fearing the fear

[zoe32forever]

im 38 yrs old and ive trying to quit smoking but cannot seem to get past 24 hours without getting really stressed and upset and going out for one ciggie.its awful im such a failure.i just cannot do it..im not postive about this and im not really a positive person but just writing this down makes me feel sick to admit that im addicted to the habit and the nicotine.I have 5 kids and my husband is due to be deployed to afghanistan in june for 6 months and im gonna be a lone parent and its really hard work on my own and i see that i use them as a reward to myself too.  anybody that can give  me some positivity would be gratefully recieved. iv been smoking for 20 yrs now.

[my_mayberry]

for me, at the 24 hour mark, i chewed my first nicorette gum. it took the urge from an insane level and brought it down to a more easy to deal with level. i think this waiting period before chewing the first piece was important. it let it turn into a rage, and then the gum provided relief. i think if you start out right out of the gate with gum, then your mind thinks it isn't working because it still IS hard even with nicotine replacements.

i went through 2 boxes of the 4mg gum and then went on my own after about 2 weeks of those. i went from 2 packs a day (sometimes 3) to none and it's been 2 years since my last smoke...but i never actually quit. i just started out seeing how long i could go. once i made a few days, the motivation NOT to ruin how far i'd gotten kept me going all the way up till now. if you can make it 6 months, it gets much MUCH easier. plus, you feel loads better.

i don't recommend the gum unless it feels right. it felt right for me...and i knew to get rid of it once the urges were at a more bareable level because you can get hooked on the gum too. good luck! don't be too hard on yourself. only a small number of people can actually quit...but if you keep trying, you'll get it! took me 2 years of trying different methods before one finally stuck.

[kathyjo]

We have ALL been in your shoes so don't be too hard on yourself. I smoked for 40 years before I finally had enough!

I think what you need to do first is to educate yourself. If you understand what makes you reach for them, why you believe that smoking has a calming effect and why you look at smoking as a "reward" you will have an easier go at it. Read the articles at whyquit.com for some real guidance and understanding. I could relate to every one of those articles and when I realized that, I was ready to put the smokes down for good.

The addiction is an emotional one. You must wake up in in the morning telling yourself that you are an ex-smoker and every time you feel overwhelmed, read an article, take a walk, breath deep....whatever you must do to avoid picking one up. An urge only lasts a minute or two, so once you get past that one, you can deal with the next one when it happens.....don't anticipate as it will just stress you out.

This addiction is a tough one to break but it is possible and I am proof : ) You can do it too, with a little education and tons of support.
Let everyone know that you are quitting (when you are ready) and get ready to fight! You have 5 children and a soldier spouse which is a whole lot of stress but when you realize that smoking only creates more stress, then you will be able to put them down for good.
Good luck to you and believe in yourself!
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3y 6m 3d 18:18 smoke-free, 28,196 cigs not smoked, $6,767.04 saved, 3m 6d 21:40 life saved