Hey.
This post is hard to write. Bear with me…
So, there’s something I haven’t been telling you. Sin of omission.
Last May I publicly stated that I was trying to turn my health around. I was low-energy, overstressed, carrying some extra inches around my middle, and I was still smoking a few cigarettes a day, having. I had quit twice, each for a period of several years, starting up heavily after my dad died and my mom’s death two months later. I quit again when I started this blog, but was triggered again by the stress of essentially being a single parent of 3 while Jeff struggled with a prolonged illness.
Every so often I think about the story of how my dad picked up a pamphlet in the hospital waiting room while I was being born. He read about the dangers of secondhand smoke. When my mom and I came home, she went to empty the ashtrays and couldn’t find them. He’d quit, just like that. For me.
My dad was stronger than I am, but that’s not news.
I still smoke one or two a day. Always before bed. Sometimes after dinner. Sometimes I skip a day or two.
On occasion I’ll have one or two more. I always feel like hell the next day.
I don’t need the nicotine. The patch or the gum isn’t going to work for me; they deliver more nicotine than I get now.
Quitting is tricky that way. The dependency is two-fold; the physical dependency on the drug(which you address with nicotine replacement), and the pschyological & emotional craving which is treated with behavioral support. You need to treat both for long-term success.
Which I am a poster child for. I associate these little time outs with stress relief. And I’m having a really hard time letting go of them.
If you’re like me and having a hard time letting go of smoking— even though you know you should, have tried in the past, hate yourself for your weakness every time you light up— it’s time.
(The Great American Smokeout is coming up next month. Commit now to being smoke-free by then, so that your kids don’t try to sponsor you. Trust me, that’s heartbreaking.)
If a support system is what you’re lacking, you can join QuitNet, an online behavioral support community with expert help. It does cost money, which in my mind is helpful because it makes it harder to conveniently forget about (kinda like a gym membership). You can join QuitNet on its own or bundle with select Nicorette or Nicoderm products, which can be ordered online.
Right now, the membership to QuitNet is free after mail-in rebate when coupled with Nicorette or NicoDerm CQ.
The latest study shows that teenage smokers are more likely to eventually die of heart disease, even if they quit before they hit middle age. If you smoke continuously from those early years to mid adulthood, you’re twice as likely to die early.
I’m 36 on Monday. My first pack of cigarettes was when I was 11, bought for a buck fifty from a vending machine at the bowling alley. Two and a half decades of stupidity.
A quarter of a century of slowly poisoning myself is about enough, I think. I’m ready to ask for some help.
This is the part where you comment and tell me I can do it. Please.
I’m a member of the Mom Bloggers Club and this is a sponsored post, but all of these words are mine.
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You can do it! I know you can. Do it for your kids. I could have you meet my dad…who has been smoking for over 50 years, if you want to see what you’re talking, taste, wheezing and coughing will be like in 30 years?
You CAN do it!
You can do this! I remember a guy who was in your same situation– smoker since he was young, stopped in his mid 30s. It was miraculous to watch him regain aspects of health he never knew he had… he talked about walking into a flower shop and being bowled over by the smells he’d never experienced in adulthood. He looked vital and alive, not dragging so much. I hope the same blooming for you.
Robin, I speak ftom experience when I say, yes, you can do it. I was a two pack a day smoker for almost 20 years (though I did give it up while pregnant, I started right back up again. I finally quit cold turkey 20 years ago, no patch, no nothing. I just dcided it was time. It was hell for a month (you seriously did not want to get in my way during that time :-)). Then…it got better.
Yes. You. Can.
I KNOW you can! You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, Robin. You have quit before and I know you can quit again – for good. I am going to hold you accountable my friend.
I KNOW you can do this, Robin. You absolutely can. We’re all here for you every step of the way.
This was a great post, Robin and I am sure very hard to write indeed. You are so strong. I am always so impressed with your workouts and how healthy you are. Two-four cigarettes a day is nothing. It’s all behavioral for you right now. Quit today. This very moment. Just throw ’em out and never look back. If you go to reach for one or buy a sneaked pack, just think of the shame you felt when your kids sponsored you for the Smoke Out (which came across in your post clearly). Or, think of the extra time you’ll have with your kids by quitting. I “forced” myself to start smoking when I was 19 and it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. It took me many many times to quit but I finally did it in my mid-thirties. And you will too!! You can do it!!
You got this. Create a new ritual for stress relief. Meditate. This will be awesome for you!
Yay! Get it!!!!!
Robin, if I could quit, ANYONE can quit. I must have tried about 10 times at least before finally getting it right. I started smoking when I was 13, and didn’t permanently quit until 50. Just tell yourself that previous attempts have been trial-runs for the permanent quit – AND THIS IS THE PERMANENT QUIT. Tell eveyone you know that you are giving up the last, lingering onesy-twosy smokes on XX date. (you pick) I agree with Debbie above- you just do it cold turkey and everyday that you don’t smoke, give yourself a giant pat on the back and reward yourself in some creative, healthy way. (put money in a piggy bank for a coveted piece of jewelry? new workout duds? learn a new vegetarian recipe? plan a trip to a terrific local museum, arboretum, spa…)
YOU CAN DO IT!