Make Room For More D's in Your Life

[NDC_Team]

Recently when working with a group of patients quitting tobacco, we were talking about coping skills for urges and cravings.   While we have traditionally looked at the 4 D’s (Delay, Distract, Deep breathing, and Drink water), this group added 2 more to the list: Discuss, and a surprise fun one - Dance!!

So, consider trying these cognitive strategies for your cravings or urges to smoke:

Delay:  Delaying acting on your urges - say 5 minutes  - and most likely the urge will lessen or even completely go away.

Distract:  Find something to occupy yourself with for a few minutes while the urge or cravings dissipate.

Deep breathing:  Breathe in through the nose, and out through the mouth.  This can be very calming and relaxing.

Drink water:  That’s right!  Drinking water does help with cravings; and while most of us don’t drink enough of this life giving fluid anyway, it is a good reason to drink up!

And finally, the 2 new ones:

Discuss:  Ask for help from, and utilize, the support people in your life to help you work through cravings and urges.

Dance:  Quitting smoking is hard work – make sure you celebrate your efforts !!

Barb Dallavalle, MA, LP

NDC Counselor/CTTS

[sweetplt]

Great post ... Thank you for sharing ~ Colleen

[TW517]

I "chair danced" my way through the first 3 months of my quit :

/blogs/TomW5.15.17Blog/2017/07/31/i-cant-stop-dancing 

[AnnetteMM]

It's hard to smoke and dance at the same time

[karenjones]

I went to a support group and the discussion topic was 'craving' I had been quit for 17 days and focusing on craving for one hour did not help me.  After the support group meeting was over I crossed the street to a convenience store and bought a pack of cigarettes . so craving was one thing that I could not deal with even through conversation, the mind precedes all experience.  One hour of thinking and talking about craving, what is a trigger etc. I am not sure if I could even talk about that and listen to that now without developing a craving.  Tobacco is such a horrible addiction.  All addictions are horrible.  They hijack peoples lives.  Deflecting helped me, changing the subject when my addict wanted to talk about cigarettes and craving.  Deep breathing really helps and all ex-smokers should learn the technique of diaphram breathing .

[kaakes]

Good morning everyone! I am over-the-top ready to be rid of this disgusting cigarette smoking. It's feels the way I'm sure, other highly addictive drugs must do that affect the mind to feel compelled to pick up a cigarette, put it to your lips, strike a match to it- and lastly, inhale all that nastiness.

[ponygal]

I think it would be helpful if you could post what the physical benefits are on an incremental basis once you have quit smoking. I'm almost at the end of my second month of smoking cessation and I feel great but would love to know exactly what it's doing on the inside

[TW517]

There's a free phone app a lot of us use called "Smoke Free" that has just what you're looking for.  Check it out.  It's pretty cool.  Congrats on your nearly 2 months!

[lauraredfearn99]

What a wonderful way to show us ways to help inspire us to achieve this physical addiction. It requires both behavioral modification and also support. Great ways to help get through the hard times. Remember that you have to do this for yourself, you have to be committed to change!!!

[bobby1962]

Great idea's , will have to put them to use. I really like the 5 minute wait and to drink water during a craving , never new. Learned something new already.

[Barbscloud]

@bobby1962 Welcome back.  Happy to see  you working on your quit again.

Barb

[McMoney]

@ethanp1992 Poking around the Ex and reading blogs and commenting on blogs is a great distraction, too. I am tagging you here on this blog about the D's of quitting. Keep reading. Gather your tools and strategies and you CAN be successful!  

[alley1969]

I'm happy to read about the D's. They make since. Can't wait to try them. 

[Barbscloud]

@alley1969 Happy to see you're reading and preparing for your quit.  Keep it up!  It will payoff in the long term.

Barb

[pinkdust3474]

I love to dance so this will definitely help. Drinking more water is a great idea and will be beneficial in so many ways.

[sally2slow]

I really want to quit but I don't believe I can. I hate failing. I would love to quit and never look back. That would be so beautiful. If love my life without addiction ❤️ 

[Barbscloud]

@sally2slow Welcome to the Ex.

No matter how you choose to quit, cold turkey or with aids, you need to educate yourself about nicotine addiction and have a quit plan. Many have found success with knowledge and preparation. It took me 50 years and many attempts to finally get it. I went into my quits blindly and was never successful. In addition to some aids for my final quit, I found the Ex a week prior to my quit. For the first time I learned how to quit and had the support that was always lacking.

This link is a great place to start.

https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex

Make the commitment and you can do this too. We're here to support you on your journey. So reach out anytime you need help, want to share your experience or to support fellow quitters. We're all in this together.

Start your day by taking the Daily Pledge. It's a great way to stay on track on day at a time.

Stay busy and stay close.  You can do this. 

Barb

Create your own post at Speak My Mind or Create a Post on the EX Community home page to introduce yourself to the community and receive lots of support. 

[oscar135]

Delaying is my biggest weakness, I keep telling myself waiting 10 minutes doesn't really matter. 

[HeatherKraling]

For some people telling themselves that they are going to wait 10 minutes, makes them more fixated on smoking, because they are paying attention to the time and counting down. Do you feel that this is your experience @oscar135 ? You may also, need to make modifications to your treatment plan by focusing on different aspects of your plan. Do you need to adjust your smoking cessation aids by adding more nicotine replacement therapy or consider using a prescription medication (Varenicline or Bupropion). Re-identify your triggers and create a plan to eliminate or create a new routine to help with the triggers. Practice mindfulness by acknowledging the craving instead of trying to suppress it. Above all, keep reaching out for support and trying until you meet your goal of being tobacco free. 

Heather

[Captfabian]

Thank you! Great ideas!