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NOPE!! Welcome home Reci...

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NOPE!!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

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During the holidays, it's completely normal to feel the urge for a smoke. Changes in our routine cause stress, which can be good or bad. Humans are creatures of habit and routine, and any time our routines get disrupted for any reason, the result is stress. For all their intelligence, our brains really struggle with differentiating between good stress and bad stress at a chemical level, so even good changes in your life can bring about an urge to smoke. Once you know why you have that sudden urge "out of nowhere" to light up, it may be easier to deal with. You can address the specific stressors instead. Maybe step away from the kitchen, or the family gathering, or the obligations you have. Maybe you need to confide in trusted friends or family that you're feeling the urge to smoke, and you need their support. Instead of jumping straight into satisfying the immediate craving, work through it to resist indulging in tobacco. Personally, I work to avoid even oral fixations or stimming with straws or other cigarette-shaped objects, because that's not something I want to be dependent on. I recommend you do whatever you need to do in order to avoid using nicotine, even if that means satisfying the oral fixation or tactile stimming. If you didn't know, now you do: you're not weird or broken for feeling cravings during the holidays, even if it's been a long time since you quit. Those cravings can pop up for countless reasons. The good news is, every time you win against a craving, your brain takes that experience and catalogs it. Eventually, when those reasons you used to smoke crop up, your brain will look and see that you've dealt with those situations for a long time without tobacco, so the cravings will become less and less powerful over time. It gets really tiring fighting the cravings at first, because they don't ever seem to end, but it's like grief: it's a constant pain at first, and everything reminds you of what you've lost. Eventually, though, the discomfort diminishes. It might help if you give yourself space and permission to be cranky, lazy, or whatever else you need to be. Certainly you don't want to burn bridges in your relationships, but if you can surround yourself with people who will understand why you're irritable and who can help you to process your emotions in a healthy way, that can make dealing with the cravings easier. It's more uncomfortable when you've got to deal with a craving and everyone around you expects you to be joyful and calm and to carry on as though nothing is wrong. I'm a believer that nicotine withdrawal is a medical condition, and it's one for which people should have empathy. Certainly, we chose to smoke, so yes, we've done it to ourselves, but that doesn't mean we don't deserve human dignity. I hope this helps you during the holiday season if you're really struggling. Stay strong, and keep your focus on the calm light at the end of a thorny, uncomfortable tunnel. It will get better!

During my first year quitting I quickly learned there were times where I would be triggered to smoke. As you mentioned, holiday gatherings were certainly one of them but even simple things like racking the leaves in the fall or the first lawn cut in the springtime were all trigger times for me. Learning to anticipate those times was key to being prepared to avaoid the trap of caving to the urge to light up. I also found that once I'd been through one of those trigger events, the next time the same thing rolled around, I no longer felt triggered because I'd already dealt with that once before. The times that almost made me cave were those unexpected moments of stress to something that happened that was not expected or within your control! Those were tough for me.

NOPE!!

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required.)

Thanks @Reciprocity I definitely remember those early days during the first 2 or 3 months when I was climbing the walls. I am so glad that is all behind me now!! When I was going through the withdrawal, I didn't think that the urges would ever go away but they sure did, although I still get a fleeting urge every once in a while. I hope one day that will all be gone!

Congrats @johnny5(is alive)! thanks for all the support you gave me and that you continue to give to all those coming behind you.

@Penguin good luck with your endeavor. i do understand where you are coming from and don't really disagree with you, however, the 2 things you cannot legislate without giving power to tyrants is intelligence and morality. In this case, context is everything so be careful for what you wish.

Great post … Keep that precious Quit no matter what

Ohh yeah, I was a long time smoker. 40 years! Although, I did quit once before for 6 years but this time will be the last time I quit because who wants to get those horrible withdrawal symptoms again! No way!!!

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Congrats @johnny5 on reaching your 10th year smoke free. That really IS a HUGE milestone and worth celebrating. Glad you stuck around all those years as well

Its great to hear from you @Eeyore Thanks for the congratulations. IIRC your 10 year anniversary is in a few days. Congratulations on 10 years smoke free. ________ Thanks everyone else for the congratulations messages. It means a lot. Last Saturday (my 10 year anniversary) my laptop crashed. It was older and acting up but still isn't a good thing to go through. I tried several things to try to fix it and eventually winding up buying a new laptop today. Back in my smoking days, I would have probably chain-smoked while trying to fix my laptop. Now, the thought of smoking didn't even enter my mind. It doesn't happen overnight but things do get better with time the further into your quit you get. Just adhere to NOPE, even if it is one day, hour, minute at a time and smoking will become a thing of the past.

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I still get the occasionally fleeting urge, too. Many of us smoked for a long time, and I think it takes a long time for our brain and body to get "reprogrammed," especially during times of stress. Congratulations on 18 months free!

I can remember reading a couple of your posts, back in your early days, when it sounded like you were teetering onthe edge of throwing in the towel. We all have those moments but what separates quitters from those who don't quit is that quitters find a way to fight through those moments and stay quit. You proved to all, including yourself, that you COULD do it! That's something to look back on with pride and satisfaction

Congrats and welcome to the Lido Deck. 1 year is sensational. You've worked so hard and you've made it. What a wonderful achievement.

Welcome to Quit Train @Penguin! I've been quit for a few years now and early on in my quit the smell of someone smoking was aluring to me. Made me want to light one up but now ... I find the smell really offputting; disgusting actually so I suppose your reaction to people smoking may change as time goes on as well? Where I live, smoking is very restricted. Basically you can't smoke anywhere other than outdoors as long as you're not on property owned by organizations that ban smoking on their property. No smoking at sports fields or outdoor playgrounds etc. All this legislated by municipalities & eventually by the Provincial Government. How you get there is the question I suppose. Government legislation usually comes from public pressure at both the local & State/Provincial levels. Petitions, using social medial and lobbying whatever politicians you can makes a difference. Encouraging others to join you is key! Good wishes to you in continuing the fight!!

"...these early days of your quit are the hardest and do not in anyway represent what it feels like to be quit for any length of time. There are days of absolute peace out there with [YOUR NAME] typed in all caps across the top of the day's agenda, so that when you check it, it says Monday, [YOUR NAME]: peace. Tuesday, [YOUR NAME]: peace. You get the idea. Wait it out. It is SOOOO worth it." ^^ yes yes yes yes THIS!

Welcome aboard Congratulations on your fabulous Quit and I’m sorry you have been through a tough illness . Thank your for taking your seat , to help others find their own quit . Here in the UK , folks can still smoke outside away from others , I feel we still have a long way to go .

Welcome aboard! Your story is similar to mine. Took a 8-9 stay in the hospital to cure me. I remember getting home afterwards and taking 2 full packs of cigs and a partial pack and tearing them up and throwing them away, That`s over 8 years ago and I`m still NOPING! Good luck and best wishes with the quit. You seem to have this. Stick around.

Junky thinking, make it stop., Quitnet Re-Post January 5, 2006 From jacquot on 1/5/2006 2:22:00 PM Dear Tom Brady: If I were there, I'd reach out and put my hand on your shoulder and say I was sorry you're experiencing junky thinking. It can be frustrating, agonizing and discouraging. But really, in the truest analysis: it's okay. In fact, it's natural and expected that your inner active addict is trying to reawaken active addiction. Perhaps the best news I have to offer is that the rationalizations, pleas, begging, etc.. of our inner active junkies can be, well, disregarded entirely as ravings of a mad man. You can think of it like a phone ringing: you don't have to answer it. And when you don't answer it, repeatedly, the damned phone stops ringing or rings far less. Craves are not commands. They are not moral imperatives. You do not have to yield to them. You can simply let them be. That's right. Let them be. Most importantly, these early days of your quit are the hardest and do not in anyway represent what it feels like to be quit for any length of time. There are days of absolute peace out there with the word "TOMBRADY" typed in all caps across the top of the day's agenda so that when you check it, it says Monday, TOMBRADY: peace. Tuesday, TOMBRADY: peace. You get the idea. Wait it out. It is SOOOO worth it. -J (1281)

Hi @Penguin. I had a serious life-threatening health scare that made me really hate cigarettes. But a strange thing happened to me over time. My aversion to smoking went away and I started romancing the smokes again. And I eventually relapsed. That is the insidious part of smoking. I learned that the stinking thinking in the brain that leads a person to pine for cigarettes needs to be uprooted. If not, there is always a risk that you can return to romancing cigarettes. The stinking thinking behind pining for cigarettes has to be challenged immediately. My biggest trigger is figuring out what to do when I am experiencing pressure or stress. I just must know deep in my bones that smoking will NEVER relieve any pressure or stress in the moment. If I smoke, I know I will IMMEDIATELY feel worse off. The pressure and stress will still be there with the added stress of craving cigarettes all over again. Yes, evil does lurk beneath that mistaken thought that smoking has anything to do with making us feel better. Back to not one puff ever!:) Thanks for sharing your insights @Penguin

You make an excellent point that is all too often ignored. At least in the United States where I'm from, most everyone is aware of the dangers of smoking by the time they move on from elementary school, but that doesn't keep us from beginning to romanticize it by the time we're in middle school (if not earlier). Hollywood and the like don't do us any favors, either. Whether we're really willing to admit it or not, smoking is portrayed as cool within pop culture. Those of us who have smoked remember the relaxation it provides. Less often, we recall the nausea, the stench, the fear of those odd aches and pains, the frustration when we're forced to go without our habit, the financial costs, the missed moments, and more. In my own quit, I feel like I found a cheat code, because I quit overnight due to a collapsed lung. I tell my doctor, "The magic words to get me to quit smoking were 'spontaneous pulmonary pneumothorax.'" After that, I had very slight cravings, but they were so heavily outweighed by my newfound aversion to smoking, the cravings had no effect. Even so, I'm thirteen months into quitting, and I still occasionally think, "I could smoke." I've been down that road before, though, and I know what happens if I let myself slip even once. I'll think, "Just this one," and before I know it I'll be back at a pack a day. That's why we say, "Not One Puff Ever." Even if the cravings are easily brushed aside at this point, I know I'm still an addict. That's not a moral judgment, but a practical assessment. There's no shame in needing to be especially careful about avoiding a substance that kills you by inches. All too often, people treat cigarettes as some sort of light entertainment, despite the fact we all know it's dangerous. Those of us who recognize how truly dangerous nicotine is are treated as crazy or irritating for pointing it out, even if we are tactful in our approach. It can condition us to not take the threat seriously. Don't take the bait, friends. Remain steadfast in your resolution and your full awareness of the evil that lurks beneath the appeal of smoking.

Showed em how it's done, Johnny! Congrats on your decade.

@Eeyore, its so good to hear from you! I hope you're doing well and stay around a while. We have a really good Post a Song thread that's only missing some eeyore picks

Congrats on 10 years smoke free Johnny!!! You da man! Your friend, Eeyore