New Here

[etd]

Good morning,

 

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Erin and I have smoked on and off since I was 18. The longest period of anstinence I had is 10 years but started again due to increased marital stress and divorce. I have never had difficulty quitting the habit until this time around. It has been 8 months now and I am up to ~1 pack per day. I have been trying to quit for the past 2 months with no success. I tried the patch, mindfulness and lozenges and while this has decreased the amount I smoke per day, I can't let it all go. I am ready to let it go for good but have very little real life support. I am hoping to use this forum for support and daily reminders for why I want to quit and the benefits of quitting, in addition to supporting and celebrating others milestones.

 

Thanks for being here and I hope to get to know many of you and support each other along the way.

 

-Erin

[Markus]

Erin

 

Welcome to the Train.

 

You started smoking again due to marital stress and divorce?

 

Throw away the cigarettes and study addiction, and find out why you choose to smoke, over choosing to be free.

 

It is only your choice after all.

 

Life will always have challenges, and smoking is not the answer to any of them.

[Thondratir]

Hey Erin, good to have you here with us.

Look around and I'm sure you'll find great content made by great people, if you have questions don't be afraid to ask.

 

Best of will power on your quit.

[DCCXXVII]

Welcome to the QT Erin... have a look here... this will help you to understand why you relapsed

 

Stick close to the board... learn about addiction... never take another puff... not one puff ever

 

So glad you made it here :)

[BAT]

Welcome to the QT Erin .... Don't Sing It Bring It  :) We are here for you  :)

[Doreensfree]

Hi and welcome Erin....

We're here to support you all the way...

Stay close to the board...x

[Tyme2B]

Welcome Erin! It gets harder to Quit every-time, believe me, so make this your LAST time & stick to the Quit. Finally I have been able to do so with the help of QT. So many people here will help you realize your goal. Looking forward to seeing you on the board & wishing you a successful Quit. Just say NOPE! 

[beacon]

Erin, welcome. Glad you came on board. Are you going to go cold turkey now? You can let it go now. It starts out rough that improves slowly....

[Nancy]

Welcome aboard, Erin!  So glad you are here...let us know how we can help!

[etd]

Thanks, everyone!! Is it easier to quit cold turkey? That's how my mom did it after twenty years. I've found NRT to not be very helpful.

[mfic]

Welcome Erin- Like they said- study the addiction-an get all the info from here you can swallow-

once you make a solid decision its "over" for smoking-   you can do this if you want to,

you,v come to the right place,,

RC

[Ramona]

10 years is AMAZING - now quit them foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  

A brand new you - free of the stressful relationship and free of this nasty addiction.

[Toni]

Welcome Erin, you can do this. Stick with Nope. As you know, it does get easier. Just remember the cigarette will not help the stressful situation. The situation will still be there when you put it out. So glad you are here!

[Still winning]

Hi Erin,

 

It sounds like you believed they would get you through the stress, we all believed they did that for us. The reality is we only believed that and it was never true, smoking actually elevated our adrenaline and the stress mechanism in our bodies actually steals all the nicotine from our bloodstream...leaving us desperate to smoke straight away. Literally the knowledge can be a real game changer for quietning the crazy thoughts that smoking is doing anything for us. 

 

The biggest success rate in quitters is apparently the cold turkey method statistically. I quit with champix as I needed a crutch. I think the biggest quit aid is to decide you are done, no matter what. Also a healthy dose of trust came in handy as I listened to these guys say it would get so wonderful if I just stuck by the bad days and celebrated the good days. My quit became part of my life which also has good and bad days, the only difference was I was financially better off and my self belief started to rise as I realized I could do this. So that's my message for you.

 

YOU can do this too. believe in yourself, set a date and stop. Let your sense of self worth and us tell you that you deserve this quit and your body and health deserve it too. xx

[El Bandito]

Welcome aboard Erin.

 

Lots of practice quits there!

[Pippa]

Hi Erin - welcome to the train. Read up - I know learning about this addiction really helped me stay quit - and stay close - being active was a huge part in my quit :-). Just commit to NOPE - and you can make this your sticky quit :-)

[Evelyn]

erin, WELCOME!
I'm gonna repeat Bakon's words (after he kicked me in the butt)

Any nicotine replacement will make it harder to quit because you keep yourself in constant withdrawl and so many here encourage newbies to quit cold Turkey, while educating themselves on the video's section and posting a lot.

 

MY succesful quit was after Bakon wel repeated that and I kept fallingback so I tossedaway the patches smoked 3 cigs and went for the quick methode.

He saw strenght in me I didn't believe I had.

(Now Bakon don't you dare make me regret saying all this LOL)

And I did it with prayers, Sugar (juice is better) and sticking with my daily pledge NOT ONE PUFF EVER!
The Pig credits ;)
 

[etd]

Thanks, guys. Well, I picked today as my quit date weeks ago and i used the lozenges and then i smoked a few. i am DONE with NRT. I am going told turkey and going to try again tomorrow by posting in the NOPE section. I have been researching quit methods for months now but i guess i was never really ready. i have a huge blackboard in my kitchen and i wrote out all the reasons i want to quit on one side and then my triggers. I used to be a huge runner and just started again and today i signed up for a race for extra motivation. i plan on watching the videos and posting daily because i want to take this seriously. i have two small children and they deserve to have me around and i deserve to be free. i am sober from alcohol and have admitted powerless over nicotine but haven't used my higher power to help guide the process more as i keep taking my will back. i am going to try to use more of that recovery program as well. Thanks again for all your support and I'll check in again tomorrow. 

[Devil Doll]

Hi Erin! Welcome to th QT!!

[Ramona]

I'm a sober gal too - 4 years off the sauce!

 

And ya know?
 

I changed my sobriety date to my quit-smoking date.  Not because I fault anyone who smokes in recovery but because quitting smoking has unearthed an incredibly thick layer of emotional grim, grief, despair, rage, etc.  I am evolving in ways never before experienced.  This is a literal metamorphosis and I want to mark its significance.  

 

One guy at a meeting came up to me and said, "ya know, I'm grateful for what you're doing with this cigarette thing because ya know what?  I seen a lot of guys get sober in these rooms and ya know what killed them?  NOT THE BOOZE - no, no, no, they quit that.  It was THE CIGARETTES that killed em."  

 

The guy tells me this every time I see him but I appreciate it nonetheless.  

 

You got this!!!!

[Evelyn]

We'll be here to support you, cheer you on and gently kick you in the butt if you need one or a huge hug!!! But what ever you do don't smoke! Cry scream, run 10 miles (ok I believe that's looong) but do anything but smoking:)

Oh and watch a lot of video's if you can from joel spitzer!!!

[Tink]

Welcome Erin, keep reading and posting, the board will support you x

[Runfree]

Welcome Erin!  Do whatever it takes to get yourself through these first few days.  I cried a lot, but I made it :) and you will too.  Really glad you found the QT.  Stay close.

[etd]

Well, y'all, I made the pledge but then I smoked. I am totally powerless. I am going to try again tomorrow. My kids are with my ex overnight so I am going to get up and go for a long run to start the day off on the right foot, make the NOPE pledge again, drink lots of water, cry (if I need to), post here, read my list of reasons to quit over and over again if I have to and stay away from triggers. I have to really watch my cognitions, too and just tell myself over and over again "I am not a smoker, I am no longer a smoker. I do not smoke". 

[Still winning]

Get a plan in place for the first few triggers. Ie, if it's the morning that gets you...take your drink and sit in a different room to start. Go and take a feew breaths outside. I actually clean my worksurfaces first thing now as it was a huge trigger point for me, weirdly over a year on I still wake and clean my kitchen worksurfaces lol. If your trigger point is the car, get some gum, or candy, or whatever is your thing. Carry a small bottle of water round with you to sip, that stopped a few of my craves in their track. If you are not doing nrt get some fruit juice too and sip some every few hours. Our bloodsugar levels go nuts for 3/4 days causing feelings that are like a trigger but actually aren't (how unfair!) and the sips of fruit juice combat that. xx