Jenny

Quit Date: 05/24/2012

Posted March 30, 2014 

I love this article on why you can't have just one.   It Takes Just One Cigarette to Relapse.

January 14, 2013 by Cameron Kellett

You will never smoke again. Accepting this is perhaps the most daunting aspect of quitting smoking and nicotine addiction recovery.

The thought of never having another cigarette can be so overwhelming, that smokers will willingly go to the grave an addict and never again taste a life free from the disease addiction.

If you have decided you no longer want to be a drug addict always in need, the reality of never smoking again is what you must ultimately confront.

In order to heal from addiction and achieve freedom you must be completely resolved to never smoke another cigarette again. Why?

Because the next smoke is always going to be just one cigarette. As will the next one and the next one and the next one!

You see, the thing with healing from nicotine addiction, is that it relies on a large number of neurons and neural connections within your brain metabolizing and breaking down due to INACTIVITY!.

The moment you smoke, especially during the early stages, you re ignite weakened connections that have been laying dormant. Instead of allowing them to break down, you re invigorate them and in turn, re enforce them.

Quitting immediately becomes harder.

To be free, you have to heal, and to heal, you must absolutely not smoke. Having a smoke will always be a step backward.

Having a smoke will always be a step backward.

There are going to be times, even in the medium to long term, the deceiving allure of tobacco will force you to recall the high of dopamine that came after relieving withdrawal.

If you find yourself arguing that “just one cigarette,” won’t hurt, you are in all likelihood, not fully resolved to quitting. Chances are, you’re also not prepared for long term recovery and have possibly quit under false expectations.

Full recovery takes many months and there will be many craves and many individual neural connections to break down.

Of the very small percentage of smokers who relapse after medium to long term recovery, each and every one started with just one cigarette. If you decide that one cigarette won’t hurt, you will almost certainly spend the rest of your life a miserable full time smoker.

Recovery always begins and ends after your LAST cigarette and never, ever, the next.

The fact is, until you choose to not smoke, EVER, you will never become a happy and free non smoker. Recovery always begins and ends after your LAST cigarette and never, EVER, the next.

If you find yourself debating whether to have just one cigarette, ask yourself this question:

    Are you willing to undo everything you have achieved, all the recovery you have been through, and waste all that pain you have suffered, just to satisfy an extremely short and          momentary whim?

    A whim that will pass in less than a second if you allow it too.

    No?

    Then I guess it’s time to get on with enjoying the rest of your life!

Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/20-why-nope-is-a-must/