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Thanks for posting this @Minnie Mouse, very helpful!

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NOPE!

I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

Gday a year…… got a ring to it do t it…..congrats

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NOPE

Hope you’re doing great @Pilgrim!

14 years! What an INSPIRATION that is to me! Congratulations.

Well done! So glad you are reaping the rewards of quitting already!!

Hooray for five months!!! What a wonderful start to your forever quit.

Well said @Minnie Mouse! I agree with this. Not only do we need to create new - hopefully healthier - coping strategies, we also need to rewire the reward centers in our brains. For a while after I quit, everything seemed flat. Nothing satisfied. Because I’d scorched all the dopamine receptors in my brain by force-feeding them with nicotine. I thought I’d never feel happy again. But I was wrong. That malaise was temporary. After a while, I started to be able to enjoy things again… the taste of food, the feeling of a cool breeze on a hot day… the fizz of my favorite beverage. Life’s little pleasures. It’s a beautiful part of recovery, actually.

Yeah, my quit wasn’t pretty, either. I was outa my mind for a while, and I still struggle with feelings of loss sometimes. But that struggle (and this forum) help me maintain my commitment to my forever quit. Go thru the misery of withdrawal all over again?! No thank you!!

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NOPE!!

@Gus Congrats on 5 Years Quit! That is so awesome! I completely understand. I also did not believe I was an "addict" until this my final quit when I acknowledged & came to terms with it. I absolutely WAS an active nicotine addict (it lies dormant in us forever). Nicotine doubles the rate in which our liver eliminates caffeine from our bloodstream. When we stop smoking if we don't reduce our coffee intake or should I say any caffeine intake (think soda, etc) the effects or impact doubles in our body. One cup of coffee for instance may make us feel like we had two. It makes perfect sense that you feel different now. I'm so happy you are on the Freedom Trail with me.

N.O.P.E.

We carved out really deep smoking neuro pathways in our brain for years when we smoked. It was easier for many of us to postpone, procrastinate, and avoid people, issues, and situations using smoking as a crutch instead of dealing with our life stuff head on. The new neuro pathways we make when we quit smoking, the healthy recovery ones, just aren't that deeply ingrained in us in the beginning so its easy, even compelling, to want to revert back to our old familiar patterns. It takes time & repetition to rebuild new pathways to replace the old ones (and to stop our addiction from leading us astray). Be kind to yourself (especially with your self-talk). Don't judge the urges you are having; just turn them away. It gets much easier & better with more smoke free time. Every time you say "NO" the concrete foundation you are building becomes stronger & firmer. Patience. It takes time to build new auto "go to habit" responses. It takes time to rebuild US. (Written by me 12-3-21. Nicotine addiction (or any addiction for that matter) physically changes our brain. It takes a while to recover ourselves once our addiction is dormant (but still lying in wait should we ever decide to use our DOC again) so remember to be kind to yourself. Best Wishes.)

I had an ugly quit. Realizing that I was truly an addict almost broke me completely. Me? An addict?! Yeah. Nicotine, my drug of choice. Crap totally rewired my brain. Sometimes I still can’t enjoy my second drug of choice, caffeine because ever since I quit smoking I’m hypersensitive to it. It’s something I can’t overcome. So I do have that reminder of having once been a smoker. That nicotine once controlled my whole life. So thankful that I suffered through the initial wuit and am still wuit 5 years later!

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Thanks everyone! I can’t believe 5 years has passed. It just doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I remember crying tears of joy when I survived the first year and then it seemed that the more time that passed the less it felt like I had ever even smoked at all. Sometimes I feel like something is missing and I realize it for what it is, but this chic ain’t never going back to those chains. I appreciate each and every one of y’all.

Thanks @DenaliBlues! I meant to log in on my anniversary date but it slipped my mind. HaHa I’m thankful to have come this far and also that you are still with us here. I need to do better. Thanks for support. You have always been solid and sound while helping us all along. I have appreciated your words on many occasions.