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I am not going to smoke today. NOPE.

I am saying NOPE to smoking for today.

Nope

NOPE!

NOPE!!

Nope! Catching a wave in Tahiti-Iti, French Polynesia

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.

NOPE

NOPE - Not One Puff Ever

NOPE

N.O.P.E.

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.

NOPE!!

NOPE…

Nope! Not today

N.O.P.E.

NOPE…

NOPE!

NOPE for today!

@Reciprocity thank you for the kind words of encouragement. Your right before I even smoked I considered that normal and I want to discover that person again. It has been challenging I did break the pledge today but I start now with everything in me to beat this addiction no matter what comes my way thank you!

Hey Shy and welcome to QuitTrain. Congrats on quitting weed and alcohol, although I can say from personal experience is to stay vigilant in your quit from those. Quitting smoking cigarettes is a great decision, You accomplished a lot. I can't speak for certain mental illnesses but please use the search function on this site to look for help with different issues. You can quit nicotine. It is tough but your life and health will be so much better.

NOPE

NOPE

NOPE!

Trust me @shy, Discovering your normal, non-smoking self makes all the struggle to get there well worth while and once you're there, it lasts for life as opposed to the short period of experiencing quit symptoms.

NOPE

Chiming in as well @shy ... You have done well to quit booze & weed and now having a goal to be smoke free is also admirable. You've had much great advice here from others already and I concur that the first while quitting can be the most challenging but it does get better and better providing you stick with it. You mentioned you felt that the reason you cling to cigs may be because they were a part of you when you considered yourself to be normal? I understood what you're getting at with that statement and it's likely a valid point but think of it this way ... when you were very young you didn't smoke and THAT was normal. We all got into somking for various reasons growing up and quickly became hooked by the addiction. It's a terrible addiction that plays every mind trick in the book to keep us hooked. So understand that and be prepared to resist with all you have in you. once you break free from the addiction, you will then be back to how you should be. No longer controlled by this addiction. That Freedom is the greatest gift you can possibly give yourself (and your neice). Get rid of all your smoking material if you haven't already. You can smoke what you don't have. Then make that unwavering commitment to never take another puff! We call it N.O.P.E (Not One Puff Ever). We even have a daily NOPE pledge page on this board. Why not join in there. The purpose of that thread is to pledge that you will not smoke just for today. That's how you'll make it to freedom ... one day at a time

Hello Shy, welcome to the quittrain. Please read as much as possible about nicotine. I can understand you find it hard to quit given your mental health. But what about disconnect them? Our addiction told us that smoking is a reward, helps with stress, etc. But it is just the addiction talking. Nicotine does nothing good for you. The beginning will be tough but doable. The way you feel early in your quit is not how it will be forever. You soon will notice improvement. Focus on that!! Also your young niece deserves a non-smoking aunt.

Welcome @shy and well done on making the decision to quit nicotine! You have a lot going on what with having recently quit weed and alcohol as well, I'm assuming you're an all or nothing type personality! What coping methods are working for your weed and alcohol quit? Maybe you can apply the same for your nicotine quit. It is tough you live with someone who smokes unfortunately, it'll just mean you'll need to keep strong and focused on the reasons why you are quitting. I'm glad you're receiving medical attention for your chest/heart issues and I hope it goes ok. Regarding your schizophrenia, I'd recommend you keep in close contact with your mental health provider. You CAN do this, you just need to want it bad enough. Stay strong.

Thank you. I will.

Poor mama

Do you think because of personal issues (mental, emotional, physical, financial, situational) that it is impossible for you to quit or stay quit? Do you think nobody really understands just how hard it is for you? Have you "tried" and "tried" and "tried" and just can't get quit or stay quit? Do you tell yourself that there is something just "wrong" with you that doesn't allow you to be successful like others? These thoughts need to be addressed (lies debunked) if you answered yes to any of these questions so you can quit telling yourself such nonsense. Until you change your self-talk, drop the helplessness, and start to believe in yourself (and do the honest work required) you'll continue to run around the relapse Merry-Go-Round "trying" to get a hand hold so you can jump on to smobriety. Educate yourself about nicotine addiction (it helps to understand why you feel the way you do physically, emotionally & mentally when you quit) and put together your Quit Kit to help you get through the quitting process. The hardest part is always in the beginning. As far as "trying" goes -- remember TRIUMPH is the word "tri" with just a little more "umph". Lean on the community. Pledge daily and mean it. You need to absolutely believe that no matter how bad you may feel at any given time in the first hour, the first day, the first week, the first month, or the first year, that it will change eventually for you, bit by bit, for the better as you go through the process if you just don't smoke. Not One Puff Ever. It's doable. You CAN do it. A whole brand new shining smoke free world awaits you once you stop running around "trying" to catch the Merry-Go-Round. Jump on instead. No more Day One's for you. Every day can be a Day Won!

Most of us found the "Reward" cigarette to be one of the hardest ones to let go of when we quit. This is an oldie post I made in another community (on 8-30-19) which may be helpful. Delaying a smoke (before you choose to quit) is great, using distractions and other tools in our Quit Box is also great when we quit, but ultimately we need to see smoking for what it really is (an addiction) and let it go if we want to reach peace & gratefulness in our Stay Quit. Choosing to quit (letting our active addiction go dormant) is and always will be the REAL reward. You are worth REAL rewards in life (and smoking is not one of them). * * * * * * * * * * I used to see smoking as a reward … as earned ME time. The difference is I now see smoking as the addiction it really is and NOT in any way is it a reward. It never was & it never will be for anyone. Cigarette rewards are not REAL rewards. I decided that I was worth better rewards than smoking. I educated myself about nicotine addiction to change the way I saw smoking. It is a manufactured reward I needed to feed (over & over again) only because it is an addiction to nicotine. No more, no less. It was important for me to change what cigarettes meant to me in order to change ME & my perspective. Education on nicotine addiction was my ticket to Freedom. I latched onto anything & everything I could read about nicotine and addiction & Big Tobacco and found some amazing resources (whyquit.com being one of them). I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to make us inhale deeper when we smoked. I no longer could close my eyes to what Big Tobacco put in cigarettes to soothe our throats with menthol so we wouldn’t cough up a lung. I no longer could close my eyes to … etc. etc. etc. No more closed eyes for me. Educating myself opened my eyes & I could no longer toss away my denial thoughts of being an addict. I realized what I had become and what Big Tobacco had done to not only me but millions upon millions of people all in the name of $$$ for themselves. Get angry at Big Tobacco. Get angry at your addiction. Get angry at yourself for allowing it to happen. AND then begin to do something about it. Go after the REAL reward for yourself … SMOBRIETY. Quitting is not always easy but it really is simple. It was doable for me and it can be for you too. Educate yourself to change what smoking means to you, and then take your power back from Big Tobacco. AND … Don’t trade one addiction for another either by using E-Cigs/Vaping. They are NOT smoking cessation devices (no matter what others may try to tell you & that you want to believe). You really do need to quit smoking to quit smoking. Your lungs only love fresh, clean air inhaled into them. Time to really reward yourself!

Yesterday, I celebrated 10 years since I quit smoking. Except celebrated is a bit of an exaggeration on what I actually did. I remembered the anniversary at around 7pm, promptly texted my eldest son to say “hey it's been 10 years” - he congratulated me - and logged onto Quit Train to log my 10 years on a little section in my profile. I’ve done that almost every year (usually a couple of days late and my 6th year anniversary I totally missed and didn't realise until the following year) since quitting for reasons I struggle to articulate other than it feels important to do so. Anyway, that was the extent of my ‘celebration’, other than the thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” And that started a little trip down memory lane. Sort of … This wasn’t my first quit attempt by any stretch of the imagination. I struggled for a few years, cold turkey or with aids, always finding a reason to abandon the ‘attempt’. Eventually a mix of hypnotherapy and Champix did the trick. I had planned to quit on the 20th but on the morning of the 18th I had run out and made the decision to not buy any more, bringing forward my quit day. Still, it wasn’t easy and there were some really hard days. What did I do to get through those hard days? I honestly don’t remember, I don’t have any words of wisdom, but I think I did the 4 second breathing thing through craves, after meals I would have fruit flavoured chewing gum and I found rewards to be really important in those early days, weeks, months. Things I would buy with the money saved. Never anything extravagant and honestly I don't even remember what they were - maybe a chocolate bar or a donut? I think for my 6 month and 1 year anniversary I bought some jewellery. Maybe a ring and a necklace? Ooh maybe perfume! Are you sensing a theme here yet? I also rewarded myself on my 2 year anniversary - I think I bought a kindle or a tablet? I also made the decision that I would next reward myself when I got to 5 years. But when I got there I didn't feel the need for a reward. Smoking was no longer part of who I was that would need rewarding for not partaking. So my almost immediate thought of “what shall I have/get as my reward?” at 10 years made me chuckle. I think I just wanted an excuse to treat myself! The only ‘reward’ I have these days is a square of chocolate after a meal but that’s more a reward for doing the clean up than anything else. Sometimes I’ll have grapes. My point is, ‘smoking’ is just something other people do and has nothing to do with me. I know quitting was hard but I don’t remember it, even the once so important rewards. I barely remember the anniversary. If you are down in the trenches of your quit and holding on for dear life, I salute you and I congratulate you. You will find that one day, almost without realising, you can do everything without needing the crutch of a cigarette. I have lived celebrations, deaths, vacations, going for a walk, writing a letter, drinking a beer, drinking coffee, reading a book, watching a movie, eating a meal, waking up, going to bed, and everything in between, all without smoking and it was absolutely fine. (I actually struggled to come up with this list of what I previously couldn’t do without a smoke because … you guessed it … I don't remember!) I implore you to keep the faith, keep your quit. Because one day, you will not remember this stage of your life that clearly or with the focus it currently has. Congratulations to all, wherever you are in your quit, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, 1 decade … wow, time sure does fly.

This thread has saved quits. When I see an SOS the first thing that I do is check this thread for a post from the person needing help so that I can show them their own words. I encourage everyone to write a post here!

Haha Just reading my own post to myself. Made me smile...that attitude has carried me through almost 16 months now. Smoking is bs and for pu$$ies. No excuses. Just don't smoke.

My poor lungs.....52 years worth...I dread to think !!!!

Sunny, calm down. breathe a few breaths. You are not going to get that 'ahhhh' from nicotine any more. that is GONE. You can get that 'ahhhhh' feeling from LOTS of other things that won't KILL you. Breathing is good. and Oxygen gives me the most reliable, "AHHHHHHHHHHH". Breathe, baby.

Your sinus were terrible, you watched your mother suffer for years. It was never the answer, just the crutch

Smoking never fixed anything..!!!!.....stay here more often till it passes...you smoke...and I'll bash you ...

Dear David, I know you´ve been stressed and thinking about smoking. Dont **** it up! Just, nope. No. Love, David.

^^^ Exactly!! Don't take any bullshit from your addict brain. You have planted some good footings for a solid quit base but, know that this addiction takes some time to beat back into the far recesses of your mind. I was always impatient to see improvements and never though I could see any but then, 1 year later I turned around and found I don't give a crap about smoking any more. It will happen fully for you pr anyone else - just give it time and keep that attitude of "Smoking does nothing good for me"!! Because .... it's doesn't!!

Edie, that cigarette you are thinking about smoking is NOT your best friend. It stinks and that rubs off on you. It makes you cough and wakes you up at night. You have control over cigarettes, they do not have control over you. DON'T SMOKE!! Sincerely, Edie

OK.... take some deep breaths.... take many deep breaths and put your brain into gear before you put your gob into action! You know you can do it.... you did it before and you can keep on doing it..... Go find whatever you need to help you through this.... Kiss the dog, kick the OH, rant at the kids, but DON'T PUT A CIGGIE IN YOUR GOB AND SET LIGHT TO IT!!!!! KEEP THAT QUIT..... YOU WORKED HARD FOR IT... YOU DESERVE TO KEEP IT INTACT! Remember how much your mom hated you smoking the evil weed. Remember how it did for your dad.... JUST STOP IT NOW! CHOOSE LIFE.... choose YOU.

Holly- as much as you think you know what's best for yourself - you don't if you plan on going back to smoking. There is no such thing as just one cig. There is no such thing as "a better time than now." You will always have stress. You need to learn how to cope with that without going back to nicotine. Our body is a beautiful thing, it can repair itself. The sooner you realize that, the sooner your body will heal. You can do this. The fog is temporary. PS Deep breathing really does help!

Holly - you have made the decision to quit. Here are some of the reasons: your children, to have more time and to be more active and engaged. You have read Allan Carr's book and were reminded that to keep a healthy happy frame of mind is key. When you say you are going to have your last cigarette, you really need to keep your word. When you prolong that process, it is going to take so much more time and energy away from you. Don't fall into the trap of feeding the "little monster." It is not doing anything but hurting you. Take a step back and breathe. You can beat this. You are worthy.

Hang in there, you are tougher than this. Remember all the times you had to go to the store because you were out of cigarette. Remember making your friends and family wait for you, while you smoked a cigarette, before you got in the car, after a meal at the restaurant, before getting on a flight. Remember having to find a place to smoke. Walking long ways at the hospital because you had to get off the property completely, then having to smoke two in a row because it took so long to get to the smoking place. All the while Mum was in her room waiting for you to get back. Remember missing moments because you had to find someplace to smoke. Remember thinking and planning about when and where you could smoke for every occasion, road trips, plane trips, movies. Take a look at all the money you have saved.