smokefree day 4

[redwitch]

just came back from a wonderful Dem event with Eliot Spitzer here in upstate NY. Totally want a cigarette. Nobody is home and it would be so easy to go buy a pack...
I am taking 5 deep breaths instead- breaths that are easier because I am a non smoker, dammit! Encourage me please. I have tried the smoking cessation group here at DU but people do not post there regularly and I need all the help I can get.

[proud patriot]

1. Yay !

you can Make it with out and feel great about yourself .

:woohoo:

[redwitch]

4. thank you proudpatriot

I know I can. Most of the time. It is amazing how the urge smacks you without any warning. I refuse to give in. Screw you RJRReynolds and PhillipMorris, not one damn dime from this former smoker!

[proud patriot]

25. Yippee

:hug:

[Kathleen04]

2. Good work, redwitch!!

You can do it! :yourock:

[HeeBGBz]

3. Rock on, redwitch

Hang in there. I've been quit for 3 years now. You can do it. I sometimes smoked 4 packs a day.

[redwitch]

7. Good God!

How did you smoke 4 packs a day? Thanks to all who post encouragement here, it matters alot to me. I have to go on a business trip tomorrow and I need strength.

[HeeBGBz]

13. By smoking constantly

Usually. My norm was about 3 packs average.

[ThomWV]

5. Its Good That You're Quitting

You know, looking back at it quitting really wasn't that difficult. I smoked Camels, 2 packs a day, for 35 years and quit cold turkey. It wasn't so bad after about a week and after that I have very few cravings at all.

So good luck, I hope this is your time to quit. There really just isn't any good reason to smoke.

[redwitch]

17. You are right.

I just need to get through this first month and then I'll be in a stronger place to fight the urge.

[ewagner]

6. Good work redwitch

I know how hard it is....the 12th of June was 6 months for me....taking it one day at a time....

[redwitch]

14. Good for you

Thanks for the inspiration. I woke up this morning after the first good nights sleep I've had in months. I didn't realize cigarettes were even affecting my sleep. Do you have a feeling of well being now that you have quit?

[ewagner]

19. Yes, I do

not nearly as much congestion and sinus trouble...feel better all the way around...no smoking and triple by-pass surgery will do that to you....

btw: Heart problems turned out to be the most serious side effect of smoking...I was always afraid of lung cancer or emphazema (sp) but the heart problems were in the end much more likely.

[ET Awful]

8. You're doing fine, you don't want and don't need it.

Trust me, it gets easier :). Just sit down and relax. Now that you're home, be lazy, why leave the house again if you don't HAVE to.

Quitting is tough, but you can do it :).

I did 3 years ago and have no desire to ever do it again :).

[redwitch]

12. I know I can quit

I've done it a thousand times! I will be very proud of me if I can do it forever- one day at a time.

[patrice]

9. My media-player has that random patterns screen saver that you

can run in place of your desktop. It moves and is very colorful and morphs constantly. It is pretty soothing to just look at it and let your mind do whatever, maybe even nothing, just look.

The right chant can help too, and deep breathing, and of course, you know to exercise. That helps me cope with (other related) stress.

Solidarity . . .

Hare Krsna! Hare Rama!

[redwitch]

20. I want to start a walking routine

as soon as this wretched heat/humidity breaks. I really don't do well in the heat. Thank you for posting!

[patrice]

24. Walking is about the best, especially because it gets you Outside!

[Octafish]

10. Congratulations, redwitch!

That's how I stopped. When i want one, i take some deep breaths. They remind me how wonderful it is to breath the air.

A short story about one's breath I remember hearing as a kid, all too long ago...

Whenever we inhale, we bring in a few atoms that passed through the lungs of Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tsu, Mother Theresa and the other greats. Its because of Argon and Xenon the other rare, noble gases that don't combine with other elements and are too heavy to leach off into space. We share something real with them.

[redwitch]

15. What a wonderful concept!

Imagine any of those great ones puffing on a Marlboro- I don't think so!!

[funkybutt]

11. KICK ASS!! You got it now!

[Misunderestimator]

16. I'm going to try to quit again myself tomorrow...

Don't give up, redwitch... the first five days are always the worst for me... it's when I usually fail. You've made it four already! :thumbsup:

[redwitch]

22. Great! We can encourage each other!

You can do it!

[donco6]

18. If you can make it through this,

it only gets easier. Think of how crappy your throat feels after a few cigs - the coating on your tongue, phlemmy cough, smelly fingers, ...

I've been off for a few months. Haven't really thought about it except when I go to a bar to have a drink. So I avoid bars.

[redwitch]

21. Me too.

Except my brother just bought one 5 miles from my house. LOL. Seriously, that is gonna be tough. BUT... I am tough too and I will do it and be very glad that I did.

[IChing]

23. I quit many times

in fact since my last cigarette,
I know it's hard, it's amazing if you really think about what natural habits make you smoke such as having coffee, after dinner, etc. I had my most success when I changed those habits. You can do it, but get off of the nicotine as soon as possible, gum, patch etc.

Here is some humor on the damn tobacco.



I have every sympathy with the American who was so horrified by what he had read of the effects of smoking that he gave up reading. -- Henry G. Strauss, 1892-1974

It took a long time for me to get hooked. But I was determined. And I done it good.


To my delight, I find that there is a different warning on each pack of cigarettes. Mine says "Warning: Smoking can cause fetal damage or premature birth". Screw it - I've found my brand! Just don't get the ones that say lung cancer, you know? Shop around. Bill Hicks

I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I recommend you look around the world in which we live...and shut your fucking mouth. Bill Hicks


I know those probably didn't help much
but maybe it made you smile.

:hi: :hi:

[redwitch]

26. LOL

I done it good too! Keep trying, I think it is a good goal, however hard you struggle.
I felt sooooo good this morning after a decent night's sleep. And I didn't have a gross cough either!

[Telly Savalas]

27. Congrats! You're a non-smoker.