DenaliBlues

Congratulations, Nancy! Thanks for lighting the way for so many of us!

Took extreme risks.

8. Harboring resentments is pointless… like swallowing poison and expecting someone else to drop dead. Name 8 songs that make you wanna DANCE.

whine

plain to see

NOPE

I agree with all who are affirming that your day #3 struggles are very normal, @overcome. I am one of those people for whom breathing exercises (ironically) increase anxiety. Instead, I do grounding countdowns: concentrate hard on 5 things I can see, 4 I can hear, 3 I can touch, 2 I can smell, 1 thing I can taste, then repeat. I also do Alphabet Gratitude Lists (something I’m grateful for starting with A, then B, then all the way to Z). I fiddle with Silly Putty and got a couple aromatherapy inhalers. Push ups help, too. You CAN make it through this. I promise, it gets easier!

warts and all

rhino

Thanks for bumping this @jillar. I, too, have swallowed all of these lies hook, line and sinker. Plus the biggest lie of all… that smoking is “gratifying.” LIE. What actually happened for me was that smoking triggered a craving for more nicotine, which created a craving for even more nicotine, repeated on an endless loop. No matter how much I smoked, it was never “enough.” Although I haven’t yet reached the place where being smoke-free feels completely joyful, I am certainly grateful that nicotine is no longer my puppet master.

N O P E

-16

4. Uh, play them…

2. Use as reflective emergency signal mirror

Apart from reading this board, another thing that really helped me get through the first few weeks was to stay busy. Lots of physical activity. Tasks to keep my hands occupied. Mindless stuff listed out in advance (because the brainfog really clobbered me). Just constant motion. Not only did that help me power through the cravings, it helped me manage the cauldron of feelings that surfaced, as well. (“Dunno what to do with that emotion… oh well I guess I’ll just wash the car windows.”) Glad you have nicotine lozenges in your quit kit. I found the fruit minis to be very helpful in a pinch. I, too, lost a multi-year quit once. Thought I could be a casual/occasional smoker. But that was a delusion… within a month of my “just for tonight” choice I was back to more than a pack a day, with nicotine controlling me. It took me decades to quit again. This QuitTrain group is a big part of my quitting commitment this time… it’s helpful to have such a wonderful group of supportive people and accountability buddies who understand what quitting is like. Good luck with your count-down today!

Hi, @overcome - great to meet you, and welcome to the Train. There are a lot of good people and posts here that have helped me pull through difficulties of quitting. We’ve all been through hard times, ourselves, and we’re standing by to help other newcomers. +1 to what you and @johnny5 said about reflecting on where former quits came unraveled. Coming to terms with our triggers and rewiring how we react to them (without nicotine) is a big part of the recovery process. But worth it to get free! You can do it!

NOPE