My Milestone
This week I am celebrating 14 months smoke-free. My biggest cheerleader, my darling daughter reminded me of the date. It might have slipped my mind otherwise!
While getting to this milestone was not a walk in the park, I can say one thing -- quitting has made me stronger and my self-esteem is through the roof.
How I've Gotten This Far
I started my smoke-free journey on Jan 28th, 2009. Little did I know that four short months later I would lose my father to Alzheimer's disease and my step-mother the following month.Staying off of cigarettes was a struggle when my father was so ill. Having to make huge decisions about his health care was stressing me out. I knew that going back to smoking would not help me with the stress though, nor make my father better. It was then that I had a breakthrough. I came to understand that I did not have to smoke to relieve stress.
Not one person can quit for you, not friends or family. It is all up to you and how bad you want to quit. And yet, while we must quit for ourselves and nobody else, family support is so important.
Some key advice for quitting smoking:
#1) Educate yourself about nicotine addiction.
#2) To help with cravings, drink cold water, walk, take deep breaths.
#3) Tell yourself each morning that no matter what comes your way today, you shall not smoke. Smoking is no longer an option for you.
#4) Visit the forum daily and pledge NOPE ( Not One Puff Ever ) and soon you will be on the road to recovery from an expensive, filthy, addiction.
Lessons Learned
- Education is empowering when it comes to nicotine addiction. No matter how much stress you have in your life, smoking will never take the stress away. Stress remains whether you smoke or not.
- Taking baby steps early on..doing this is what kept me going. Looking to far into the future was something I could not do. I quit smoking by taking it one day at a time.
- Good support from family and friends is a key to recovery. I dedicate my quit to myself, my family and my father. ( May you rest in peace Dad. )
Terry Martin, Smoking Cessation Guide, says:
Congratulations, Valerie. Learning how to manage stress without smoking is a huge accomplishment, and one that we must all master in order to be truly free from nicotine addiction. It sounds to me like you've laid the groundwork for that, and with every passing month, will find it to be easier to deal with stress without thoughts of smoking getting in the way.Practice makes perfect, and with smoking cessation, much of the healing comes from plain old practice.
Keep yourself pointed forward, and take each day as it comes. You're doing just great!
