Anxiety buster ...

[barb dwyer]

... sooo..l this is day two.
I don't know if I'm gonna make it to three -
the stress physically of work - the BODY thinks it should go outside - I've been out now for a 'break ' - and just walked around the building. For me all I have to think of is how hard it was to breathe just two weeks ago with that pneumonia.

That really helps.

I had incredible anxiety yesterday - so I went to the store and bought a pack of smokes. It's still unopened in my purse.

The panic left ... as soon as I bought 'em.

Didn't have to OPEN 'em - jsut HAVE 'em.

I'll deal with the psychology of that ... later.

And if I don't make it- I'll just start all over.

But I'm hanging in for right now.

[karrotop]

hi barb....i always keep a pack of smokes around...unopened...everytime i quit...i know if i REALLY need one,i can have one....right now,i have a pack in my car,that's been there for three weeks now.....
i couldn't go outside on breaks for the first couple of weeks,and see my smoking buddies on the bench....Now,i can.and i like the smell of a fresh cigarette...i just can't stand the smell of stale cigs..........anymore.
it'll get better...just stick with it...are you taking the chantix now? give it a good week to get into your system....then,if you do smoke it WILL taste horrible.....Hang tough!

[barb dwyer]

yeah - KT - this starts week two of chantix. I'm finally on the blue pills the others were talking about - LOL (can NOT let an alcoholic feel left out, ya know?)

today - I had the 'stomach upset' talked about. yeeks.

but - it's been over 48 hours. and I'm not homicidal like I was when I was sick and couldn't smoke. I'm sure everyone in a ten mile radius of me is happy for chantix. and lexapro.

LOL

I hope it'll taste horrible - I almost lost it tonight. It was what you were talking about - so instead - I exersized.Sorta. Well, walked. really faszt. lol

[iuchewie]

i hate to say it, but having a pack around is probably going to lead you back to them eventually. just look at what karrotop said "i always keep a pack of smokes around...everytime i quit" this statement in and of itself shows failure. (no harm intended karrotop - i was exactly the same way with my can of kodiak for about 16 years)

make it so smoking is no longer an option. have a plan in place for when you're REALLY craving bad. what are you going to do when you're at the gas station and the cigs/dip is staring you in the face?

do you have a phone number of a fellow quitter that can talk you down?
do you have a picture of a child or spouse that you can pull out and look at?
what were you reasons for quitting in the first place? are they still valid? (i bet they are -- unless they've made a non cancer-causing cig recently)

don't worry about the concept of forever, but just take one day (or minute, or second if need be) at a time. but don't keep a trophy pack/can around. while it may make you feel better in the very short term eventually the nic bitch will get her hooks back into you.

i wrote this article a while back -- it pertains to dip but the concepts are exactly the same for smoking.

http://www.killthecan.org/facts/chewie01.asp

here's the eliminating nicotine as an option!

chewie - 430 days free from kodiak

[SoberKev]

For the time being, I am treating the outdoor smoking area at work like I treat a tavern, I have no business there since I don't smoke. Just the same as I have no business in a bar since I do not drink. Today, I have chosen not to drink or smoke a cig. I have asked for help, dealt with some nicotine cravings today, mostly with water, did my daily walk and in a couple of hours my day will be finished and I will end it like I started it, on my knees with gratitude.

Right now for the short term, my smoking buddies are not my buddies, unless we are indoors on the job, then we are work buddies. I have a good friend at work that quit smoking 20 years ago. He still has his last unopened pack of cigarettes. It can work both ways I suppose.

Hang in there Barb, I am pulling for you.

[notsleepingwell]

Hey Barb...I'm trying this with ya!! I just cannot have cigs anywhere near me cause I'll smoke em!! A friend told me...to make it as difficult as possible to get my hands on a cig.

I thought I would be in a panic not having any....but really, I can just hop in the car any hour and get to a store...so ...so far..haven't.

I also had to get rid of all the long butts laying around...how pitiful is that!! I'm actually enjoying the nicorette inhaler....it comes with a pack...which for some reason...my hands like messing with something like that. So heading into day 2 for me...never thought I'd make it this far. Actually hadn't really intended on quitting...but with the counter running....hate to ruin it
NSW

[barb dwyer]

hi Kev - as night auditor - there's no one outside when i need to walk. i'm in terror of the weight gain anyway - and since I've been sick - I thought a brisk (like I'm in a hurry kind of) walk would be jsut the thing.

I had three last night. LOL exactly the # of breaks I usually took. It's a safe town kind of thing - no risk, and it is good to get a good look at the moon.

NotSleepingWell - I did the same - cleaned the house, cleaned out the car ... trying to get rid of 'possibilities'... and still caved today.
But tomorrow is a new day also.

[historyteach]

The smoke cessation counselor said cinnamon sticks were helpful and also served as a slight appitite supressant. I personally didn't like them, but, used cinnamon gum. And I *did* like licorice sticks to suck on.

You will crave. And the cravings will pass. Normally in about three minutes. So, do something different when the craving hits. It's all about behavior once the first few days of physical cravings have passed. But, the emotional cravings last a lot longer. And it's then that you have to count on using different behaviors to get past the craving that's hitting you in the face right now.

And you CAN get past it!

Keep the quit and post before you puff!

Shalom!

[barb dwyer]

I'm also making myself take deeper breaths. that's something I read someplace about a hundred years ago ... that smokers don't breathe as deeply unless they're smoking.

you know - having that pneumnoia ... really brought my attention to breathing.I can laugh, in just three weeks- and not every laugh is ended in a cough now. and that's only three weeks - of 'not stopped' but 'cut way the heck back' smoking.

what a horror emphysema must be.

I want to remember that roaring breathing I was doing, (it really sounded like I was purring) and how it felt like I was breathing mud. I want to remember that.

[xjunkie4u]

It's nice to read all your postings and success's. Today is officialy day one for me as I've been detoxing while the chantix builds up. Ciggs started to loose there flavor and also became a little nausius after smoking. I won't smoke the way I feel now with slight nausia and no taste for it, but the real obstabcle is the mind. I'm glad to hear peoples day to day experiences with things like seeing your friends outside for a smoke break etc. It seem to me that it's like a re-learning process to do life without ciggs and it seems doable. Keep up the good work!

[barb dwyer]

thansk XJ!!!

good job for you too!!!!

I'm going on vacation for a week =- but am goin got try to sneak onto a machine at some point to check in.

just think - the $$$ I save from smoking -
I'll be able to buy a computer after Christmas

[simplysober]

wow great points you all have made! the money saved for christmas really hit it on the head for me! At first i was like o cmon now, i have been sober for 33 days now, on weight watchers and sticking to it, and now im gonna even try to quit smoking? my only vice? lol eeeks! I have noticed since the not drinking and the weight watchers im smoking WAY more than ever before- im developing a raspy voice and a dry cough, i dont like it one bit
and at 5 bucks a pack damn- somethings gotta give'
okay looks like smoking is my next challenge
i need to find a new vice-

hugs
maria

[iuchewie]

Originally Posted by simplysober

i need to find a new vice-

this is gonna sound like a joke but it's not -- make quitting your vice. this is what i did when i quit a year and a half ago - i'm obsessed with staying quit and helping others. amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it!

chewie - day 432 free from my kodiak

[simplysober]

chewie- doesnt sound like a joke at all actually! since i quit the wine, and the overeating- im kinda hooked on quitting things now! LOL makes perfect sense to me
just have to decide on a day and do it like i did the others.

hugs
maria

[notsleepingwell]

Maria...I had been kinda thinking about quitting ...but wasn't really serious. Up here in Canada cigs are about $8/pack....unless you buy the no name at the reservation, it's a carton in a baggy for about $13, all loose cigarettes. But they are harsher than normal cigarettes. The bad part for me, I had to drive about 25min to the reservation to get stocked up...but I would buy about 6 cartons therefore saving money....lol.

But I was getting to the end of my bags, and thought....I'm not gonna buy anymore....so stopped at the drug store and bought that nicorette inhaler. $29.00 for the little kit....

Amazingly I am now quit 3 days, 9 hours....and I have never quit before in my life. Hafta say, I've always liked smoking...not sure why!! But I'm liking taking time at lunch to relax...don't have to wolf my food down so I can run outside and smoke. I also downloaded that quit counter, so don't wanna restart that counter. Funny leetle thing, but keeps me honest!!! Soooo SEEE!!!!

I have been quit for 3 Days, 9 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds (3 days). I have saved $27.01 by not smoking 84 cigarettes. I have saved 7 hours of my life. My Quit Date: 25/09/2007 11:30 AM


Barb...didn't mean to hijack...sorry!!!

[notsleepingwell]

Hey Barb....how ya doin?? Day 4 for me and damn do I want a cig when I first wake up and after meals...but hangin in...

[barb dwyer]

hi!!!

well, I'm day twoskies ... and got called OFF MY VACATION - I'm so mad I could SPIT mercury! as soon as the boss called - I called an aa friend and said get yer ARSE over here and stop me from smoking - and she did.

we went shopping - I bought all new (don't take this personally) FAT clothes for all the weight I'm gonna gain ... and threw out all my other clothes that are already too tight.
Don't think I'm rich - I buy secondhand. Everything.
So then - we went to another thrift store - and I SCORED on a jen-ewe-eye-ne (genuine - just say it like the redneck I am LOL) 1940's RCA Victrolla cabinet - so I spent the whole evening scrubbing it, and taking stuff off it, and put my stereo and vcr inside. It;'s cherry wood - and it's GENIUS!!!!

So I kinda got over the 'get me a smoke or I'll kill ya' craving. but it cost me some 40.00 total - clothes AND cabinet.

Whew.

i was so WOUND UP ... I forgot all about going to the pharmacy and getting that inhaler, NSW. Ccan I call you that ? that's a lot of typing otherwise - LOL

good JOB on yer days -

[barb dwyer]

don't worry about hijacking - we need more people posting and keeping up with each other with this.

man, this is hard.

[rabye]

Stop Thinking About Smoking And That You Cannot Have One!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cause You Can Have One At Any Time but You Choose Not Too!!!!! Again I Repeat You Choose Not To Have One, Its Your Choice So Stick To It, It Cant Beat You That Way.

Good Luck And Drink Water When You Want One, Have A Glass Of Water For Every Cigarette.

[barb dwyer]

hi, rabye -

I am drinking water - like I've never drank it before - I don't know if it's the chantix -

[rabye]

good and dont stop beat the stupid cigarette.

[simplysober]

rabye wow you put it so simply tho at the same time wow POWERFUL message! Okay i can do this- today is day one of my quitting smoking- because i chose not to smoke

im a waterholic too lol since i quit drinking 38 days ago and went on weight watchers i cant seem to get enough water!! im constantly craving it and drinking it

i gotta wonder tho- if the heavy chain smoking had anything to do with that or not-

5 dollars a pack where i live and that adds up fast- No more dropping 5 dollars daily for me on this discusting habit

For today i chose to not smoke any ciggarettes

hugs
maria

[rabye]

its not as hard as you think, you make it hard for yourself by constantly thinking about not having the next one, forget cigarettes exist!!!!!!!!!!!! just keep doing what you are doing and live life without them.

yes u will save money and lots, i was a coke addict and now i have so much more money and no financial problems, if you feel weak try hypnotherapy, my friend did it and has never looked back or had a cigarette, dont keep them at home to prove to your self that you can refrain just dont buy them, when you want one, take a deep breath once twice three times and make yourself relax, call a friend, go for a walk and the craving will fade in about an hour SO DO NOT GIVE UP, in a month or two it will be easier, trust me, good luck and pls tell me how u r doing.

big kiss and good luck again xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx