Chrysalis

Excellent post, Sue! You are absolutely right. When I tried to quit smoking in the past I was AFRAID of the craves. I can't say that they were so bad or that they lasted very long. But I was AFRAID that they were going to be bad and last forever. That thought scared me. It was like whenever the cravings roared at me, I collapsed. This quit, with the self-education I got about nicotine addiction and the support I got from the folks here, I was strong enough to stand up to the cravings. And the more I stood up to them, the stronger I got and the less fear I felt. Now, when the cravings roar at me I roar right back! As you say, that's a great feeling.

Hi, Slovenka. I'm sorry that you are struggling just now but it sounds to me as though you are doing really, really well. As others have said, you are entering the phase of your quit where you start to need a lot of patience. You're through the really bad part. You are feeling better, breathing better, your serious cravings are few and far between. At this point you hope and expect that you should be just about finished with the "quitting process" and you're ready to move on with your life. But no, you're not quite through yet. You still have these frequent thoughts about smoking. You get a whiff of cigarette smoke and it smells good to you, not bad. You have to fight off thoughts of smoking all the time. As you say, you don't want to smoke-- you're not going to smoke-- so why do you have to keep fighting the THOUGHTS??!! This is where patience comes in. If you think about it (or look back at your early posts) you will see that you suffered much more during the first week or two than you are suffering now. Things really are getting better for you day by day. The thoughts about smoking are not as frequent now as they were early in your quit. They are more annoying to you now because you expected them during the first weeks but you think they should be gone by now. No, that's not the way it works. The thoughts continue for many months-- they get less and less frequent, but they are still there. So be patient with yourself and your quit process. Recognize that things really are getting better little by little. And when you start to get really tired of the thoughts, remind yourself of the reasons why you quit smoking in the first place and then go do something to distract yourself from the thoughts. This is all normal. You will get through it. You are most certainly rocking this quit!!

voodoo

Congratulations, REZ! That's a tremendous accomplishment! I'm so glad that you are feeling happier and healthier than you ever have before. You are a shining example and an inspiration for me and all the rest of us here. Now go celebrate your outstanding achievement!

Wow! Look at that, will you? I get distracted for one lousy day and WHOOSH!, Sazerac is up on the Libido Deck already! Oh wait, maybe it's only a holographic image of Sazerac. Nope. It's really her. I can tell by all the beautiful colors she wears. Well, congratulations on such a big, big accomplishment and thank you for all of the help and support that you have given to me and to so many others over the months. Hooray for you!!

Cheese!

Beacon, I'm sorry that you're struggling with this right now. I know how aggravating it can be when your rational mind absolutely does NOT want to smoke but you also have a corrosive little voice in your head that won't shut up. A-a-r-r-g-h!! You're not bad or stupid or crazy, you're just going through a little turbulence right now. I am absolutely certain that relapses do not happen suddenly--not that I think that you are going to relapse, I just mean in general. I think that what happens is that someone encounters a problem or starts to go through a stressful time but tries to ignore it. They tell themselves, "Oh, it's not so bad." (whatever "it" is) or "Lots of people have worse problems." and things like that. When they dismiss and minimize their distress, it builds up. That's when people start to fantasize about smoking again and if they continue to deny what they are feeling, they will soon crack and relapse. I have had that exact experience more than once. In the past I have relapsed more than once. Finally this time, for this quit, I saw this trap for what it is and stopped it. What I learned is that when I first start to fantasize about smoking, I need to look honestly at myself and figure out what is really bothering me. Then I have to take concrete steps to fix the problem(s). If I don't, I will most likely relapse soon. So if weight gain is bothering you, bite the bullet and really go on a diet. Seriously and consistently. If you are stressed about work, do something to relieve your stress. Exercise is usually at the top of my list ( In your case, I suggest joining a gym that has a punching bag. :) ) I also highly recommend a self-hypnosis relaxation tape every night. I think that your "ghost cigarettes" is your brain telling you that you are ignoring and repressing some things in your life that are really, really bothering you. Look into your heart. Figure out what the problem(s) are. Get serious about resolving those problems immediately. Your rational brain is trying to do you a favor. Listen to it.

Hubba hubba!

pools

Congratulations, DD! You will be blazing the social media trail for the Train. How cool and challenging is that??!! Thank you for doing this for the whole QT family.

My husband quit smoking cigarettes 20 years ago while I continued to smoke. He occasionally smokes a cigar--especially if he's at a place where he can get a really good quality cigar-- but he doesn't do it often. I do not consider him to have relapsed.

Sounds like you came through with flying colors, Scott. You must have had you records in good shape! Glad this is over for you.

This reminds me of my cat curling up and watching me paint. That was very pleasant for both of us until she discovered how much she likes to eat green paint (only green, for some reason). That was the end of our co-painting experiment!

unappreciated

Good choices, Evelyn! I hope you can see that you're really developing the strength and the skills to weather your craves. Every time you are able to keep your quit through a rough patch like today, your quit is stronger. Good for you! You're rocking your quit this time! Keep going.

How are you doing, Evelyn? Are you feeling any better? Did you get your sandwich and a Netflix episode? (Both great ideas for getting past a crave! :) )

For reasons I do not understand, it is known that as we age it takes longer to increase our muscle strength. That's just the way it is. And it might take quite a while for the delayed onset muscle soreness you feel to go away, if it ever does. My personal experience (as a "mature" person although not an "endurance" person) is that my fitness improves faster and with less pain when I have frequent short exercise sessions rather than fewer longer sessions. At this point in your life, a single 4-hour session may be too much for you all at once. Try two 2-hour sessions a day. Or 2 hours every day rather than every other day. If that is not possible, do 2 hours of dog walking and gradually increase it to 4 hours. I think that stretching before dog walking is a great idea. I also think that 2 ibuprofen and a hot shower the morning after dog walking may ease your muscle soreness. But if you still have pain, try not pushing yourself so hard in the beginning. This level of effort may have been trivial for you 10 years ago, but now it is not. It is wise to accept reality and figure out ways to compensate for the inevitable changes to our bodies rather than needlessly hurting ourselves or risking serious injury.

O-o-o-o! Such a nice compliment! Congratulations, Ava!

rails

conductor

judgement

ROTFL!! :lol2: Score 1 for Action!!

Nice blog, Marti. I'm sorry about your broken engagement--that must have been a blow! But good for you for quitting again now and for really feeling it in your heart of hearts. You are really doing the right thing for yourself and especially for you girls. Good for you!

trip

And here I thought that sex was invented by MY generation!