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Miss you something fierce My Friend. 10-year Anniversary today. Stewbum

She knows.

I didn't realize today was Jillar's quit Anniversary date. Like you @Stewbum, I miss her dearly too. There's many of us in that camp I believe. I hope she knows she helped so many people desperate to quit and how much she is loved 🥰 It would make her so proud

Hi @Dejvis93 I am very happy that you didn't give up your quit while the site was down. Wow, 17 days already, that is great!! You are doing really fantastic! Keep doing it! The first couple of months you will struggle but it gets easier and easier as time goes on. Even though I am quit over a year, on occasion I still get an urge but it passes very quickly and isn't the same type of urge that I got in the beginning. Have a great weekend! 😀

You’re doing Great! I love your determination and positive attitude. They’ll carry you far.

I am on my 15 hours clan ride now. Well I am just finishing first pack of sugarfree orbit gums, I am struggling to focus on my work, TGIF so I dont need to do much and will have a walk for some good lunch, enjoy the series and then take a nap, play some chess online..this is my plan to get through day. Evening I want to go gym and sauna, to finish my 24 hours clean without nicotine with a good gym session would be amazing and I am ready to go! Just to really say how significant is for me to get 24 hours clean without addiction ym addiction is extremely strong, I almost never done 1 day, failes hundreths of times..so do 24 hours will be a reason to selebrate and then, another day! but today, I focus on now and today

@DenaliBlues, I felt the same. How could we not feel at a loss. We smoked for every event in our lives. We smoked when we were celebrating, smoked when we were stressed. smoked when we were bored and smoked when we were depressed. How powerful we made that cigarette. The humor and people on this site kept me up and laughing. They showed me where my power was.

Thanks for bumping this Jill. I relate so much to this article. I had deep feelings of loss and sorrow when I quit. It felt like a brutal amputation for a while, like I’d never feel joy again. That was my addiction putting up a fuss… my brain kinda went sideways for a while due to withdrawal. Early in my quit I was worried those feelings would last forever. But they truly got better with time. Grappling with this was an important aspect of healing from the damage of smoking. Some of those wounds are emotional, not just physical. And this forum was a lifeline. A supportive community helps so much… as does a belly laugh once in a while. Quit Train is a little bit of magic!

Yup, just keep moving forward! You really are doing so great!😃 You will be surprised how fast the time will go. Soon you will be a month quit. Every day will get easier and easier. The first month or two is the most difficult, at least for me. Keep doing what you are doing because it's working! 👍

You are doing really great! I know it's so hard in the beginning but hang in there, I promise it will get easier, much easier as the time goes on. The first week is hell for sure, that's why they call it hell week. No, definitely don't give up because you will only go through the withdrawals again. Just keep doing what you are doing. Drink lots of water and keep busy, which you are doing. You got this!!😄👍

Finishing day 3 without nicotine slowly but surely, another 12 hour shift is getting shorter. Should be done here in 3 hours and nice dinner is waiting after another 22 hours fasting with water only. today no chewing gums with me, but drinking 3L of water and so far so good...I am quite confident to finish 3 days clean, at this moment.

You are really doing amazing! Keep up the great work! It will definitely get easier, you just have to give it time. 🙂

Way to go @Dejvis93! You are doing great! I love your commitment to breaking free of nicotine… determination is the most important part of a successful quit. Sleep disturbances, brain fog and the jitters are all a natural part of detoxing. Staying hydrated and exercising are great ways to cope, so you’re being smart. But be sure to diversify the toolkit of things you do to manage the cravings… have things to do with your hands (I used fidget spinners and silly putty), make lists of little chores/tasks to do to stay occupied (fix a drawer, take out the trash, pull a weed), do a few pushups or jumping jacks. And read all you can about addiction here on the forum. Even if you already know the info, it’s important to reinforce the idea of quitting over and over again, because the brain in withdrawal will try to trick you into vaping again. Stay strong! It definitely gets easier.

I know, there is also no such thing as to quit later or tomorrow...because this tomorrow and later took 12 years of my life. So lets get this done completely.

I can see you're very focused on this quit. That's a GOOD THING! Slow and steady is how it's done. Remain committed to your quit and always remember; there's no such thing as just one puff.

Thank you, slowly getting through day 2, now I have 1 day and 17 hours

One day at a time my friend. The progression is much slower than any of us would like to see it but there are magical things happening within you even now. 3 full days without nicotine and your body is free of it. That's a start, getting that crap out of your body. It doesn't mean you won't crave it any longer but it is the first step in truly healing. The rest, the longer part of quitting, is adjusting to not connecting having a smoke or vape to almost everything you do during the day; retraining your brain so it no longer demands that vape after eating, while driving, as a reward for finishing a task ... you get the idea. That's all just repetition, over and over, day after day. It really does get easier as time passes providing you just don't smoke/vape. You don't see that now but you will if you hang in there long enough- that I can promise you!

This is a GREAT post that so vividly captures the pain of relapse. So many of us suffered through this: “And all the pressure that drove you to grab that cigarette in the first place - it's all still there. Nothing has changed, except now you've added one more problem: you just blew it.” Lost in the wilderness indeed, but the Quit Train can be a rope that pulls us out of the quicksand. NOPE

She sure has helped many people. I remember my early days on this site when I was still weaning with 2 cigs a day, climbing the walls, and she was one of the people who kept telling me to give it up because otherwise I would be in perpetual withdrawal, and boy was she right!! Thank you Jill!!❤️

Thanks, Jill. To anyone who still struggles, or who got sucked back in to smoking and feels lousy about it, please (re)join us. The only things that await you here are a warm welcome and a little help along your road to freedom. We hope to see you soon.

Through all this adversity, smoking would not have helped one little bit. A timely reminder as I grapple with my own medical issues. And along the way, you not only kept your own quit… but you also supported me and many others in our bids for freedom. So grateful! There are some good souls riding this train!!

This is profound for me. In the past, I know I believed that if I had just one, I could always quit again. Yes, I became an expert quitter. But I never found true freedom. The true freedom that can be gained when you start to challenge stinking thinking. That stinking thinking that causes you to believe that smoking can offer relief from stress or enhance moments of pleasure. The real path to freedom is never taking one puff ever. Many thanks for posting this again @jillar

Congratulations on completing Hell Week!!! You really are doing great and I'm very happy that you reconsidered deleting your account!! Just hang in there!😁

That's right @Dejvis93; one day at a time; one craving at a time is how we all did it. It seems a real slog at times but the eventual prize you are fighting for is very well worth the early struggles. I get the difficulty you're finding trying to balance quit symptoms & craves while going through a busy/stressful time at work ... it ain't easy at times but no one said it was gonna be. Keep pushing forward! There's no going back now 🙂

Don't worry @Dejvis93, everything you're experiencing is normal. Quitting is like a roller coaster for anyone. Some days you're up the the next you're down again. It just is part of the quitting territory. It WILL smooth out with more time quit. Stay focussed on the positives you're seeing. Soon there'll be more up days than down days. (I didn't even read Johnny 5's post until after i posted; great minds think alike 😁 Just goes to show we all go through similar things as we quit!) Rock on brother!

last moments before closing 2 days, if I think about it, it is only 2 days. I just spent 12 hours in work and fasting from food nearly to 24 hours, cleaning properly. So cannot wait to get home, get some tasty dinner, unwind and tomorrow again, day 3 Lets do it.

Keep up the great work @Dejvis93 You are doing an awesome thing in quitting smoking.

You're doing great @Dejvis93, it normally takes three days for the nicotine to leave your body so stay on guard because you may get stronger craves as the addiction throws a tantrum and tries to get its way. Just say NOPE!

Hey, closing day 2 slowly. Just finishing my 12 hours shift as I also took side job for weekends to not go any parties and recover financially from all this nonsense. So currenty last 3 hours to close on 2 days free !

You are doing great! As @Reciprocity said, one day at a time! The first week is the hardest, that's why it's called Hell week! But it truly does get easier the longer you don't do it. In addition to that sugarless gum you are chewing, why don't you try carrot and celery sticks, if you like them. The constant chewing of gum is not good for your teeth, even if it is sugar free. Celery and carrots are nice and crunchy so that might help you too. Just keep coming on here and you will see how it will help you and how the time will pass very quickly.

Long live the JAC (Jillar Air Ciggie).

This is a wonderful Allegory which explains the emotional roller coaster we all have gone thorugh when we have a massive relapse and eventually get back on the wagon to resume being a smoke free human being. I for one don't want to ever put myself through the agony of jumping off the Quit Train and then trying to get back. I want to stay and enjoy the ride. Keeping my quit. today. Many thanks @jillar and @IamDoingIt

Yes, this is what addiction does. So liberating to be done with all the evasions, the minimizing, and the justifications. Freedom is sweet on a lot of levels.

jwg was an awesome writer, thanks for saving this jillar.

"..what I did do was close responses to normal dopamine that take time to heal and recover...." Yes. I, too, found quitting to be a deeply disorienting experience. To this day, I firmly believe that smoking scorched my brain chemistry. By force-feeding nicotine to my dopamine receptors, I desensitized them to other signals. Now that I have quit, I need to rebuild the neural pathways that allow me to experience other sensations of gratification and fulfillment. The path is slow and circuitous at times... but healing does happen.

So much truth in this. As we ride it out, the cravings lose their power. Thanks for sharing!!

What a beautiful post. Unfortunately when we were addicted to the nicotene that next fix ruled our lives and we shut out what it was physically doing to our bodies.

Yes! Quitting nicotine is a marathon; not a sprint! Meaning that you have to keep your original goal in your mind long term. Never forget why you quit! It's as important today as it was day 1. It will continue to be as important months from now. That's what we mean when we say "stay on guard", even when you feel you've got the addiction beat. Don't ever let the addiction seduce you into your old vaping ways. Trust me, your addiction will continue to try and fool you for some time. If you remain committed, you'll be fine.

Hey @Dejvis93, glad your blogs are helping you keep your awesome quit. You're doing GREAT! 😊

Congrats @Dejvis93! 3 Days is a fantastic start. I like that you're seeing the positives of quitting alread (better taste & smell). Think about all the $$ you're saving as well. That's a plus too. Keep forging ahead my friend and don't let anything get in the way of your mission to quit!

You are doing great @Dejvis93

20 hours clean! Watching French open semi finals, finished 2 packs of chewing gums and getting ready for gym, I will celebrate my 24 hours of quit today in gym 8pm Cannot wait.

I remember reading this during the initial days of my quit almost 3 years ago. It helped me identify what I was going through and reinforced what would be waiting for me on the other side. I’ll ever be thankful for all of the reading material and video links available on the QuitTrain.

A great video to save and watch periodically to remind us to stay vigilant in guarding our quits. Life is stressful. Over time out hearts soften the harsh realities of our addiction. We forget that we are addicts. We quit smoking for a year, two, or more and believe that we are bullet proof and that we can’t fall and that is precisely when we start slipping. Thanks @jillar!

^ ^ So true!! I quit more than 18 months ago and I can tell my brain is not fully healed yet. It is happening, but slowly. The “deceiving allure” still calls me. Well NOPE on that! Gonna face forward, no going back.

Ahhhh…..BROKEN CHAINS

Yep, me too. I put smoking above friends and family in this same way. Addiction does this.

Resonating.