Hi- i haven't smoked a cigarette since 3am Saturday night..... i'm applying the program this time... today is my first day at work with my chain-smoking co-workers. i'm holed up in my office LOL- I don't want to smell them when they come in smells sooooo gooooood No but seriously- working a recovery program and still killing myself slowly is making less and less sense everyday and I so want to be done with those nasty things. Advice, support?? Experience, strength, hope?? Thanks guys for being here :0 Love ya'll.... i know I won't smoke in the next 60 seconds... that's literally how I've done it the last few days..
I quit cigs a little over a year ago. A friend hurt my feelings, I sat down outside to smoke, puffing furiously away... when all of a sudden I realised: I was hitting that cig exactly as I used to hit the dope... revelling in self-destruction. On the heels of that came another thought: I always said that I would quit when I wanted to... but I was ADDICTED and I was NEVER going to want to quit. The next morning I smoked the last cig in my pack... that was July 10th, 2008.
After the first week, the worst of the cravings was past. I worked with 3 chain-smokers, travelling hours in a truck with them puffing like chimneys with the windows up.At about 10 days I got the "nicotene flu"... aka serious withdrawl. I felt like I was dying of the plague! That only lasted a couple of days. Tylenol and Ibuprofin made it bearable. After that it was pretty easy. I still occasionally crave cigs when stressed, though.
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I may not be 'All That', but I'm always on my mind!
Congratulations! I quit smoking a year ago in March using the program. In the past I tried the gum, only to get addicted to that. I treated cigarettes just like I did drugs. I avoided people places and things. When I would go to meetings I would tell people if they wanted to talk to me at break they had to stay inside the meeting room with me. I eventually asked my husband to not smoke in our house or cars. I don't allow anyone else to do so either. At restaraunts I never sit in smoking. I don't go to smoking meetings. At one point I even had to call a friend over because I had a reservation pack in my freezer. For support I talk to people who don't smoke when I have cravings to smoke. I don't touch cigarettes under any and all circumstances. People have asked me to hold their cigarette packs for them and I say no, I don't touch them. No matter what I don't pick up. Hope that helps. Hugs, Jackie
thank you for the support, tisa, jackie, liz, damaris....That's how it was for me i was just like eff this i'm done on saturday night.... i'm just trying to get thru every hour like i said. i have a feeling the hard part is coming up here in the next few days. I know that my friends that quit still crave.... i wish i hadn't have smoked the last 11 years it totally sucks....UHG.
Well, here is a male perspective too. I had six years clean at that time and that evening, after talking with my sponsor of the time, I had a lst fag after dinner, then crushed the pack and thought to myself "Well, this may be the 25th time i stopped smoking, hope it works this time" I then read a book called Smokers Anonymous each day and used the Meditations in it.
Thankfully, I have been nicotine free for about 14 years now. I never wanted to smoke again, but I realize that for the rest of my life, I should rememebr that I am onbly a non-smkoer, doing non-smoking on a daily basis.
And yes, the rituals of smoking, including buying it, the way fingers are occupied, the networking with other smokers, especially to smoke together, or take a fag off em or give em a fag, or just a light are all what I believe constitute the text of nicotine use.
I stay far from smokers, I dont allow smoking in my car, home or office space, and I do object when someone smokes in a non-smoking zone.
There is humor too; seen on the wall in my friends shop= "" I DONT MIND YOU SMOKING AS LONG AS YOU DONT EXHALE MY FRIEND", he, he, heh,,,,
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
DUDE!!! DAY 6 is coming to an end and God willing I will be waking up to DAY 7 no smoking!!! I am crazy and manic and have so much energy it is amazing.... So blessed to have this program in my life :) I want to smoke at least 6 times a day but after a minute the craving really does go away!!!!! then it comes back... and I text people that i want to smoke and they say Don't do it Allie Cat we love you and so I don't and then it goes away and then it comes back but I havent' smoked NO MATTER WHAT!!!! Thank you to my NA family love you guys....
Good Morning, Thank you, Allie Cat for posting your issue with smoking! I'm a closet smoker. I smoked for a while when in the service, then quit for years and years and years until I started in 12-Step recovery just about 7 years ago. For the last 6 years I've only smoked before/after meetings once/twice a week--about 4 a week. Then last summer when I was going through a stressful situation, I started to sneak them in more often. Now I'm not only emotionally hooked, but physically as well. I'm going out of state on Friday, so my plan is a quit date of September 8. It helps to read other NA's are in the same struggle to quit this legal addiction. I will keep coming back here for support, thank you all for being here.
keep up the good work! I put the cigs down the same day I got clean and sober. never really wanted a cig if I didn't have a drink in one hand and a drug in the other anyway so... git-r-done!
Yeo Aly, the craving seemed to last just a few minutes and each time it passed, Id have a thought "Hey, I justs felt like smoking but did not have to". And this brought about real feelings of delight aqnd more importantly, self esteem.
That's when I decided that my ideals for myself did not include being a smoker,,,
I was wondering if this forum may help, though you do have a lot of support already !
http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org/
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
