Wendy's Advise

[bakon]

Now that your back and probably on day two tell us all so we don't make same mistake....

 

Tell us how bad that tasted. I know after two months that first one didn't go down well. It is very helpful for all us to hear how disappointing it was. Even after two years I could go out and fire up any minute. I wont, because I got NOPE stuck in my head. But it is possible. ANd stories of relapse interest me in how we think it could possibly be good, but is just a mess when it happens.

 

 

Please share and be descriptive. Tell us how you felt handling it and the utter misery it left once you knew what happened. You could be helping someone today!

 

 

[Wendy]

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[Sazerac]

Thank you, Wendy.  I am really glad you have the strength and resolve to start your quit again.

 

If you want to be a smoker then its really easy to go back to it. 

If you want to be a non smoker, well, beware cos its really easy to go back to smoking

and you might not have the resolve or strength to start a quit again.

[Colleen]

Glad you are back Wendy and glad that you choose not to smoke today :)

[Humbled]

Thanks for sharing and glad you decided to quit again - just remember the only person in life that can beat you is in fact you!! If you want to stay quit it is a choice that only you can make of course. As you already know we are all here for you as well - so take it one step at a time and you will prevail.

[Chrysalis]

Wendy, congratulations on pulling yourself back together and getting right back to your quit. I think that you may have pulled the fat out of the fire on this one. (But don't do it again!)

 

Thank you so much for your sharing and your honesty describing your relapse. I have had exactly the same experience. In the past I have quit anywhere from 3 months to 1 year and then relapsed. And while I can't speak about anyone else's experience, for me I ALWAYS felt relief when I started back to smoking. Yes, the first cigarette or two made me feel a little dizzy, but I felt no other bad effects. I just felt good being "able" to smoke again. 

 

This time I'm pretty sure my quit is permanent. There are 2 major reasons for this difference. First, I have read a lot here and watched a bunch of Joel Spitzer's videos so I am much better educated about the nature of a nicotine addiction and how to overcome it. That knowledge is priceless. Second (and this may be very relevant to your story) is that this time I formed very specific and detailed pictures of how my life will be better when I don't smoke. I didn't tell myself a wishy-washy "I don't want to smoke because it is bad for my health." Instead I told myself, "I don't want to smoke because I don't want to be in a wheel chair and on oxygen by the time I'm 60." and then I would picture myself in a wheelchair and on an oxygen tank. Instead of telling myself a generic, "I don't want to smoke because I want to have more energy." I told myself, "I want to be fit enough to go mountain biking along country roads next autumn."

 

So when I got to the point of choosing (like you say you did) instead of asking myself, "Do I want to quit more than I want to smoke?" I would say to myself, "Which do I want more-- to have a cigarette now or to be able to go mountain biking next autumn?" Or I would say, "If I go back to smoking I will probably end up in a wheel chair and on oxygen within a few years. Do I want that or can I hold off on a cigarette for just 10 more minutes?" I found that having clear, detailed mental pictures of how my life will be better (or worse) with smoking vs not smoking really helped me stay on track. That plus telling myself that I only had to keep the quit for 10 more minutes (and then 10 more and then 10 more). 

 

So I suggest that you take the time now to think of 3 really BIG reasons why you want to quit smoking. Develop those thoughts until they are very clear in your mind (what color will your wheelchair be? Mine was green.) Then write them down. Make several copies and put them in various places. And the next time you wake up just wanting a cigarette, force yourself to find and read that list and CLEARLY picture how your life will be better if you do NOT succumb to temptation and how it will be worse if you DO succumb. 

 

Good luck to you!

[bakon]

I have quit for two years before and twice for one year. What is different this time? Everything but mostly education.

 

Thank you for your summary. Very good write and good info into what we all face.

 

I should add, my broken quits never just went one day or even one year. Multiple years and last one over ten. Good work on only one day.

[Gabby]

Wendy you are awesome

[El Bandito]

Brilliant, honest post Wendy.

 

For me, a point that you make is incredibly powerful.

 

"Thursday I chose to smoke...Friday I chose not to smoke".

 

For me, the realisation and understanding of that simple thing gave me the key to unlocking the addiction. I have the power. I am in control. I make the decision.

 

Tomorrow, I can be a smoker again. I simply chose to smoke a cigarette. I don't want to be a smoker again, for all the very many reasons that are discussed all over this forum of ours, and so I choose to say NOPE rather than to smoke.

 

Thank you for the honest post, and brilliant work for getting right back on the horse.

[Doreensfree]

Soo glad you made a great choice....to stay with us.....

I admired your honesty....no crap.....

We are addicts....and we are all only......one puff away.....

Its a choice whether you take......that one puff......

For me that one puff would lead to devasting results....

For me....it has to be n.o.p.e......