Just had a new realization about quitting. It is actually easier to 'not smoke' whilst being quit than when smoking. It used to be the most annoying thing when I could not smoke... like on long haul flight, long meeting, day with grand parents, taking care of kids etc. I was literally climbing the walls by the end of it and could not wait to get my fix.
Well its not great at the mo, but it sure is easier to 'not smoke' now.
Totally "get this".
Alot of associates of mine did not know that I smoked - for example, my boss is in a different country - therefore, whenever I had travel to meet with him - I didn't smoke. I would be going crazy with withdrawals by the end of the day!
Now, its easier - I'm not counting the minutes until I can smoke and working myself into a frenzy! 
When you smoke and can't, it like doing Day 1 without the willpower, without the mental readiness.....hell!
Roosa - your insight had never occurred to me, and it's spot on, nice one!
Roosa you are so right, experts always say that smoking causes stress not relaxation & they are spot on.
I have spent so much time worrying about when i can have my next cigarette, to the point of not being able to relax & enjoy what i am doing, let alone concentrate. Now i know longer put myself through that & actually feel i have a better quality of life.
Best of luck
Trudy
Absolutely
Roosa,
You are definitely spot on here. I too, like Chris had people that I never used to smoke around. I was ashamed. Then there were all the times that I couldn't smoke, either cause i didn't want to be regarded as a smoker, or because it was not allowed.
In any case, it really is much easier now.
Very interesting insight!
Nik
x
Oh, Karri!
Sorry you feel like that, pet! I know how you feel though, my previous quit I felt a little bit like that - even after a couple of months. I blamed it on the patches and feeding the nico demon, but everyone is different and I've met some people who thrived on patches!
The key thing is that I have figured out that a quit happens mainly in your head. Your body adapts so much quicker than your brain - so give it chance... Perhaps you need to change the way you think; have you read Allen Carr's book? It's definitely worth it!
Good luck and keep strong!
x
Nik
x
As a quitter I find I think of cigarettes constantly. Sub conciously I know that no matter how long I go I'm not getting one. By "choosing" not to smoke its as though a gate has been left open and I want to walk through it and say "20 silk cut please."
Ah but you're not walking through the gate are you Karri, you're being strong and if you carry on being strong the way you feel will change.
How far into your quit are you? I'm almost 4 months and I still think about them a lot, just in a different way now.
I hope it gets easier for you soon Karri.
Please stay strong, you can do this petal
Molly x
Karri, you sound a bit like my husband. He has always been just fine without a smoke if he can't have one, basically he just doesn't think about it. He is different in his quit as well since he doesn't want to talk about it, prefers to just forget it alltogether. We are all so different in this fight against addiction.
Oh, why can't they just stop making and selling the darn things, eh?
Roosa.
Yes I agree, if they stoped selling, we would all have no choice but ti give up, which would be awesome.
Babes together then?
Ah...Karri,
We're in this together, junkie thinking and all!
Keep reading and keep posting, but most importantly keep telling yourself that the junkie thinking will get weaker and weaker and eventually it will.
Keep strong - you can do this!
I found this really helped with me: whyquit.com/joel/Joel_04_16...
x
Nik
Nice work Karri, well done on "coming out"
This time is the time :cool: it is within the power of each and every one of us to quit, just choose each day to not smoke.
With regards to the OP I also found that it was easier to not smoke when I wasn't feeding the addiction, primarily as the decision had been made and it wasn't a case of looking towards when the next one would be but looking back on when the final one had been.
Instead I focused on the milestones and which was coming up next.
Roosa you have hit on something that has been bothering me for ages. Why the hell do they keep making and selling these things. I understand having a drink because it gives you a buzz. Even the other drugs give you a bit of a woohoo. Fags give you none of that. At best you might get a bit light headed but I can do that without them. I just don't understand why they still bloody exist.
I don't get it either RiverSong. Seems a bit unfair to put all responsibility on users and tax payers. It was the dumbest thing I ever did when I started smoking, I get that... but then again I was still a kid and stupid in many ways. Perhaps we will see a day when they finally make it illegal to sell/make these killers. At least things are going in the right direction with smoking bans etc.
Roosa.
Quitting smoking 
day 2 sonia quit smoking!
Tips on quitting smoking?
