Today makes 34 days of being smoke free
Today I celebrate 34 days of being nicotine/Tobacco free.
One day I just knew I wanted to stop smoking. I was a cigarette smoker for nearly 10 years but because of routine, stress, habit and life in itself I kept pushing my quit day back. Until I just decided to give it a try, cold turkey. By my fourth day of being smoke free, I found this iCanquit site. Reading so many other people quit stories helped me. But there was one story that really inspired me to stay focused on my quit smoking goal. It read “you are not depriving yourself of anything good, embrace your quit.” Those words replayed over and over and over in my head. And it made 100% scenes to me. I still have to repeat those words to myself, whenever I get the urge to smoke, or when I get stressed and want to relieve that stress by smoking, but then I think about all the effort I put into my quit and how all of that effort wld go down the drain all for a puff of a cigarette. To me, it’s not worth it.
Before quitting cigarettes, I had a scary incident. One day I was doing laundry at, then out of nowhere I felt this sharp pain in my left breast, it felt as if it was traveling to my heart. I tried to scream for my husband but the pain got worse. He finally heard me and rushed me to the bed, telling me to breathe. But with every breath I took the pain got worse. 30 mins passed as I cried and tried to withstand the pain I was feeling before getting in the car and driving to the ER. As my husband drove the car to the hospital, I said a prayer to God, asking for help and to not take me from my children and family. I cried, thinking I must be having a heart attack or stroke but once we arrived to the hospital the pain was completely gone. I knew then that I had to stop smoking. But I didn’t..
A month went by and I never felt that pain again, but I knew I had to quit sooner than later. I didn’t pick a quit date. One day I just decided to see if I could get through one day without smoking, then two days, then three days and so on and so forth.. My quit journey hasn’t been easy, but I remind myself of that incident. I remind myself of my children, family, health, and the fact that I am not depriving myself of anything good. Once I was able to embrace my quit, I begin looking forward to another day that I could wake up smoke free.
My husband is so proud of me. I didn’t tell him I was quitting until I got to day 7. That’s when I knew I was taking my quit journey serious. My 17 year old daughter is proud of me too. I was finally honest with her about me smoking and being addicted to cigarettes. Even though I never smoked in front of her, she said she always knew.
I have been through the sickness after giving up tobacco, I have experienced night-sweats for weeks after giving up tobacco, my attitude hasn’t been pleasant because I am fighting the addiction, but I know I am making the right decision, I can’t wait to celebrate day 365, that’ll be the real victory..
Love, Peace, and Happy Quits!
Hello Vanity Thank you for sharing your story with us, and keep on reading to help you remain a non smoker, something else will stir your thought process. Your family will be ever so proud of you right now, and this gives you your self respect back again, cigarettes have robbed you of that and many more things, don't let it rob you any more. Congratulations on 34 days.
Hello Vanity and congratulations on choosing to be a non=smoker. We , who managed to find this site are indeed the lucky ones, and most i hope have decided that they can control the direction on their lives. I always say that learning is power, and those who take the time to understand themselves and their relation with nicotine can turn the tables on the addiction. Once we understand that we can choose to hold the power again, we can. We are proof that we are stronger than nicotine and its effects. I , like you, woke and decided to see how long i could put it off that first cigarette, joined a quit forum and realized it was MY CHOICE. I choose freedom, self respect, and a healthier more satisfying life over my every move being dictated by the almighty cigarette.
Keep reading. Read Allan Carr's free e-book that i have posted in my stories. Learn about nicotine and you. Develop the mindset and make smoking a thing of the past. Most of all , always think positive and BELIEVE that you can do this, we have and you can too. You only need to quit once as Red67 says. Embrace being a non-smoker as you already are. You have won!