treepeo
832 posts
Registered:
29 Nov 2017
29 Dec 2018
Link to this post
Hi cec57,
You know what they say - if at first you don't succeed, try and try again. I applaud you for giving it another shot. We've all had lots and lots of slips over the years. There's way more to quitting than most people recognize. The really great thing is that you are motivated to quit, and that you keep trying. And you have some really good insight as to what triggers you to slip. In your case, it seems that your biggest trigger is stress. So it looks like you will have to figure out other ways of dealing with the beast.
It used to be that I would meet my work friends at the same times each day to go outside to have a smoke. But when I was really stressed, I would call my closest friend and she would always make the effort to go down with me even if it was outside of our regular meeting time. So when I made the decision to quit, I thought, "What the heck am I going to do now?"
I learned to go and make a coffee, or go to the restroom. In either the kitchen or the bathroom, I would inevitably run into other friends of mine at work. And we would chat for a minute of two. And I would remind myself that they were non-smokers, and that they had stress but they coped without smoking, so I knew I could, too. I would take a deep breath, try to have a laugh, and carry on. And although at first it was difficult, it got easier a lot sooner than I thought it would. And I kept telling myself that I could do it. I really believe in the power of positive thinking.
Hang in there, cec57. I believe in you, and you are going to make your quit happen!