Day 4 - Anyone else at this stage? - No Smoking Day

I posted my first post yesterday, while on day 3 - now on day 4.

As I have read that all the nicotine is out of the body by 3 days I have decided to brave things today and not use a patch, so will see how things go.

So far all going ok. I have less of that longing feeling today but still struggling at the times when I would normally have smoked - before work, before a meeting, after a meeting, at lunch, after food etc. But somehow, and don't ask me how, I have convinced myself that I will not smoke again. Right now I really feel like I won't smoke again, so I'm just going to try and keep that mind set no matter how hard things get.

The other thing I'm doing is not saying that I can't smoke - I could quite easily nip in to a shop and buy 20 of my usual right now. The thing is, I'm not going to because as much as I want, I also don't want to. I've never had this much desire to not smoke before and this is what is keeping me going at the moment, so I really hope it lasts.

Hope everyone else going ok, especially those at this stage too.

Stu

18 Replies

oldest • newest

nsd_user663_3190

9 years ago

Hey Stu, nice going man - 4 days!!! I also found day 4 felt like a breath of relief after the intensity of the first few days. And I think you've found the key in changing your thought process like that, for me its felt a bit like those magic eye pictures - you know where you stare at them long enough and eventually your brain does a kinda flip and you see the image? I was driving along earlier today and I thought to myself how weird it was that I hadn't actually wanted a cigarette for a couple of days. I've been upside down and inside out emotionally, I feel like I can't string two thoughts together and I think my girlfriend might just lock me in a cupboard one of these days, but I haven't once thought about going to the corner shop to buy cigs to fix it. I totally understand what you're talking about just not wanting to smoke anymore. It feels incredibly liberating and I think as long as you keep thinking like that, the feeling will last.

I'm thinking about my life to come in terms of not being a smoker and it's really, really exciting and, I dunno, it's like after a thousand times trying to quit over the past few years the picture has suddenly come into focus. I want to be able to go to festivals and pubs and have fun without it all hanging on having to have a cigarette with a drink, or a conversation or anything else for that matter.

My brain feels like it needs the nicotine, like sometimes it's screaming for it (last weekend after a couple of drinks for example), but this week instead of thinking 'I want a cigarette', I'm changing it to 'My brain wants the drug', or 'I feel cloudy because my brain is adjusting to not having the drug'. Somehow shifting it like that, making it more impersonal and thinking of cigarettes in terms of the substance - the drug - rather than a 'fix' makes me feel more in control and able to make the decision to say 'I'm not going to give the drug to my brain'. It becomes a rational choice rather than an emotional one.

Does that make any sense? I do tend to ramble on sometimes hehe.

nsd_user663_4970

Hi Mona / Chris

Thanks both for your helpful words. I definitely find the apporach of not telling myself I can't smoke has helped me, as like you Mona I'd be more tempted to do it!

Chris, that does make sense! Especially the exciting thought of life without smoking. I used to be able to run loads and I'm looking forward to starting that back up again shortly and hopefully noticing the difference with my breathing.

I think my real challenge will come at thw weekend and the inevitable visit to the pub. Its going to be hard having a drink without smoking but right now I'm so determined to do this I am confident I'll make it through. Anyway, I still need to take it one day at a time and am just looking forward to (can you believe it, i'm looking forward to!!!) not smoking for the rest of the day and then dealing with tomorrow, tomorrow.

Keep going everyone, it must get easier.

Stuart

nsd_user663_4889

Hi again

Chris I really like what you said about the shift in thinking. Ive been reading the online book on whyquit.com and one of the things they suggested to do (when I still had cigs around) was to break one up and look at it objectively...some paper..a filter and bits of dried leaves and ask yourself if youre gonna let that control you? Sometimes when the carve hits me pretty strong I think of that broken cig and the bits of dried leaves and tell myself that it has no power over me.

As for the pub Stu..be careful. For me Ive made the choice to stay away from the pubs until I have a few weeks maybe a month under my belt. Thats just me but like Chris said sometimes the best laid plans....

xxx