How do you fill the Empty Spaces???

[RetroLounge]

Morning break? Afternoon break? Lunch break?

At home, the 5 or 10 minutes in the garage every hour or so or on the Patio away from the kids?

My wife and I both quit.

We're pacing. Too much TV. Too Much DU. Too much food. Too much yelling. It's affecting the family harmony.

How do you fill the Empty Spaces where you used to smoke???

RL

[Enraged_Ape]

1. Find something...anything to do in that time. Try new things.

I knew I had to avoid my old route to work in the morning, because I knew it would trigger a craving. So I found a new, local coffee shop to go to. It's a great place, very comfortable, and the coffee is great. I hang out there with the Wall Street Journal and learn a lot of stuff I never would have known otherwise.

The other thing to do is expand your other activities to fill those gaps. You won't believe how productive you'll become.

[Trajan]

2. Do you exercise ? ....

John Bradshaw used a phrase 'The Terrible Dailiness of Life' ... to help explain why people resort to drinking and drugging .... We have to find a POSITIVE way to fill the idle time, or we will surely kill ourselves, or others ... I think retreating to a quiet place, perhaps with a book, perhaps to nap, or perhaps to do some meangingful work: around the house, art, exercise etc., would help in this critical time ....

I am also battling nicotine addiction, and STRESS is my biggest trigger .... (um, other than liking being 'high' on cigarettes ...) ...

I find that exercise is EXACTLY what counters the negative effects of smoking AND the negative effects of quitting ....

1) After years of smoking, my lung capacity was zilch: it is now increasing wonderfully thanks to NOT pumping tons of smoke into my breathing apparatus anymore .... I can BREATHE again .... REAL oxygen ! .... It didnt take but a few days for the ton of bricks to lift from my chest .... Now I breathe easy ...

2) Since I didnt exercise when I smoked ( I really couldnt anymore ), I gained way too much weight ... I am now exercising and losing weight, and feeling more POSITIVE about my current and future self image ... It REALLY works ...

3) Exercise relieves STRESS, and helps you cope with life's pitfalls and downturns .... It burns up that extra energy you now have from NOT drugging your system with nicotine ....

Dont be FOOLED by nicotine: You get EXTREMELY 'high' from hitting a cigarette ... It is much like a CRACK PIPE: the smoke enters your system rapidly and delivers MUCHO drugs to your system in seconds ....

Cigarettes = legal crack .....

Remember when you first started to smoke ? .. Your first inhalation ? ... Remember how your face went flush ? ... your pulse raced ? ... perhaps sweating ? .. palpitations ? ... nausea ? ...

THAT is what nicotine does: time masks those effects, but THAT effect is what you have been trying to achieve ever since ....

I smoked this weekend, and felt horrible about it, and stopped again the next day .... that is how it is for me .... I still want that drug .....

I WILL beat this habit ... but know that we battle an awful foe: chemical addiction ...

Cigarettes ARE a drug: so steel yourself for that battle ...

EXERCISE ...

STRESS REDUCTION ...

COPING SKILLS ....

BRUTE DETERMINATION ....

THAT is what it will take ....

Good luck ...

[La Coliniere]

3. Eight and a half weeks for me.

Cold turkey was the only way I could do it. I had to avoid all associative activities like, morning coffee, wine, phone conversations, Jesus, just about everything! It has been difficult but it's true, it gets easier the further you get away from that first day. The first 4 days were the hardest.
I found that drinking a glass of iced green tea every time I got the craving really helped. Taking the dog for a walk also helped when I got the urge. I stopped coffee ( only drank it in the morning anyways) and the nightly glass or two of wine I had with dinner. I also had to avoid the few friends I have who still smoke for a couple of weeks. I'm now seeing friends but I'm still off caffeine and alcohol. My wife is ecstatic that I finally quit.
I removed butt cans from the porch (haven't smoked in the house for years) and removed the lighter and ashtray from my car.
Now I have dreams about being offered a butt and turning it down!
I also am feeling so guilty about having spent 30 years engaged in this filthy habit. What's really quite strange is that I'm basically a preservationist who has always done everything in moderation except for my 30 year pack a day habit. I was always so good at rationalizing; I can still swim a mile in 50 minutes, go on 10 mile hikes and use less air than my buddies when I scuba dive, so my lungs must be okay. Goes to show what a powerful addiction it is.
I wish you and Mrs. RetroLounge much success in quitting. It is difficult but necessary. You can do it too!!!!!

[Incitatus]

4. I'm on day 2.

My punching bag has been quite useful.