Those Horrid Few Weeks of Quitting Smoking

Those horrid Hell Weeks and Hellish Weeks early in a quit are cruel and unusual punishment however there is no way around but thru ......

Here's some things I did that helped and things I've learned along the way....

Try to focus on what you can best do to get thru this and "treat the symtoms" ~ treat yourself as if you were very sick and need to take extra good care of yourself to get better ~ I promise it will get better ...... takes time but little by little you will see

Drink TONS of water to help your body flush out the toxins it is loaded up with from smoking.... also great for relieving cravings ~ down a big cold glass of water and it helps (also helps with energy)

Take LOTS of baths or showers and scrub with a loofa(sp) as this will also help rid your body of toxins ~ hot baths are great for helping us to relax and calm ourselves ~ using lavender in our bath adds an extra calming effect ~ even if it's only a 10 or 15 minute bath it will help calm

Take EXTRA vitamin C for the first while (4-6 months) I took 1000mg 4 times a day ~ yep 4000mg ~ we blew away most of the vitamin C we had everytime we smoked and we really need this for healing and recovery.

Take a good vitamin and supplement for calcium and magnesium ~ helps with nerves ...

Get LOTS of rest ~ we can handle things so much better when we are well rested and we heal while we sleep best

Deep breathing is an awesome gift we can give ourselves ~ breathe in as deep as you can thru your nose, picture your breathe going down to your toes and sloooooooowly let it out thru your mouth ~ the more you do this the better you will get at it (took me a couple weeks to be a pro lol) It helps with cravings (breathe thru them) AND it helps with relaxing ~ do three right before you go to sleep in bed and three before you get out of bed in the morning ~ like a massage from the inside out too

Massage ~ used my quit money to treat myself to massages ~ not only do they feel great and relieve muscle tension and stress they also help your body rid toxins and boost your immune system ~ have a bath with epsom salts after a massage to boost the effects

Drink orange juice or grapefruit juice ~ many say that the citrus cuts the crave (when it's a physical crave)

Cut down on caffine for a while ~ I didnt cut out caffine but I cut down substantially ~ not so much cuz I couldnt drink coffee and not smoke but because I was trying to do as much as possible to keep myself calm ~ I bought all kinds of flavoured herbal teas, lemon, strawberry, orange ....... man are they great!! Now I drink em cuz I love em!! Great tea is a really good one and is a good for you one too

Do some physical exercise ~ walk for 15-30 minutes ~ AWESOME stress relieving and the feeling of breathing in the fresh air and NOT smoking becomes just so awesome

Write out your quit reasons on little recipes cards that will fit in an envelope (Marsha's idea ) Write out every single thing that you dont like about smoking no matter how little it may seem ~ write out every single reason you can think of for quitting smoking ~ I keep (still!) my cards in an envelope in my purse ~ I also printed off posts that helped me and have a stash in my glove box, beside my bed, on my fridge, at work If you get that "grrrrrrrrrr I wana smoke feeling" pull out your cards and start reading

Each day take time to tell yourself what you are grateful for ~ write out little mantras that help you and put em everywhere ~ bathroom mirror, computer, fridge, bedroom!! I have "This too shall pass", "Smoking is NOT an option" and stuff like that all over this house! lol

Hang out here and ask every and any question that you need ~ you will find it's amazing that although we are all different people we are so much the same

Take care of yourself really well and in turn we take care of our quit .... ask for help from family or friends when you need it ..... take breaks and fill them with positive stuff, like reading or yoga or a walk ......

I had trouble sleeping so I talked to the health store people who recommended Valerian root ~ worked really well and helped me sleep ~ insomnia is very common in the beginning of a quit

I had trouble with anxiety and stress so I went to my doctor for help ~ tried a few different prescriptions and finally found one that helped ~ how long will I take it? For as long as it takes. Whatever it takes as long as it takes ~ quitting is my priority.

I broke out in mouth sores several times over the first month or so ~ found that tums worked really well to heal these....

Poopie problems (LOL and I'm on the Internet lol) got some stuff from the health food store ~ selenium? cleared that problem up pretty quick lol

I subscribed to a whole bunch of "selfhelp" and positive sites for their daily emails ~ yes get tons of junkmail but the inspiration is worth the time to delete the junk (used a hotmail account as well)
Ralph Martison's daily motivator is a good one .....

www.dailymotivator.com check out the "right now" presentation as well

Two books that have helped me tremendously are Out of the Ashes by Peter & Peggy Holmes ~ a great friend sent me that one and it was the best gift I've ever received. It's small enough to carry around and has little one pagers that dispell the lie of the addiction and tell the truth ~ when she sent me the book I was almost at the point of giving up somehow thinking lung cancer would just be easier. She had bookmarked this page for me .....

Thinking about the future can be a source of fear, or a source of inspiration and excitement.

Because I have gone back to smling many times in the past, I can sometimes slip into a feelin of hopelessness or pessimism about the future.

I CAN stop smoking. I AM the author of my own life. I CAN created any scenario I want. I am NOT doomed to repeat mistakes I have made in the past. I ALWAYS have the opportunity to change, improve and grow.

One moment at at time, I can create any future I want.

The other book is Until Today by Iylana Vanzant ~ another one pager a day (concentration problems early in my quit) ~ this book is a daily read that talks about the stuff of life and how we can look at it differently ~ really really helped me with learning how to live without smoking by dealing better with my feelings, emotions, anger etc

Learn as much as you can about this addiction and it's lies ~ remember that it is a very powerful and cruel addiction and will stop at nothing to get you back ~ do not allow yourself to spend time "romancing" a cigarette ~ learn Junkie Thinking (at Bobs Place, link above) inside out so that you can quickly recognize it for what it is ...... junkie thinking and STOP that train. Example ~ ohhhhh just one and I'll be OK, just one and then that's it ~ STOP!!!!!!! Get online, pull out your quit reasons, go for a walk ...... do whatever you need to do to stop that thinking in it's tracks and builds momentum

Cry ~ cry cry and cry some more ~ great release and very cleansing ~ so many of us try to stop ourselves from crying when all it is is our bodies natural reponse when overwhelmed, hurting etc After a good session I felt soooooo relieved and would sometimes end of laughing at myself!!

Go easy on yourself ~ give yourself time ~ slow down ~ "take time to smell the roses". Make yourself Project No Smokey Me. Take time to play and enjoy your new smoke free life.

Come hear to rant, rave, cry, whine, throw fire darts with your eyes (or ice darts if preferred) and dont feel bad ~ we MUST release our feelings to be safe from the nicodemon ~ remember, he's tricky and the first opportunity to snag us back he will.

Apply the Serentity Prayer to everything before you react. (THIS is a BIG one for me and am still in practise mode lol)

God, grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference... When applied to life what a powerful little message.

Last but by no means least. Plan on how you will use your quit money ~ make it real ~ put it in a jar on top of the fridge so you can see it grow ~ if you are a "long term rewarder" lol plan out exactly how long it will take to get what you want with your quit money ~ put it in a separate account so you can see it grow ~ for me I like to treat myself weekly.

Little things that nurture me and pamper me ~ scented candles (the expensive ones I never used to buy), massages, facials, girly stuff like new lipsticks and nailpolish, bath stuff, jewelry whatever I "feel" like that week. Cigs here cost $60 a week for a carton so that's what I spend on me. I never did this before ~ would've put on bills, BUT this time, my very last quit, I'm pulling out all the stops to put me and my quit first. I so look forward to those rewards and if I start that junkie thinking I say to myself AH AHHHHHH you wouldnt be able to "whatever the treat that week is" lol It really does help me.

You really can do this ~ we all can.