Genecanuck

Not one puff and not one nicotine patch ever!! City of Ottawa iStock photo .... I have wall art in my living room that looks like this photo

NOPE

NOPE!

Thank you everyone it’s Sunday night and I’m visiting more friends who are smokers. My very best friend from college days and her husband smokes. I had a momentary desire to smoke with her… I just told myself that smoking was not an option. I had to step outside for some fresh air because the smoking felt suffocating.

Nope!

Well, the craving is gone. It’s interesting that all it took was a little bit of distraction in the moment.

So, decided to read posts here to keep me busy. craving is still there but just a cloud at the back of my head.

Hi, I’ve had a few drinks and I’m hanging out with a friend who is smoking. I’m not going to smoke but just craving them right now. So here to remind myself why I need to keep my quit.

It's another Friday..... its time for all of us special window lickers to pat ourselves on the back for another smoke free week. So who is a Certified Window Licker this week?

How smoking affects your mind. Quitnet Re-Post, December 12, 2005 From xoxsarahxox on 12/12/2005 2:58:22 PM How Smoking Affects Your Mind Mary smokes to relax when she's feeling tense. Bob smokes to feel more alert when he's feeling dull. Others smoke when they're depressed or bored, or to overcome feelings of anger or grief. How can a mere cigarette be so many things to so many people? The answer lies in the chemicals in cigarettes and the powerful psychological effects they have. Nicotine—A Stimulant Nicotine, the chemical that makes addicts out of cigarette smokers, is a stimulant with properties similar to those of cocaine and amphetamine (speed). Nicotine provides the pick-me-up that smokers feel. It increases heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate, and makes the smoker feel more alert. Unfortunately these effects wear off after 20 minutes or so and the smoker is left craving another pick-me-up. Acetaldehyde and Carbon Monoxide—Sedatives Acetaldehyde, a byproduct of both cigarette smoke and alcohol, has some sedative properties. The carbon monoxide in cigarettes makes you feel dull the way you would in a stuffy room with not enough air. These chemicals seem to dampen some people's feelings of tension, anger or strong emotion. Other Psychological Effects For many, the act of smoking itself—pausing in one's work, lighting up, exhaling a certain way—becomes a comforting ritual in itself. The smoker may be involved in a private fantasy that relieves feelings of boredom and meaninglessness. Smoking may go hand in hand with other activities, such as drinking coffee or alcohol or eating dessert. These "triggers" are why quitting smoking involves more than just kicking the nicotine habit. The Force of Addiction Sooner or later everyone who smokes does so to relieve the craving for nicotine—a powerfully addictive drug. The addicted body sends messages of uneasiness and need to the conscious mind until the smoker gives in and lights up. Understanding Is Power Take a close look at the feelings that make you want a cigarette and those that YOU have after YOU light up. Understanding these feelings will put you in charge when you're ready to quit smoking. Distributed under license. © Parlay International 1640.004

ABBA - Dancing Queen (Official Music Video)

X-ray technologist

regatta

Quail

Congrats Chris ... @Cbdave .... thanks for showing all of us how it is done.

Thank you @Doreensfree, @DenaliBlues and @jillar Today, I'm focused on the blue sky and clean air. Many thanks!

Congratulations @Sunshine59 .....

Not One Puff Ever!

HI @Chrysalis ... I hope you are still healthy, happy and smoke free. I had to re-read your post today because I am going into a long weekend and will be visiting smoking friends. I am experiencing fear. A type of romancing smoking thinking about experiences I had smoking with good friends. It's strange. I don't have a phsycial desire to smoke but I am afraid that I will break down and smoke with good friends. I know that is crazy stinking thinking but it is a sign that I have to work my recovery..... I can be around friends who smoke and remind myself that it is the friendship, and not the smoking that I need in my life. Thank you for this insightful post. Kind Regards ... Gene

Some old advice that might help: Advice for Newbies or anyone beginning this journey... Quitnet Re-posts. June 3, 2004 From Y2Kfree on 6/3/2004 5:34:54 PM From Monika on 11/23/1998 5:58:19 PM We have so many new people here and that's wonderful. But it seems everybody wants the same thing...advice. How about all of us posting our Quit advice. I know several of us have our lists...BroKen, ToddL, etc. let's post...Here is my advice... Suggestions for Quitting: 1. READ<READ>READ, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Read anything at all related. Make notes of anything that catches your interest. Follow links. Learn as much as you can about your addiction & the process. 2. START A JOURNAL. It is important to remember where you have come from. You think you will never forget but you will, & the Nicodemon will help you forget. You want to document your struggle. There will be days you think you have made no progress & will need to remind yourself that you have & what you would have to go through if you have to start over. a. List all the things you’ve done/accomplished so far to help quit smoking (Cut back, limited locations, etc.) b. List why you want to quit or the benefits to you in quitting c. Make a list of all possible excuses you can think of that you or the Nicodemon might use to tempt you to slip & write down why they are not true or won’t work. You will need to refer back to this list many many times. 3 .Before you quit, pay attention to where it is & why you are most likely to smoke. Count how much you smoke. Wait 15 minutes before smoking. This is to recognize what those cravings will feel like. Look at options like Zyban, the Patch, or Gum. 4. Before the quit, eliminate some places where you are use to smoking. Ex. the car, at computer, your bedroom. This will reduce triggers when you do quit. 5. Drink lots of water, avoid sugar, exercize (It releases dopamine in the brain same as Nicotine does (stimulates the pleasure center) 6. Join a support group (Such as QuitNet, or others) 7. Post often, ask questions, read & post , read & post- get the idea? Respond to posts, give of yourself to others who are quitting.It will reinforce your quit as well. 8. Try to keep busy, especially your hands. How about knitting/crocheting a security blanket to replace the fiend/friend you think you lost. It helps when you’re tired or watching tv. How about cleaning the windows? You’d be amazed at the brown gunk on them! 9. Never give up the war, even if you lose the skirmish. A slip is just a slip, it doesn’t have to be a fall. 10. Think of some mantra or saying to repeat to yourself. Mine is “Smoking is not an option” & “I don’t smoke anymore” -say this out lout-auditory stimulation to the brain. Say it often enough & you will believe it. 11.Take Vitamin B Complex, lots of Vitamin C, eat good healthy food. 12. If you believe in a higher deity, pray. Ok, what's your list? love, Monika 5 1/2 months Here ya go! Good idea, Monika! From BroKen on 11/23/1998 6:37:37 PM Some QuitNet Basics For Newbies, From a Recent Arrival Hi, and welcome to the QuitNet, a friendly crew of quitters determined to help one another remain smoke-free, a day at a time! Here's some basic info I've been gathering and saving: A little info on YOUR Profile pages would make it easier for all of us to get to know one another. A little biographical data, some quit info (first time? tenth? patch/cold-turkey/Zyban/gum?), makes it easier for us to find common ground and gear our advice/suggestions, when solicited, more appropriately. Suggestions for those of you in, or approaching, Day One: Breathe deeply. Drink lots and lots of water and/or cranberry juice (flushes out nicotine, thus hastening the END of withdrawals). Walk, write, read, talk, move, swim, bike, jog. Pray. Sleep (as much as you want to!). List your reasons for quitting (positive AND negative), and add to them and refer to them often. Break pencils. Pace. Scream. Remember: the cravings ALWAYS pass, WHETHER YOU SMOKE OR NOT!!! So stare at your watch for 2-3 minutes, write a novel, hold your breath, ANYTHING BUT SMOKE!, and it will pass. Make lots of buddies on the Q and post to them often. Love and forgive yourself. This list is by no means conclusive. Feel free to add your own.... Some basics about the QuitNet: If the Messages or People text at the bottom of your screen is yellow, you have new messages or buddies logged onto the Q. Click on it to see them. You can file posts into your personal library. You can send messages to others on the Q privately, by clicking on the person's name (in blue HTML text), then clicking on Send a Message when the person's Profile page comes up, and typing your message into the popup window that appears. There's plenty more, but that should be enough to get ya started! You (we) can do this thing! "What one has done, another can do." "I'm one puff away from a pack a day." Good luck on your quit! Yours in recovery, Ken Re: FOCUS....Repeat: I CAN DO THIS!!! From Keith45 on 11/23/1998 7:26:33 PM 1. You have to want to quit because YOU want to! 2. When you have stressful situations, smoking Will Not Make It Better!! 3. PLAN what to do NOW instead of smoking, make a list of what to do...like do situps, walk, listen to music, clean something, write letters and post them here at Q (IF not for the Support in Q I'm sure I would have failed along time ago!!) 4. Write down why you Quit or why you are going to quit, and put them around your home. 5. Pray to your Higher Power for Strength & Courage To Do This! 6. FOCUS 7. Repeat This: I Want To Do This, I Want To Quit, I Am Quitting For Me, I Can Do This, I Will Do This. I Am Doing This! GOOD LUCK & COME HERE OFTEN P.S. If You Fail..Do Not Beat Yourself Up, We All Make Mistakes In Our Lives... Pick Yourself Up, Brush Yourself Off & Try Try Again!!! Keith 193 Days 18 Hours 25 Minutes & Counting 15,440 Cigarettes Not Smoked 772 Packs Not Bought $ 2,702 Not Spent! In addition to Monika's awesome tips: From HMike on 11/23/1998 6:43:31 PM -Write your top five reasons for quitting on a 3 x 5 card and put it in your pocket or purse. Also write those same reasons on a piece of paper and take it to the copy machine. Make about a bazillion copies and put them on the fridge/mirrors/car/office/bathroom/ everywhere, and read and remember - remember -remember. - Don't wait 'til your quit day to do the things that Monika suggest....start at least a week in advance. - Reduce or eliminate caffine and alcohol for at least 2 weeks. Caffine is the world's biggest trigger, and booze makes you stupid and forgetful. - Premedicate with your favorite pain killer 24 hours before you quit. Aspirin/advil/whatever...you're gonna get a headache. - The effects of withdrawl are timebound....they end. Maybe not soon enough for many, but BE PATIENT. - Above all else....YOU CAN DO THIS. Mike Attn Newbies: Listen to this guy! He quit, like, before I was born!!!! (nt) From BroKen on 11/23/1998 6:52:10 PM Jeeeesh.....thanks a LOT Ken....:~) (nt) Groovy idea, Monika! From Barbiedoll on 11/23/1998 7:03:47 PM Well, I never did make a list. What I did is write out my advice (for what it was worth) so very many times that I started feeling like a broken record. So, finally, on my 7 month anniversary I tried to put it all in a post (my "ramble.") Like I said, it's not a list, but it DOES answer a lot of questions that newbies have always asked me. Hope it helps, let's see how well I can cut and paste it....... I know that seven months might sound like an impossibly great amount of time to a newbie (I know it did to me!!) , and quite often it seemed like hell, but there were some things that made this quit beautiful…… like, the Q. If you spend much time around this place, you'll see it's magic. I know I've made friends here that I'll keep forever, and I'm sure I made friends here who made my quit possible at all-at least in the beginning!….. Another thing that made this quit so Worth It was the whole "reinvention of myself" thing that many people have mentioned. When you quit, your life changes. There's no getting around that. But it can be viewed as a time to really take stock of what's going on, and do a little reorganizing. We can "rewrite" ourselves, and it's kinda cool to live through, and watch as others do the same. The other good stuff about quitting (health benefits, increased energy, more money, less ruined clothing, nice breath, etc) make it seem almost like a party!! (I'm sooo kidding!! At least in the beginning!) Speaking of the beginning……. My friends and quitmates, if it IS your beginning, here's a little more advice from Barbiedoll the Wise One (?)…… HANG ON, IT WILL GET BETTER!!!!! I know I've said this so many times but it's true. The beginning sucks. The beginning hurts. The beginning is hell. But if you just hold on/exist/put one foot in front of the other--you'll get past it. In a couple days or weeks you WILL feel better. You MIGHT cry less. You WILL stop yelling at people/animals/cars. You MIGHT get some work done. It doesn't get EASY all the sudden, but it gets EASYer. And you can't get to that "middle part" unless you get past the beginning part. So just please hold on. And come here. A lot. That's how I did it. And this is my 4th serious (3 months or more) attempt at quitting. (And my 400th less-than-serious attempt). And while we're on that subject, I just have to say a little bit about the Just One syndrome. I'm saying it to myself as well as to any of you who are still listening, cuz--dang it!!--I was just going through this the other day. The "negotiation," that is. Trying to talk myself in to having Just One…… But I had to remind myself that Just One Smoke is not just one decision, but several. Because NO MATTER WHAT I TELL MYSELF--ONE can always turn into MORE. Which means giving in to my addiction. And starting all over again. And feeling like all the changes I've made in my life were for nothing. And putting all my loved ones and friends thru hell again. And feeling very, very disappointed………. Please think about all of that (grammatically incorrect as it was) the next time you are Negotiating w/yourself. I hope you will come up w/the same answer that I have for the past 7 months: "Today I will not smoke!" (and I'm pretty sure I won't tomorrow, either!!) Oh, speaking of tomorrow, cockiness should be avoided! I really think complacency is a big enemy right now. I think it's the reason why people refer to day/week/month 3 as being so hard. The euphoria of 1 and 2 are gone and a person starts to feel over-confident. That's when s/he ends up stepping on a banana peel!! Don't do it!! Be gentle w/your self!! This is one of the most difficult things you'll ever do!! Cut yourself some slack!! [Especially if it's your first month!! Major Slack!! You'll (hopefully) never have the excuse of it being your first month again-so go all out!! Eat everything, drink everything, spend money, cry, laugh, argue, space out!!] And, like I said, come here often. Because this place is really what did it for me. I was lucky enough to have the time to spend (and friends, boyfriends, work, etc, to sacrifice, LOL) and be here a lot. It meant so much to me. And still does. "The best way to keep your quit is to give it away." Soooo true!! Have I rambled enough?!?!?!? I love you all!! Have a Most Groovy weekend!! We ALL are awesome, and we will Make It, After All!!!!! (and the Yanks, too!!)