MarylandQuitter

Sorry for your loss, Nancy. Members, add your total not smoked to the bonfire! Here's 44,852 cigarettes (and a few cigars I found after quitting) to start the fire.

I'm very sorry, Nancy. I wish young people could understand the very real consequences of smoking but they rarely do, I didn't. I've lost too many family members and dear friends from smoking and yet I continued to smoke. That's a whole other story. Prayers to you and your family.

I remember reading something from Joel that it takes a full year. Here's why... Does It Take 21 Days To Break The Smoking "Habit"? A common misconception is that smoking is simply a habit and that if you can go 21 days without using you will break the habit . Video discusses how smoking is more than a habit, it is an addiction accompanied by associations with many events and activities encountered throughout life. Experience, not time is what is going to determine how long it is before you break all of the different associations that you may have with cigarettes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1v7o4q399s Difference between physical and psychological urges Video discusses how while the intensity between the psychological thoughts for cigarettes weeks or months into your quit may feel very much like the physical urges you may have encountered in the beginning of your quit, that there is an important difference in the two states.

That's horrible, Natalie. Wellbutrin XL helped me a lot but at the end of the day, it's still us making the decision not to smoke because the meds, even when they work, are only temporary. Glad you're better! :)

lol!

NOPE!

NOPE!

Coffee YES!!!!! Smoke? NOPE!

You would have experienced most this if you were still smoking. It can seem like there's a correlation between quitting and and the other issues, but nicotine isn't going to keep a lid on any of that. Other things perhaps. Here's a great video to help as you're not the only one who has had to deal with this. You're fine, enjoy being healthy! :) Getting Colds And Flus After Quitting Video explains why when people get colds or flus shortly after quitting they often seem worse than similar infections experienced when smoking. Also explains why urges for cigarettes may intensify during the recovery process of the infection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5WsGA5XnYY

Welcome CR! Thanks for posting and looking forward to having you stick around. The coffee is free and the train never stops. :)

You're not Narcissistic. Not even close. Jackass, now you might have an argument. lol :)

Welcome, Pixel! Very well written post; sounds a lot like how I felt while I was smoker. Like you, I didn't view smoking as a drug addiction. It took my doctor telling me that I was a drug addict to get it through my brain that unless I treated it like a drug addiction, I was doomed to the constant cycle of relapse and lying to myself. Welcome to this support group and thank you for posting. Keep doing what you're doing and make sure that you keep your quit separate from other parts of your life. It's that important and must be protected from outside influences like, well, life. :)

Welcome back, Natalie! How did you first day go? Videos to watch early in your quit.

Watching my daughter, in awe that she's so perfect.

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE! Not a chance!!

So, you fell off. So what? Dust yourself off and hop back on and make a firm commitment to yourself that you will never, ever take another puff!!! Don't Let A Slip Put You Back To Using Video stresses the importance of drawing a clear line in the sand regarding the issue of whether or not to take a puff. Another alternate title for for this video could have been "should I reset my quit meter?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cfxzB804S4&index=3&list=PL4F05C03D0F9B86DB

Way to dig deep and stay strong! Sorry for what is causing you the stress but you handled it well. Very proud of you. It truly is an addiction and we know this for certain for many reasons, especially when we realize how dependent every moment and event in our lives was consumed by smoking. GR8 job! :)

That's awesome, ExTex! Keep dancing! :)

Welcome to the forum! You weren't weak around others who smoked, you simply made the choice to smoke, mostly in part because you're addicted to a drug called nicotine. The way to beat this addiction is to treat it just as that, an addiction to a drug. If NRT is working to keep you from lighting up, that's great but please use it only as a short-term aid to quit nicotine completely, in any form. You can't feel that "magical" moment because you're still feeding your addiction. Once you get off of it, there will come a point where you'll undoubtedly look back and be very proud that you quit. Hell, be proud right now!! You're not smoking, be VERY proud that you're staying committed to quitting smoking even though you can't see what good lies ahead. That takes guts! As you put more time in between you and smoking, trust me, you will feel fantastic. I'm not saying that the lion will lay down with the lamb and little birdies will come to your window and sing to you, but you WILL feel better both physically and emotionally. I suppose some people have had birds come to sing praises but I never did. I just took it day by day and never gave an inch to this deadly addiction. Please start reading here and start watching these videos right away. We all beat this addiction by being smarter than it, not stronger than it. :) Please keep up posted and fire away posts at will. That's why we exist; to help you and support you. :) Nicotine Is Nicotine Is Nicotine Video discusses how nicotine delivered by any source via any route of administration has the full potential of causing relapse to any former smoker or user of any nicotine product. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KViTfIfHUv0&list=PL4F05C03D0F9B86DB&index=6 Related articles: Original nicotine gum article referred to any video http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_07_NR... Pharmacological aids Part II http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_08_NR... 40 years of progress http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_33_Fo... Whatever you do don't quit cold turkey! http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_30_do... Is cold turkey the only way to quit http://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_31_is... Are cessation pharmacology quit smoking products a sham upon smokers? http://whyquit.com/whyquit/LinksCAids... Related videos: My first encounter with NRT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k_mcy... Is cold turkey the only way to quit? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFycqB... Oral tobacco usage and addiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNwF6l... Cigars and relapsing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNfzs-... First television ads for electronic cigarettes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7SrMy... Electronic cigarettes and harm reduction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE42iW... The law of addiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2I0NQ... How to quit smoking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l27zWo... Maybe a puff isn't that big of a deal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLxFE9...

Nice view!