MLMR

Congrats on your amazing six years, Doreen! Thanks for everything, laughs, support, telling truths about what smoking did to you and your man. Your story is the story of many.. and you have the heart to tell. Here's to healthy walking!

You are back!

True - i found it (a cockatiel) on the road, more dead than alive. I named him Carl, but she turned out a Caroline. TNP had a taste of breast milk at some point in their (adult!) life.

Linda, Huge Congratulations to you, for reaching your first year. I am happy that I got to know you and were able to follow your journey. Thanks for being open about it, thanks for sharing your experiences, both the good ánd less fortunate ones. Ive seen you cary them with your chin up. I had really whished we could grab that coffee one day and talk about the things we have in common. I learned so much from you, do you realise? I hope you throw a really big celebration party, because you bloody well deserve it, dear Linda! You quit smoking for good! Look at this tree, glowing all year 'round, no season to be skipped. You did them all, hero!

Got a nice Karuizawa whisky ship, in case the SS Quit Train fails us. Should fit our lovely quit-birthday girl!

Glad you feel so much better Diane. Mention and celebrated the positives as often as possible, it wil help you build a solid quit :).

Congrats Parsley Great to hear from you!

Congrats on 2 weeks, Diane.

@hellkatbaby, sorry to hear this. What a great attitude you have and what a kick-ass post. I whish you lots of good things on your way through this.

@Ankush well done. I agree with Doreen, it takes guts and strength to get back up. You inspire me by doing that. You will get there, I am sure of that!

How are you doing @Ankush?

Ahw shit, no! I am really sorry to hear that. You had a great quit going and you are such a steady factor here.. Please muster up courage and cary on with your quit. Strong decision you made about that. The date is just a date, as much as I understand your need to make it accurate. What matters most, obviously, is that you dont light up again. Please, please call out to us tonight/today, when you do experience withdrawl. Theres a great chance you will, since you administered nicotine to your system.

Hey there Ankush, in what way are people undermining your quit? Do they literally and deliberately say, 'go smoke!' Or, 'you are better off smoking anyway!' ... Something like that? Or is it more in a subtle way and sometimes maybe without intention? And that its your addicted brain that interprets it as undermining, while in reality no one can be blamed, not even your brain because it does what its supposed to do? Either way, you seem to deal with it the right way. By not lightening up and learning yourself to deal with irritating situations in a different way. A brilliant person here once told me to always carry glitter. When annoyed by someone... throw that stuff in the air and walk off, chin up! (And tits, if you have 'm).

Congrats Paul! Do you still take time to celebrated this date after 6 years? I love that people like you still come here to support and educate others. Really inspirational. Thanks for that!

*bump*

Tenen, (dutch for toes ) you are on track. A smooth sea never made a skillful pirate. And... rewards, rewards!!! ☆☆☆ RE-WARDS ☆☆☆

Michelle, count with me, back from 10 to 0.... here we go: 10.... 9.... 8.... 7..... 6..... 5..... 4.... 3... 2.... 1..... 0! -edit- I actually checked if I wrote the numbers in the right order

Yeah, completion of month 11. Thanks so much Reci ofcourse and others. I bought a little book today, as my quit reward. 'The anxiety cure'. Its based on the principles of neuroplasticity. Though I must admit some parts seem a bit simple and just too good to be true, I am going to try the exercizes the author provides in the book. I like the idea of more rewiring. I think quitting smoking is all about taking responsibility. The further I get in this proces, the more I realise how unnecessary complicated I often make things in my life. Admitted, its not the most joyfull discovery yet. It means I got to start looking at myself with compassion, humor but above all decisiveness... to do things according to what I know now. I just cant keep living life like I did. Wow shit, it's true. Like.... ahhhhhh! I bet my new book will tell me that its actually an amazing discovery and one that I can start working on right about ... now. So without further ado ... this woman will be doing some homework tonight, to once and for all be done with shittypitty anxiety! Thanks all for who you are and sharing your wonderful personal views on quitting and life with me

Hey Michelle, why not start a blog then? Might be just what you need!

By the way, I remember @Sazerac provided an article about nicotine being in your system far longer than 3 days, i think it said it was found in hair cells after several weeks even?

I totally get what you say, Toes! Being ok with not being ok, is one of the bigger challenges with quitting.. but, a challenge that will give you so much, along the road. Soon you'll be experiencing short moments of joy, about what you are doing. I started having them around one month in. The trick is to totally utilize these moments: squeeze every bit of joy out of it, celebrate and plant the tiniest victories in your head, even when it seems a bit... grotesque. It is huge what you are doing, the best thing you could do for yourself. Whish you sleep!

And get up when you can't sleep. Distract your anxious brain for a while with a soothing cup of tea, glass of water. Snooze a bit on the couch or favorite chair. Sleep will come again!

False. Very 1993. TNP makes decissions based on astrology.