Thanks Sam, and everyone for not giving up on me. Everyone does say it gets better. This is what keeps me going. I lose count at the breathing thing quite often so start over again. The guy in front of me thinks I must be having panic attacks every half hour :) Today is Friday, last day of me being on earlies. Tomorrow I can sleep later. Today I will stay close to here and I WILL NOT SMOKE. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 25 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 23 [B]Seconds:[/B] 51

Kevin, I am so happy and proud of you ! Happy that you finally got some much needed sleep :) And proud of you that you did not smoke ! Today is a new day.. with lots of very valuable advice from the previous posts. Take it all one moment at a time. Do your deep breathing exercises, lots of self talk (remind yourself of Lamplighter's post) and get lots of rest when you can. Even if you can't sleep, lay down and rest your body and your mind. Try to quiet your mind with pleasurable thoughts - bring up some old happy memories and simply relax yourself from head to toe. We're all here with you :) xo [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 7 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 140 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $50.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Sue, p.s. those were great coping strategies. I'll use them for home. I am still trying to think of some for the office environment. Came up empty so far but am working on it. It may just be a case of do anything just don't smoke. Right now I have doubled the deep breathing excercises. Which helps. Lamplighter, Amazing post. I'll hold onto that with all my heart. I'll be repeating it does get easier, it does get easier, it does get easier. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 25 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 22

Hi guys, Thanks I got some sleep finally last night, and feel better. I had my mum begging me for 3 hours for me to smoke and not to do anything stupid (like commit suicide). So I must have looked on edge from the outside too. Anyway, I decided to write and write and write. The reasons why I cannot go back to smoking, the reasons I am quitting, the benefits (thats really important). This is a fresh new start with a lot of lessons learnt. This is also my final quit. If I start smoking I will not stop as I really don't want to go through this again. So I intend to rejoice on the positives and build up my confidence. I have completed day 1 and am therefore free of carbon monoxide. I will promise to my quit buddy and here that I will not smoke today. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 25 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4.20 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 59

Kev, you didn't waste those 10 days if you learned someing that will help you stay quit now. If you have no coping strategy for stress, get one. There is no coping strategy store, it's not that easy. When I am stressed, this is how it usually goes: I tell myself that smoking will not change the situation, that it's good I'm in the situation because it's a chance to learn something about myself & figure out how to handle another trigger like a NON-SMOKER, which is what I am. Then the junkie tells me that smoking will help, that I will calm down & think more clearly & find a solution. Then I tell the junkie, "oh yeah, well what about next time? It really won't help, it will only make it worse. I can think without smoking, I can calm down without smoking & I can live my own damn life without smoking so get lost, I will not feed you." Then the junkie says, "you don't have to worry about next time, this is right now & it will help right now." Then I tell the junkie, "it isn't right now because first I would have to go buy smokes & a lighter, then come back home. I can spend that time working on the stressful problem." Then the junkie says, "it will only take 5 minutes, just go to the gas station, come on, you know you want to." Then I imagine doing that, going to the store, knowing I don't want to, knowing I'm being driven by addiction & helplessness in the face of emotion, knowing I'm letting myself, my family & everyone here down. I imagine lighting up, how it will stink, how it will taste vile, give me a headache & make me nauseous. I know that I will have to smoke the whole pack & then I will be used to the grossness of it again & I cannot imagine doing that. So then I tell the junkie," I don't want to, YOU want to & I'M in charge here. I don't smoke & I will not feed you." Then I do some deep breathing & then voila! I am calm, I haven't smoked, I am able to deal with the stress. Sorry, this is kind of a long post but my point is Kev, there will always be stress & there will always be a junkie in your head. Acknowledge that, don't let the junkie take over, don't ignore it when it tries to. Deal with the junkie & then you will be able to deal with the stress. Hang in, PLEASE make this one stick, Kev, because you are just torturing yourself. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/13/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 60 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,200 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $660.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 17 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34

Kev, there you go, one day at time. You know what really helps me - I crank Nickelback full volume - I love their new CD. It has no smoking memories for me like say Pink Floyd - don't think I could listen to them right now ;) Look forward Kev we know you will do this. sue [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/3/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 70 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 700 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $122.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 35 [B]Seconds:[/B] 14

Hi Butterfly & Sue, Thanks for the posts. Yes I am under 35 and have a terrible time quitting. So it seems i fit that class. I'm lacking a lot of sleep right now so I hope this makes sense? What can I do to help myself right now? Well I have promised my quit buddy that I will not smoke today. And I will do the same tomorrow, and the day after that. With a promise that it will get better very shortly. Everybody has been keeping tabs on me regularly as they know how bad I have been state of mind wise today. I am hoping sleep will improve me a bit. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]7/12/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 0 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 0 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �0.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 25 [B]Seconds:[/B] 47

JDK, I'm going to tell you what I tell others who slip; don't sweat this. Falling is not failing... it's falling. Get back up, dust yourself off and continue on. If you were walking along, tripped and fell to the ground... would you consider that a reason to stop walking? Well, this isn't a reason to quit quitting. Yes, it gets harder, for a time, after slipping. You've probably given the cravings some new life. But that won't last long, and you won't have to go through what you went through when you quit initially. Use this to your benefit. You've learned a lot about what it takes to live smoke-free, since you first quit, and you've gained confidence in your ability to be a non-smoker. Now, this slip has provided you with some greater understanding of what you need to be careful of. Introduce that knowledge into your day to day life as a non-smoker. Make yourself stronger and better prepared, through this. Make yourself some lemonade! :) You've come a long way... you've invested a lot in your new life... and there's absolutely no reason to throw all that away now. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 128 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,200 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,184.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 20 [B]Hrs:[/B] 15 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 3

Kev, You're relatively young, like me. It seems like those who are younger (under 35 or so) seem to have a more difficult time quitting. I've noticed this for quite some time. But think about it this way, you can either quit now, and STAY QUIT, or you can live the rest of your life a smoker WISHING that you'd quit when you were 32! What's it going to be? No more failures. Start fresh and don't look back. You're not hurting anybody but yourself. Quitting every other week is only torture on yourself. Stop the madness or stop fooling yourself! We're all here to help you. What are you going to do to help yourself? Crave the Quit! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 755 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 18,875 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,118.15 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 53 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 42

Hey Kev, sorry you are struggling mate. Bear is right you know, we need to find you new coping skills that work for when you get a crave. Some of things I do are - brush my teeth gargle listerine use listerine strips try to escape with a book or music watch or go to the movies Keep trying Kev - it is worth it. Sue [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/3/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 70 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 700 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $122.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 28 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16