Hello everyone! I'm glad to find this forum and can't wait to receive all your supports and helps. This is my very first moment to stop wrestling with the nicotine addiction after too many attempts to count.

Just checking in to my healthier life, here.

Thank you all in advance,

2BContent

Welcome 2BContent. Something you won't regret. If you haven't already read the 'Introductions/Newcomers Nook' & 'February 2023 Ex-Smokers' tabs. 

Paul

I'm riding the first wave after passing the first 24hrs. 

Thank you, JavaNY.

Hi and congrats on making the decision to quit! I've learned so much on this forum, and everybody's wisdom and encouragement has helped me do this hard thing. I'm now 14 months smoke/nicotine free after decades of smoking.  One of the most helpful for me was learning a new way to think about cravings. They pass in minutes (whether you give in to them or not....) Rather than dread the mental battle a crave would start, I learned to simply acknowledge the crave and remind myself that it was the "voice" of my addiction/my enemy -- and so every time I did not give in, I was winning a battle over my enemy. The more battles I won, the stronger I became. And clearly the enemy got weaker, because of course you get less and less cravings as time goes on. I'm now happily smoke free but extremely aware of the insidious nature of nicotine addiction. It may be dormant, but for me anyway, I don't think it will ever be gone. In the past I'd quit for a years and then just have a puff while on vacation or celebrating, ya know .... and one puff lights up an addict's nicotine receptors like a Christmas tree. So I firmly subscribe to the N.O.P.E. pledge. Not One Puff Ever! I wish you the best on this journey and I hope you turn to this forum for support. There will be lots of cheering for your successes and no judgment for your struggles. 

Martha

Thank you MarthaJC. Way to go on your 14 months smoke-free journey!!

My current struggle is the first one of the day. And like you and many other said AND I'm witnessing it way too many times, this first one of the day eventually turns into a few a day. For the past few months, I been able to stop for a few days then right back to it. I'm so over with self bashing and etc. It's not even funny when knowing I have quit for 7 yrs., 16 years ago and one puff sucks me back into it. The most recent quit was 2 yrs. ago for about 10 months. NOPE is really the make it or break it. How do you subscribe to the NOPE?

I don't know how I'm going  to step up to stand firm to the first one of the day but I'm not going to give up will is still in me.

I have done Chantix 16 years ago which I have no interest of using it this  time. And as for NRT, to me they're another things just waiting for me to get addicted to so cold turkey is the way to go for me. Keeping it positive by telling myself I did it the last time for 10 months, cold turkey so I will again..somehow.

I think it's great you're aware of the power of that first one of the day. I wonder if you could somehow switch up your routine that goes with that first smoke. For me it was after work, I could hardly wait to settle with a drink and a smoke and feel my brain unwind. As much as I relished that ritual, I decided quitting was more important (cuz I was slowly killing myself and was really sick and tired of bashing myself about that....)  So I started stopping at a park after work for a quick walk in decent weather, and stopping by the gym in bad weather instead. It wasn't great at first, but I stuck to it, and now it's really rare for me to think about a cigarette after work. Yes - if you 've quit for that long, you already know you can do it! Hang in there!! Tell yourself NOPE!

I totally can related to your after work craving session. So it's no other way but change up my routine and only I have to do the work, huh? Lol..funny but not funny, how it has a hold on smokers. Appreciate you're sharing with me how you handle your toughest crave.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!   

Hello and welcome! Glad you found us, as we are a group of caring and supportive, non judgemental individuals who really want to see each other win. Park yourself here a few times throughout the day, everyday. Soak up inspiration from others who fought the hard fight and succeeded in the battle to overcome nicotine addiction. I admire the fact that you do not want to use NRT. Personally, I have been addicted to the nicotine lozenges for 10 years now. They helped me to quit smoking, but not nicotine. All I did was trade one form of nicotine in for another. My struggle with overcoming nicotine addiction is largely mental. I associate the nicotine lozenges with unwinding. I am trying to find new patterns of unwinding behaviour that will hopefully, like Martha found with the gym, help me relax in a new way that is healthy. I use 6 lozenges a day. Largely they help me when I want to unwind or I enjoy one after eating. I think you will be able to have a successful quit, as you have previous experience with winning! That is amazing that you went 10 months smoke free. Wow wow wow! I encourage you to post in February 2023 because you will be in contact with those of us in the throes of quitting. God bless you!!

Thank you for your warm welcome and encouraging words, Jerthie. I also want to thank this forum for the validation which I believe is what I was looking for which is not thinking too much on quitting smoking or how I'm not where I want to be. For me fixated on it only makes me smoke more from the anxiety of so very much wanted free from it. And from this forum I learned about whyquit site which after reading most of the articles on that site, it really clarified where I am and how I need to go about it. That is replacing the dialog with my mind about where I am and what I'm still doing what I don't  want to do, with keep doing what's working for my all other areas while practicing NOPE. I'm learning quiet a bit of giving myself some grace which is foreign to me. Since can't undo something over night that been done for so long, I'm learning how to be patient and have faith that I will get there and keep going. It sure is a moment at a time and on a good day, it's a day at a time. 

About NOPE -that's the lesson I missed the last few times I quit smoking (first time was for 7 years and the last longest time was 10 months with a few times quit for few weeks to few days, recently). Wow.. how I underestimated the traps of nicotine?!

Thank you, thank you and thank you.

Hey 2BContent, 

It's great to have you with us on the forum.  

I see others have already welcomed you too and offered some good advice. 

From what I'm understanding, you should be celebrating your first week smoke free tomorrow. Is that correct? We love to know quit dates so we can try to celebrate your milestones with you. Thanks. 

I too had multiple attempts at quitting before joining here in 2018. The previous one was in 2016 and I was doing great until I thought I could have that 'just one' and found myself here in March 2018 trying to quit again.

Like you, I quit cold turkey too. The hardest part for me personally, and of course everyone's different, was missing the feeling of having one in my hand. Unfortunately, I tied cigarettes in with my emotions and they were with me through everything. Happy, sad, bored, smoked. Nervous, I need a cigarette. Angry, where are my cigarettes?! Etc., you get the idea. Anyway, so when they weren't there anymore it was a huge noticeable absence. I missed having that cigarette in my hand. That and quitting itself brought on a bit of anxiety. Anxiety is one of the symptoms of withdrawal and not having that cigarette in my hand just seemed to add to it. When we quit it really can and does show just how addicted and attached we were to it, both physically and psychologically, through the nicotine withdrawal as well as the routine/habit of it all. In one of the replies though, as well as one of the articles posted to me back then, came the advice to try drinking ice water through a straw. As it happens, it does seem to help many people and is still recommended to this day. Unfortunately I wasn't one of them. I did notice though that the straw was white like a cigarette and about the same diameter as one. So, I took it and cut it about the same length as one. At that point, it weighed about the same as one too. Since it was the feeling of having a cigarette with me that seemed to be one of my biggest struggling points, I held that cut straw in my hand the same way I had held a cigarette. Strange as it sounds, it actually helped. It tricks the mind a bit I think and I can't begin to tell you how long I kept those straws with me. Also, if I forgot and put it to my mouth, so what, it was only a straw. Another added benefit was that I could keep them with me even in places where smoking wasn't permitted. Anyway, that's just one of the things I did. I thought I would share that with you in case you find yourself missing that too. As was already mentioned, we're all different though. Nonetheless, if and when you find yourself struggling or thinking about caving in to a craving please come to the forum and post. Please post at least three times, three minutes apart. Doing so will give someone here a chance to respond and try to help you. It will also allow time for the craving to pass. 

Here's one more quick note about any struggles that you may have during/related to cessation.  When you post, if you let us know what particularly you're struggling with it will give us the opportunity to try to help and support you even better. Knowing what your struggles are allows us to offer information and support aimed more toward that particular issue/issues. 

You had previously asked about the N.O.P.E. Pledge. You can find the N.O.P.E. thread in the menu under the heading 'General Chit-Chat'. I see that members Paul and Erika have already pledged there today and I'm sure that they'll be happy to have you join them. 

Here's a quick link:

https://forums.delphiforums.com/quit_smoking/messages/7229/41

Try to keep your focus on today and take it a day at a time. Quitting isn't easy but it is doable and you can do it. I wish you all the best toward your smoke free success and I look forward to seeing you around the forum. 

Have a great day.  

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