This is for the newbies to help them use the whole of the board and may help them on their journeys.....

 

When I first quit, every second of my awake brain was focusing on the quit, not smoking, trying not to think of it etc etc it was a soup just sloshing around and around and it was hard to concentrate on anything else

 

People around me didn't understand, family and friends were smokers or never smokers

 

That's when I went looking for a support system and found you guys I was 2 weeks into my quit

 

I read a lot of stuff on nicotine addiction which helped me understand the thoughts and changes going on within me but I needed to get this sloshing soup out of my head and get on with life, I couldn't just shut it all out

 

Many members kept saying go into social play the games you need to distract yourself, I had a very stressful job at the time and thought I can't be dealing with all that nonsense at the moment

 

But the truth was I needed that nonsense because the quit was consuming me and making things harder then it needed to be

 

So the reason for my ramble is newbies try a distraction play some games on here, they are not hard and don't need any concentration

 

There is sections here too for interests and hobbies that you can get involved in, reading, cooking, fitness etc etc and if there is nothing there that interests you, then you can always make your own up as there might be others with similar interests

 

It's a great tool on the forum and can bring things back into balance and focus

 

It's only a suggestion and it may just help you

 

Maybe other members can say how they distracted through the soup/fog

I love this post Tracey....you said it so well...

The games ...the humour....the chit chats.....the banter ....this is what got me through.....

Having to much time to think....that was not good for me....

Tracey,

 

Very nice post, and helpful.

 

I would encourage people to use the chat room. There were around 9 people there Friday night, and it was a lot of fun. I know there is a time difference of 6 hours UK and US and a day for OZ and NZ

 

But, it is available 24/7.

 

Click on the chat button, it's real time and not only for chit chat but for serious stuff as well, if support is needed you can usually get anwers there.

 

As with all of the resources on this site, it is what you make of it.

 

GTQ

 

Markus

I'm another one who took advantage of the Social forums to take my mind off smoking. It worked so well be it playing games or searching online for that perfect image or funny video to post while still staying close to my support.

I highly recommend, especially to anyone having a hard time staying quit, to give hanging out in Social a try. You may be pleasantly surprised 😊