Actually, that’s pretty deep. Thanks for posting it.
Good luck! It’s been three years January 7th. That quit smoking counter you linked is the one I still use.
It gets easier with time. I used Champix (Chantix here) and it got me through the first few days.
You can totally do it!
I stopped smoking on Wed, 7 Jan 2009 09:59:00 UTC.
It has been 153 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 18 minutes and 40 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 16673.03 by choosing not to smoke 26891 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 29 weeks, 2 days 10 hours 11 minutes of my life!
Well,
Today has been pretty rough. But I’ve learned some things. First, there are two different types of cigarette cravings for me. The first is like a mundane habit: “Look at me, I am in a place or it is a time where I always light up. But, oh yeah, I don’t actually have any smokes on me because I quit. Remember?” And this isn’t so bad, although it seems I have a larger number of triggers in this regard than I may have realized. The second is much, much worse. It’s like there’s an insidious voice in my head, telling me that I am weak and that I’ll never amount to anything and that I should just give up quitting now. It’s weird because now I see it as distinct from myself, but at the time it seemed like it was me thinking something a bit more negative. It took me a while to talk that voice down, but I am happy and a bit proud to say that I did, and I hope that tomorrow is a smidgeon easier. If not, I may have to seek some medication.
QFT. And apparently when you don’t give this guy what he wants, he gets mean.
Nah. Ruminate away. But while swirling the spoon in the coffee cup. Or whatever. No need to change everything around. 
The hijack is most welcome since I am always happy to hear what works for others. I’m not so gung-ho on the physical health aspect of quitting either. It’s much more the mental health thing for me. And as for being an inspiration, I’m flattered.
Current countdown clock:
I stopped smoking on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:45:00 UTC.
It has been 0 weeks, 1 days, 7 hours, 21 minutes and 36 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 13.72 by choosing not to smoke 45 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 0 days 8 hours 23 minutes of my life!
That voice in your head is your addiction, hang right for another couple of days and it will get quieter. You are not weak and even if you give in and have a cigarette it doesn’t mean you were weak, so don’t listen to the voice in your head. You can totally do this.
After a bit over fifteen years smoking a pack a day or more, I quit cold turkey on 11/11/11 because, well, why not? I got an app for my phone called Quit Now that simply keeps a running tally for you on a few vital statistics and it really does seem to be helping me keep things in perspective.
As of now, I have gone 37.79 days without smoking, have refrained from smoking 756 cigarettes, and saved $208.98. The app even has a few achievements that unlock over time and a section that estimates health recovery. I have no idea how accurate that part is or where it gets its information, but it’s still helpful to think about it.
I will say that even with the physical aspects of the addiction (I was a confused wreck for two solid weeks,) quitting is mostly in the mindset. You have to decide that you want to do it and prevent yourself from making excuses. It’s easy enough to think that you are suddenly experiencing a stressful time in your life or that you will just finish off a pack. It’s also always easiest to think about quitting while you are actively smoking a cigarette, but if you can’t throw what’s left of a pack in the trash without diving back in a few hours later, you’re not mentally ready to quit.
Keep a good outlook and be ready for your mind to sabotage you at every turn. It does get better eventually.
The scariest part of quitting for me was “what will I do instead of smoking?” How will I talk on the phone, watch tv, talk to my friends, hang out on Violet’s front porch? What will I do after dinner, before bed, while reading in bed, while driving, while drinking coffee?Physic withdrawal was nothing compared to the emotional withdrawal and years later I STILL have the emotional withdrawal. But my desire to not smoke is greater tha my desire to smoke.
And FTR, “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” did nothing for me either. There are many different methods use in a quit. The trick is finding the one that works for you.
All of this, exactly, for me, too.
Even now, when I drive I don’t know what to do with my hands. (The trick is to not eat.) It took me a long time to learn to do nothing else but drive.
The fear of what do I do now was huge. Now its small, and I can ignore it.
Since Sunday, things have been going a bit better. There are some cravings from time to time, but nothing nearly as strong as the one I described. It seems that dealing with the stronger cravings when they come up is what separates the sheep form the goats. Or perhaps not. I do feel woozy and sleepy though. I’m on Christmas break, so I’ve just been going with the flow for the past few days, but I don’t really feel like I’m all there. According to the Wikipedia, the nicotine should be out of my system by now, but perhaps it takes some time for a new equilibrium of some sort to become established. I do feel like something is lacking, too. Obviously it’s the nicotine that’s lacking, and for right now, I’m trying to tell myself that this lacking is a good thing, and that hopefully sooner or later it will diminish. I suppose it has a bit, already. This isn’t an all the time feeling, but rather something that comes up every now and again.
Thank you, NAF and Teufelblitz. Quitting is very much a fight or struggle against the self, isn’t it? And it can be hard to figure out, in the moment, which “voice” to heed. But I like the idea of smoking as the bad high school friend. I think personifying it that way is helpful.
So far, that hasn’t been an issue for me. I am at my parents’ house, far away from the normal habits, as it were. But I know that figuring out what to do when I’m writing is going to be an issue. I never smoked while writing, but taking a cigarette break was what I would do if I got stuck or it was time to take 5 or whatever. I don’t really know what I’m going to do about that. Smoking and writing are two activities that are very closely intertwined for me.
Thanks to everyone for reading this and for posting your stuff.
Current counter info. I’m more than halfway to a week.
I stopped smoking on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:45:00 UTC.
It has been 0 weeks, 4 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes and 17 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 45.28 by choosing not to smoke 150 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 1 days 3 hours 40 minutes of my life!
Keep it up, RadicalPi. We’re rooting for you.
I’m going to go ride my exercise bike, as a token of my support.
-D/a
One week! Woo hoo! I am quite pleased with myself.
Merry Christmas everyone, and here is the current counter:
I stopped smoking on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:45:00 UTC.
It has been 1 weeks, 0 days, 6 hours, 25 minutes and 35 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 76.31 by choosing not to smoke 254 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 1 days 22 hours 38 minutes of my life!
Stick with it. Next May will be 20 years since my last puff after a pack or more a day for 16-1/2 years. You won’t be sorry. Eventually anyway.
My husband has been after me to be on the quit smoking bandwagon. He’s a 2-pack a day smoker who occasionally has fear-inducing coughing fits and claims he cannot quite nor cut down unless I do. Me? I’m a half-pack-a day smoker who can easily not smoke as long as I’m not around any of my triggers – namely, home, my car, and work.
The emotional sticking point as far as I’m concerned is the testy adolescent inside of me who rears her ugliness whenever my husband brings up the “We should quit” thing. My immediate reaction is to snap back, WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TELL ME I CAN’T SMOKE? Evidently somewhere in my mind smoking still equals rebellion, and I have yet to get over that hump.
Oh, and being online – my computer is also a huge, huge trigger. I can sit here and chain smoke without realizing it.
Has anyone tried electronic cigarettes, aka “vaporing”? I have a friend who’s currently using this as her quitting method, and so far it seems to be working.
Symptomwise, the past two days have been pretty bad. There’s been nothing like the weird mental quasi-breakdown on the first day, but there’s a definite, albeit kind of soft, hunger that nothing can sate. Deep breathing helps immensely, but it is a nagging discomfort. The other thing that has been bothering me is that I can hardly move my mouth because some canker sores have developed and because I have a really sore throat. I suppose that it’s possible that these things are not related to quitting smoking, but I’ve done some reading, and they aren’t rare to withdrawal. Hopefully, they won’t last too long. Chewing and swallowing have become very painful. I don’t like that at all.
QUOTE=Siam Sam;14601399]Stick with it. Next May will be 20 years since my last puff after a pack or more a day for 16-1/2 years. You won’t be sorry. Eventually anyway.
[/QUOTE]
I hope so. This is what is keeping me going.
I understand this completely. My mother, in particular, has been telling me to quit for years, because she is a nurse and this is what nurses and mothers do. But, it has been very important to me that me quitting is for me and not for anyone else. So, I haven’t told her yet that I’ve quit, even though I know she’d be nothing less than thrilled to know. It seems that what you have to do to quit smoking is to “own it” in some way. Make it about you somehow and not how others are depending on you or anything like that.
Anyway, here is the current counter (I’m approaching $100.00 saved!):
I stopped smoking on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:45:00 UTC.
It has been 1 weeks, 2 days, 4 hours, 28 minutes and 34 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 96.46 by choosing not to smoke 321 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 2 days 10 hours 56 minutes of my life!
Keep it going, RadicalPi. $100 in a week and a half. Not to mention the health benefits, etc, etc. If you need the extra motivation, you could set a goal to do with a percentage of the saved money..to buy yourself something, or donate to charity, or whatever. Or just do it for your own reasons. But keep up the good work.
-D/a
Hang in there! We’re pulling for you.
Hope it goes well for you, it is possible !
I gave up after many years and I don’t miss them one bit.
-)
Congratulations, good luck, and know that we’re pullin’ for ya!
Well, this withdrawal, or whatever it is, is still difficult. The canker sore is gone, which is good, and it is gone faster than usual, so it may not have been a canker sore to begin with, but I can open my mouth and chew, which is fantastic. My throat is sorer than ever though, and it is a fuckin’ pain to swallow, and it seems I swallow often. On the right side, the pain reaches my ear. When I’m outside, I spit and spit and spit, and it’s all a bit disgusting. I really hope this diminishes soon because it sucks. My nose is also running, pretty much nonstop.
Oddly, enough, reading about my symptoms at various places online is helping me get through this bit. I’ve learned that withdrawal is usually particularly difficult for those who smoked through a long depression, as I did. I’m not sure if that refers to physical symptoms or mental ones, but I do have to say that mentally I’m feeling great, and I am quite pleased with myself, and even happy and glad to be alive, at least from time to time. But the sensations from my nipples to my ears are unpleasant, to say the least. I hope this doesn’t go on much longer.
Keep telling me this. I can feel good things, but right now they feel a bit overpowered.
Thanks Digital. I do want to get myself something nice, but I really can’t think of anything at the moment. I do feel like I deserve some type of reward, but for now I’ll just bank the cash.
I’m pullin’ for me, too!
Here’s the current counter.This puts us into the new year. Happy 2012 everybody!
I stopped smoking on Sun, 18 Dec 2011 02:45:00 GMT.
It has been 2 weeks, 0 days, 3 hours, 52 minutes and 12 seconds since I quit.
I have saved $ 148.69 by choosing not to smoke 495 cigarettes.
More importantly, I saved 0 weeks, 3 days 18 hours 52 minutes of my life!