Days Without a Cigarette: 2.942
Days Without Nicotine: 0
Dollars Saved: -$26.39
I started this blog with the hopes that I’d be using it to share some uplifting realizations I had along the way; maybe some advice I’d picked up that I could offer to other people quitting. And at least so far, I’ve fallen far short of that goal. To this point, the blog has just been a bunch of different ways of screaming “fuck” into a pillow. And I’m afraid that’s what it’s gonna be again today. Because holy shit was day three hard.
I’m more fortunate than most when it comes to planning this out. I’m self employed so I didn’t have any trouble getting a few days off at the beginning. My coworkers are my best friends so they didn’t have any problem picking up my slack for a few days. My office is upstairs from my house, so I don’t have a commute I have to struggle through. And most importantly, I don’t have to leave my house at all if I don’t want to. At least not for this first week.
And that’s a good thing. Because today it would’ve been really easy to snap and fuck this up. If I’d walked out to get the mail and seen a third of a discarded cigarette sitting on the side of the road, I might very well have smoked it. If I found a pack of cigarettes I’d forgotten about in a desk drawer or something, I might not have been able to throw them away. If I saw a friend of mine that smoked who wouldn’t have told anybody about it, I may have just asked them for one. It would’ve been really easy today.
But I didn’t have to see anybody. I didn’t have to smell any cigarettes. I didn’t have to overcome any of those temptations. I know that eventually I will, but the fact that I get a few days before I have to confront them is a huge help. Hell, I literally haven’t sat down in my car since I quit.
But had I encountered that temptation today, or should I encounter it tomorrow, I think I’ve figured out my defense. The last three days have been really fucking hard. Like, brutally, terribly, miserably uncomfortable. I’ve spent nearly 72 hours actively not smoking. Like, somehow I’m actively pursuing inactivity, and it’s exhausting. I have no idea how long it stays like this. It can’t be forever or the world wouldn’t have ex-smokers. But however long it is, I’m three days closer to the finish line now. And one way or the other I need to quit smoking; whether I’m successful this time or whether I give into temptation and fuck it up. So the motivating force right now is that I never want to go through the last three days again.
I haven’t had to find out if it’s sufficient motivation yet or not. But as miserable as it’s been, it damn well better be.
Noah Quits 
If it helps at all, when I quit day 3 was the hardest for me personally. I hope this is also true for you. For me it got at least moderately easier day 3+. Good luck.
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You’re doing great! You did plan this well, take it one day at a time. If it helps, cheating at this point just means you’ll have to go through the first three days of quitting all over again when you go on to quit again. When I gave up drinking i avoided being around any of it for quite some time. It helped a lot, and a year or so later I didn’t mind being around people drinking. But I took that step only when I was ready. You’re making smart choices, just keep moving forward.
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I quit smoking about 9 years ago, but fell off the wagon those year for about 6 months. 1 month without a cig now. For me the physical withdraws lasted about 3 days.
Then around day 8-13 my brain always starts playing tricks, ‘we’re doing great you can handle just one I’m sure your coworker would him you one.’. Stay strong man you can do it.
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Completely agree. It took a little longer for me but the cigarettes will definitely talk to you. Tell you it’s okay to have one; you have this licked, you can celebrate and what harm would ONE do? It’ll probably make it easier, right? Take away those cravings for just a little while.
Don’t listen. It’s tough, but the cigarettes are filthy, lying fuckers. You have to be stronger and not listen to those little bastards.
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There will be plenty of time to wax poetic after the neurons stop screaming. ♥️
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Does smoking weed help with the need to smoke a cigarette? I know it’s two different things really, but does the high help fight any cravings?
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When my dad quit, he used toothpicks to help with the craving. The hand-to-mouth movement was similar to smoking, so when he got a craving, he would just start picking his teeth until it went away. As a plus, his dentist was always happy.
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