Jason closes his journal... Thanks!! I love you!!

[Up-the-Creek]

Good for you and congratulations!

I smoked for over 20 yrs,...I have been smoke free for over a year now. It is the best thing I have done in a long time. I used the patch to quit, but never the less, I did it. This spring was my first spring since I was 14 years old that I was smoke free. I smelled smells that I hadn't smelled since then. The wild flowers, etc.,...just all that wonderful spring air. I cried when I actually realized that these smells,..I hadn't smelled them in years! It was like being a child again! I have huge white pines behind my house and this fall is the first time I have ever smelled them since I lived here,..I have been here for 14 years. Food tastes so good now, and some things I used to like I don't care for now. My taste buds have changed quite a bit. It was all worth it,..and I truly hope you get to enjoy your senses again.

 

[Dace]

Great job Jay! You are setting a wonderful example to your family!!

 

[modern_pioneer]

I always say when I am done, I am done.. It is what it is...

Smoking is an addiction, I am not sure I understood that when I decided to quit.

I thought I could quit any time I wanted, this was the time, and so it was... But...

Until now, I never ever understood addiction, and with that, with disrespect to myself, I had given up.

But the monster came alive out of selfish reasons, I struggled, and gave in only to hold a stinky cig in my hand and wondered what that breath of smoke held for me.... I found nothing, but felt better as my own mind seemed to to say "that was good, keep on" but I seemed to have missed that I failed at stop smoking.

Can you non-smokers help me with my mind frame?

I have to teach my mind that smoking isn't good, and no matter what, smoking won't be a crutch.

 

[freemotion]

I was never a smoker....but the chemicals in the cigs replace a chemical in your brain...the neurotransmitters that make signals happen between your brain and nerve cells. So when you quit, your body has to start making it's own healthy neurotransmitters again, and this takes time. So you get jittery, cranky, and have difficulty thinking and focusing. It is normal. Your body needs time to re-adjust. Don't consider a small relapse to be a failure. Just flush the rest of the pack and continue forward. You did not fail. Keep going. You wouldn't tell your child he or she failed because they got one or two answers wrong on a test, would you? No! So don't get down on yourself for a little glitch. You can do this!

 

[modern_pioneer]

Dang..... This seems to be hard free.....

I can't seem to get my head around it, addiction, me a drug addict?

I did cover dopamine in my pre-quit plan, but I never thought it would effect me this way?

This morning I was like a train wreck, understanding how bad chantix and Zyban are, I was considering either as a way to quit. Understanding them made me scared to even condsider them a "way out" and I feel mad.

Knowing my pangs, what can I do about them?

 

[freemotion]

Keep focusing on the why....write down all the good things about smoking. Focus on those that effect your children....we often find more strength to do something for someone else than for ourselves! Writing them with your own hand, not typing, has been proven to be very powerful. Make them positive and present tense, such as, "I set a powerful example for my children by quitting smoking," rather than, "I will set an example...." etc.

You will have to go through the pain of detox, that is all there is to it. Your body needs to heal, and this takes time. Keep finding reasons that are even a tiny bit stronger than the urge to smoke, and distract yourself with hard work and projects...you know how to work hard, that is obvious! (If you are out of projects, I have a few here that I would be happy to loan you.... )

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Same advice she gave me! And let me tell you, it helps. Also, I would recomend, after you have written them down, visualize what you just wrote. See it in action, like a movie in your mind. Take 5 minutes and SEE your kids giving you a round of applause, or snuggling and saying "You smell nice, dad!", or telling their smoker friends "Nah, those things are nasty". See yourself chasing them around the yard without being the slightest bit of out of breath.

It's a form of self-hypnosis and the more concrete it is in your mind & will, the more effective it is.

 

[punkin]

I am not a smoker and have never been one.

If I am trying to accomplish a goal, I do better when I am held accountable to someone else.

Maybe you could have your kids write notes and hide them throughout the house. Something like "Daddy, please don't smoke today." Have them put some in obvious places, too, like the bathroom mirror, the coffee pot, jacket pockets, etc.

Maybe this could help you change you mind frame.

I don't know, just throwin' it out there.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Thank you all for your support.

I am, will remain free of the weed as I decided to be happy in my new lifestyle of being a non-smoker.

Lighting one ciggie, will only lead to more, which will put that fool of an idea that I need smoking for some thing. Smoking only has taken away from my life and cost me lots of money. Other words, I was paying to kill myself. I am 65% nicotine free right now, by Friday I will be 100% nicotine free.

I now know and understand that I don't need tobacco in my life, it creates voids and only creates new urges to smoke more and more.

Why is a pack of cigs the size it is? Why is there 20 cigs in a pack?

Big cig companys count on us being up 16 hours a day, and because the nicotine high starts to leave as soon as you put a cig out, 45 minutes later your ready again to start smoking a new cig. So they made the amount and pack size just right to carry around all day and continue to smoke.

You know what else is pathetic about smokers? Like when I use to smoke, smokers live their lives around smoking. The level of control that nicotine/smoking had over my life is just unreal.

I am a happy non-smoker.... and for the rest of my life...

 

[melpisces]

Just want to say a quick Hi from Australia.
My partner & I gave up the evil fags about a year ago and have not looked back (we used Champix to help!)

The one thing I keep thinking of is the joy in not organising our life or events around smoking.
Meetings - if they dragged on too long, I couldn't concentrate, just wishing everyone would take a break so I could have a smoke
Events - feeling like an idiot standing outside in horrid weather just because I HAD to have a cig.
Missing out on conversations or something because we were outside with the lepers!!

It is such a feeling of freedom to not be held to ransom by the nicotine monster!!

Keep up the good work, it will be worth it in the end.
Sendin good vibes from over the seas!!