Minnie Mouse

Nothing to be embarrassed about. That's how we ride the merry-go-round after we quit in the early days. Life events are absolute triggers where our thoughts tend to run in loops in our mind. Keep kicking the thought(s) out and use your tools no matter how many times you have to do it and for as long as you need to do it. It will "eventually" pass if you just don't smoke. Smoke and you'll be back to the starting gate again. You can do this! Say NO to yourself. Great job posting.

"Spilt milk" for you. (Hopefully someone reading and contemplating quitting will be helped by it.) You look and sound like a winner to me and that's all that counts. Congrats on 7 days! Keep it up! One day at a time for now ... .

Congrats! Three months is an awesome milestone! Keep it up!

@johnny5 Clearly I didn't do my homework when I was on QSMB! Or maybe it's just me again lol. Again @Doreensfree, Congrats!

What the heck is a Mini-Quit? It’s not a “practice” quit but it sure can help you begin a quit if you are having trouble launching one for yourself. It helped me. A Mini-Quit is changing up WHEN, WHERE, and WHY you normally smoke. It’s purpose is to give you a head start on breaking some of the smoking behaviors, habits and associated cues you made for yourself. As smokers we all had our rituals, patterns, and pacifier moments when we used smoking to soothe & calm ourselves. Although not the purpose of a mini-quit, a normal consequence is usually less smoking because it does not feel normal or as satisfying. Smoke as much as you want just not in the normal places and at the normal times. ********** Change the When. If you smoke right after a meal for example, or first thing when you wake up … don’t. Wait 30 mins instead. Do something else first to distract & delay smoking to change up your normal routine. Do the dishes, brush your teeth, take a shower, exercise, meditate, whatever you choose. Change the Where. Smoke in different places. If you have a specific place you smoke at home outside, don’t go there. Smoke somewhere else. Don’t get comfortable either. Don’t listen to music, read, text, or talk on the phone. In other words, don’t multi-task; just smoke. Keep your sole focus on smoking. Observe what it looks like & notice how you feel when the smoke swirls around you. (Personally, I felt an overwhelming sense of all the time I was wasting just smoking.) I’m assuming you already don’t smoke in your home or in your vehicle. With all the known health hazards nobody should be exposing their spouse, children, pets, loved ones, or friends who visit you in your home or ride in your vehicle to second & third hand smoke. If you do smoke in your home or vehicle, stop it! Make those places off limit now for smoking. Change the Why. Change your smoking patterns/behaviors. If you are used to smoking when angry or upset, to concentrate or think, while stressed or talking on the phone, etc., (and who of us as smokers didn’t) … don’t. Wait 30 mins. Do something else to distract yourself & delay smoking. Walk around & breathe to give yourself time to let the “go to” ingrained smoking behavior pass. The only way to change is to make/do the changes. Don’t focus on wanting to smoke either during the wait. Kick the thought(s) to the curb. ************ Try changing up 3 or 4 of your cues/smoking association behaviors for a few days or a week. Then add 3 or 4 more change-ups. It takes 3 weeks to change a “habit” or before we become comfortable or “normalized” with it so I don’t recommend using the Mini-Quit process for more than a week or two (but whatever, it’s your quit; do you!). The ultimate purpose is to launch your quit with fewer cues/smoking associations. It IS important & necessary to replace the old cues/smoking association behaviors with something else to fill the void. Strictly speaking, we don’t eliminate our “habits” … we change them into something else. Make sure what you choose to replace them with is positive and can be sustained for the long term regardless of mental & physical status. As far as being “ready” to quit smoking goes many of us weren’t ready or even wanted to but we chose to quit anyway and made the commitment not to smoke. It’s not about will power either. It’s WILLINGNESS, CHOICE & COMMITMENT. If you can quit for one day, you can quit for two days, and so on. One day at a time in the beginning. Again, the purpose of Mini-Quits is not smoking reduction although as you learn about yourself & change it up it is a wonderful side effect. Be aware that If you intentionally focus on just reducing the number of cigarettes “way down from normal” (especially if it is 5 or less cigs/day) you may be putting yourself into constant nicotine withdrawal or you may be treating cigarettes as a reward which is the last thing you want to do. You do not want to make a cigarette a “precious” commodity to yourself. Remember you are a nicotine addict; it’s not just a bad habit. You might want to consider doing Mini-Quits and then “just” jump off the scary cliff whether you feel ready or not & build your wings on the way down. That IS how it’s done

I'm a bit confused (not unusual ). Your quit date showing is July 8th (2013). I didn't see a celebration on that date though so whether it was then or is today I hope you keep on enjoying your freedom from nicotine addiction for many years to come. Happy 13th! It's an awesome milestone! Celebrate!

Yes, those darn associations/habits we ingrained in our daily life. It takes at least 3 weeks to build new "go to's". The void quitting leaves need to be replaced with something else. What worthwhile thing(s) do you want to do with your extra time you will have now in your life or in the foreseeable future? Let's face it, we spent a lot of valuable time or should I say wasted time with smoking/vaping. Now is a good time to begin and cultivate new choices or maybe return to one left behind? I'm probably getting ahead of you ... whatever it takes for those 5-10-15 minutes to get through triggers for now works ... meditation, positive self-talk, mantras, focused breathing, yoga, walking, jogging, et al. You've quit before so you know the process. Never another Day One. Make each day a Day Won. You've got this!

It's such a pleasure to have someone truly committed to their quit and doing all the prep work for success! You sound like a winner already!

Unfortunately, you are not alone where you find yourself today. So many chose to vape in the hope of quitting smoking but instead as you and everyone else discovered all it did is increase the "want" for more and more nicotine by changing the mechanics of getting it. An addiction to nicotine is still an addiction regardless of the device used. The only way out is to discontinue its use in all forms. (The vaping industry makes me soooooo mad can you tell lol). You can do this. Educate yourself (read, read read; find the bullet points that speak to you and send you over the wall of "no going back") and do your prep work (plan, tools, mantras, lists, rewards, etc.). You have to choose freedom every day in the beginning and be willing to go through whatever it takes to get yourself off the merry-go-round of active addiction. No shortcuts. Total abstinence is key. NOPE. Not One Puff Ever. Break the chains. Best Wishes.

Congrats! Nine months is awesome! Keep enjoying your freedom from nicotine addiction (and those kitties too lol).

Smoking thoughts are just that ... thoughts ... not a command to yourself to smoke. Tell yourself NO and do whatever it takes to move past them. I agree with the suggestion to acknowledge them. I used to say "Oh, Hello there!" to mine and then laugh/chuckle out loud at them. I also found the three's to be a trigger and with you coming up on your 3-month anniversary it makes sense. Forewarned is forearmed. Such thoughts/memories/triggers will get less and less with time and patience if you just don't smoke. NOPE. Not One Puff Ever. Don't give in to them. Never another Day One! (You can borrow my bamm bamm bat. lol)

Awesome! Congrats on seven months and counting UP!

Great decision! Do whatever it takes to get through the early tough days and get yourself free from nicotine addiction. You never have to feel alone in your journey. Reach out as needed for support along the way. Check in and give status reports. It's very doable. You can do it! You are worth it!

Thirteen Years is Awesome! Keep enjoying your Freedom!

I'm so very sorry about your diagnosis. And yes, I'm confident you will beat this. Stage 1 (no spread to lymph nodes) and less than half an inch nodule size which was caught early due to your annual LDCT scan is very reassuring for a great outcome. The phrase "lit up like a Christmas tree" is very common here in the USA when describing a PET scan result. I'm surprised the Pulmonologist didn't refer you to an Oncologist for decision making but I will assume that is just the way it is handled in Canada. Hopefully you will be given a pulmonary function test to determine your lung health prior to the start of treatment. I wish you peace in your journey as you travel this well worn very doable path to total healing.

You're absolutely right. Same addiction to nicotine just a different delivery system. The same rules apply to recover yourself. Hard or easy for you the result will be the same ... freedom. It's worth every bit of angst you may experience in the early days of your quit. It's very doable to get yourself free. Best Wishes.

Thoughts and prayers for good news. The PET scan is the way to go. Always very thankful for the annual LDCT scan to detect anything early for the best possible outcome.

Two months is awesome! Never look back! Upward and onward!

@Pilgrim Thanks. It's so nice to see you pledging every day. It's important. Keep it up!

Thanks @Cbdave AND thanks for keeping the Daily Pledge going every day. A great service especially for the newbies.

@Paul723 Thanks AND look at you at almost 13 years free! Woo Hoo! Keep enjoying your Freedom!

@SD2026 Thank you! And look at YOU at over 6 months smoke free! WTG! Keep it up!

@QuittingGirl Thanks for the shout out and the Minnie graphics. See you ALL on the Freedom Trail!