Sazerac

You sound good, g. Your resolve, your understanding, and your participation on QTrain will help ensure a successful quit. Learn all you can about nicotine addiction, reward yourself each crave you beat, and have some fun on the journey. There may be temporary discomfort but, you will never regret quitting smoking, the freedom is delicious.

This is a great post from Sunnyside and one of my favorite graphics about your brain on cigarettes.

Hello and welcome Max. Congratulations on your 5 months of Freedom ! You are very smart to be cautious and protective of your quit. Your quit IS precious. We are nicotine addicts and will always be 'one puff away from a pack a day'. Educate yourself all you can, it is the best ammunition for fighting addiction. Don't forget to have fun ! Reward yourself copiously to jump start the dopamine levels in your brain that nicotine gangstered and be assured, the journey gets easier. S

Yay ! I found this in the archives after I quoted, our friend Cristóbal, in catlover's 'suck it up' post in SOS today. Cristóbal is a major influence in my quit, in many quits. S

^^^^^ Welcome everybody, it is great having you here. Congratulations on your decision to quit smoking !

Our friend, Cristóbal, said it beautifully and in perfect order, " You--->Your Quit--->Your Life " Protect Your Quit, it is precious. You are doing great, catlover, ferociously GREAT. Please, be extra kind to yourself.

I wanted to bump this so newbies would add their tricks. Mine were/are Knowledge Is Power, learning about nicotine Addiction is essential, Pledging to NOPE and honoring that commitment to myself, Showers, often screaming showers in the beginning, Satsumas, A mantra of 'Free Your Head' to interrupt thoughts of smoking, Dancing/Music, Deep Beautiful Clean Clear BREATHS !

What's not to LOVE about Jimmy ?! Thank you for your help through the years, bebe, and a shout out to your Q. S

Here is a useful thread about how we coped. Your First Days , Nicotine Free Please add your techniques or desperate measures to the thread. Your experience is invaluable and it is always cool to learn new tricks. S p.s. I remember a story (lurking early in my quit) about a woman (Marianne?) who coped by having a big beautiful tree CUT DOWN before understanding it was a very, very wrong thing to do. Addiction is way bad.

You are prolonging withdrawal by reducing your smoking instead of biting the bullet and making a clean quit. Here is a vid by our friend, Joel Spitzer, addressing Quitting By Gradual Withdrawal. That method is something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. You should treat yourself better. It takes only three days for nicotine to leave your body and start you on your journey to freedom. Your resolve, 'My mind is made up, just have to get to the other side! will provide strength that you never knew you had. You can quit. We quit and we can help. Commit to NOPE (not one puff ever), educate yourself about your addiction, and don't forget to have a good time. Quitting won't kill you but, smoking will. S

Congratulations on your first decade of nicotine freedom , Markus, Through the years, your insightful posts have been incredibly useful to me and I am eternally grateful for the time you took blazing a trail. Thank you, S

This is an old post of mine that still resonates with me and I thought to stash in in my blog so it is easy for me to locate. Nicotine stimulates the reward path in our brain and by replenishing ourselves with nicotine, we were rewarded with Dopamine. Many times a day we went from the panic of, 'I've gotta have a smoke' to 'Ahhh', the brief relief of satisfying addiction. We were jerking our own chain every twenty minutes or so....for years. When quitting nicotine, that dance of our reward system shuts down. It's a shock and we miss the consistent rewarding rush of dopamine. Our brain doesn't understand where all the feel good stuff went so, it is essential to amplify rewards, to jump start our natural pathways for the release of Dopamine. The physical act of rewarding ourselves is crucial for the brain to access Dopamine. It took me a moment to wrap my head around this, The Physical Act of Rewarding Ourselves, Is Crucial For The Brain To Access Dopamine. Our friend, bakon, is a big advocate of rewards, quite rightly, too. Celebrate your first moments, days...your first weeks and months. The first year, the next... This can take the form of exotic holidays, paid with the ducats you were giving to Big Tobacco, to simple gifts to yourself, a new book, a magazine, a film... ooh ! plenty of excellent chocolate passed these lips (dark chocolate, apple, almond, banana, strawberry, salmon, beet, watermelon and pumpkin seeds also stimulate Dopamine). Choose activities that make you feel pampered like the perfect bath, an afternoon nap in freshly laundered sheets, a candle lit dinner. Getting through difficulties and experiencing your triumphs are all opportunities to reward yourself. Keep in mind, you are not spoiling yourself, you are re-training your brain to deliver dopamine as an honest reward. Like quenching your thirst with a long tall cool glass of water. Celebrate as the hours go by, while the body adjusts to the new normal. A normal of being rewarded with dopamine but, naturally, of course, the way it was before we allowed nicotine to control our reward system. I remember the first day that I forgot to think about smoking or not smoking, wow ! this is what being nicotine free feels like ! I was so happy and celebrated by purchasing a small tree, a Sweet Viburnum full of blossoms, a living reminder of my freedom. My continuing reward is the luscious freedom I appreciate every single day. I am in better health and free-er in spirit... Tell me what your rewards have been, my nicotine free friends, what are your rewards now ? S p.s. Along with Dopamine, we can hack into our other happy chemicals to improve the quality of our lives. All are accessible through Meditation; taking time for slow, measured breathing. letting thoughts slip away. Exercise and laughter induce the release of Endorphins, Oxytocin flows with orgasm, giving/receiving gifts. Serotonin gets you high when sitting in the sun, hanging with friends and by reflecting on your accomplishments.

Dear QTrain-ers, I was thinking today about my motivations to quit smoking and to stay quit and thought I would share them, hoping y'all share your motivations in response. I consider my resolution to quit was a primary factor but, wealth and health came into play as well. I quit on a whim, a dare to myself. Unexpectedly, my immediate motivation was an inner strength I found in absolutely committing to the journey. This really helped me through the bumps, knowing I was clear in my resolve. In a more mercenary vein, wealth motivated me and if I am honest, it was very important. Each day, I ceremonially placed a ten dollar bill between the pages of a NOPE book which filled up quickly and was moved to a mason jar. Better to see my progress. In ten days, I had a hundred bucks. In ten months, I had Three Thousand ! I felt like Midas with all that dosh. As far as health, I was in ignorant denial and never paid much mind to health risks. Sure, a minor cold inevitably morphed into bronchitis and I certainly coughed a helluva lot but, for forty something years, I idiotically accepted that was just the way things were. I was weeks into my quit before I faced the truth and began to understand the ramifications of smoking and my nicotine addiction. Facing the damage done, I am tentatively grateful that maybe I quit in time. I feel great. Breathing is rapturous, innit ! Now, health is a motivator keeping me nicotine free and I haven't been knocked down with bronchitis in four friggin' years. Amazing. The personal empowerment by keeping this commitment to myself has influenced all parts of my life. I am stronger, braver, more truthful and hopefully have a sincere compassion for others fighting addiction, living with addiction. All you smoke free creatures here are great inspirations and kick a s s motivators, keeping me on the Good Foot. Tell us, if you will, about your Motivations. Love, S

Hello darling smoke free creatures, You know, even after over 4 years quit, I can still catch myself thinking...' oh, time for a smoke'. It doesn't trouble me anymore because now I am able to identify what I really need. It is not, never was and never will be 'a smoke'. It is most often a glass of water, a break, a deep clean breath. The concept of H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonesome, Tired) is still tremendously helpful and keeps me current and present with myself. I hope it may be helpful to you, too. S

N O P E forever never ever

N O P E

Wishing Everyone Fabulous Freedom. It is so Free also , Fun, Fascinating, Felicitous and For Real. NOPE-ly yours, S p.s. I am delighted you are here,RvQ

Bump for our fabulous Newbies, I am so happy y'all quit smoking. Stay strong and breathe deep glorious breaths of Freedom and Reward yourselves ! S

quitting smoking is a Journey and another short about addiction Here called, Nuggets.

bump

Congratulations on three months of Freedom. You are no longer 'pushing a new broom'' and may get blindsided by the reality of Addiction. No worries, NOPE and all will be well. You may find solace in this thread about ' I bumped it in 'discussions' also. Power to You, S

Joel, I am delighted to see you have joined QTrain. You were instrumental in helping me quit smoking and deal honestly with my nicotine addiction. For this, I cannot thank you enough, Joel. Along with you, the truth, affection and camaraderie I found on QTrain has been essential in protecting my quit these last four years of freedom. Thank you, S

I thought I would pop in on my Fourth year celebration and what a grand surprise ! Thank you so much, Paul, for thinking of me and hello to all you wonderful smoke free creatures. I could/would not have quit had it not been for all your care and it is inspiring to see your care carrying on here. Quitting smoking was a great decision and one I will never regret. If you are thinking of quitting, please give it an honest try. The benefits unfold forever, providing you strength and courage in all you do. I think of y'all often and send you all my best. Love, Sazarac Feels Like Rain written by John Hiatt and performed here by Aaron Neville https://youtu.be/7PqYrHSTgE4

Congratulations my four year buddy !