After a couple pm's from new members and being asked the same question, I thought I would post my "take on it" here and maybe get some input from others. I don't think it matters how long you have quit, we all have a "story" of how and why we got to where we are in our quit.
Early in your quit the addictions pull is the strongest. Each day and every crave you conquer, makes your quit that much stronger.
Don't bite off more than you can chew. :p taking it one day at a time is how you go forward.
What put me "over the hump" was the knowledge I got from all the material that is available about nicotine addiction.
Nicotine IS a drug, and I AM a drug addict! Plain and simple! Once my eyes were opened to that, I realized I DIDNT enjoy smoking....or get any pleasure from it... I did it, because I HAD to...I had to feed the addiction or face the withdrawals. ....Period.....
Once I accepted that, it was much easier to fight off the cravings. I saw them for what they are....withdrawals symptoms from being addicted to a drug.
The "moment" it hit me, was when me and my wife were sitting around one evening watching a TV show called "Intervention"... Basically a show where friends and family try to intervene in a drug addicts life and try to get them to seek help. We had seen the show before, and each time it spotlighted an addict that came from an affluent family and would show the addict spending thousands of dollars a week to feed an addiction that was literally killing them. The familys lived in a great neighborhood with great jobs while the addicts lived on the street and did whatever was nessasary to get enough money for their next "fix"... More than once I would comment that I just didn't understand how those "addicts" could throw away the life they could have(with their family), for the live they are choosing(for their drugs).....
Sound familiar to anyone?...not the show, but the situation?...
Yep, that was me.... It was then I realized I was doing the exact same thing.... Ok, my drug was legal, ...it was affordable, and is (somewhat) socially acceptable. But in the end, I was chosing smoking (nicotine) over my family and friends. I was spending money on an addiction that was killing me, that I could have used to do something more for my girls.
Coincidently , I had these "revelations" and thoughts of quitting at the same time I was comptemplating retiring..... Even though I had thought for many years that I needed to quit, I never attempted it before. So.... At age 52 I decided (approx) 35 years of smoking was (too many) enough..
Three weeks into my quit, I was really struggling. I got online and found a "quit smoking forum" and without a doubt, it was the single most important thing I done to aid in quitting. I was pointed to the resources available. I read whenever I could, and the knowledge I took away and the support from the people here (and a few from another site) was what makes my quit successful!
2 1/2 years later, I am still smoke free. I stick around here and try to pay it forward, and in reality, it helps to reinforce my quit. That's why my advice to new members is to become active on the board and post... Even if it is just to let others know how you are doing. When you post progress, we will give you a pat on the back, and sometimes that's all you need to go forward another day....other times when you post that you are struggling, we will sympathize with your situation (we have all been there) and offer up advice to get you through it.
Every quit is different, and everyone deals with situations different, so there is no methods to quitting that are set in stone to guarantee success. But, with the diversity of this membership offering up support, I feel everyone can find a way to get and stay nicotine free.
