Sazerac

Oh, dear Pumpkin. I am so sorry you gave up on your quit and are going through such upheaval. Please, take care of yourself and remember who you are. It takes a lot to re-assemble yourself after 18 years. Damn. I know one thing, smoking isn't helping you. It won't help you at all, not one little bit. The comfort you are gleaning from smoking is a fallacy. Think about quitting as soon as you can, won't you please ? We are here for you and you are here for us.

Get ferocious about banishing your smoking/not smoking thoughts. Replace them with something that feels good, sounds good, looks good. I know it is hard, and it nearly made me really crazy but, the earlier you take control of your brain, the easier it gets. I wish I had been more aggressive sooner re-programming my brain. But, trust us...all this cray is temporary. You will feel better. You'll be home pretty soon, right ? It's 2pm for you. Plan to pamper yourself at home, sleep, a rejuvenating bath...you know what you'd like. Make it special. Tomorrow will be your first day pretty much completely nicotine free. Congratulations !

I thought, for sure, we had a thread about this but, it doesn't show up in the search. Here is an accessible article, Smoking Damages Your DNA

Addiction has no pride and not an ounce of mercy. Our addiction to nicotine changed our DNA ffs. This is why vigilance is essential. Always. You may need to re-examine the notion of romancing the cigarette. It took a while for that to sink in, for me, and I was surprised whenever it came up.

Some Soca from Trinidad,

Stay glued to the board, it is the perfect affirmation for you right now. I'm glad you are reading Alan Carr. His book has been an essential part of many quitter's quit. You are right, this is the last time you ever have to go through this. Take some time to appreciate the day, apart from smokey thoughts and detox. It is Shakespeare's birthday if you need more reasons to celebrate. Are your trees in flower ? Flowers in flower ? You don't smoke anymore. Yay.

Is today your third day without nicotine ? The important day that nicotine is physically leaving your body. Let it go and good riddance too ! Deep breaths are about deep breathing IN and deep breathing OUT not about holding your breath until you are blue, tee hee hee. Go take a walk. Stomp and Shout. Do anything but smoke. Concentration may be a bit fuzzy this week, it is a sign that your body is adjusting and healing. Reward yourself, I cannot stress this enough. You need to get your brain receptors on your side again and rewarding yourself does this.

Congratulations, Opah. One month to celebrate ! Thank you for your posts.

You are smart to prepare. Here are two/three threads HALT (Bab's thread on HALT is embedded there as well and it is excellent) and Your Quit & Your LIfe from our friend, Cristóbal Have you read Allan Carr's, The Easy Way to Quit Smoking ? HERE is the pdf

With all due respect, Nancy, My reading list is not about offending or impressing anyone.

Yay ! I just saw your NOPE ! Take good care of yourself, Roz, and take time to heal. It is so great to have you back amongst the living !

This is a great thread, Sirius. I guess I was on hiatus when you posted this. The reason I have a sticky quit is my deep and binding commitment to myself and the desire to keep myself free.

"...don't you think that face just screams, oh shit they have a frickin camera I am so busted..." Exactly so, Jo ! I couldn't find the thread that it was on and maybe that is good...I don't want to stitch you up. Things were a bit festive and frolic reigned. Pig has a lot to catch up on.

Jo is a good girl, a stupendous girl, the best girl in the whole round world. Thank you for your work, thanks to Pig for his work too and hope he had a perfect holiday. Everything runs like a clock around here with fancy spreadsheets and extraordinarily capable helpmates, like that good girl, Jo. Jo, this picture that showed you earlier this week just breaks my heart, it evokes such poignancy for me.

I love Guy Clark and will def read this.

I am so glad you are here ! and watching this crew swing into action is a sight to behold !

Bumpity bump

This is a good post from our friend, Stuart.

Do you need diesel to keep your coolerators cool ? I'd like to make my own water.

I remember Phoebe from my lurking days at QSMB ! Congratulations !

I don't read fiction very often but, if you like non-fiction... I am reading again, a bunch of books/articles by John McPhee. He has written a lot for the New Yorker. My favorite is , Oranges. (everything you possibly need to know about oranges) Also, returning to, The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald. Ostensibly about his walk through Suffolk, but has me researching the many things he mentions. I love google.

Moderation had never been my forte yet, I am admirably moderate with the blessed herb, not so moderate with alcohol and was immodestly immoderate with nicotine. Luckily, I never had serious injuries that required too many doses of other substances and they never grabbed my attention on the street or in the clubs. You are right, Whisp, I do my best to never forget either, addiction doesn't go away.

Smoking/Addiction doesn't go with any lifestyle. It is a burden. I am glad you quit. Let us know if anything stumps you, we have lots of tricks among us. You mentioned that fresh smoke is a trigger, I am glad fresh smoke is repugnant to me now, it may turn sour for you too, with some time. What is your port during hurricane season ? Last year was so gnarly in the islands. I just read El Faro's last log in the eye of hurricane Joaquin. Chilling and regrettable.

420 relieves my arthritis, lightens my mood, inspires any work I choose to do and generally helps me to be a much nicer person. When first quit, smoking herb did trigger a crave for cigarettes. This is because everything I ever did, triggered a crave for cigarettes and I would always light up after I was lit but, I powered through, lol, and kept my quit. I try to smoke in a ceremonial way and try not to be careless or casual about it. I was careless and casual about nicotine. Personally, I don't care for the high of edibles but, may experiment more as the legalities work themselves out. My state is still in it's 'reefer madness' stage but, I am SO glad the world is changing for the better, at least in this instance.

Damn ! Hylas 54 is gorgeous. I just spent a bit of time learning about the designer, Germán Frers and lusting over photographs of pretty, pretty yachts on the deep blue or anchored in clear turquoise water. Your home is beautiful. You must be going berserk on land and little wonder you couldn't sleep ! Gah ! Well, smoking won't help anything, it'll just weigh you down. It won't make the parts arrive any sooner and cannot assist you with the labyrinth of Lloyds. Hold on to your quit.