A friend of mine recently blogged that she was feeling like an addict. She has been off of  nicotine for 9 days and 23 hours, but she’s still struggling with the process.

“Smoking has bothered me for a long time, at least since I got pregnant. I always think about my child and husband and about what I’m doing to myself. Sometimes I feel good, there is no more guilt about what I do to myself. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than sitting on my front porch smoking and reading. I wanted to quit so that I wouldn’t be tied down to an addiction, but I still feel that I am. I count the days. If you told me I could smoke one now with no consequences, I would in a heart beat.”

This is something that everyone goes through when quitting smoking. One of the definitions of an addict is to occupy (oneself) with or involve (oneself) in something habitually or compulsively.

It is important to understand what you’re up against when quitting and extremly important to seek support while quitting. Afterall, anyone with a true addiction can rarely do it by themselves. Quitting smoking is just as pivotal to your long-term health as quitting a hard drug is to your short-term health.

As an addict, smokers should treat themselves as addicts and seek the help that they need while quitting smoking.

I truly feel myself changing, evolving into a “non-smoker.” I was having dinner with a friend recently and the meal ended with coffee and dessert. I didn’t realize until the dessert was half finished that I wasn’t craving a cigarette at that moment. I felt like jumping up in down in pure glee, but instead I smiled to myself and continued with polite conversation.

Later that evening, I reflected on what a huge accomplishment that evenings dessert was for me. I had reached a new stage in the quitting process where smoking was no longer part of my daily thoughts. The cravings have lessened, even with my slip up a couple of weeks ago.

I know that there may be moments when I am tempted still, but they won’t be the mundane everyday kind of things that will trigger me. The times that I should be more aware of in the future are the times when I am angry, sad or hurt. Those will be the times when I need to be soothed by a cigarette. While this thought is somewhat depressing, I am thankful that I’ve graduated to the next stage of the process.

Exercise. I had never really done much of it, nor did I want to. Yet, in my quest to stop smoking, I felt like I should start trying.

I’ve been rather jittery lately and I can’t have a cigarette and I can’t eat. My skin was crawling because I was so restless as what to do with myself.

Then it occurred to me, I felt like running around the block. That only lasted a few minutes before I was gasping for air.

So I’ve started out slowly by taking my dog for walks. However, we seem to be doing a lot more sniffing than we are walking (the dog I mean).

I have checked out several local gyms and I have to say that I am getting excited about joining. I reasoned with myself that the money I will pay going to the gym doesn’t even compare to all of the money that I use to spend on cigarettes, so I know that I will not suffer financially because of my new membership.

I am rather proud of myself because by joining a gym and deciding to exercise, I am making even more of a commitment to myself to remain smoke-free and healthy.

–BETH