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Day 7 and hurting, playing mind games with myself

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Day 7 and hurting, playing mind games with myself

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2534

Good news!

Yeah, triggers and boredom, they can get you - but they haven't!!

Well Done and Congratulations on 20 days today!!

Penitent

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10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1140

Awesome cdngreeneyes! So glad to hear that you are still on the wagon and that it's getting easier for you.

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10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11

Well 19 days now and it is significantly easier. There are moments, usually related to something I used to do or just plain boredom that makes me think about it. That being said, it's so much easier now to get past the cravings. Had a stressful issue the other day related to work, that was more of a test when I was in my car but I never did consider going to get a pack. I'm just babbling here but I am enjoying my new routine. Also enjoying my clothes not smelling like smoke!

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hey Green Eyes!!!

Glad you made it through another weekend kicking butt!

Just think, upon waking you will have made it through both Hell Week AND Heck Week!!! Be sure to acknowledge your achievement and reward yourself properly!!! You're coming up on Blah Week and you will need to continue to stay strong and stay positive! As I've mentioned to others before, we spend a LOT of time and energy battling the nico-demon during the first couple of weeks and it really does start to wear on us! Be sure to get enough rest and continue to shake up your normal routine. That really helps to remedy the "familiarity" triggers. You seemed to have figured that out pretty well, but I always think that reminders always help!

You're doing great so far, so keep on keeping on!

Jim

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10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 796

Hey cndgreeneyes,

If talking to yourself out loud helps with your urges just do it. It shouldn't matter what other people think, what matters is that it works and not to give in to the urge.

You're past the physical part now and you beat it.

Now like you said, it's all mental, and that's where the fight really begins. Don't let your guard down, because the triggers are everywhere.

I hope you are rewarding yourself for your great accomplishments you deserve them!

Hang in there, it will get easier as time goes by...

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Stay safe & Strong.

Not One Puff Ever (NOPE)

Tim

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11

Thanks all for the messages and support. Just spending time with friends and family this weekend Ashley. Well I haven't smoked at all. I'm not feeling the cravings like I used to but don't get me wrong, they still haunt me. I have accepted the fact that they will for quite some time. I am still avoiding environments where I will interact with smokers, eventually I won't but they may make my cravings worse. I have also replaced coffee with different kinds of tea. It has made a huge difference although I think I went through caffeine withdrawal at the same time. Also not a fun experience. Things I don't miss: My car smelling like smoke, my clothes smelling like smoke, the money spent, urges at work or on planes while I travel for work. I have to keep reminding myself. I am not ashamed to say I have actually talked out loud to myself to coach myself through urges until they pass. It may sound stupide but I am doing less of it and it's really working for me. It's truly a mind game now. I all those who have quite before know that. It's a powerful mind game but a mind game nonetheless. I should probably mention that I didn't tell anyone I was quitting (except here of course), not my friends, family or co-workers. Not because I was afraid of failing but because I felt I needed to truly commit myself to this and that this is my battle. When I did start to tell people the reaction was more that I expected. Had a couple of friends who called me but out of the ordinary, giving me words of encouragement. One called to say if you are struggling, call me and let's go to the gym for an hour. They knew my triggers and suggested things that wouldn't trigger me. I was one of the last smokers in my circle of friends. Most have never smoked but I guess they always knew my routines when we out together. It I was to change something I would probably ask a couple of friends for help in the first couple of weeks, but plan it out. Either way though, I still truly believe that I need to do everything possible before I reach to others, but that's just me. Thanks again for all the support. You are a great group of people!

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11214

How are you doing cdngreeneyes?

What are you plans for this weekend?

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1140

I'm hoping not to hijack this thread. Just thinking about that reaction to secondhand smoke. For me, it triggers rounds of cravings that then turn into physical revulsion which goes back to cravings and then back to revulsion. It's both mentally and physically uncomfortable for me.

When I go into the occasional smoky environment (and those environments are very occasional these days), I just want to go home and shower as soon as possible.

When I was first quitting, I never thought I'd feel like that. I used to perversely wish for a little "freebee" from inhaling secondhand smoke of others. ...Not exactly sure when that started to change for me, but it has.

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10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hey Rita!!!

I loved what you said about walking through a gang of smokers' second hand smoke!!! That would make me totally gag now!!!

My nose is so sensitive to cigarette smoke now, I can smell it from the driver in front of me driving down the road or from my neighbor 2 houses down. It just wants me to apologize to all of my non-smoking friends and family that put up with me smoking for all those years!!!

Also you made some very good points about desiring the act of smoking, but not really wanting the BAD that goes with sucking in that poison. I used to think like that on previous quits, but on this quit I tried to disassociate myself from that kind of thinking because it seemed to me that would be romanticizing the act. I think that helped me get over it a lot quicker!

You both are doing fantastic! Bring on the rewards and have a great smoke-free weekend!!!

Jim

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10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 26

Good Morning Cdngreeneyes

I just saw your post and am a bit late to reply but I'm hoping that my reply finds you still quit. While I am on day 23, I know just what you are feeling and thinking. I'm still there alongside of you. While the craving for the nicotine is gone, the true craving for a cigarette is not. There is a big difference. At this point we are not craving the nicotine but the pleasure of the act of smoking; not the benefit of the inhalation of the smoke.

In our minds we still equate relaxation with taking the drag of a cigarette. I know that I still want one the first thing in the morning with my cup of tea. I still want one after a meal. I don't want the nicotine but I want that sense of pleasure that I derived from the act of lighting up.

For me, the withdrawal from that emotional pull is far greater than the want for nicotine ever was.

So hang in there. Don't think less of yourself for your desire to have a cigarette. Just realize that the desire is for the act and not the nicotine.

You know what works for me when I am desperate? I go where the smokers are and walk through the group and inhale the second hand smoke. The smell is horrid and just kills the desire for a smoke for me.

It is really so nice not to smell anymore ;-)

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Day 7 and hurting, playing mind games with myself