Rain Forest

omg Ladybug, you just described me when I decide to start eating healthy... never a right time! lol And you are so right: there isn't such a thing as a "good time to quit" smoking because our addicted minds won't listen... very good post you did!

lol @ bakon :P Evelyn, good idea. Treat yourself to nice things now that you don't need the money for cigs. And not only are flowers nice to look out, you can smell them much better as a non-smoker... good job!

Jonny, I couldn't have said it better. Since I have been smoke-free, I had to have my two dogs put to sleep (ages 17 and 18) because they were too old for anything to do about it; the death of my mother; dealing with my husband who had a brain tumor the size of a baseball (a 10-1/2 hours surgery and radiation treatments saved him)... thru all of this, I can honestly say that I never once craved a cig. And it's because of what you said: You have to REMOVE EVERYTHING that you think would make you smoke. I was around 3 months quit when I finally realized that this was it, I was done, there would never be a reason to smoke again... from that day on, I was at peace with my quit and never craved again. Awesome post, my friend! Rain aka Suz

Jonny, I remember when I first met you... I knew immediately that you were gonna kick the cig habit, you had that attitude about you... and you knew the secret (something we don't realize we know until we've been quit a while): help others because while you're doing that, you're helping yourself :) Ava, my smilies are neverending... lol

Jonny, I never even thought of this, but I must say it's a brilliant idea!

Evelyn, by posting an SOS, it tells me that you truly want to be a non-smoker, so be proud of yourself for that: you are seeking help to keep your quit, that gives you like a 99.9% advantage! I love herbal teas also, especially Celestial Seasonings... I even found an online place that I can buy Chocolate-Coconut herbal teas... lol... and it works, it's soothing. Now here's a suggestion I've said a million times before and has proven to work: get a plastic straw, cut it to the size of a cig, and pretend-smoke it... take deep puffs off of it because all you will be getting is fresh air, no smoke, and your brain will be fooled into thinking you are smoking (because the "ritual" of smoking is the hardest part to deal with, it's why we crave in the first place). :) Hang tough, you're doing it!!! You're still a non-smoker!

^^^^^^ this right here, excellent post!

Keep a fake plastic-straw "cig" with you... not only will it help you when you want to smoke, it will remind others that you are now a non-smoker. Win Win, there ya go! Rain

IAmDoingIt, be proud of yourself for choosing to become a non-smoker now. By the way, I would have been over 7 years quit, but I did relapse. Don’t be too hard on yourself now… it’s time to look ahead and not look back! Have a plan of something else to do when you crave: I smoked “pretend cigs” (plastic straws cut to cig-length)… and it worked… my brain actually believed it because I would get the same ritual including flicking fake ashes… lol Donna, the longer we’re quit the easier it becomes. After a month, I didn’t have many craves, but when I did get one, it was really powerful. You’re doing really good… believe in yourself… make YOU be the WINNER this time, not the cig… you can do it!

Trish... do yourself a favor... write down 3 short reasons why you want to remain a non-smoker... keep it with you because you will have some craves again... and when you do, pull out that list, remind yourself why you're a non-smoker now. When I first quit, when I craved I wouldn't remember why I wanted to be non-smoker, that list saved my ash many times. Rain

Are they magic mushrooms??? lol... kidding you :P Good job keeping your quit... that's one of the most important things: having something different to do when you crave... you did well! :)

Thanx again for the nice welcome everyone... and ya got me: I love sparkly glittery stuff :P

Thank you everybody! I have a feeling I'm gonna enjoy this forum! I'll talk more to you all tomorrow, right now I'm heading out to play a little WOW then watch some tv with the husb. Have a great evening everyone!

Yesterday my husb wanted Chinese food, and while going to get it, I sure got to thinking (no, not about the food… lol) This restaurant is on the opposite end of town from where we live now… when I quit smoking, we lived in that old neighborhood… well, they have the best Chinese food there, so I decided to take the drive yesterday. This is what struck me: I drove by THE Plaid Pantry and felt the past 5 years kinda slip away for a moment… I remembered my huge struggle and fight within myself one day at that place. I was around 2 months quit at the time and I really thought I wanted to smoke… so I got in the car and headed to the Plaid Pantry… when I got there, I sat in the parking lot a few minutes, fighting this crave… I then pulled out of the parking lot and spent the next hour literally driving around the block and not being able to decide if I really should buy smokes or not… I’m glad a cop didn’t see me, they would have thought I was casing out the joint! lol Anyway, I finally left and went home, no smokes bought. That was one of the biggest days of my quit because I walked away from those ugly smokes. When we do this, we become stronger in our quits… for me, the first 3 months were the worst, yet each day became a little easier... and each time we say NO, we win a little bit more of freedom, and before you know it, freedom is total and it's awesome! So if you are craving right now, do not let it win… make yourself the winner instead. Kick that ugly cig habit to the curb like a bad relationship and take control of yourself. You will never regret it.

AmberDawn, I'm so proud of you! And I read you are having a baby, congrats! I remember you from a bunch of years ago and I'm so happy to hear that you have found a good quit... let's make this your sticky quit, you can do it, my friend!

Gemzee, right on! And the good news: each day you are quit, the better you feel... I can't even identify myself as a former smoker anymore... the thought of putting a cig in my mouth and smoking it is really foreign to me.

In a strange way, the changes of seasons can affect the first year of a quit as much as holidays do... with Spring time here, the first thing many will think is: wow, this is the first Spring I'm not a smoker... how will I be able to keep myself from not smoking since it's so nice outside now... (Remember when you smoked outside in the Winter and how it sucked because it was so cold, how could you possibly enjoy a smoke? The truth is: you didn't! lol) The truth is still the same: it might be a change of season, but did you really enjoy that smoke or were you so addicted that you "thought" you enjoyed the smoke? Do something new this season... I like what Lynn said: grow a garden, make a really nice lawn, etc :)

Jonny, very powerful post, and so true... I hate this addiction with a passion. I am sorry for your friend and millions of others that have been down the same road, the road that comes to a quick, painful end :(

Hi to everyone! Now that I'm here, I'm not sure what to say... so, let's see. I'm almost 5 years quit and I see so many newer people here, and I want to help... you never know if you're that one person who someone remembers something you said, and their quit is saved. I also see a lot of people that I already know that are here, and that makes me happy. I also see people that I did not get along with before, but I am more than willing to have a clean slate if you're willing to do the same, and I mean every single person here... I want peace and love and hippybeads and waterbeds and... oops, wrong thread. I want peace and goodwill for everyone, and I just want to help, that's all. I also noticed that a special person is here: AmberDawn... I remember her from years ago, and I now see she is gonna have a baby, and I want to make sure I am here to help her keep her quit. I've always been more of a "tell it like it is" and a bit of "tough love" (not mean, but real) person, so holler if you don't like something I say... I can handle criticism... what I hate, in a nutshell: censorship! We all know what I'm talkin about here :P So to all of you I say: Rock n roll, hey hey my my!!! Glad to see ya! Rain aka Suz