Why can't I just stay quit?

[Molendie]

1 day, 3 days, a week, a month, 6 months..... no matter how long I quit I keep getting sucked back in. I had 3 days this round and picked em back up. Ive been sober from alcohol and drugs for 2 + yrs now but I just cant shake these damn cigs!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!

[best]

It has been said that smoking is worse then crack or heroin.

Don't beat yourself up over it. Just keep trying and sooner or later it will stick.

The easiest thing to do so we never smoke again...Not picking up that first one. Just one and your right back again.

Easier said then done but with the steps of recovery, we can get past the moment and it does pass.

[historyteach]

Molendie;
I'm sorry you are struggling with nicotine now. It's a hard one, I know. At one point, I smoked over three packs a day. I have now been quit for over 2 1/2 months!
You CAN do this. If you really want to quit, you can.

First, did you plan for your quit? Did you call the American Cancer Society? They will set you up with workbooks to work through typical issues. They also give telephone counseling. Finallyl, call your state department and see what they are doing with the tobacco settlement money received. RI set up smoke cessation counseling, complete with free patches and gum.

Which leads me to my next point. Durning your plan to quit, have you decided to use a nicotine replacement therapy? (NRT) Using one doubles your chance of success. However, it will NOT stop you from smoking if you want to smoke. :nono:
NRT gives us the opportunity to learn new behaviors. New positive behaviors to replace the negative smoking behaviors.

The best type of behavior is one which will be negatively effected if you go back to smoking. It takes 6 weeks to incorporate a new behavior into your lifestyle. Going to the gym or taking up any exercise, yoga, pilates is good. Singing exercises those lungs. What else can you suggest?

Those are the big changes. What about the daily things. WHat will you do when you've finished your dinner? How about the phone?
The idea here is to shake up your routine as much as possible. If you sit at the table with your morning coffee, sit elsewhere. If you smoke while on the phone, hold the phone in a different hand. Take a different route to work. In the evening, sit in a different chair watching tv, or change the furniture around. The bedroom too. Shake it up! Change the routine to support the changes in you!

I think it's good to use as much support as you can get. Towards that end, I used www.trytostop.org Lots of information and step by step support. Also, www.silkquit.org will give you a quit meter which is a good motivation.

I also got my own motivational mantra. Nais gadol haya po -- a great miracle is happening here. After 36 years of smoking, it is indeed a miracle!

You can do this. come each day and check in. It helps me to remain accountable. We look forward to having you join us in the land of the smoke free. Kick that nicodemon to the curb!

Shalom!

[historyteach]

I just wrote a long post, and it disappeared into cyberspace.
I have to get ready for work; I'll come back later.

Shalom!