Chrysalis

Now I'm confused. I thought that if you click on the "no smoking" icon to the left of the forum title, that marks all messages in that forum as "read" and the icon fades out. The "no smoking" icon only becomes colorful again when there is a new post to that forum. So clicking on the icon does not tell you that there is nothing new. Clicking on the icon CLEARS the unread messages (i.e. marks them as having been read).

banquet

What is a "wet room"?

date

Marti, anyone who does anything outside the norm will encounter derision, fear and resistance. If you believe in what you are doing and it feels "right" to you, keep doing it and keep talking about it. Slowly but surely you will connect with a circle of people who do (or who come to) agree with you and appreciate your talents. Nurture those relationships. The best thing about getting older is that you become more comfortable in your own skin and stop caring what other people think. And, man, is that a blessing! Yes, it would be nice if the whole world (or at least a big chunk of it) came to understand and appreciate your gifts. But that's not going to happen. However, as you gain in wisdom you will find yourself shrugging your shoulders and ignoring the nay-sayers and embracing those people you connect with. Notice and enjoy how you are changing and growing in that regard. And speaking of changing and growing, If you are channeling energy and healing, I can't imagine how much more effective you are now that you don't smoke! When you smoked, you were poisoning your own body and mind all day every day. Your energy currents must have been totally screwed up. Now your body and mind are healing. That must make a heck of a difference to your effectiveness! Tell us how that is going for you.

Sounds like you're doing great, Dancer! Yes, moving can be stressful. But on the other hand, you're bound to stay busy and that will really help your quit. I'm glad that you have a counselor to support you. You are really rockin' this quit!

Comrad, thanks for the update. It sounds like your body is healing remarkably quickly. That's due in part to you having quit smoking months ago. Good for you! Keep up with the PT and your strength will be back before you know it.

Oh, come on, Wiley. Tell it like it is!

I hope you're starting to feel better. Poor Colleen!

engagement

dentist :angry:

demon

Dancer responded to Bakon's other shout-out yesterday. She seems to be doing well. Mike--not so much.

run

For those of you who live in the southeast, there is a TERRIFIC haunted house in Atlanta called Netherworld ( http://www.fearworld.com/ ). It's open during the month of October each year. It's got actors like this thing on Ellen plus wonderful spooky effects, spider webs, chains, etc. Teens and twenty-somethings love it, of course, but us 60+ kids love it, too. Come to Atlanta, spend the night, and take in this show. It's worth it.

Congratulations, MQ! Thank you for being such an inspiration to us newer quitters and for setting up this wonderful web site! You are one of those people who really made a difference with your life. Enjoy life on the Lido deck!!

present and accounted for

minuet

Hang in there, Wendy, you're doing great! I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble right now, but everything you describe is common when people quit smoking and these symptoms are all temporary. The hardest part is to find the patience to deal with it. Just outlast it! Patience was always the hardest part for me. With an autistic son you must have huge reserves of patience (well, on most days, anyway). So keep reminding yourself of why you quit in the first place and practice deep breathing for a few minutes several times a day (4 seconds inhale, hold for 4 seconds, 4 seconds exhale). HANG TOUGH! You can DO this!

tiptoe

Poor beacon. I'm sorry. Sounds like you need a hug. (((BEACON!!!)))

Whoever owns these flip flops sure got their 99-cents worth, and then some! :D

Nice try, Nancy, but MaryAnn is way too tame for this crowd. I bet Daisy Duke would get some of these old engines purring, don't you think?

Love it, Colleen, love it!! :lol2:

Great post, Bakon! I agree 100% with what you said. I would like to add, however, that there may be some confusion or even disagreement about what we mean by "WANT TO QUIT". That does not mean that you totally, completely, unreservedly want to quit and you have no ambivalence about it. I did NOT feel that way when I quit (6 months ago). Certainly, I wanted to quit for a lot of good reasons. But part of me also wanted to keep smoking. I didn't want to lose my "friend" and I was afraid of horrible withdrawal symptoms. I could imagine quitting for a few days, maybe even a few weeks, but quit smoking FOREVER??!! I don't think so. At my first major life stressor I'll probably reach for a cigarette again. I was not 100% committed to never smoking again like some people are. What I learned is that you only have to want to quit smoking more than you want to smoke. Now that I could handle. Whenever I got hit with a craving, I learned to remind myself of all the reasons I quit in the first place. I would say to myself, "Which do you want more, to go back to smoking or to be able to go mountain biking this autumn?" or "Which do you want more, to go back to smoking or to get your mortgage completely paid off before you retire?" Note that I learned to tell myself that the only alternative was "go back to smoking" and not "smoke one cigarette". That was VERY important! It's easy to give yourself permission to smoke ONE cigarette, but the experience of many, many people over many, many years tells us that ONE cigarette will inevitably lead us right back to full-time smoking. So don't tell yourself the lie that you will only smoke ONE-- that's bs. So that may be one thing that is different for you this time around. You will teach yourself to keep reminding yourself about why you chose to quit in the first place and how desperately you want that good outcome. Remind yourself of this over and over again. Keep your eyes on the prize!