Hi, Eve. This is a great thread you've started. :)
I promise to come here and holler loud and clear if "the need" ever decends upon me.
Most working smokers (including those who work at home) used to take smoke breaks. Those little parcels of time were very valuable, not for the smoking but for the break. The break was a time away, a time to think (or not), a time to recover. The smoking was just a distraction and an excuse.
Now that you've quit smoking you may feel like you can't take a break. Maybe you don't trust yourself yet. Or maybe you just don't have a clue how to take a break without a cig (been there!). As with everything else about your quit, this is a learning process.
Breaks are very important to those who take them (I know very few who don't) and should not be abandoned. If you don't trust yourself to go to the old smoking place yet, then go somewhere else. Instead of just going out for a smoke, go out and walk around the block or parking lot. Wander the halls. Go to the break room and read part of the newspaper, or a book, or ???. Try to get to know the non-smokers. Bet there aren't too many you've really talked with on a social level. You can try breaking with your old smoking buddies, but be cautious. Smokers don't tend to like quitters; they see them as a threat. If you get the slightest urge or temptation, get out fast! And if you have a choice, stay upwind. The stink will cling all day if the smoke passes over you (been there, too).
But do not do without the breaks you've become used to. They are a time of distraction and decompression and are very important.
Shevie
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/23/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 330
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,614
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1254
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 61 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 47 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36
