DenaliBlues

“Freedom from the bondage of nicotine” and “NOPE Not One Puff Ever” have been really important ideas for me. I’ve used different mantras at different points in my quit (as my relationship with the cravings evolved). Find whatever works for you and share it here, @Pedro. It’s bound to help someone else along the way!

Into the Woods (Sondheim) What’s waiting for us there?

… putting calamari on itches gives you relief. Or is it calamine that…

Fly first class

NOPE

Good for you @Pedro! No time like the present to break free. You are doing a wonderful thing and can count on this forum for help.

Hey, @Brioski. You are not crazy. Quitting is a big/hard job that can be really painful at times. Everyone’s experience is different, but personally speaking I have yet to experience anything resembling quitting euphoria… no sunshine and rainbows and frolicking smoke-free unicorns gamboling about while a choir of nonsmoking angels sings. My soundtrack is more like crying and screaming and cussing, LOL. BUT…. I am still here. And so are you, my dear. Take pride in what you’ve achieved and have hope. Doreen and Jillar are 100% right that no long term quitters would be here if it didn’t get better. It does, if you stick with it. So stick with it! Find your ferocity. Get support for whatever sorrows, anxiety or aggravations you are experiencing in your life. (Because sorrows, anxiety and aggravations will NOT diminish due to smoking… smoking just makes us feel more sh**ty on top of them.) Smoking never resolved an argument with my mate, cured an illness, prevented the death of a loved one, solved a work problem, or filled a void inside of me that needed my loving attention. All smoking ever did was pour poison into a suffering soul. No more!! We are breaking that cycle of addiction. Cravings happen - your measure of success can’t be absence of cravings. (Cuz if that were the goal, I’d be flunking!) Success is about waving those lousy cravings off and focusing on other things - not giving them power. Your staying quit so far PROVES you can do this!! It will get easier if you allow yourself to heal over time. You are stronger than you think you are…

7. She should sell said sea shells by the sea shore…

Wookiee

Shoo

NOPE

Ootheca (We have 3 praying mantis oothecas on our rosebushes… can’t wait for the baby mantids to hatch, as we have many pesky aphids, as well!)

NOPE

NOPE

Flu

3. Look them up in a book on shell identification.

Across town

N O P E

NOPE!

NOPE

Great job @Brioski!! Way to defend your quit despite adversity. Congratulations on hitting the two month mark. Here’s to many more months to come. It gets easier soon!

^^^^ YES YES YES, YODA! The junk they put in cigarettes and vaping juice is designed to keep us hooked. Although this paper has some limits (it’s not a controlled study, it’s a discussion of fragmentary tobacco company documents), lots of what it says rings true to my experience. I had a very strong preference for two “light” cigarette brands that contained high doses of pyrazines. I experienced those brands as intensifying the rewards of smoking. Nicotine alone in the form of NRT did, actually, help me quit. Zero doubt in my mind about that. But neither is there any doubt that it felt “incomplete” as a substitute. I was hooked on nicotine plus something else - some pyrazine cocktail, perhaps - that took much longer than 3 days to clear my system. The indications that pyrazine additives activate 5HT in the central nervous system would help to explain some of my longer term withdrawal struggles, too. The chemical cocktail I was hooked on had hijacked my brain’s serotonin and dopamine systems… all my “feel-good” chemicals were held hostage, and my digestion was altered also. I’m glad to he able to read and reflect on this article, because understanding more about how I was hooked can help me better understand what support I need to recover from this addiction that causes so much suffering for so many. In the meantime… ^^^ Right there with you, Gus! Fury over being controlled is a big factor that fuels my quit. I refuse to be owned any longer. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!

NOPE