. When I learned that lung problems were a major issue, I knew that, as a smoker, I'd be hit hard.  I didn't want to die.

 

February 21, 2020, I quit.  I didn't want to die if I got Covid.  The first case near me was reported less than two weeks later. (Kirkland, WA, USA)

 

Find your "why." You'll quit, and one day you'll be where I am, at nearly three years quit, and only on occasion thinking about cigarettes. 

Do I still long for a cigarette? Yes, sometimes. 

I'll see a movie star smoking, and think, yes, that would be nice.  But that's not reality.

I'll see a homeless person smoking or someone around my apartment building smoking and think, "this is the reality. Smoking costs money to buy cigarettes, and eventually it costs money for medical care. , I'd rather save the money and not be an addict. I'd rather be saving for retirement. I'd rather be saving to buy a house.."

 

Quit. Fail. Quit again. Keep quitting until you don't have to quit again.........you're simply quit.

 

I've disappeared from this forum for weeks at a time. I'll forget that I was a smoker. Then I'll smell cigarette smoke and log on to the forum and pledge again.

I'll try to check in more frequently. I do want to support those of you who are early in your quits. 

 

Quit. Quit smoking. Educate yourself about why you smoke. 

 

By the way......I've just learned that ketogenic diets are helpful for people who are bipolar and schizophrenic. (and epileptic) One podcast I saw suggested that people who are addicted benefit by lowering their carbohydrates, as well. Perhaps it's something to look into. Apparently, a high percentage of us bipolar and schizophrenic folks are smokers. If this is you, stay tuned. I'll report back.

 

 

[DenaliBlues]

Thanks for posting this, @Kate18. Good encouragement for those of us who still struggle. 

[Gus]

Great hearing from you @Kate18.  Your post is informative and encouraging. Thank you!