Quit smoking...and taking 28 days to love myself better

lovinomi

Hi all!

I'm so happy to have found this forum! I've been reading the posts about quitting smoking and your stories really helped solidify my resolve to quit. It's been 9 days so far, and I'm so thankful to have made the decision to quit. I wanted to share what I'm doing with you guys...hoping to see if anyone else has had similar experiences.

What prompted you guys to quit (for those of you who smoked)?

I realized after a month of depression that I was smoking and drinking because I was just lonely (not drinking excessively or recklessly, but more than I should). My cigs weren't a replacement for companionship, but they were always there to silently agree with my negative assessment of my life (can't you just hear each puff going, mmmm hmmm, that's right...lol!). After realizing that I was hurting myself and that I needed to dig deeper into my own unhappiness, I decided to quit. Literally--one week after it hit me what I was doing, I quit. Again...thanks to the ex-smokers on the board who shared their stories. I realized that I keep so many promises to other people every day, but I had not kept one promise to myself. That I worry constantly over showing others how much I care for them, while I never show myself how much I care for me.

So starting on day one, I started a 28 day process to re-discover myself and actively show myself the love that I show others. Every day I try to make time to write, or if not actually writing at least taking time to deliberately remember what good things I did for myself. I started working out on day two, and resting and eating well were a few of the good things I did for myself last week. The depression mounted like crazy during the first few days of withdrawal. I DON'T EVER WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT AGAIN. The moods swings scared me, and I felt so out of control. Gosh the insomnia and twitching at night really made me scared about what I had been doing to myself. Thankfully that lasted only about 3 nights. But this week has felt really good emotionally, and I've quickly gotten used to thinking about my needs and making sure that I take care of them. Stomach cramps have continued into this week, although not nearly as bad. That and eating constantly have been the only two lingering wd symptoms....but I don't mind them so much. I love to cook, so I've amused myself by finding healthy recipes that are ok for me to eat constantly. Then I cook them! And eat them! LOL

Just wanted to share my journey. Congratulations to all of you for exercising, living well and quitting harmful habits. We're not perfect, but we can do our best to love ourselves a little more every day. :-)

Strength!!!

leslisa

Started when I was 12. Quit when I was 17. Quit because I'm allergic to nicotine.

Irreparable damage to my lungs due to smoking during adolescence.

Good luck on your journey. You'll feel so much better!

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

jodybo2

I started at 11, quit at 21. Curved my cravings with food and gained 50 pounds. Started back 5 years later. Quit again at 34. I was tired of getting bronchitis! This time I used nicotine gum and exercise and have lost weight. I feel so much better now!

leslisa

I started at 11, quit at 21. Curved my cravings with food and gained 50 pounds. Started back 5 years later. Quit again at 34. I was tired of getting bronchitis! This time I used nicotine gum and exercise and have lost weight. I feel so much better now!

This is just awesome