The Giving Up Smoking Thread!!

JoeHel

basilcat7 wrote: »

hi allhaving a drink too and it's so hard.................... really bad today but will keep goingxx good luck all x

basilcat you are doing brilliantly.

Turn it around ... say out loud, "I am having a drink and I can STILL manage without a cigarette!!" One major thing I noticed was how much more manageable hangovers are when you quit!! They are nowhere near as bad!

Sorry TNG - I will shut up now!!!

basilcat7

hi everyone, thanks for all positive comments- this works for me.....
In the end my friend and I stayed in, still here... not smoked and don't want to, its just more difficult.

You are all so great and a massive help, thanks xx

yellowmonkey

JoeHel wrote: »

And this may help too... It's not "gross" in that it's not a picture of a diseased lung or anything, but it is quite distressing in that this man was reduced to this condition in just 9 weeks, at the ripe old age of 34... Just as distressing is how his wife and child must be feeling to witness his deterioration. The photo was taken on the day he died.

http://whyquit.com/whyquit/BryanLeeCurtis.html

Allen Carr nearly done it for me. The link above is what made me 100% know that I would never smoke another fag in my life. As Joe says it is not gross but a very powerfull picture of how i do not want to end up. I found it very sad.
How are you all. 7 Weeks for me now so still going strong.

Hope you all have a great smoke free weekend. Me I am at work but a nice quiet day after the xmas rush.

Take care

ym

basilcat7

Morning all. On day 12 !!! Hurrah !!
Well didn't give in last night and feel fantastic !!!

Still, have just clicked on the link of Bryan Lee Curtis and something has 'clicked' in my head again. That story is so sad but has a massively powerful message. I defy anyone to read that and still want to smoke.
I know I'm on here a lot at the moment- but its necessary !!
JoeHel- you are so right about the hangovers... And you know what- I CAN have a drink without a cigarette ! Have a good day all

JoeHel

basilcat7 wrote: »

Morning all. On day 12 !!! Hurrah !!Well didn't give in last night and feel fantastic !!! Still, have just clicked on the link of Bryan Lee Curtis and something has 'clicked' in my head again. That story is so sad but has a massively powerful message. I deny anyone to read that and still want to smoke. I know I'm on here a lot at the moment- but its necessary !!JoeHel- you are so right about the hangovers... And you know what- I CAN have a drink without a cigarette !Have a good day

You little star!! You should be SO flippin proud of yourself. You had a hard time and faced a difficult situation and 100% got through it. You must be feeling very good this morning for not giving in to temptation! And it only gets easier. You honestly DO get used to not smoking while you drink. I think I said a few pages back that apparently it takes 6 times of repeating an action without a ciggie for it to feel "normal". I have to say that I have found that doing things only a couple of times has got that message into my head that there was NOTHING I used to do which was better/easier/more fun with a ciggie than without. The funniest thing now is remembering that I used to think they relieved boredom. How ridiculous is that?! How does inhaling smoke into your lungs stop you being bored??!

Have you watched anyone smoke since you quit and thought how ridiculous an action it really is?! When you really look closely, it just looks like such a stupid thing to do!! :rotfl:

melbury

Must say that everything I watch on TV lately seems to have people lighting up all over the place - the absolute b******s! Probably always did, but I never noticed before because I was puffing away as well.

Oh well, still plodding on and determined not to give in to the nicotine gremlins - THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WIN!!!!

Keep up the good work everyone.

JoeHel

Well done Melbury. I know you are finding it really hard which just makes the fact that you are still quit even more of an achievement.

There is a very good post on WhyQuit.com from Joseph called "when will my comfort come". I've pasted it below.

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]"When will my comfort come?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Tomorrow. For every newbie who has recently asked or is getting ready to ask that question, the answer is tomorrow. At exactly 9:00 am EST comfort will come to everyone who quit smoking since the beginning of the new year 2006. Synchronize your watches, and get ready to let out a collective Woo Hoo! You will never have another thought about smoking. You will no longer crave nicotine. You will no longer be angry or sad. The frustrations of quitting will melt away like the last stubborn pile of snow on a warm spring day. That is tomorrow at 9:00 AM. If you are not ready, you will miss it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Does that sound ridiculous? It should. Can I predict when you will start to feel better because He or She started to feel better after 32 days, and they looked a lot like you. Because Ellen weighed about the same as you and was the same age as you, you will start to feel comfort at 47 days because that is when she began to feel comfort. Don't expect it a moment sooner or a moment after. If you are a man then of course Ellen's recovery has no bearing on when you will feel comfort.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Still sound ridiculous? It should. We all want to know when, because if we know when, then we can start counting the days down until comfort arrives like the Avon lady ringing the bell. Ding Dong - Comfort calling. Not knowing is what makes it difficult because you are waiting for an event. Something solid like a milestone, a medal of honor, a diploma that is unmitigated proof that I have graduated, I am cured of my addiction and it says so right here ... You may have expected that you would feel better by now. Because you have not, you think something is wrong - You are growing impatient.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Many have posted recently in response to these questions that recovery is not an event, it is a journey. It is a lifelong comittment to never take another puff. You are never cured of nicotine addiction. Despite the promise you make to never take another puff, you must learn to live with your addiction one day at a time. This is something that newcomers find difficult to understand. How can you tell me forever and then in the same breath tell me one day at a time? My answer to you is you will understand, but only if you never take another puff. When you truly understand one day at a time, you will find it a powerful ally in all of your life.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Your decision to quit smoking was made because you all recognized the health risks associated with continuing to inhale smoke from burning tobacco that has been laced with hundreds of additives and the byproducts of burning it. Few of you, if any, before finding this site, recognized why you smoked or understood nicotine addiction like you do now. My mother recently had lens replacement surgery. I went with her to the drug store to fill a precsription for 1 Oz. of eye drops that act as an antibiotic. The cost of the prescription was more than $60.00. At that same drug store, I can purchase over the counter, one days supply of the most powerfully addictive subtance known to man, for about $5.75. So if you ever get tired of waiting, or don't believe us who have walked the road ahead of you, you can always go buy a pack of over the counter dopamine rush. It is readily available and comparatively inexpensive.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] Much of your experience with recovery from nicotine addiction is dependent upon your attitude towards the experience. It has all been said before as well in many well written posts. If you take the attitude that everything you face is part of the healing process then what you face becomes a source of encouragement instead of a source of discouragement. (If this goes on like this, I will never make it.) Take credit for what you have done and understand the significance of having quit. If you are posting on this forum then you have quit. You have made it. You are already there. I quit smoking more than 15 months ago, but If I were to smoke a cigarette today then those 15 months would mean absolutely nothing. Nothing, because I smoked today. When I post my stats, I don't post my name and the length of time as if it were some sort of badge of honor. It is simply proof that it can be done. The further I get from my last puff, the more precious each day becomes because I never want to experience withdrawl again, not for 3 days nor for the 30 seconds it took me to pull a cigarette from the box in my breast pocket, pack it on my thumb nail and spark it up.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif] If you want to wait until tomorrow at 9:00 AM, you may feel a difference or you can decide that right now things are infinitely better than they were when you were still smoking or chewing or however you got your nicotine. They will continue to get better too, as long as you never take another puff.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Sans-serif]Joseph
1 Year, 3 Months, 1 Week, 6 Days, 15 hours, 18 minutes and 58 seconds
One day at a time"[/FONT]

There is an A-Z of helpful topics on the site which others might find helpful. There will be something there to answer any problems or questions anyone has on their quit. We are all different and different things get us all through it! Hope this helps someone else (it's helped me massively!!)

http://whyquit.com/FreedomIndex.html

melbury

Just out of interest, how many of us "new quitters" are there on here? It does help being able to vent and moan at people in the same boat!:D

JoeHel

The brand new quitters are a bit quiet at the moment so hopefully they're keeping busy elsewhere on this site and are still going strong!

I am not that far ahead of you guys really... only a few weeks.

As one of my main reasons to quit was the money, I keep a keen eye on the financial "milestones" in my quit meter. Reached a biggie today - £500 saved! In only about 9 weeks... How embarrassing!!


I have been quit for 2 Months, 1 Week, 16 hours, 32 minutes and 14 seconds (68 days). I have saved £500.05 by not smoking 1,923 cigarettes. I have saved 6 Days, 16 hours and 15 minutes of my life. My Quit Date: 04/11/2007 23:00

tattycath

Hi Melbury. My last smoking day was 1st december 2007, so I guess I'm not such a newbie. Tbh I'm finding it quite easy, but I will say: ' once it seems really easy, don't get complacent, I've been here before. Last august I suddenly had this really strong urge to smoke and I stupidly gave in and started again for 3 months!!!' But now back on the right road-and I intend not to fall off this time, coz I'm so positive and so strong. You're all doing really well I am so proud of you all and you should all be so proud of yourselves. continued good luck to everybody.