1 Wk Smoke-Free! (Thoughts from a light-smoker)
sscad
Posts: 73 Member
Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself to this group. My name is Sarah. Although I've never been a heavy smoker, I was too much in denial to call myself anything more than just a "social" smoker. I used to only have about 2 a day, and then it increased to 3, then to 4. For a while I've been smoking anywhere from 3-5 a day and after a stressful couple weeks (with lots of driving) in August when I started going through a pack almost every 2-3 days, I realized I was going down the wrong track.
I knew I had to quit (I've actually quit and tried to quit before) but I said to myself "Well, I was never a heavy smoker to begin with, why not just start cutting back? It shouldn't be that bad" I quickly realized that this decision was stupid- I was obviously attempting to maintain my light smoking status. I think that's the danger with attempting to quit as a "light" smoker- there appears to be less of an issue or urgency to truly quit since its not as bad as the average or "heavy" smoker.
When I ran out last Tuesday and was about to head out to get more, I just told myself "No." I know, it sounds simple. And in a weird way, it was. I found out that many times before, when I PLAN to make changes in life, I feel I just end up procrastinating. I needed to cut myself off guard. What helped was that, in doing it this way, it became less of a "restriction" or a "I CAN'T have it" to a "challenge" or a "Let's see if I can do it!"
Anyway, as of today, I have gone a week without smoking a cigarette. And what's more impressive (and I suggest everyone to look at it this way) is to count up the total amount of cigarettes I chose NOT to smoke. For me, that is about 28 cigarettes. 28! Over a pack! That seems so much more of an accomplishment when I think of it that way.
My culprits have always been 1. Driving (esp. those habitual drives like to/from work, to/from a certain friend's house) 2. Long drives 3. While bored 4. During tense situations 5.Going out/concerts/drinking
During this past week, I've crossed off 1, although it took a couple of days to adjust (and there's still some random times that I'm triggered). I'm working on 3, and so far my healthiest approach was going for a run/walk when I was bored and felt cooped up. It's been pretty hard, but easier every day. On day 2-3, I literally started crying in the middle of a run. I haven't really had any moments where I had to face long drives, tension, or social situations yet. BUT THE ONE I FEAR THE MOST is social situations. There is nothing like alcohol and smoking, as we all probably know, and I understand it's mostly habitual so it's just a habit I have to break, right? But not only can I not imagine drinking and NOT smoking but not drinking and smoking with friends that are drinking and smoking. I really can't ditch those friends (especially when one of them is my boyfriend) so I decided maybe I should just politely walk away during "smoke breaks"? I also know I should give up alcohol altogether so I don't get triggered as strongly, and although I'm not a heavy drinking to begin with, how long does that have to be? Forever? How do I know when it's time I can have a drink without the excruciating urge to smoke? I would LOVE advice by all you SOCIAL SMOKING CONQUERORS out there!
I was also wondering...is social smoking generally the hardest to overcome for everyone (if so, why?) or could it be because I started out as a social smoker and it's hardest for me to overcome because it's my most developed smoking habit?
Well, that's my story. I would love to meet all you folks that are on the same or similar page as me, and of course, get advice.
Thanks for reading.
-Sarah
I knew I had to quit (I've actually quit and tried to quit before) but I said to myself "Well, I was never a heavy smoker to begin with, why not just start cutting back? It shouldn't be that bad" I quickly realized that this decision was stupid- I was obviously attempting to maintain my light smoking status. I think that's the danger with attempting to quit as a "light" smoker- there appears to be less of an issue or urgency to truly quit since its not as bad as the average or "heavy" smoker.
When I ran out last Tuesday and was about to head out to get more, I just told myself "No." I know, it sounds simple. And in a weird way, it was. I found out that many times before, when I PLAN to make changes in life, I feel I just end up procrastinating. I needed to cut myself off guard. What helped was that, in doing it this way, it became less of a "restriction" or a "I CAN'T have it" to a "challenge" or a "Let's see if I can do it!"
Anyway, as of today, I have gone a week without smoking a cigarette. And what's more impressive (and I suggest everyone to look at it this way) is to count up the total amount of cigarettes I chose NOT to smoke. For me, that is about 28 cigarettes. 28! Over a pack! That seems so much more of an accomplishment when I think of it that way.
My culprits have always been 1. Driving (esp. those habitual drives like to/from work, to/from a certain friend's house) 2. Long drives 3. While bored 4. During tense situations 5.Going out/concerts/drinking
During this past week, I've crossed off 1, although it took a couple of days to adjust (and there's still some random times that I'm triggered). I'm working on 3, and so far my healthiest approach was going for a run/walk when I was bored and felt cooped up. It's been pretty hard, but easier every day. On day 2-3, I literally started crying in the middle of a run. I haven't really had any moments where I had to face long drives, tension, or social situations yet. BUT THE ONE I FEAR THE MOST is social situations. There is nothing like alcohol and smoking, as we all probably know, and I understand it's mostly habitual so it's just a habit I have to break, right? But not only can I not imagine drinking and NOT smoking but not drinking and smoking with friends that are drinking and smoking. I really can't ditch those friends (especially when one of them is my boyfriend) so I decided maybe I should just politely walk away during "smoke breaks"? I also know I should give up alcohol altogether so I don't get triggered as strongly, and although I'm not a heavy drinking to begin with, how long does that have to be? Forever? How do I know when it's time I can have a drink without the excruciating urge to smoke? I would LOVE advice by all you SOCIAL SMOKING CONQUERORS out there!
I was also wondering...is social smoking generally the hardest to overcome for everyone (if so, why?) or could it be because I started out as a social smoker and it's hardest for me to overcome because it's my most developed smoking habit?
Well, that's my story. I would love to meet all you folks that are on the same or similar page as me, and of course, get advice.
Thanks for reading.-Sarah
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Congrats on your success!
This described me to a T:
My culprits have always been 1. Driving (esp. those habitual drives like to/from work, to/from a certain friend's house) 2. Long drives 3. While bored 4. During tense situations 5.Going out/concerts/drinking
Yes, x5.
I was mentally ready to quit and did surprisingly well with the car, commuting to/from work, boredom, etc. The social situations have been hard, particularly when in the company of current smokers. It sucked pretty hard for about 1.5 months then gradually, it became easier to drink and hang out without the cigs. Now, it is easy and I have no problem (my last cig was June 29). I didn't give up alcohol, I basically just sucked it up and suffered through each craving, which at the time seemed unbearable.
I had a very rough first 3 days after quitting. Seriously, day 3 without cigs was awful. After going through that, I knew I never, ever wanted to have to quit again and I used that (and still use it) as motivation. We have both come too far to let a social situation drag us down. Believe me, every time you conquer the social situation, you will be so proud the next day when you wake up!0
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