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Please tell me it gets easier


9 years ago 0 11216 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Welcome and congrats quitting!

I am so impressed you were able to remain strong despite your quit buddies slipping. You clearly really want this and are really fighting for it. It's only natural to feel resentful but overcoming an addiction is incredibly hard. For some people it can take quite a few quit attempts before one sticks. Lead by example and they may soon follow suit. In the mean time, try to set any boundaries you can. Could your husband only smoke in one room? Is it possible for you to avoid that room for awhile? How else can you work together to come up with a plan so that his smoking does not trigger you?

The cravings will become less frequent and it is normal to feel more emotional during a quit. How are you feeling today?
 
 

Ashley, Health Educator
9 years ago 0 796 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi Wolfmother,
 A big congratulations on your quit! A lot of new years resolutions for quitting smoking.....go up in smoke so to say.  Usually it's because they were not really prepared for the quit. Resentment and being over emotional is NORMAL during a quit. Don't worry about it. You'll learn to adapt to the "new you" soon. There's a lot of other emotions you're going to have to learn to deal with too, but  you can do it. Hey, you've been smoke free for going on two weeks now. If you can do that, you can do anything if you put your mind to it. 
 Have you went through your program at the top of the page yet? It has some great tips for helping you along your quit journey. Also do a lot of reading in the forums. There's been countless other people struggling with the same issues you are learning to deal with. Maybe one of them has that magic tip that you could use to help yourself out. The cravings will subside in time, just keep your guard up and don't give into them. Make sure you reward yourself for your great accomplishments too, you deserve it! 
 Working on it has some good tips too. Deep breathing really does help during the quit, and triggers are everywhere. 
 After this long you don't really want a cigarette do you? You just want the feeling it gave you when you smoked one. That's a false feeling too. It's that nasty Nico-Demon trying to trick you. You were putting poisons in your body through your lungs and thought that it felt good.  You've completed hell week and you should have all of the nicotine out of your system now. Now it's all mental, the hard part in my opinion. Read read read and learn as much as you can about your quit. The more you know the easier it will be.
 As for your husband smoking in the house, could you maybe ask him to do it in a room that can be closed off, and preferably with a vent like to restroom? My wife still smokes but she does go in a different room and uses a air purifier. I still smell them though, and even after 14 months I think they still smell good. That is until I get too close and then they really stink. 
I wish you the best on your journey, stay strong girl! 
  • Quit Meter

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9 years ago 0 1140 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi wolfmother, and congratulations on getting through your first ten days.
 
Yes, it does get easier as time goes on. The quitting process includes learning how to manage yourself when faced with triggers. Triggers are events, feelings, locations, etc. that you associate with smoking. At the beginning of your quit, there will be many strong triggers. Each time you resist that urge to smoke, the trigger is weakened and/or extinguished, When a trigger gets extinguished, that event/ feeling/location/etc. won't make you want to smoke anymore. For instance, one of my triggers was driving my car. I had to learn how to drive my car with a cigarette. There were even parts of driving (sitting at stoplights, for instance) that were stronger triggers, since I had used cigarettes to deal with that situation for so long. But each time I drove somewhere without smoking, that association was a little bit weaker. Over time, it faded to nearly nothing. (I do still sometimes have an urge for a mint--one of my replacement  behaviors-- at a particular turn on the way to work, though.)
 
Your husband really should go outside, as being in a house with cigarette smoke can be extremely triggering, especially early on. However, it is understandable that you might no be able to train him to change his ways at this point in time. However, do at least tell him that it hurts your chances at successfully staying quit, and that the people in your support group said so.
 
As for the emotional stuff...yeah. I went through a lot of moodiness in that first year. I'd have thee very ragey-like emotions over little stuff. I'd know that my feelings were completely unreasonable and out of proportion to the situation, but that didn't do anything to change them. What I learned to do was to accept the feelings without acting on them. Deep breathing can be very helpful with that. Just breathe calmly and deeply, while noticing how your body feels physically. You will most likely notice that your feelings are changing as you breathe, creating various physical sensations and thoughts. If you just sit and watch it, instead of fighting it, the feeling will often move on by itself. Another helpful habit is to start exercising. If you're angry, go take a walk. You will feel better, even after a short one. 
 
Again, congratulations on you quit, and welcome to the boards. Please keep us posted on your progress.  
  • Quit Meter

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    Days: 604 Hours: 13

    Minutes: 37 Seconds: 33

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    4392

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    87,840

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9 years ago 0 2 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Also, is it normal to be so emotional? It seems like I find myself crying all the time about stupid stuff!
9 years ago 0 2 logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo logo 0
Hi all, I quit cold turkey on Christmas 2014 because I was sick but decided to keep with it after I started feeling better...my husband and my sister in law was to quit with me at the new year but neither one of them did. It's made me resentful . All I can think about is wanting a cigarette, but I'm trying my best to not give in. How can I do this without their support. My husband won't even go outside to smoke.. I guess I should explain here that he has chronic pain in his back so I try not to complain too much about him going outside, but it's making it hard on me. Please tell me these cravings will be less frequent and him smoking will eventually not bother me as much. Thanks

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