Sazerac

It's pretty clean above stairs. But, emphasis might entail alternative spellings. After you have a number of posts, they let you go down to 'off the record' where we can be our filthy selves, scream and shout and look at pictures.

Hi Mike ! I am super glad you found us. Congratulations on your quit ! 28 months is just grand. Settle in, look around, have some fun, post a lot and let us know you. Remember a crave is not a command and will not help you with anxiety. In fact, smoking will create so much more anxiety, you know that. Learn how to ease your anxiety. Restful sleep. Deep breaths, thoughtful breaths. Calm, quiet breaths. A run, a walk, some music. Examine what is causing anxiety and remove it from your life if you can. There will always be anxiety around somewhere but, we don't have to indulge it.

Welcom Kbc, You can kick your fear to the kerb along with the smokes. Quitting smoking will not kill you. Quitting smoking empowers you. You will, undoubtedly have some discomfort but, you will be able to power through because You have made the decision to quit. That's done. Please be kind to yourself, reward yourself for every crave crashed and learn all you can about nicotine addiction. Education is power. We are here to share our experiences with you and help you as much as we can. This is a beautiful day for you. You don't smoke, it's a gorgeous day to be free. p.s. you might find this thread useful, 10 ways to effectively use this forum.

nice to see you back behind the stacks, my friend Doreen ! yay ! Here is another No Man's Land thread with a few pages of our anecdotal evidence

Really nice writing, Jo. Really nice. Thanks for taking the thought and time. I know the shiny new wears off and the smoke free life doesn't appear quite so fantastically beautiful. I missed the adrenaline winding down in nowhereland. It was more of a challenge to feel motivated...that's just chemistry. In reality, our smoke free Present remains fantastically beautiful (sense of accomplishment, true rewards, freedom, healing) but, should never be comfortable enough to be lulled into the veneer of complacency. Our beautiful smoke free life is plenty edgy and requires fight/flee response in a heartbeat. We are always a puff away from the enslavement. This danger is forever and if we don't keep our wits about us or we start lying to ourselves again....well....you know. Am I an established quitter resting on laurels ? NOPE. Never in a million years. I will name you, "Our Beautiful Jo, A Nicotine Free Hero", one to be exalted.

I love saying your name, Moominmumma, out loud Moominmumma ! Congratulations on your nine months of Freedom. Please reward yourself with extra delights, on top of the wonderful gift you have given yourself, freedom from nicotine.

I am so friggin proud of you, sugar ! Confronting the lies of addiction and the lies we carelessly believed about ourselves can lead to tremendous transformations. Honesty from the inside out, the scouring of doubt, the revelations of our strength and our fortitude... why the list grows and grows, the longer we refuse to relinquish our power to a cigarette. All of us are marveling at your journey and learning much. Thank you Iml, you are a treasure.

Latoya, Congratulations on your five months of freedom from nicotine. I couldn't be happier for you. Celebrate with ample rewards, you deserve the brightest and the best.

As many above, I love the freedom. It's Freedom I love. For someone, for whom Freedom is so important, I can no longer imagine why I would have ever subjected myself to the bondage of addiction.

I would not have understood my addiction without this place and for that and the camaraderie I am eternally grateful. Thanks to MQ for his foresight and insight and all the mods for their time keeping this site running smooth and their vigilance in keeping ubiquitous spam away. Lately, it has been really interesting going through the archives and pulling up posts that may resonate again with new quitters. With everyone adding their anecdotal evidence , our catalog is becoming an even better resource for anyone quitting or thinking about quitting. I'm proud to be a member.

This is splendid. Now, you won't be slogging through weeks of nicotine's torture. You have so many more better and beautiful things to do in this life. Water, deep breaths and keeping blood sugar up in no cliche, all those things really keep you strong. I am delighted for you, Iml. We all are.

I think Cristóbal and Joel are titans.

Congratulations on your year of Freedom, Miss Dixie !

I am so glad you are at the stage of 'relaxing into it', Sunny. It just gets better from here on out. Stay vigilant, of course, but trust yourself. Communicate with your Beloved, communication will help you both navigate through this.

I am barefoot as much as possible, in the mud, in the dirt....just around, and I don't give a hoot how dirty my feet get, they're my feet. Pity, everything but a brain is washable.

Happy One Month Of Freedom, Bebe

I love you ela. my mind is free from nicotine addiction. and as you very well know, freedom is delicious. You are so right on. Thank you.

As a parent, my only job was to give another being life. Then hip them to not put their finger in an electrical socket or grab my carving knife from the Christmas dinner table. We can only do what we can do to help the next gen to smarten up. Provide and nurture. and let it go. Jenny, don't forget, you don''t smoke and you know how to help smokers wanting to quit. I am one of your success stories.

I am so chuffed you are treating yourself kindly and in a beautiful, special way. You quit smoking, S ! Damn right you should reward yourself ! Any residual smokey thoughts will fade soon into oblivion. Stay vigilant and true to yourself. It has been encouraging to read your progress and a delight to read your honest and thoughtful posts. The Grand Canyon is a really deluxe reward, baby ! Your mind will be blown, the beauty is indescribable and photos are only a clue to it's magnificence. I will appreciate my vicarious thrills knowing you are there, awesome only begins to tell the story.

Personal commitment Positive thinking, Pushing through discomfort (embracing the suck), Time

No wonder I was thinking of you ! It's time to celebrate your first month of Freedom. Congratulations, Rose ! Thank you for all your contributions and sharing your world. Reward yourself ! You've a solid quit running.

I am so glad to hear you are good. Beautiful Smoky Mountains and Spring ! I see your NOPE every day and it makes me smile. Yes, we are all super grateful we don't smoke anymore, it really is the best.

Hello Iml, Very exciting about your new day ! Your second day sans nicotine. All of our hearts are with you and our faith too. There isn't one reason in the world that you wouldn't succeed, Doreen is right, REJOICE, you don't smoke ! Your body is expelling poisons and getting into gear healing yourself, give it the best of chances, watch your blood sugar, deep clean breaths, cool refreshing water and all the kindness you can muster. S

Thinking of you Rosewothorns.

I am bumping this for @Iml, because of the chrysalis