First real hurdle coming up

[MichelleDoesntSmokeAnymore]

18 hours in...and 8 of those were sleeping....I have my first hurdle coming up.  Its time for my typical Sat morning errands. Driving is a huge trigger for me. I never vaped in the house so the thought of being out of the house always excited me as I was getting ready to go.  "Its almost time!" I'm about to get in the shower and start getting ready and my brain is already going. Everytime I have a craving...and they are very mild on Chantix, they are thoughts not really physical cravings...I tell myself "I don't need nicotine. I am healthy". Reframing how I think about nicotine. Insanely cold ice water helps me a lot too so I'll bring some of that.

 

Wish me luck. I'll check in as I go along and thank you again for your support in my recovery.

[Reciprocity]

Any time you are about to do something where you think you'll face triggers to smoke, try changing something up in how you go about doing that thing.

For example; while driving it's of course critical not to distract yourself from the task of driving but, you could change up other things such as; open up the windows so there's lots of fresh air flow. Listen to a different radio station maybe. Change up your seating position slightly, just do smalle things differently than what you normally do. Small changes cause your brain to focus differently which can prevent an idle brain from going to thoughts of smoking. 

 

On the topic of your car; take the first opportunity you can to give the inside of your vehicle a really good cleaning. Get some upolstry cleaner for the seats if they're cloth seats and something like Armor All for the plactic & vinyl surfaces inside your car. And; clean the inside of those windows with glass cleaner. You'll be unplesantly surprised at the yellow yuk that appears after spraying your windows with glass cleaner. Having a fresh, clean smelling vehicle to drive will help keep your mind off smoking while driving! Or; use the money you're saving to get your car professionally detailed. It's a bit pricey but well worth it and you'll only have to do it once.

 

Same thing applies to other situations where your brain might go directly to thoughts of smoking. Waking up in the morning is a big one for most new quitters. Change up your morning routine a bit. Even changing up the order in which you do things can help keep your mind focused on what you're doing instead of focusing on smoking.

 

Give it a try and see if that helps.

[Gus]

@Reciprocity is correct Michelle. Change up that routine and clean the interior of your vehicle. I had an uncle gift me a truck once and I had to soak cloths in hot water with Dawn to keep washing the windows down and use a razor blade to get all of the nicotine that had built up in the glass off. It was disgusting. No, I was still smoking at the time and it wasn’t bad enough to make me quit. Hoping for an update soon!

[jillar]

In the beginning you should try to either put off your regular shopping even if only by a day because just that you go on Saturdays could also trigger you. 

FYI, I moved this to the main board where all your smoking related threads should go

[johnny5]

You can do this, Michelle.

[Doreensfree]

Ya …change your routine if you can ..

Chew regular gum ..it keeps your mouth busy …and your breath smelling good too…

Only forward Michelle ..x

[MichelleDoesntSmokeAnymore]

5 hours ago, Reciprocity said:

Any time you are about to do something where you think you'll face triggers to smoke, try changing something up in how you go about doing that thing.

For example; while driving it's of course critical not to distract yourself from the task of driving but, you could change up other things such as; open up the windows so there's lots of fresh air flow. Listen to a different radio station maybe. Change up your seating position slightly, just do smalle things differently than what you normally do. Small changes cause your brain to focus differently which can prevent an idle brain from going to thoughts of smoking. 

 

On the topic of your car; take the first opportunity you can to give the inside of your vehicle a really good cleaning. Get some upolstry cleaner for the seats if they're cloth seats and something like Armor All for the plactic & vinyl surfaces inside your car. And; clean the inside of those windows with glass cleaner. You'll be unplesantly surprised at the yellow yuk that appears after spraying your windows with glass cleaner. Having a fresh, clean smelling vehicle to drive will help keep your mind off smoking while driving! Or; use the money you're saving to get your car professionally detailed. It's a bit pricey but well worth it and you'll only have to do it once.

 

Same thing applies to other situations where your brain might go directly to thoughts of smoking. Waking up in the morning is a big one for most new quitters. Change up your morning routine a bit. Even changing up the order in which you do things can help keep your mind focused on what you're doing instead of focusing on smoking.

 

Give it a try and see if that helps.

Great advice! It just so happened that I DID do something different. I drove all the way there, then to the next appointment, then home, with all the windows up! I didn't have to crack a window for the vape cloud of have to keep fiddling with the heater to find a comfortable temperature. Since I vaped, instead of smoking, and I vaped a mildly flavored mint ecig, the car doesn't really smell. just smells of my air freshener.  Thank you Reciprocity!

5 hours ago, jillar said:

In the beginning you should try to either put off your regular shopping even if only by a day because just that you go on Saturdays could also trigger you. 

FYI, I moved this to the main board where all your smoking related threads should go

I did have trouble figuring that out. Which is the main board? The Quit Smoking Discussion thread? 

[jillar]

5 minutes ago, MichelleDoesntSmokeAnymore said:

Which is the main board? The Quit Smoking Discussion thread? 

Yes, that's the main board  

[Cbdave]

6 hours ago, MichelleDoesntSmokeAnymore said:

 Since I vaped, instead of smoking, and I vaped a mildly flavored mint ecig, the car doesn't really smell. just smells of my air freshener.  

Gday 

Sorry to be blunt…. But your car doesn’t smell like you think it does. The flavours from the vap , be it mint or bubble gum are artificial. After being burnt boiled and vaporised they are now been stuck to surfaces with the glycerol. That’s also along with the nicotine. That’s the bit that I don’t like as an ex smoker.  I know it’s there even thought it’s not got a particular smell. Nicotine just evil to my senses.

Vap stores have that smell. People that vap have that smell. It may not be the strong tar smell like smokers but it’s still there.

Me I’d be getting that nicotine out of my car and my life completly.