Sazerac

Welcome to our merry band of quitters, Zeezazz ! Congratulations on making the decision to quit. You may find this thread helpful 10 ways to effectively use this forum Don't fret about weight, you know how to loose it and quitting smoking adds a few lbs just for quitting. It is your body protecting itself. If you eat right and exercise you will be fine. Exercise is a great way to beat craves and satsumas are also helpful to snack on. I don't know how to advise you about telling your family or not. You don't have to fulfil a previous prophecy. You don't have to be a lunatic when you quit. I found that education and more understanding about addiction quelled my inner cuckoo pretty well. You can choose to be calmer. Meditation will help. You are right about being vigilent about never taking another puff. We have a daily pledge page, Not One Puff Ever, NOPE. Stay close to the board and post often, let us get to know you and let others read your story. You never know who will read about your experience and be inspired to quit. Don't forget to have some fun too, there is an active group of game players and they are marvelous. We are all here to cheer you on and watch you succeed.

Exercise ? Invigorating showers ? Vit B12 ? and lots of it. Are you overloading on caffeine ? Don't. Quitting smoking heightens the effect of caffeine. Willful determination ? Wake yourself up after 8 hours, too much sleep begets too much sleep. Your quit looks great on you Sneaky one, hold on. Things will get much better by and by. You will have to trust us on this.

Dear fellow addicts, There is no shame in failure, only an opportunity to learn. Personal responsibility is one thing and you must, of course, own your success or your relapse but, please remember we are dealing with ADDICTION which is outside most of our consciousnesses. The first part of any successful quit is admitting an addiction to nicotine and we must learn and understand all we can in order to put it down. According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain—they change its structure and how it works. These brain changes can be long-lasting, and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs. Quitting smoking may not be a walk in the park but, it will bring you physical and emotional benefits that are astounding. It is not impossible. You will live through any discomfort. We all quit and we may think of ourselves as Super men and women but, we are just like you. Nicotine addicts. I encourage you to put this dangerous and deadly addiction to rest and start enjoying your freedom, your newfound confidence, your beautiful life. love, S

Some quit on a whim, others quit making a sensible plan and map it all out as best they can. There are many successful quits between the extremes. The important bit is the seminal moment in your life when you say, 'I quit smoking'. I spontaneously said, 'I've quit. If I don't feel better in a few days, I can always smoke but, let's see your mettle and give this an honest try' I had no idea the process took a lot longer than a few days. I had no concept at all about nicotine addiction. I was supremely ignorant. To be honest, it actually takes nicotine a lot longer than a few days to completely leave your body. Think about it...we have nicotine infested tar in our lungs clinging to our cilia. Tar, ffs. This doesn't disapate in a few days. Ever have tar on your feet ? It takes a solvent like gasoline to remove it. The miracle is that our bodies do purge themselves of most. Still, remnants remain. Remants remain forever in our DNA. A sobering fact. After a few days, gathering more knowledge about addiction, I extended the premise of starting smoking again 'if I don't feel better in ...days...weeks...' Some days, I thought, if I don't feel better in five minutes I can always smoke. There were many times when acknowledging the choice saved my quit. My decision to quit smoking held and my resolve to commit to this choice grew minute by minute. It grew by quantumn leaps every damn crave I beat. I'm sharing this thinking about new quitters and smokers on the fence, before the choice to quit becomes clear and non negotiable. You may not have a serious dose of resolve about your decision to quit. Do not worry about this, resolve grows with knowledge and time. After a while there should be no turning back, you will know too much and will have a deeper power committing to your decision. This decision to quit smoking is one of the best decisions you can make in your life. It teaches you about commitment. It nurtures your self respect, self confidence. It saves your life.

bump. Creating new rewards, true rewards for yourself is an essential part of recovering from nicotine addiction. You can also have some fun with rewards and be really kind to yourself. Rewards can be free...a bubble bath, an interesting walk, a nap... or small purchases...you know what you would enjoy. My rewards got bigger the longer I stayed quit, the more ducats saved.

Congratulations, S, on your quit ! Each smoking situation you conquer is a huge success and you should reward yourself in some way to remind your brain what rewards are true rewards. It is great to see you here. Educate yourself about nicotine addiction and post often. Let us know how we can help and understand that your posts serve to help others. This post may be helpful to you 10 ways to effectively use this forum  

arghh, Jo. Wishing you good days, good news. Hope you are able to appreciate some little things, the way the light falls on that leaf...the pattern it makes...the way it changes. The colour of the sky...the water. Hold on tight to all the things that bring you joy. We love you so much, Sally

I lurked here for the first 10 months of my quit and learned all I could about my nicotine addiction. Reading voraciously and following some favorite posters helped to solidify my quit. I joined after 10 months primarily to thank everybody for being so influential in my success and the rest is history. These days, I root around the archives to find posts that helped me, that may help others and write a few words of encouragment to beautiful nicotine free creatures. The stories and advice remain consistent; Make the decision to quit. Never re-introduce nicotine to your body again, never-ever-forever. Educate yourself about nicotine addiction. If you want/need a support system you have come to the right place. Your story resonates with all smokers and has the potential to lead a lurker, like me, to freedom. You can also have a lot of fun here while you are changing your life for the better.

You wrote great posts, Babs, and were very influential in my quit. You may remember other good ones and I encourage you to dig around and re-post them. Your nuggets of wisdom are always a pleasure to read. S

Hello Justine, Welcome to our merry band of non smokers/nicotine free creatures. You have made one of the best decisions of your life and your son's life to quit smoking yesterday. Already your body has begun it's magical repair and each crave you beat, another neuro-transmitter in your brain is claimed back from Nicotine's control. Reward yourself frequently, this helps your brain remember what pleasure really is, and it is NOT nicotine. You may find this thread helpful 10 ways to effectively use this forum Please, post a lot and let us get to know you, your experience is invaluable, and congratulations on your quit, now go have some fun !

bumpity

Bumping to get this thread back on point...the point being, addiction doesn't go away. We have changed our DNA. All we can do is put the addiction to sleep and never awaken it again. So please, retain your vigilance.

In your pic with bakon, you looked exactly like I envisioned also, Jen. Great to see you hanging out again. You have a powerful voice that resonates with everyone.

We all love you so much, Jo. Remember to reward yourself, especially now and throughout your treatment. Thank you for posting all of this. Your experience will help others, people we don't even see. This is an awesome gift. Remember to Breathe. Remember all of us surround you and cheer you on. Thank you for all you do, for who you are. I am so proud of you and your marvelous quit. Love, Sally

Wow. What an incredible thread, G. All the troops are behind you a zillion percent. As you know, as Jo knows, as ALL of us know, smoking will not make one thing better. Smoking will kill us and make our lives miserable and more misery is not needed. I am so glad you posted, so empowered to see your post and QTrain's response. We have a marvelous community, smart and soulful. Don't ever ever feel you are winging or just having a pity party...all your feelings, all our feelings are important and together we can face them honestly and put our minds to postive solutions. Thank you for posting, G. Thank you for being here for so many others. Thank you for quitting smoking. Please take great care of yourself. Rewards are needed, treat yourself to something really good, something that will remind you of how far you have come. Celebrate your successful quit. Every moment. Your ally, S

gawd. this place is v. strange, v. American compared to New Orleans. Key West would be ok. Miami...but, I am having a bit of culture shock. I didn't realize. Funny you, Jo. I'm old but not boring. How would an artist retire ? Musicians decompose but, there must be a joke for painters too.

This is one of my personal favorite benefit of quitting smoking. The fact that I have the ability to change and change for the better. How marvelous to be completely truthful with myself after so many years of the denial involved with addiction. To witness this change and the confidence it builds in myself and all y'all here is incredibly inspiring.

hey now, I'm here doing laundry in a Florida hotel. Oh, the glamorous life I am living while everything is strange and new.

Coming to terms with how addiction turned us into selfish, spoiled brats made it easier for me to identify the addicts voice and choose Freedom's voice. The voices are both powerful and one leads us to incredible changes and attitudes, the other keeps us down and abused. Start listening to your voice of freedom no matter how faint it may be, it will soon be so beautifully loud and inspiring. Your Spoiled Addicted Brat has nothing for you. Never did, never, never will.

Christine, You are dealing with a dangerous and deadly addiction which has changed your DNA, changed the way you think. You have the power to override the addiction. Each minute you have choice and are able to choose instead of letting addiction choose everything for you. If you don't have super resolve or commitment don't worry about it. Take one moment at a time. These moments will build and grow your confidence. Stay in the Now. You don't smoke. End of discussion. Go reward yourself and go have some FUN. s

I join Jim and Recip (and just saw Jillar chime in with her wonderful wisdom) in accentuating that your resolve in the decision to quit smoking is all that matters. Either you choose to smoke or you choose to be free. This is no joke and you dismiss the effects of Nicotine and smoking or vaping tobacco at your peril. Like all of us, quitting tobacco and putting our nicotine addiction to rest is all about life, the quality of life and death and the quality of death. Choose wisely Christine and protect your quit. You will love freedom. S

I listen to Dylan Thomas', 'A Child's Christmas In Wales' all year long. Merry is for all seasons.

You're doing great M. Don't worry about the little stuff, you are in a major transformation. Maintain your resolve and know that you are much more powerful than any crave. you are doing great.

in Florida now. everything is strange and new. not the bliss I planned I'm standing my ground, holding myself together. will go home wiser