Amount of money saved: $642.00
I sometimes can't believe that I actually made it all the way through the home-buying process without lighting up. This has been one of the most stressful periods of my life, without a doubt. And yet, I feel like I never really came close to actually starting smoking again. Because I know there's no way I can have just one. If I were to smoke "just one", I'd be back to a pack-and-a-half a day within a week. Come on, I know me. I mean, I'll think about it in passing, but just as quickly, I'll think, "you don't DO that anymore", and the moment is over. And sometimes that happens several times a day, or even several times an hour, but whatever.
So! I'm at four months now. They (ah yes, the mythical "they") say that for the first six months, you're still an "active" quitter, meaning you're spending effort to not smoke. After six months, you go into "passive" mode, meaning you just have to watch out for special occasions and other "triggers" for smoking.
All I know is, I'm not smoking. I smoked for almost thirty flippin' years. That's long enough.
5 comments:
Excellent. What coping techniques are you using to replace smoking? I have friends who try, get stressed, fail, because they have no other way to cope.
The book "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr has been a tremendous help to me. You can buy it used on line for less than ten bucks. He basically outlines the "reasons" people smoke, and shoots the reasons down one by one. When I first quit, I read that book over and over and over.
As far as coping techniques, I just try to acknowledge what I am feeling when I want to smoke, and then re-direct my mind. Knowing that even if I DID have a cig, the stress is still going to be there when I put it out, seems to snap me out of it. Going for a quick walk seems to help. And I think more than anything else, I just wanted to quit. It was time.
Thanks for stopping by!
And when you move into your new house, it's going to be into a place where you've never smoked and you're never going to smoke. It will smell different and feel different.
You're doing such an excellent job. You're to be commended.
I think "wanting to quit" is the most important thing. A lot of people like smoking and can't imagine living without it, but people who've successfully quit were ready to live without it. For what it's worth, I'm still proud of you, and I'm happy you've made it 4 months.
Thanks for the support - it means a lot to me.
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