Seren

Congratulations! 'The Club' is now a three-peat!

Last part is here....

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html

wiscsober

Impurrfect, Kimchi, martina12, micealc, neferkamichael, soberhawk, Alysheba, Bubovski, DG0409, Seren, ksplash5, endlesspatience, Lawdawg, drc5426, stevie88, JWD, snipe, Nyte Byrd, Toronto68, Jeni26...

wiscsober

I hope you don't mind me listing almost everyone, but I really needed to thank you and go back and read a lot of the posts. My apologies for missing some.

Someone offered me two cigarettes. They knew me as a smoker. I've had a smoking history with her (neighbor). She bought me a pack of cigarettes last summer, and she offered me some her niece left at her house.

I immediately refused automatically. She thought it was great. She apologized, but I said don't worry you didn't know. But I"ve quit for over 40 days.

I did have some urges afterwards so I came here. Saw the new thread. KEWL. Needed to go back and reread what you all posted.

I"m going to bake my turkey now!!!

Bubovski

Happy birthday Kimchi!2

Great to see so many newcomers.As Wisc said beware of the f--- it syndrome!

AS for me it's 200 days sober, 128 drug free, & 20years plus no fags.

Stopped smoking 35 years ago, then after 15 years tried some hashish.....dumb move!
Actually I found the smokes easier than alcohol to free myself from, what with the benzos being the worst.
I am now committed to every day (ODAAT) and aware of all those potential triggers and the need to keep my guard up (KUG).....................

martina12

Thanks Wicsober for making me feel a part of the gang...I am humbled. I am in for another 24 but want to throw in that I am thinking of giving up alcohol in January? I am on this site because of my AH and need support. I am thinking that maybe I should give up my nightly bottle of wine...? Can anyone let me know how giving up alcohol compares to giving nicotine?

Kimchi

My daughter, who has bugged me for years to quit smoking (and has never had a cigarette in her life), told me that she would support me if I decided to start smoking and quit after the holidays. I seriously thought about it. But then I thought, the intense "want" that it takes for me to quit may not come back for years - if ever. So as of this moment I am committed to not smoking. (I have an e-cigarette that I haven't used yet, but the habit of picking one up is beginning to leave. I think that using the e-cigarette will set me back.)

Impurrfect

Signing up for another 24! Martina - I didn't even try to quit cigs when I quit crack, but that's just me. I do know of several people who were able to do it, though.

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

Impurrfect

kimchi - just read the last few posts of old thread so Happy Birthday!!

I don't know for sure, but I don't remember this thread ever making it to part three!!!

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

endlesspatience

Yes. I am still here. 14 days since my last relapse on the fags, when I smoked a whole packet of 20 in one go. Yuck. That disgusts me now. I am so happy to be clean of them at the moment and I spent today in the company of a non smoker so that was great.

Kimchi

I caved. I'll check in after the holidays.

Impurrfect

Kimchi - you can still hang around here. I'm pretty sure that you all are what kept my rrelapse from going on for months or years.

Hugs and prayer,

Amy

wiscsober

Hang around the thread for awhile....we were just getting to know you...your posts helped me.

When I quit in July I lapsed after 3 weeks(?) and didn't show my face around here until 6 weeks ago. I felt unneeded guilt and shame....and that AV kept me locked in with nicotine.

I could have quit anytime but I went on smoking for 4 months...hating myself.

wiscsober

Signing in for 24...

woke up from some bad dreams wanting a smoke...

Going to the food pantry with a smoker...he's also getting ripe for sobriety...that's up to him he knows I don't drink or smoke.

Last night at my AA meeting a smoker sat next to me...and wow did he smell...+
I kept thinking I smelled like that....wondered what other people especially women thought.

Everyone have a great day...today's the day to seize the moment.

Alysheba

I am stressed and fighting buying a pack of cigarettes! That job I took turned out to be one of the worst nightmares in work history! I am not going back anymore and I'm bummed b/c I quit my other little job to take this one and I can't go back. Geez. Anyway, traffic was so bad last night I didn't get to log on and declare 24 more, I hope I make it!!! Send a good thought if you can. I'm up early, going to walk the dog and try to catch mass if I can.

Glad to see we're a 3 peat! How exciting. So glad you're all here.

wiscsober

Want the best for you...

You can live one day without smoking

You will feel so much better than if you smoke a stinky poison cancer stick.

Alysheba

Thanks Wisc! You all are such a source of support and by reading what you say, I have so far, one day at a time, have talked myself out of smoking for over a month. So, I'm trying real hard today. I want the best for ALL of you too!!!

martina12

Just think how bad you would feel if you picked up the fags Alysheba...dont do it! Smoking wont make your situation better if anything it will make it worse. Good luck with sorting things out.
I found out this morning some very sad news. A very dear work colleague passed away unexpectedly in the night. She was only in her thirties and it reminded me of how precious life is...
Im in for another 24 hours.

DG0409

Martina, I think the skills needed to quit both cigarettes and alcohol are very similar. Take things one day at a time (try out Deeker's 24 hour clean and sober thread and commit with the other to 24 hours at a time). Make a list of reasons why you want to quit, how your life will be better without it, how you'll save money, etc. If a crave comes, remember it can't hurt you, but drinking can. Ride it out. Find a distraction, log on here, go for a walk, etc. I found it helpful to make some other goals in life: if you have a hobby focus on doing that in the evenings, if you don't have one, find one, try new stuff, find a new recipe to cook to keep you busy, clean the house, etc. Remember that a crave will pass whether you drink or not.

Quitting alcohol can come with some different withdrawal symptoms, but alcoholism (as you probably know) is a progressive disease and it depends on how much you're drinking. I think you're catching it relatively early and you won't have too bad of a time as far as that goes.

Personally, I found quitting everything relatively close to each other has been beneficial. I didn't quit everything actually together but had a little time in between, but I also didn't wait very long. I took advantage of the momentum I had going and my desire to make a better life. I kept in mind that I really wanted to be clean, sober, and free of all drugs and addictions. And things like drinking make you more likely to have bad judgement one night and light up a cigarette.

Lastly, I've looked at it as things that I am gaining from quitting. I don't think of it as depriving myself, but of gaining freedom, taking my life back, doing positive, healthy things for my body, being able to accomplish the things I want, saving money, not wasting my time drunk/high/smoking, being able to have a clear mind to process and deal with problems head on rather than trying to avoid them with drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.


I'll sign up for another 24 smoke free. I love not worrying about having enough cigarettes, not coughing, not wasting the money, and not worrying if I'm causing myself health problems.

DG0409

micealc, welcome to the thread. You can do this. Take it one day at a time and come here and post if you're struggling. Tons of support here.

martina12

DG thank you so much for your post with all your fab advice. Im planning on a dry January and basically seeing how I get on. I want to know that I can actually quit for a month even though I have quit drinking whilst pregnant twice that was a few years ago. I did do a month this time last year but starting to feel that it is becoming an evening habit. Think that quitting the fags is also propelling me onto quitting alcohol...