Flavia’s Stop Smoking Journey, Final Entry, Smokefree Success!

Published at 14 November, 2017.

Hello again and for the last time! As the days in November pile up, we say goodbye to Stoptober and to my blog posts with teary eyes (well, I do). But not to my goal: to quit smoking is a lifetime commitment. Having gone through more than 30 days of a smoke-free life, I am writing my last post to do a summary of my experience.

I feel proud to say I have been cigarette-free for over a month. Yay me! If you didn’t manage to be entirely smoke-free, don’t worry. It is a bumpy road but, as I said in other posts, it is essential to keep going. The trained advisors at Yorkshire Smoke-free will do their best to support you, just as they did with me.

 Yorkshire Smokefree is here to give us tips, listen to our worries and help us get up if we fall without any judgement! Katie, my advisor, has been such a big help! She played an important part in the redesign of my approach as the quitting aids I first acquired did not sit well with me.

Yorkshire Smokefree is here to give us tips, to listen to our worries and problems and to help us get up if we fall, without any judgement! Katie, my advisor, has been such a big help! She played an important part in the redesign of my approach – as the quitting aids I first acquired did not sit well with me. This was a very upsetting time for me, as I was sure I was about to fail. If not for Katie’s help, that would have been the end of my odyssey.

 

To be honest (and less dramatic), I did face other moments in which I considered quitting my quitting (it’s not easy, guys, it’s not easy). But every time I talked to Katie, I felt reassured and my commitment was restored. Hearing sensible explanations for what I experienced, instead of admonishing, helped a lot. Thanks for the support, Katie!

 

Now, although I have indeed managed to stay away from cigarettes, I am still using my e-cig. It does not mean I have failed; it just means my journey is not over yet. I will keep working with Katie to make sure I will manage to cut down on my vaping habits and, hopefully, by the next Stoptober, I will be writing a post about my success story! The commitment of quitting will have to endure my whole life, of course. But I am sure once I break this bad habit cycle, saying no to e-cigs will get easier and easier.

 

I hope everyone who chose Stoptober to start their smoke free journey is still going strong and that your dreams of a nicotine-free life do come true. I would say to anyone who is considering embarking on this adventure, don’t wait until next October. Do it as soon as you start considering because there is no better time than now! Yorkshire Smoke-free is working all year round to help you have a healthier life and I would highly recommend their service.