Slipping and Sliding - Tales of Trouble

[Giulia]

(photo credit)


Let's let it all hang out.

If you've quit before and lost it, write it here. We need to understand the whys so that we can prevent the wherefores.

Here's my tale:

I quit first when I was around twenty-four. Had only smoked a couple of years (began at age 21). Had a year under my belt and didn't have any cravings.

I'm an actress and got a role in a play where the character smoked. I thought, "well, I won't inhale and everything will be fine. Besides I don't really want a cigarette any more." Within a week I was back to smoking full time.

Cut to: 24 years later and I stopped again. Managed three months this time. At the opening night party of a show I was then in I asked to bum a cigarette to celebrate. As I recall the person was somewhat reluctant to give me one. But I persuaded him. The next day I went and bought a pack thinking I'd only smoke one occasionally.

Cut to: 8 years later. I quit again. Will this be my last time? I hope so. So far it's been 26 months.

So, what have I learned? That I cannot take one puff, ever. Ever. That if I get hired to do a role where I must smoke, I must decline it. That I must protect my quit at all costs.

What's YOU'RE story and what have YOU learned?

(for help go to Relapse and Persistence .)

[ManOfSteele]

I tried so many times with little success...

one time my best friend Mike and I smoked one whole pack one right after the other to make us sick of smoking ... well I think it just helped me become more of a chain smoker ..... I went out and bought another pack right afterwards ...lol

I can remember a hypnosis clinic where some guy was hypnotising 300 or so people in less than 3 hours ....lol at the 1 1/2 break everyone is in the hallway lighting up ...you could barely see.... I did not smoke the whole night from like 9pm on ....until the next morning....

SO back then EVERYTHING was a trigger and I let myself use any and all excuses !

All my bad experiences I think did show me what I needed to do to eventually have a successful quit and that basically came down to never allowing ANY excuses to EVER take a puff again.

hope this might help someone ...

[Giulia]

What a RIOT! LOVED the fact that after the hypnosis session you all went out for a smoke break in the hallway! Hillarious!
Actually hypnosis helped me for about 2 seconds too.

Thanks so much for your response, Ray. Yes, it's all about not allowing any excuses ever. You just have to keep saying NO. You may think that Nancy Reagan's promotion of this concept was not to your liking. But that's exactly what you have to do to stay quit. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Just say NO. And mean it.

[Lenna]

You got it, don't you!!!! Allowing ANY excuse to take pick up a cigarette.

I quite for 6 years, met a man, and he smoked. After a year, I did finally bum "just one".

That was 8 years ago. I married and divorced the man, but still have the smokes!

I blamed him for being the reason I smoked. I really have begun to look at this very
differently now.

I"M the reason I still smoke!!!

I'm working quite hard on the mental aspect of this addiction, and this site is very helpfull, I have NEVER
joined an online group before.

So thank you all for being here and sharing, and I plan to work the becoming an EX program and soon
to pick that "Quit Date"

[Giulia]

Amazing, isn't it. We can quit for SIX YEARS and then just bum ONE and we're back to being full time smokers again. That's the power of this addiction. We need alarm bells that go off in our heads when we near the dangerous reefs of "just one" thinking. I've worked very hard for the past two years to ensure that there are such alarm bells in my head. It's reading stories like these that keep me from the reefs. Thanks.

[Janet]

Wish the best for you. I'm struggling here myself. Quit for a few days and went right back to it. I'm going to give it a try again this weekend. I have been on zyban for almost a month but it doesn't seem to be helping.
Good luck
Janet

[Kellie]

I had quit for about 2 weeks short of a year. No more cravings. Felt really good. I was so proud that I had kicked it. I was under a great deal of stress in the 4th year of Vet Med school and national boards were coming. They put me on Zyban for anxiety issues. Within 7 days, I was jonesing like crazy. I had not felt like that since the first two weeks of quitting and it was back. I gave in; telling myself it was to avoid losing my mind. I have spent the past 10 months trying to quit again. I wish I had never started again and it is frustrating me horrible that I can't get past the first week.

[Lenna]

The biggest part of this addiction is the mental obsession. I had quit for about 7 years. Now here I am, on DAY 7. I feel great, but I absoulty know that the longer I go, the harder it will be. My mind will start playing tricks on me. I'm prepared for it this time, and therefore am stronger mentally. When I am stressed, I will look at the stress and see what I can do to relieve it in healthy ways. When I'm angry, I will immediately look at that anger and see if its justified, or just some childish agenda violation issue, that my addiction would love me to go out and smoke on! Not this time! Not ever again. A ciggarette is never going to be the answer to any mental or emotional stress. There are tools to learn how to handle my reaction to life, instead of just reacting to life. WHEW!
This is me on day 7 :) LOL....

[Mike in @lanta]

I am so proud of you Lenna & this new attitude of yours. You can do anything sweet lady.

[Raj]

I'm second. One will lead to more. There will always be some sort of excuse to smoke. I'm with most of you. Don't allow any excuses. Just do not light up!!!! I regret the backslide and have to quit all over again. I tell you what. I felt too good . Can't become a slave to the 3 inched bandit again. NO excuses....Quitting for Good!!!!

[Sue]

Once upon a time I had a 20 day quit....then fell into the missing smoking trap.So, I had one and here we are how many years later and still smoking.Looking back on it I think that maybe if I'de turned to a friends and talked about it instead of convincing myself that a smoke would fill the void, I'de have realized that I was really looking for emotional comfort, not a nic fix. It's strange how I can confuse the two being a cigarette doesn't offer any comfort whatsoever in any way shape or form .....it just drags you back into a vicious cycle again...

[Dian]

Yep, quit and started quit and started, got pregnant twice, quit and stayed quit for a year or two then my dad crossed......... but I did quit again in 2003 and started again in 2004 now it's 2008 and it's my 3rd day quitting..... I really want it to be my last.

[ManOfSteele]

Dian .... you quit to give life and it worked .......

Now just give yourself LIFE ..... and be free forever from this crap !!

I got your back !!