Gus

Congratulations Mac! Four years is awesome.

Sorry to hear @Breath-of-Power. This addiction is real. It is powerful. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent reviewing the information about nicotine and the additives that cigarettes contain, but the stuff literally rewires your brain. Your brain. That organ that controls everything about you. After the nicotine withdrawal it’s what you will be fighting against. Of course it’s going to fight against reconditioning. You try again. Again and again. You write down why you are quitting. The truth. The ugly part of it. Carry that around with you. Read it every time you want a smoke. We all have something that we want more than that cigarette and one day if we allow ourselves the liberty to do so, we just smash a link in that chain of addiction and crawl out from the unbearable weight of it and in time we find ourselves standing against it and some day dancing on it’s grave. There are good times to be had. For years you’ve had to base decisions around your ability to indulge in your habit. Being able to enjoy a smoke. Lies. Smoking puts so many constraints on so many aspects of your life. Step back and realize that it’s not only affecting you, but those you love most. Not in the second hand smoke way, but just being able to 100% be there for someone. It’s hard. Conquering this addiction is so hard, but doable. I hope that you hop back on the train. I hope that you take advantage of this thread you created. Post, post, post. Just writing down all of your thoughts helps so much. Everyone here has gone through what you are going through. No judgment here. Just encouragement and support. I hope that you will try again.

Freedom from being smelly and stupid. And self-serving. Can’t forget that.

FACT: “ A cigarette will never be the answer to anything you need.”

How are you doing @Breath-of-Power? I do hope that you were able to hang on to that exceptional quit you have going.

Welcome @Icandoit! You most certainly CAN do it! It won’t be pretty or easy, but for the rest of your life you will be so very thankful that you did. As everyone said before, reach out if you need to. We are here to help you along. I hope to see you around the site.

Congratulations on 8 months being quit!! You’re doing great!

Great job in getting through Hell Week @Breath-of-Power! You are doing great! And like Reci said, we are if you need us!

Congratulations on the 7th year of being quit. A wonderful achievement!

An awesome achievement. So worthy of being thankful for.

Welcome aboard @OnlyPink! You have found a wonderfully supportive place to obtain and maintain your forever quit. Be sure to take advantage of all the information and personal testimonials on this forum. Also, if needed we have an SOS forum you can use to reach out for an assist. I hope to see you around this site for a long time to come and yes posting as much of your quit journey as you are comfortable with will definitely resonate with others on the same journey. You can do this.

There were times over my life that I was just out of cigarettes or just literally didn’t have the means to buy cigarettes, but the one thing I refused to do was to bum. I just couldn’t make myself do it. There was a tiny part of me that just refused to totally debase myself and beg for cigarettes. Pride? Fooling myself into thinking I had some control over my habit? A part of me desperately fighting against being completely owned by my addiction? I don’t know why, but that tiny part of me and QuitTrain are the reasons I am celebrating my 3rd anniversary of being free! You can do this. Stick around!

Thanks everyone. I had a quiet reflective day. Within the past several weeks I found myself apologizing to my kids, grands, and those that I am closest to for having subjected them to my smelly and filthy habit. For not always being there or not being there 100% because I lived my life around my habit, not them. So many opportunities to live, love, and laugh missed and gone forever. But I can be here, now. I can help others gain and keep their freedom from smoking. Although we can’t regain the time we’ve lost, we most assuredly can ensure living without regard to nicotine’s demands on our time, mindset, health, and finances. I appreciate everyone here so very much. Thank you all again.

Wow. The addicts mindset is just the worst. Recognizing and utilizing discount opportunities to feed our habit and feeling like we’ve accomplished something amazing is just so sad. We have come so far on our quit journeys and I’m glad to be doing it here on this forum with all my fellow quitters.

Congratulations @Boo! I hope this finds you and your family well and happy. I sure miss you and your helpful advice.

Welcome @Arnolder and @JustQuit83! JQ83 is correct. Knowledge is the key. There is so much information and always an assist on this forum. I look forward to seeing you guys succeed!

Welcome back @ammj! You’ve got this. Keep looking ahead to your smoke free future and stay busy and keep your mind occupied to get you through to it. QuitTrain is the best place to assist. It’s good to see you so hyped about your quit too.

Hello @chime! I quit smoking by using the patch. 3 year anniversary the 17th. You do what you gotta do to put the smokes out for good. I used the patch because I suffer from severe anxiety and do not use any medication to treat it so I needed the assist. I started with Stage 2 then after a couple of weeks dropped down to stage 3 and used those for a few weeks until I forgot to put one on one day and didn’t realize it for hours so I was like, “I guess I’m quit.” LOL Not going to lie. The initial 2-3 weeks was very hard for me. I was practically bed bound and cried nonstop for days and days. I could not have survived quitting cold turkey. Sure you have to eventually go through total withdrawal but it isn’t such a big deal on the patch. Like I said, I literally forgot to put the patch on one day. Keep hanging around here and you will have all the support you’ll ever need. Good luck with med school. It is very wise to stop smoking now because there will NEVER be a ‘best time’ to quit. See you around!

I’ll say a prayer for your husband and his surgical team @QuittingGirl He will be glad that he had it done after the initial healing gets past.

Congratulations QG! 9 months quit is awesome. I experienced a lot of what you mentioned when I used to smoke. We always considered our habit over everything. It affected our choices on everything. I hope that you had fun celebrating today.

LOL Thanks! I meant to change it for Valentines and then forgot about it again.

Congratulations Kate! I hope that you are celebrating well!

Severe engine issues revealed today and I was having trouble coping. Out of nowhere or maybe that somewhere in the mind that tells you that you can’t cope, that there is some nameless something you need to get through this and then just as quickly it’s gone and your left thinking or maybe yelling it aloud in a rage, “I KNOW WHAT I NEEDED!” The addict is always there. It’ll show up when you least expect it to. It enrages me. Leaving me feeling weak and less than. But I am NOT! I’ve been kicking nicotine to the curb for almost three years and I will not release it from the chains that had me bound. The chains that I worked so hard to bind it with. I can’t and I will not. It’s why I still hang around here. Y’all helped me so much and still do. Almost everyday I get some kind of help here. Oh, well after some deep breathing and grounding myself I have gone on about my day. Without that crutch I used to have to carry around with me. It’s good to breathe freely!

Congratulations and welcome to the Lido Deck Bri! I hope that you did something amazing to celebrate. You did so wonderfully well. Hanging around here strengthens you so much and that first year goes by so much easier. I hope you stay to help others along the way.

Hello Hector and welcome to QuitTrain! Two months in on your quit is awesome. There is a great group of people here to help you along the way. Please keep us updated. We are all so happy for you.