I just read back to your post on the 29th. I didn't realize you were 'breaking the rules" until you said so. Since I never used the patch or Wellbutrin, I don't know what the rules are. But I did break the nicotine lozenge rules, since that's what worked for me. Here's to sticking to the most important rule: Stop Smoking.
Thanks for popping in, transcend. I sometimes look at stats of people who haven't posted in a while and I wonder: Is he/she still quit and moving on with life OR is he/she off the wagon? It's very helpful to occasionally see the folks who have kept their quits.
Since the desires have been both shorter and weaker, my main strategy is to simply redirect myself. Usually the "crave" is well under a minute. Sometimes it's a single stray thought, lasting only a few seconds. So I usually have short mental statements like, "No, I'm not going to do that.," "Move on to something else now," or "Time to put my attention elsewhere." In many ways, it is like managing a child who is nagging for something he/she wants. The child has been asking a lot less frequently, and more readily accepts a "no" with a redirection right now. I truly hope it stays that way.
Right now, my motivations for keeping the quit are: 1) I don't like to fail. That's why it took me so long to even get around to quitting. I especially don't want to admit defeat to those who have been supporting me. 2) I don't want to have to go through detox again. That was a sufficient life-learning experience for me. 3) I like the freedom I've felt since I quit. ...There are, of course, all the gory health reasons, but that's not where my focus is right now.
I may be wrong, but it seems that a 24 hour patch would no longer be delivering nicotine after 24 hours. So it would seem that you have already been off nicotine for 3 days. Did you experience any detox/ withdrawal sensations?
I actually quit smoking during very stress filled few weeks at work. Something I noticed was that, once the nicotine was out of my system, the stressors weren't as stressful anymore. I guess that not jonesing for a cigarette reduced the overall stress level.
I think my biggie was alcohol. A lot of my smoking habit started was when I was drinking when I was younger. Those who watched my slow, tedious process of quitting know that the cigarette with alcohol was the last one to go. In fact, I wasn't sure if I could let it go for a while. Once my metabolism settled down after withdrawal, I decided to just try drinking without smoking--kind of like a practice run. The first time I drank alcohol after quitting, I asked myself why I chose to put myself through such torture. But I didn't smoke. The last few times, it hasn't been a big deal. I do think about it more when alcohol is involved, but it's not so intense or frequent anymore.
I also have made a point of going outside where I used to smoke when I want to smoke. I know that seems like it would be a trigger, but it's actually soothing for me. One of the things that reinforced my smoking behavior was simply having the chance to take an outside break for a few minutes. I had some nice spots set up and staked out, too. (My porch at home is one of my favorites.) So I figured why not just take the break and skip the smoke?
Nice to see you here. You're not 3 days too late. You are wise to attempt quitting again and to seek support from a group. As you will most likely hear from various members, each quitting attempt gives you practice for your final quit. Ideally, people could simply quit once and be done, and some folks have done this. However, others need to practice a few times before getting it perfect. Either way, if you reach your end goal, you're golden.
Please read around here in the forums and check out the self help tools at the top of the board. The milestones and the craving diary can be quite useful for dealing with the mental/ behavioral challenges of quitting.
I wish you the best with this quit attempt. Here's to making this the final one! And if you stumble, folks will still be here to support you getting back up.
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