Quit Smoking Monday Messages
8 Years Smoke-Free
A Few Things I Know For Sure...
This past week I celebrated a big milestone -- 8 years since my last cigarette. There was a time when it was hard to imagine 8 days in a row smoke-free, let alone 8 years. Yet, here I am today, looking back with more than a little amazement and so much gratitude at how far I've come.
My quit meter tells me that in the 8 years since I quit, I have NOT smoked over 73,000 cigarettes.
That's a lot of tobacco, but looking at the big picture, it is important to note that the worst of the work associated with quitting - the edginess of nicotine withdrawal and the couple of months beyond it, only involved the first 1000 cigarettes not smoked or so.
By the time I got to the 6 month mark with 4000 cigs not smoked under my belt, any angst over quitting was well behind me. Another 4000 cigs not smoked and I was solidly in the clear.
Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, wouldn't you say? Perspective is everything.
Speaking of perspective, I'd like to share a few gems of knowledge that smoking cessation has taught me - things that, in looking back on the journey to freedom I've been on, are crystal clear.
Smoking Cessation is a Process, Not an Event!
This was the first lesson I learned when I found the support forum here at About.com Smoking Cessation. Nicotine addiction lets go of us a little at a time. I used to think of quitting as an event - something to be over and done with in a matter of weeks. I failed every time with that mindset. Recovery from this addiction is a process that takes time to unfold. There is no rushing it.
TODAY is All that Matters.
Your power to change your life always lies in the present moments of TODAY. Make the day that you have in front of you right now count and the rest will fall into place. Don't look back in regret or ahead in worry. Just focus on TODAY. As the saying goes...
'Yard by yard, life is hard; inch by inch, it's a cinch.'
Focus on TODAY.
That's all you need to do -- and guess what? It's enough.
If You Want to Change Your Life, Change Your Mind.
True freedom is a state of mind. In order to really shed this addiction in a way that leaves it no room to return to you months or years down the road, you must change what smoking means to you - you must change your personal relationship with smoking. You can abstain from smoking for years, but if you never change the relationship you have with cigarettes, the chains will continue to hold you tight. Change the way you think and you can free yourself in an instant. You'll still have to do the work to undo the years of habit of course, but once you free your mind, you're on your way.
The Journey is Personal.
Smoking cessation takes as long as it takes for you.
Invest in an unbending commitment to stay with your quit program until you break the physical addiction to nicotine and succeed at changing your mind about what smoking means to you. Don't weigh yourself down with expectations about how long that should take - put time on the back burner and be patient. And don't compare your progress to that of anyone else who has quit smoking. Look only at yourself. The process of recovery from this addiction will not fail you if you stick with it for as long as it takes for you.
For those of you who are working hard to quit right now, keep working. Believe me when I tell you that the discomforts you're feeling now are truly fleeting. Stick with the program and work it, one simple day at a time. You'll get to where I am today just as surely as I have.
Breathing deep with gratitude ~ Terry
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Take The Quit Smoking Monday Pledge
Healthy Monday encourages us to think of for ourselves. If you're still smoking, put your cigarettes down and get started on your quit program today.
We all have the ability to quit smoking successfully, and we all deserve a life that is free of addiction. Honor your life by choosing Monday as the day to start and reinforce your quit program.
You can quit smoking ... and we're here to help you, one simple Monday at a time.
Image © healthymonday.org
Just One Cigarette Can Harm Arteries of Young Healthy Adults
ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2009) -- Even one cigarette has serious adverse effects on young adults, according to research presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Her study found that smoking one cigarette increases the stiffness of the arteries in 18 to 30 year olds by a whopping 25 per cent.
Just One Cigarette Has Harmful effect on Arteries of Young Healthy Adults -- ScienceDaily
Related:
- A Talk With Your Kids About Smoking -- a DVD Review
Photo © Stockxpert
The Benefits!
Most of us think about the positive health effects we'll benefit from when we quit smoking. Better breathing; less risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer; improved circulation.
The list of physical benefits is long, but there is an equally important list of psychological gains we'll enjoy as well...things like improved self-esteem and less tension in our lives.
What Do You Like Best About Not Smoking? - Readers Respond
Related:
- The Benefits at 3 Months Smoke-Free - From Marah
- Freedom from Nicotine Addiction - What it Means to Us
Image: Stockxpert
The Chemicals in Cigarettes
As smokers, we don't think about the chemicals in cigarettes. We think about how cigarettes help us cope with the stress of daily life, how they calm us down when we're angry, help us relax at the end of a long day, comfort us when we're sad or lonely. Harmful chemicals in cigarettes? No, we don't think much about that.
The truth of the matter is that smoking does the opposite of just about everything we give it credit for. When the chemicals in cigarettes are inhaled, they put our bodies into a state of physical stress by sending literally thousands of poisons, toxic metals and carcinogens coursing through our bloodstream with every puff we take. And those chemicals affect everything from blood pressure and pulse rate to the health of our organs and immune system.
Harmful Chemicals in Cigarettes:
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Quit Smoking Monday Messages
Breathing
From the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal to the thoughts of smoking that come up now and then as we move through the first year of smoking cessation, recovery from nicotine addiction is a process that can be difficult to maintain control over.
Deep breathing is an invaluable tool that, when mastered, will help you shift gears when nicotine withdrawal makes you edgy. Think of deep breathing as a compass that will help you find your smoke-free way and relax you at the same time.
I'd like to introduce you to Leslie, a member of the smoking cessation support forum here at About.com. In this article, Leslie shares the techniques she uses to control her breathing, along with the benefits that deep breathing has had for her personally. As of this writing, Leslie has 9 smoke-free months under her belt and is feeling stronger with every passing day.
- Breathing -- Leslie's account
How you choose to react to thoughts of smoking can either increase or decrease their power over you. The next time a smoking urge hits, try a little reverse psychology. Instead of tensing up for a struggle, relax and mentally lean into the craving. Let it wash over you while you focus on your breathing. The urge will run its course and pass. Practice makes perfect with this technique. You'll get the hang of it with time and will find it empowering.
Nicotine Withdrawal Tips - Reader Contributions
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Take The Quit Smoking Monday Pledge
Healthy Monday encourages us to think of for ourselves. If you're still smoking, put your cigarettes down and get started on your quit program today.
We all have the ability to quit smoking successfully, and we all deserve a life that is free of addiction. Honor your life by choosing Monday as the day to start and reinforce your quit program.
You can quit smoking ... and we're here to help you, one simple Monday at a time.
Image © healthymonday.org
5 Facts about Smokeless Tobacco You Should Know
As the term suggests, smokeless tobacco describes a variety of tobacco products that are not smoked by the consumer. These products, which include snuff, dip and chewing tobacco, are less harmful than smoking, but are still extremely hazardous to your health.
Related:
Image: Gum damage from chew tobacco. Courtesy of NCI
Why Quit Smoking?
Most people who smoke wish they didn't. They live with a hatred for the habit they can't seem to do without. The fear of serious illness is usually there too, lurking in the background, and always that awful feeling of being powerless to quit.
Nicotine addiction does that to a person.
What are your reasons to quit smoking?
Thinking about why you want to quit and making a detailed list is a good way to get started with a solid quit program.
Related:
- Quit Smoking 101 - a Free Email Course
- Why Did You Quit Smoking? - Reader Responses
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Tobacco in the News
Are Safer Cigarettes a Corporate Ploy, and FDA Mistake? -- BU Today
Is there such a thing as a safe(r) cigarette? Antismoking advocates recently pushed through legislation that gives the Food and Drug Administration broad new powers to regulate tobacco. The legislation requires that health warnings on tobacco products be larger, bans candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, and sets other sales restrictions, seen by some as major steps in the campaign to reduce smoking. But it also puts the federal government in the most unusual position of endorsing products known to cause thousands of deaths each year.
Related:
Quit Smoking Monday Messages
Ambivalence About Quitting
Thoughts of smoking are common when we quit smoking and begin the process of healing from nicotine addiction. Your mind can feel like it's turning itself inside out trying to convince you to have just one cigarette. Don't let it throw you; this is a normal part nicotine withdrawal.
There is an interesting conversation taking place at the About.com Smoking Cessation support forum right now regarding the ambivalence we might feel about quitting once we stub that last cigarette out:
From the_dickster: "Ambivalence: The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings (such as love and hate) towards a person, object or idea; A state of uncertainty or indecisiveness.
"The object is smoking. I don't think that being ambivalent is a good thing, and yet I have been feeling that for a couple of days now. The cravings are better, I sometimes feel like a non-smoker, yet I think that I could smoke again. I don't want to go through the first week again, as it was miserable, and yet I think that tiime makes you forget. The question is, does time also make you forget that you were a smoker? I have 30+ years of smoking behind me, and a lot of associations. It is said that it takes 3 weeks to change a habit, is this true for smoking? I need to not be ambivalent, so I need your input!"
- Ambivalence 10 Days In -- Forum Discussion
As smokers, we often think of lighting up as an enjoyable pastime. Cigarettes offer comfort, entertainment and companionship -- or so we think. At the same time, we relate smoking cessation to feelings of pain, misery and sacrifice, and for most of us, these opposing feelings exist and are reinforced on a subconscious level. They're below the surface of our thoughts, and the result is that we adopt unhealthy and inaccurate beliefs as facts of life when in reality they are only our distorted perceptions of the truth.
There are two important steps involved in recovery from nicotine addiction: physical and psychological, or body and mind. Physical recovery, while intense, is over within a relatively short period of time. Psychological recovery from nicotine addiction is achieved bit by bit as we learn new ways to cope than don't involve smoking. Understanding this distinction and gaining wisdom about the mind games the habit of smoking puts us through helps us win over nicotine addiction, once and for all.
Photo © Stockxpert
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Take The Quit Smoking Monday Pledge
Healthy Monday encourages us to think of for ourselves. If you're still smoking, put your cigarettes down and get started on your quit program today.
We all have the ability to quit smoking successfully, and we all deserve a life that is free of addiction. Honor your life by choosing Monday as the day to start and reinforce your quit program.
You can quit smoking ... and we're here to help you, one simple Monday at a time.
Image © healthymonday.org
12 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking Successfully
You may feel like you're on a rollercoaster during the first couple of weeks after you quit smoking. You'll have good days and you'll have bad days. Whether you use a quit smoking aid of some sort or go cold turkey, you're going to feel a certain amount of withdrawal from nicotine.
Some people have more trouble with the first week, and others with the second, but the good news is that for most quitters, the worst of physical withdrawal from nicotine is over within the first month of smoking cessation.
Related:
Photo © Stockxpert