Reducing Stress and Emotional Withdrawal
- --"Exercise! I make it a practice to get in at least 30-40 minutes of brisk walking daily." --Lanie
--"What helped me the most the first few weeks was this smoking cessation forum. I would post and post and read and read. I think I lived here 24/7!" --Tabby294
--"The thing which helped me most for the first weeks/months was to write in a diary each day. I actually wrote Day 1, Day 2 etc., and under each heading described how I felt and how I dealt with various situations."--KissesForSam
--"Pamper yourself during the early stages of your quit. I tend to be very critical of myself, so I told myself it was okay if I had a few days where I did nothing but rest and relax. It made nicotine withdrawal a lot easier because I didn't expect too much of myself during the first few days. That was a good thing, because I didn't have much to give!" --lorrhaw
--"Breathe! Use meditation techniques, circular breathing, following the breath... whatever works. Most of what makes a crave "bad" is panic. Breathing calms you down."--Nyniane
--"I found a quit buddy -- someone who quit the same day I did. No way was I going to smoke and let her have more free time than me! That really was a good incentive." --Gaylene
--"When I am in the middle of a craving to smoke, I take big, deep breaths with equal amounts of time on the inhale as well as the exhale and I picture the most peaceful place on earth that I want to be. It works!" --Wingnit
--"I used a stress ball. It is a 2" cloth covered gel ball. On those anxious days when I had the fidgets, I could squeeze the dickens out of that ball, roll it across tables, lob it in the air and it went everywhere with me like a security blanket." --Pancake
--"Keep your sense of humor. Watch comedies on TV, funny movies and find joke websites on the internet." --Sugarfree
Adjusting Your Attitude
- --"I choose to work it "just for today." I don't worry about tomorrow. If I keep my focus on "just for today" it becomes less overwhelming. I know that today I will stay smober." --Lanie
--"Never give up even if you don't feel well. See your doctor if need be. Remember quitting isn't an "event" it is "process." Everyone's "process" is different. It does get better for some earlier for others (like me) later." --Lanie
--"Recite NOPE as often as you need, make a song out of it and chant it when you have a crave, this helped me immensely in the beginning." --Melana617
--"Knowledge is power. Understanding this addiction and our internal junkie goes a long way toward beating it."--Pancake
--"I spent a lot of time fighting craves by reading Gaylene's cancer journal, researching smoking-related illnesses and looking at pictures of those who've suffered disfigurement because of nicotine addiction. The fear of illness was one great motivator in quitting and helped me to keep my resolve and realize I wasn't giving up anything good."--JustOneLife
--"When I see a smoker "enjoying" a cigarette, I remind myself that they probably wish that they could quit like I have. I know that's how I felt as a smoker whenever someone I knew had quit." --Mistalula
--"Find a person on the forum who is similar to you. Read their story and then you can relate to them and know it can be done. I read about others who had quit after 40+ years - I smoked for 48, so I figured if they could do it, I could do it." --AnotherLinda
--I remind myself that nicotine withdrawal takes a lot of work and I will just have to start at the beginning again should I relapse. I also remind myself that there is no such thing as having just one cigarette. I know from personal experience and have made that mistake too many times before. It never works. --Carol C.
--"I altered the way that I thought about smoking. Instead of obsessing about not "getting" to smoke, I simply told myself that I had quit, so smoking was not an option for me. For other people, perhaps, but not me. This made the cravings much easier to bear because it removed that whole dimension of the crave where you feel like you have to stop yourself from caving in and smoking. Since smoking was not an option, the cravings just became something unpleasant to get through. This is the tip that helped me most." --Jules
--"Keep a "money saved" jar. Get straps of one dollar bills from the bank and a big jar. Every night at bedtime, peel off the approximate cost of what you would have smoked that day and put it in the jar. It makes a great visual and a pat on the back for going another day." --Nyniane
Be patient with yourself and willing to devote full attention to your quit program. Cast off any preconceived notions you might have about how long the recovery process should take. Rather, relax into your quit and take it one simple day at a time. The difficulties of nicotine withdrawal pale in comparison to the strength and empowerment you'll feel when you find your freedom from nicotine addiction.
