Page 6 of 14
Continuation on page 7
Dangers of Smoking Page 2 
My Quit Smoking Page, Profile and Links
The TillieToiler Page 
Here are some posts of tips that may help you as you begin your quit.
Not all might, but some should, so take what you want, leave the rest,
and my very best wishes to you. Holler if you need some extra help too.
Colleen
Re: what to do on breaks?
on 11/15/1998 20:56:07 by Metal Mommy
1. Have a cup of coffee
2. Drink a sodaHi, and welcome:
We always advise seeing specialists whenever it's possible. Every quit, while similar in principle to all others, has its own unique set of variables, as do quitters themselves. There's no 'one-size-fits-all' in this regard. We're not dieticians or nutritionists here (yet) but we've learned some fundamentals about food and diet during addiction recovery. We'll share these you here:
Multi-vitamins, taken 1/2 hour AFTER eating (so digestive enzymes are present to dissolve the vitamin pill and release it's components), are critical. These should be heavy on the vitamin C, to help the immune system a bit, and be loaded with extra, extra Bcomplex vits (B6, B12, Niacin/Niacinimide, etc), quite necessary for mood leveling. Extra iron, magnesium, and zinc are required (be careful to not OVERDO, as some minerals and vitamins like A can build up in your system and cause toxicity). Again, see an expert to tailor this to your specific body and eating lifestyle.
Refined sugars and grains (like white flour) impact dopamine and serotonin levels. While this can help alleviate cravings early in your quit, they can also create cravings later, so they're to be minimized as best as possible. Consumption of sugar is almost guaranteed to produce energy slumps, as will red meat and pastas/carbohydrates of all kinds.
Avoid eating any foods high in refined sugars. This will help you to maintain constant blood sugar levels and steadier energy supplies, and will diminish sugar cravings, which are easily confused with cigarette cravings.
To avoid excess sugars, start reading food labels. Listings are prioritized by weight/and or volume, so a good rule of thumb is to avoid any foods which list "sugar," "sucrose," "cane sugar," or "corn syrup," among the first three or four ingredients. Be aware, however, that quitting sugar intake abruptly can trigger sugar-withdrawal depression. Don't smoke over this!
Statistically speaking, ex-smokers who diet in the early days of their quits are more likely to relapse. BETTER TO MAKE SURE YOUR QUIT IS SECURE before you start tackling other issues. You'd have to gain 75lbs (for every pack-per-day you smoked) to equal the health hazards your smoking caused. FIRST THINGS FIRST is a good slogan to remember.
Alcohol, caffeine and nicotine (and sugar, which alcohol converts to) act in similar ways inside the 'pleasure center' of the brain. Not only that, but studies indicate that each enhances/intensifies the effect of the other on the brain. It's no wonder that, especially since alcohol also lowers inhibitions, relapsing while drinking is so common. It's wise to avoid these other substances early in the quit.
The more vegetables you eat at each meal (up to a pound- not as much as it seems... cuke and a large tomato, can of green beans, etc), the more you'll be able to amp up your metabolism again. Most people's metabolism will slow a bit (maybe by around 10%) after quitting smoking- mostly because nicotine keeps metabolism unnaturally high by constricting blood vessels, etc, which affects heartrate/BP. It's NOT necessarily true, however, that such change will lead to weight gain. Many folks actually LOSE weight after they quit, and more folks than not will lose whatever weight they do gain after quitting, eventually.
You may need to make some substantial changes in lifestyle, but that can be done slowly, in small steps. Again, I'd suggest getting the help of a nutrition/fitness specialist, and give yourself a year. Hope these basic principles help you get moving in the right direction.
KTQ,
Alan
Q Counselor
3. Do a crossword
4. Read the newspaper
5. Read a trashy romance
6. Read a pulitzer prize winning novel
7. Write a pulitzer prize novel 15 minutes at a time
8. Cross stitch
9. Create your "quit quilt"
10. Take a power nap
11. Make your grociery list
12. Daydream
13. Call home and tell your kids (Your significant other, your mom, your cat)you love them
14. build a log cabin out of popsicle sticks
15. pick up the breakroom
16. look at the Sears Wishbook
17. plan what you'd spend the money on if you won the lottery
18. talk to someone who looks lonely (upset, angry)
19. clean out your purse (wallet for men)
20. write the checks out for the bills
21. see if you can write down all the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven" from memory (or make that "Achey Breakey Heart")
22. brush your teeth
23. make a dentist/optometrist appointment
24. plan your dinner menu complete with shopping list for the next week
25. polish your nails
26. freshen your make-up
27. walk around the block
28. breathe, breathe, breathe
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41 TIPS FOR GAINING FREEDOM FROM NICOTINE
1. It's not as hard as you think. Once you begin to be honest with yourself and to look at the facts about
smoking, it will become a pleasure to remove this addiction from your life.
2. Square off with your smoking habit. Look at it and size it up. Ask yourself exactly what it is doing for
you; then ask yourself what it is not doing for you. You can begin with your hair and work your way down
to the tips of your toes. It is a medical fact that smoking affects every organ in the human body in a harmful
way.
3. Look at quitting cigarettes as giving yourself a gift-a very big gift. You are giving yourself a better quality
of life and, very possibly, a longer life. You are giving yourself a healthier body. You are giving yourself
more self-esteem. Wrap all this in a package and look at it for the gift it really is, then "Go for it!"
4. Set a date. Make a commitment. Give it a try. Remember, it is alright if you don't succeed at first. Just
keep trying. The only way you can lose is by ceasing to try.
5. Don't look at it as if you are giving up something. This makes it seem too much like a loss. What you are
really doing is tossing something out of your life that has done you harm and doesn't belong here anymore.
You are throwing away pure garbage. No longer are you going to allow your lungs to be resting place for
nicotine and tars.
6. Always keep a positive attitude. After all, this is one of the most positive things you've ever done. Stay
away from negative people and worrisome situations.
7. Quit for yourself. Even though your family and loved ones will benefit tremendously from your quitting, it
is you that will benefit the most.
8. Treat giving up smoking with the respect it rightly deserves. Become willing to go to any lengths to
remove it from your life. If you are not willing, try praying for the willingness. This usually works.
9. Look up the word 'nicotine'in your dicionary and write down the definition in big letters: "A poisonous
alkaloid used as an insecticide." Put it where you can see it.
10. Don't say "I'll take my chances" and continue to smoke. They are not ours to take. We didn't give
ourselves life and we don't have the right to "take our chances" on giving it away. That is up to a higher power.
11. Don't fool yourself by saying you have too many pressures in your life right now to give up cigarettes. If
you are smoking, this in itself is a pressure, a very great pressure. Every day is a gamble and your life is at
stake. By getting nicotine out of your life, other things will become easier to handle. You will feel better
about yourself and you will have more energy. You will have accomplished something more meaningful
than all the money and material objects you could ever acquire. You will have given yourself what no one
else could give you. You will no longer have the pressure of being a smoker.
12. Don't use the excuse that you might gain weight to justify your continuing to smoke. Even if you do gain
a little, the fact that you will be more active and will get more exercise should counteract any weight gain.
Remember, overeating, not stopping smoking, causes weight gain.
13. Plan to do things that will keep your mind off smoking. Sometimes our minds can be our worst enemies.
They will tell us that we need a cigarette for just about any reason that is handy at the time. By doing things
like going to the movies in the non-smoking section, munching on corn or sucking on a lollipop, we can
keep our minds occupied and get a break. Go to museums and other places where smoking isn't allowed.
Swimming is a good idea, too.
14. Quit smoking one day at a time and think only about the part of the day your are in. "I am not going to
smoke before noon." "I am not going to smoke before 3 o'clock." Sometimes just do it one hour at a time.
This is a lot easier than trying to quit forever.
15. Don't subject yourself to smoky situations. If you do come in contact with someone who is smoking,
just say to yourself "He is having the cigarette I might be having" then, be grateful you don't have to have it.
16. While you are quitting, look at it as an investment. Once you have quit for one hour, you have invested
this hour in becoming a healthier person. Now, invest one more hour. Continue to add to your investment
hour by hour. It will grow and become more valuable as the hours go by. You will begin to see and feel the
rewards from this investment more and more. Protect and guard it just as you would a treasure.
17. Start being kind to yourself. It is the beginning of a new way of life for you and you are the most
important one there. Treat yourself with respect and love and remember, you are no longer filling you
system with poison every few minutes. Breathe the clean air and breathe it deeply. Smell the different and
wonderful fragrances. Begin to spend time outdoors close to nature. Many new sensations await you.
18. Don't get too angry. If we are angry, our minds tell us we need a cigarette to cope. Until your mind
learns that it doesn't need a cigarette to cope, try to avoid situations that might be setting you up. Avoid
certain people that may bother you. If you can't get some time off, quit smoking on a long weekend. Avoid,
as best you can, things like getting stuck in traffic. Use a lot of caution. Anger can be very destructive.
19. Don't get too hungry. It is amazing how our minds will tell us that everything's wrong when all we really
need to do is eat.
20. Don't get too tired. If we are tired, it is easy to become irritated and when we get irritated our minds
will tell us that a cigarette will help. Our overall resistance becomes weak and it is easy to say, "Oh well, I
guess I'll have a smoke."
21. Don't get too lonely. It is good to know some people who are going through the same thing.
(QUITSTOP!!!!!)
22. You can remember these four things by the word "HALT" Hungry, angry, lonely, tired. If you feel you
need a cigarette, check. Make sure you are not experiencing any of these.
23. Don't get too bored. It is hard to just sit and not smoke. Keep busy. Find things to do that you enjoy.
Bike riding, hiking, swimming, exploring new places, trying new restaurants. This is the time to indulge
yourself.
24. Have something to fidget with. We are accustomed to holding a cigarette; being without one might
leave our hands at a loss. Get a small rubber ball or a yo-yo. Play dough is good also or a piece of clay.
25. Have something handy to put in your mouth. Life Savers, sugar-less gum, lollypops, etc. Avoid
fattening foods like cookies. They don't last long and they fill you up. Experiment while you are still
smoking to see what will relieve the craving. If Life Savers work, that stock up.
26. If you always have a cigarette with a cup of coffee, stop drinking coffee before you quit smoking.
27. Don't drink alcohol while you are quitting. Once alcohol is in you system your defences will be greatly
diminished.
28. Remember that the discomfort you experience in the first 2 weeks will definately come to an end and
you will never have to go through it again.
29. Frequently give yourself a pat on the back. What you are doing isn't easy by any means. It takes a lot of
guts to try to quit smoking.
30. If you are feeling pain from withdrawal, let it become a lasting memory to serve as a reminder of exactly
how strong the drug nicotine is and how hooked you really are.
31. Remember, every minute you were sucking on cigarettes they were sucking on you. They were sucking
the very life out of you. Don't let them have anymore.
32. Avoid the self-pity trap. If we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, our minds will tell us that we deserve a
cigarette to make us feel better.
33. Remember, If you just keep trying, you will win. It is good against evil and the odds are stacked in
your favor.
34. Before quitting, plan your activities for the first few days after you quit. This way you won't have to
make too many decisions while you are withdrawing. At first, making decisions may be hard without a
cigarette.
35. If you are not going to quit right away, then start cutting down. If you smoke 2 packs a day and you cut
back 1 cigarette a day for a month, you will be down to just 10 cigarettes a day. Some people, however,
have found cutting back to be almost as hard as quitting.
36. Drink lots or liquids to help flush the poison out of your system. Orange juice is good because smoking
depletes the Vitamin C content in our bodies.
37. Remember, it is the first cigarette that gets you started. It takes only one. This is the one you don't have.
You can always put off lighting that first one for a little while. Don't fool yourself and think you can start and
stop at will. You can't. Many people have tried this and gone on to live the rest of their lives never to
experience freedom from nicotine again.
38. Frequently remind yourself about the differences you have noticed in yourself. Things like: Your breath
no longer smells like a dirty ashtray, Your fingers aren't stained from tobacco, That sickly sounding
smoker's cough is disappearing, Your senses of smell adn taste are returning, Your complexion is beginning
to improve, Your general attitude about yourself is better because you are beginning to really care about
yourself.
39. Give it away. Whenever you have a chance to give your experience, strength, and hope to another
smoker, use it. This act of giving will insure your chances for staying off nicotine and give strength to others
who need it. There is much reward in helping someone else to gain freedomm from this harmful substance.
40. Have a follow-up program. Don't assume it is over because you have made it through a couple of
weeks. Nicotine is very cunning. (QUITSTOP!!!!)
41. WHEN YOU WANT A SMOKE, READ THIS LIST OF TIPS!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Repost - Junkie Thinking
toundra on 10/20/1998 19:59:57
After a discussion in the chat I decided to re-post this here. I'm afraid I don't know who this originally comes from. it has been posted a number of times here and on other sites.
Helped me so much I had made little cards with this.
JUNKIE THINKING: "One Puff won't hurt"
RESPONSE:"One puff will always hurt me, and it always will because I'm not a social smoker. One puff and I'll be smoking compulsively again."
JUNKIE THINKING:"I only want one."
RESPONSE:"I have never wanted only one. In fact, I want 20-30 a day every day. I want them all.
JUNKIE THINKING:I'll just be a social smoker
RESPONSE:I'm a chronic, compulsive smoker, and once I smoke one I'll quickly be thinking about the next one. Social smokers can take it or leave it. That's not me.
JUNKIE THINKING: I'm doing so well, one won't hurt me now.
RESPONSE:The only reason I'm doing so well is because I haven't taken the first one. Yet once I do, I won't be doing well anymore. I'll be smoking again.
JUNKIE THINKING: I'll just stop again.
RESPONSE:Sounds easy, but who am I trying to kid? Look how long it too me to stop this time. And once I start, how long will it take before I get sick enough to face withdrawal again? In fact, when I'm back in the grip of compulsion, what guarantee do I have that I'll ever be able to stop again?"
JUNKIE THINKING:If I slip, I'll keep trying
RESPONSE: If I think I can get away with one little "slip" now I'll think I can get away with another little "slip" later on.
JUNKIE THINKING: I need one to get me through this withdrawal
RESPONSE: Smoking will not get me through the discomfort of not smoking. It will only get me back to smoking. One puff stops the process of withdrawal and I'll have to go through it all over again.
JUNKIE THINKING:I miss smoking right now
RESPONSE:Of course I miss something I've been doing every day for most of my life. But do I miss the chest pain right now? Do I miss the worry, the embarrassment? I'd rather be an ex-smoker with an
occasional desire to smoke, than a smoker with a constant desire to stop doing it.
JUNKIE THINKING:I really need to smoke now, I'm so upset.
RESPONSE:Smoking is not going to fix anything. I'll still be upset, I'll just be an upset smoker. I never have to have a cigarette. Smoking is not a need, it's a want. Once the crisis is over, I'll be relieved and grateful I'm still notsmoking.
JUNKIE THINKING:I don't care
RESPONSE:What is it exactly that I think that I don't care about? Can I truthfully say I don't care about chest pain? I don't care about gagging in the morning? I don't care about lung cancer? No, I care about these things very much. That's why I stopped smoking in the first place.
JUNKIE THINKING:What difference does it make, anyway ?
RESPONSE:It makes a difference in the way I breathe, the way my heart beats, the way I feel about myself. It makes a tremendous difference in every aspect of my physical and emotional health.
Other Junkie Thinking:
o Why bother?
o We all have to die sometime
o I deserve to smoke.
o Cigarettes are all I've got left.
o They get to smoke
o It would taste so good.
o They're smoking and it's not hurting them.
o Smoking wasn't really so bad
o If I don't eat something, I might smoke
o If I don't smoke I might drink
oThis won't count because.....
o I know I can't smoke just one, but I hope I can
o Do it fast before you think about
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quitting is 99% mental attitude & only 1% physical
From Zep_ on 7/14/1999 9:16:28 AM
They say attitude is everything but what is the 1 % that's physical? In NOT picking up, lighting & puffing on you know whats (LOL). Naw, I guess that part is mental too. Maybe it's physically putting on a patch, or in typing an S.O.S. distress post, taking a zyban, drinking gallons of water, or just in taking lots and lots of deep breaths.
For those just starting out on your quit remember, a positive attitude can overcome any crave, no matter how massive. Positive or negative, the choice is yours. In your mind, the arrival of a crave can be perceived as good or bad. Negative thinking can take a moderate crave and amplify its intensity until it drives us to the point of slipping.
A positive thinker can welcome each crave as one more necessary step in this fantastic journey toward becoming a true nonsmoker. As each crave grows weaker just laugh at their arrival as total freedom will soon be yours. Positive thinking is the key to a successful quit.
If you WANT to quit smoking, then you're still undecided. If you WANT to be a nonsmoker, then you're not yet there! If you tell yourself that quitting is HARD, unless you're lying it will be.
If you think you MIGHT slip and have a cigarette, then you just might slip. If you think there is a CHANCE you can fail, chances are you will.
Once you TRULY BELIEVE that smoking is not an option, then it isn't. Once you TRULY SEE yourself as nonsmoker, then you are. We are what we think! Good luck,
Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,
Your bro,
Zep
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Found this post in my personal library. I do not know who posted it here, but the original author is acknowledged. Hope you have a laugh, I did.
Susan.
This Sucks
Day One: Shit.
Day One again only the next day: Have tried to kill husband twice. Decide against washing dishes as always have cigarette when done. Same for bathroom. Am suddenly thinking this has upside.
Eating dried fruit, apricots, pears, and brown things that look like squished roaches, which remind me of doobie roaches, which remind me of cigarettes.
Watch husband light a cigarette; look at him pitifully.
Eat leftover beans from last night – that’ll show him.
Walk by computer and wave occasionally. Can’t sit and write or surf as this has been main smoking area. It’s about four-o’clock now; I could have just one, I could have just one, I could have just one. That’s Mr. Nicotine. He lives with me; ‘he’ could be a chick, but frankly, right now, I don’t frigging care.
Decide to play fantasy game on Playstation. Spend next three hours breeding Chocobos so game hero can save world. World doomed in my opinion.
Day two, morning: Woke up two hours earlier than usual. Great; two extra hours of fencing practice with the RJ Reynolds Company and spawn. Seriously considering finding some hallucinogens as never had desire for nicotine during a really good walk through a wall.
Woke up six times during night to pee because I drank four gallons of water "to assist my system flush poison." Am feeling unusually testy as result of lack of sleep and deep-seated oral fixation fantasies. Decide to either kill or have sex with mail carrier when post arrives. Probably both.
Day 2, afternoon: See husband off to airport for business trip. Clean closets. Nothing new in mail. Did all laundry out of necessity – body of dead mail carrier would not fit in dryer otherwise. Put in extra dryer sheets (Arm and Hammer, biodegradable.) Decide to take walk. Meet neighbor who asks if mail came yet. She is smoking a cigarette. I tell her no out of spite.
Day 3, morning: Go through dead man’s mail bag; keep catalogues for joyous Christmas shopping. Feed rest down garbage disposal.
Day 3, Afternoon: Call garbage disposal repair.
Day 4: Receive visitor. Police looking for missing mail carrier – received anonymous tip from garbage disposal repair person. Make coffee and offer fat-free cookies and dried fruit. Arrange dried fruit to make smiley faces on plate. Police officer asks if I mind if he smokes. Burst in to tears. Confess.
Day 472: Sentenced to death in murder of Postal Employee. Federal crime.
Day 478: Beaten by seven large women in prison for having no cigarettes to trade. Able to sing better now; make up prison blues songs.
Day 552: Receive divorce papers: husband marrying tobacco heiress. Cell-mate offers to have ex husband whacked. Wants twelve cartons of cigarettes and one pair Doc Marten boots. Decide husband will live as price too steep.
Day 558: Secure two cartons of cigarettes for payment to cell-mate to have defense attorney whacked. Feel better.
Day 691: Served last meal – minister asks if anything wanted at last moments. Think back to how good cigarette after meals used to be. Request one last smoke. Minister reluctant, no smoking in federal building, but sneaks one in. Sit back, relax, smoke.
Ahhhhh. Feel slightly dizzy, giddy, euphoric. Warden enters cell excitedly; Governor issues full pardon due to new Federal "It Takes a Village" crimes statute: allows for defense appeal of insanity by reason of severe nicotine withdrawal.
Day 1: Shit.
Copyright 1998, Karen Masullo
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Your Friend, The Cigarette
How do you feel about a friend that must go everywhere with you, is so offensive to others that you become unwelcome when with him?
His peculiar odor sticks to you wherever you go so both of you stink: and when he says jump, you jump.
He makes you go to the store to pick him up whenever he wants.
He burns holes in your clothes and has even been known to burn down a house.
He makes you stand out in the lobby so you miss the big play.
He is expensive to support and will never give you a penny in return.
He doesn't like physical activity, so he makes it hard for you to breath.
He carries an arsenal of poisons with him, and every chance he gets, he makes you sick.
He has been plotting your death since the first time you met!
He overworks your heart and lungs, clogs the arteries to your heart and brain, and exposes you to cancer-causing agents.
Some friend, your cigarette! Do you really need a friend like this?
Get rid of him now, while you still can!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Prepare - Clean out your car and any other place where the smell of stale smoke collects. Read everything you can find about quitting: stories from other quitters, what smoking does to your body, etc. Buy whatever you think will help you: gum, mints, coffee stirrers, Skittles, Twizzlers, toothpicks, etc. Write down every cigarette you smoke so that you are forced to think about every single cig you smoke. Write down your quitting plan and keep it handy.
2. Zyban or other aid - Zyban was a godsend for me, but it is not for everyone. But get something to help you that will give you confidence, whether it's nicotine gum or patches, St. John's Wort or Kava Kava or Zyban/Wellbutrin. I think anything will work for you if it helps to give you confidence in your quit.
3. Allen Carr's Easy Way to Quit Smoking - Allen Carr says to keep smoking while reading his book, but I didn't start reading until the day after I quit. Either way READ THIS BOOK!! I haven't seen anything else that can so completely change your whole attitude about smoking.
4. Keep a journal - Starting even before you quit, write down your feelings about smoking. Record what you hate about it... not just that it's bad for you, but specifics like when you miss something important because you were out smoking or when you quit paying attention in a meeting because you can't wait to smoke. But after you quit write every positive thing about not smoking, like smelling the spring flowers for the first time in your memory. When you're having a bad day, get out your journal and read it again.
5. Positive thinking - In my opinion, this is the single most important ingredient of a successful quit. If you believe you will fail, you will. So believe you will succeed! Don't let the negativity rule you. Think of every craving not as a problem, but as a minor challenge to overcome. Each craving you get past will add to your confidence and make the next craving easier to overcome. You can do this, if you truly believe you can!!!
6. Visualize - It really helped me to visualize the nicodemon as a living, breathing monster in the pit of my stomach. Nicotine is his food, carbon monoxide his air. So I pictured myself suffocating and starving him to death. He's been getting smaller and smaller and is now almost microscopic. Soon he'll be gone for good.
7. Activity - When a craving hits hard, do something or think about something besides smoking. Do not dwell on the fact that you want a cigarette. That only makes it harder and last longer. Go take a shower, exercise, brush your teeth, work a crossword puzzle, go on the Q, or anything else. Just don't sit there obsessing on the fact that you want a cigarette.
8. Good things - Try to think of something every day that you like about being a non-smoker. I know this is especially hard in the beginning, but that is also when it is most important. It doesn't even matter what it is: trivial or life-changing. Think of something good. This will get easier as time goes by.
9. Reward yourself - Whether it's a pat on the back, a new car, or something in between, be sure to reward yourself for a job well done. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishment. Quitting smoking is not easy. Just tell yourself in whatever way you choose that you are proud of yourself.
10. And last but certainly not least the Quitnet - Support is vital when trying to quit smoking, and while our friends and family may try to help in the beginning, they often get bored and think you should just get over it already. Here at the Q, everyone is going through the same thing and understands how you feel. And you have the opportunity to help others, which also builds up confidence. Even if you just lurk in the shadows, it helps to know there are others out there, who are beating this addiction. If they can do it, so can you.
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QuitStop Forum
The Power of the Q
AndrewC on 09/10/1998 16:32:58
Here is something I've wanted to say for a while about this extraordinary place.
The Power of the "Q"
I couldn't stop my tobacco use
No matter how hard I tried
Through years and years of self abuse
My will to quit had died
And though I had the wish to quit
I never could succeed
I could not accept, nor could I admit
The addiction I was forced to feed
Thank God I chose to try again
And didn't lay surrender
To the demonic substance nicotine
Which knows each age and gender
Upon those first few days I quit
I surfed the net for answers
To permanently rid myself
Of the cause of many cancers
Some how, some way, I stumbled on
A site of friendly voices
Questions, answers, information
A multitude of choices
I looked and read and wrote a post
To announce my new arrival
And to my surprise, I received a host
Of tips for my survival
It was as if, I jumped into
An understanding ocean
Of people sharing thoughts and ways
To deal with their emotion
Some were young, some were old
Some were scared a little
Some had reached the other side
And some were in the middle
All came with a common goal
To muster the conviction
To gather up the strength and soul
To break the bonds of their addiction
Here I made amazing friends
Like those I've never seen
We learned to help each other out
Of the rocks we were between
And so I found a way to clear
The smoke that was around me
Through the friendships I made here
A healthy life surrounds me
The confidence that I now have
I'll gladly share with you
I'm grateful for the people here
And the power of the "Q"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Make a list of reasons you want to quit. Just start writing. Reasons will come to you. Don't want to stink anymore. Expensive. Health. (To name a few)
2. Make another list of reasons you do like to smoke, the benefits you feel you get from smoking. Think about this list. Is there anywhere else you can get those same benefits?
3. Make a list of anticipated benefits. No more feeling self-conscious when you kiss or hug someone. Cleaner house. Cleaner car. You'll think of more.
4. Do some small practice quits. See if you can not smoke during one whole phone call. Try not smoking in your car, your bedroom, at the computer. Think of some easy cigarettes you could do without. The last one before bed maybe? Or postpone your first one as long as possible in the morning.
5. Every time you smoke a cig, make note of the time, what you were doing, how you felt, etc. This is a lot of trouble, and if you make yourself do it every time you smoke, pretty soon the idea of smoking AND keeping a record of it makes you want the cig less and less.
This exercise also gives you a better idea of what your personal triggers are and what smoking does for you.
6. Go to the Tools section of this web site. Check out all the quizzes and questionnaires. See what kind of smoker you are.
7. Go to the Library. Read all the facts you can find about smoking and quitting.
8. Follow some of the links to other informative sites.
9. Hang out here and read the posts every day to get an idea of what others are going through. You'll find something every day that will help you.
10. Post your questions and concerns here. If you think driving is going to be a problem, ask us about it. Someone will have a suggestion that will help you.
11. Lay in a big supply of candies and gum and straws and pretzels and carrot sticks. Get everything you will be needing for the next month from the convenience store because you will be in danger of buying smokes if you enter their doors.
12. Go to the nearest Barnes and Noble or public library. Look up the smoking cessation section. Buy or borrow all the books you see that appeal to you. Read them. Immerse yourself in quitting information. Pretend that your upcoming quit date is the day of the big final and you have to study for it. By the time your quit day rolls around, you will be armed with perhaps more information than you'll need.
All of these exercises are designed to put you in control. Right now cigarettes are in control. They drive you to stand in the cold, run out to the store at midnight, and avoid places like a nonsmoking friend's house or a movie or sitting in the no smoking section of a restaurant.
You can try all of these suggestions or just the ones that appeal to you. Consider them all though. You have to get organized to get control.
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