Progress report: quitting smoking

[Haydn]

Love this song.

 

`So English frowning`

 

Makes me want a Malboro light!

 

You are doing well.

 

Keep going it will go away the need to smoke.

 

 

Thanks! and it's Moz all the way!!!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2m8b1Ov7AY

[ja123]

I'm still not smoking!

 

 

Yes! It is getting easier!

 

 

I shall keep posting here for until Day 21, at least. It's keeping me honest!

[ja123]

Still not smoking!

 

 

I went to the dep (that's what we call corner stores in my neck of the woods) and the clerk asked if I would take my usual brand. I gleefully told him I've been smoke-free for over 2 weeks!

 

 

He congratulated me.

 

 

I mean, honestly, if I didn't quit, I'd have to change deps to by my smokes as I'd been telling everyone, including the clerks, how I was going to quit. lol I would have been too embarrassed to buy them again from the same place. How sad is that?

 

 

Well, anyway, I'd don't have to worry about that now as I have quit!!!

[whichwayisup]

I'm still not smoking!

 

 

Yes! It is getting easier!

 

 

I shall keep posting here for until Day 21, at least. It's keeping me honest!

 

Any other time you feel the urge or something, post here after day 21.

 

Is that what they say, takes 21 days to get through the cravings?

 

Still a strong believer that if someone is ready to quit, they can do it. I'm not quite there yet but getting closer.

[ja123]

I'm still not smoking!

 

 

@ whichwayisup The 21-day thing is not when the nicotine cravings are supposed to end. I've just heard it takes 21 days to forge a new habit, so that's why I wanted to post for 21 days. I would like to come back to update the thread every now and then. It'd be pretty cool to make some milestones (like a year!).

 

 

Though, to underline, Allen Carr emphasizes that smoking is not just a habit: it's an addiction.

 

 

Every time I've gone back to it, it's just been "one" because I was socializing and just wanted to see. Silly me. Actually, I know now that I cannot do that again because before you know it, I'll be out buying a pack, then I'll be right back into the trap.

 

 

I really don't want this in my life any more.

 

 

The fears for my health, my sore lungs, not to mention the time and money wasted, are too present in my mind.

 

 

The fact that you've been thinking about quitting is a good thing. You will get there.

 

 

We've nothing to lose by attempting to quit, right?

[Always Pondering]

I really don't want this in my life any more.

 

 

The fears for my health, my sore lungs, not to mention the time and money wasted, are too present in my mind.

 

I believe once you start really feeling that the negatives outweigh the benefits you get from an addiction and you really want to make a change, that's when the real hard motivation kicks in. That's how it was for me anyways. Not to mention the guilt from breaking your streak, I used to break it so many times that I just felt so disgusted at myself for not being strong enough to stay steady with my change.

 

Great progress as always on your pathway to cigarette freedom too ja123 .

[ja123]

Well, I'm still not smoking.

 

 

If anything has convinced me to continue on (I'll admit to having a pang today) is the fact that, after having accidently breathed in a bit of drinking water, I coughed and out came clear phlegm that was dotted with veiny brown "tar" specks ... Yuck! I don't how long it's going to take to get this gunk out, but it made me feel really sad to think at what I've done to myself through smoking. It also made me really determined NOT to do this to myself again!!!

 

 

@ Always Pondering Thanks for the support. You're right, being excruciatingly aware how the negatives outweighing the positives provides solid motivation. One has to want to stop, whether it's cigarette addiction or any other kind.

 

 

It's a journey and a process.

 

 

The support I've received here has been a HUGE help. I probably would've caved.

 

 

I'm over the 2-week point and almost at 3 weeks now. It'll be lifelong from now on.

[ja123]

Well, here it is: Day 21!!! That's 3 weeks, folks!!!

 

 

I've told everyone I've come across that I've stopped smoking.

 

 

No more excuses. If I take another, then I truly am a duffer.

 

 

I'll be back during other milestones/events to update this thread.

 

 

Thanks to everyone for your support!!!

 

 

And best wishes to all those who are still on the journey to becoming smoke-free. I'm rooting for you!!!! You can do it!!!

[whichwayisup]

When I am really ready and in the frame of mind of quitting I may reach out to you for help and guidance, and of course inspiration! Ha, you can be my 'dear diary!'

 

Very pleased to hear how well you've done! You were 100 percent ready to let go of this disgusting habit.

[ja123]

@whatwayisup Thanks so much! For me, I just need to remain vigilant and not have "just that one for fun", or I'll be back in it again like so many times before. It's an addiction. Best wishes on your journey, and feel free to reach out to me any time. It would be my pleasure to help in any way that I can.

[whichwayisup]

How about an update/check in!

 

Hope all is going well with the no smokin'!

[ja123]

Hi whichwayisup and everyone,

 

I'm so sorry for the delay in updating this post. There's been 2 issues I've been dealing with which have been difficult for me:

 

 

1) Is the breakup of a 7-week relationship. I pulled the plug.

 

 

2) A fire that destroyed a building next door and broke my windows. The plywood was just removed from my windows today, so I'm starting to feel a little better as I am no longer in the dark. Admittedly, I was pretty shaken as I saw how fast it took off and I threw buckets of water at my curtains when they caught on fire. Thank God no one was injured.

 

 

 

I mention these issues, not just to explain the delay in this update, but most important to tell you that IN SPITE of these STRESSORS that I AM STILL A NON-SMOKER!!!!

 

 

I had every reason to feel depressed (and I was!) but I still did not pick up a cigarette!!!

 

 

Before quitting, I had managed to cut-down to a pack-a-day. (Yes, that would qualify me as a bonafied heavy smoker, but last fall I had hit the record of smoking 2-packs a-day plus popping nicotine mints while I was a my desk at work. Can you believe it?!! It's true. So, if I managed to quit, then you can, too!!!

 

 

Not everyone is a fan of reading or believes a self-help book can work, but in my case Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" really served as a catalyst and support. I had started reading the book a couple of years ago, but I think it took me a week to read two pages. I was scared to finish the book, as I was too scared to stop smoking! You've nothing to lose by reading the book.

 

 

The other major help I got was your support, here, at LS. I would encourage anyone who is quitting to post here or on another forum, or FB, or whatever. Reach out. It made a big difference to me to document my process of quitting. I might very well have started again had I not. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! It's meant the world to me!!!

 

 

I'd quit before in the past, but this was due to the pressure from a bf. Now, I've really done it for me!

 

 

Have I thought about smoking since last posting on this thread?

 

 

Yes, I have.

 

 

Sometimes you just feel a kind of sadness or existential void: those were the times I thought about it.

 

 

But, I imagined how nauseous I would feel if I took a drag. I knew I would have to acclimatize myself to the poison of cigarettes again. I knew that I would feel even more hopeless and that really there's no place to run from that void. So, I breathed. I cried. I walked. I listened to music. I took up guitar! I've reached out to some friends.

 

I've looked around and I have really started seeing smokers. People from all walks of life. I don't see them in the same way. I don't see them as comrades or fellow rebels. I just really feel sorry for them that they are slaves to the weed.

 

 

I honestly cannot believe I was actually a smoker now.

 

 

And, yes, it's not been that long, but I feel as though it was a lifetime ago or that I was someone else.

 

 

I can tell you in all honesty that I no longer romanticize smoking. Not at all. I just feel blessed to be free! When I started this thread, I remember feeling a horrible sense of shame. Now I feel pride! I felt dirty. Now I feel so much cleaner! What a treat to sip on cool filtered water and visualize the healthy hydration to my body instead of the life sucking asphyxiation of cigarettes. I feel that I am giving myself a chance to live!

 

 

And, hey, I have more money for treats! Going to movies! Buying myself sports clothes! Seriously, when you start seeing that extra money in your wallet because you've quit, then you feel like you've won the lottery or something!

 

 

There are too many reasons not to give trying to quit a chance! Just give it a try. And keep trying, day by day!

 

 

It is possible!

 

 

You can do it!

 

 

You can be free!!!!

 

 

Edited July 22, 2014 by ja123

[JDPT]

7 days without a cig!

I must stop the shortness of breath was really worrying me.