breather here. That's breather with a small b because the addiction is bigger than I am. It's been 8 years since I've had reason to smoke a cigarette. The quit meter stats really add up. Couldn't tell you where the 70 thousand dollars went , I don't have it but I can tell you that I'm not smoke'n or choke'n today and for that I'm grateful. If I can stop smoking anyone can. The lie is dead. Anyone that wants to stop smoking more than they want to smoke will eventually be successful. If you haven't smoked today you're the same as me. N.O.P.E. breather
The sun is shining today and I still haven't found a good enough reason to start smoking again. Haven't been here in a long while and don't think about smoking much anymore. There's no need to preach about the virtues of smoking cessation but to only be an example of what is possible and that it can be accomplished. A 2 pack a day 43 year smoker can stop cold turkey and not go back to it. It took a good 2 years to get over the constant obsession and compulsion of it but everyone's different. What makes Me the same is if I have that first cigarette I'll be back smoking like I've never left it. That being said if You've stopped smoking for a day , a week or a year You're the same as Me. I made Remembrance Day 2008 the last time I went through withdrawal and never have to go through that ever again. If You haven't smoked today You're the same as Me. Excellent for You for not smoking today. Yay for You !!!!! breather
rswfire Glad to hear that things are going good for you especially with the hiking and forgetting about the addiction. I stopped cold turkey myself so I know how it is. Everybody's different and early in my quit I purchased the patch. I didn't use the NRT but felt better about having it there ( just in case ! ) Rather than picking up again I thought it better to use a NRT. Just a thought. Excellent for you. breather
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 11/11/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 289 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 14,450 Amount Saved: $6,936.00 Life Gained: Days: 53 Hrs: 1 Mins: 33 Seconds: 41
Hi, Breather. Wow, such nice things you said, thanks. :-) In 4.5 hours, I will have gone a full five days without smoking. I don't know why, but every day is harder than the day that preceded it. I thought it was supposed to get easier every day - for whatever reason, it just hasn't been that way with me. But, there was a ray of hope today. I went hiking like I said I would and I ended up taking the trail "backward" (something I hadn't done since the first time I was there back in 2006) and I took another "connecting trail" that adds like two miles to the total hiking distance (something else I hadn't done since 2006) and I just had the best time ever and about 2 hours later, this thought just popped in my head - the thought was that I hadn't thought about smoking at all since I had gotten there. That right there told me I am healing. Whenever I have had a bad relationship end, I think a lot about it and then one day I will be on the trails and realize I was no longer thinking about it, so the road to recovery is before me! I think at this point I'm just going to stop wishing that tomorrow will be better and just let tomorrow be whatever tomorrow is going to be. Thanks again, Breather - stay cool. :-)
P.S. Ron, if a craving is an intense feeling to go and have a cigarette, I really have not been experiencing those. I honestly don't know how to describe what I've been feeling. It is like some part of myself made the decision that I wasn't going to smoke anymore and every part of me knows that it is true but many parts of me just haven't gotten there yet. Probably sounds strange, but that's the only way I can think to describe it.
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 8/23/2009 Smoke-Free Days: 4 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 100 Amount Saved: $14.84 Life Gained: Days: 0 Hrs: 14 Mins: 17 Seconds: 16
Thank you deb48 , rswfire and Ron. rswfire , if you're not smoking today you're the same as me. I remember day 3 and it was extremely difficult. Ended up just going to sleep because it's the only way I could deal with it. You're the most important person here and it sounds like you've got a good handle on the situation. Things weren't going well for me a while back , I was angry and entertaining thoughts of smoking. I should have never let it get that far. I was able to talk myself out of it at the time but if there is a next time I might not be so lucky. Try not to get to Hungry , Angry , Lonely or Tired. H.A.L.T. Any one of these four things are triggers to relapse. rswfire , isn't it great to be given a second chance. I tell myself that no matter what I won't smoke today. If anyone had told me that I'd be able to stop smoking I'd say they were crazy , that I was too addicted to stop. As it turns out it was tough but I wasn't too addicted to stop. One day smoke free is huge and 3 days is 3X huge. Awesome for you. Excellent. breather
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 11/11/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 289 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 14,450 Amount Saved: $6,936.00 Life Gained: Days: 52 Hrs: 23 Mins: 8 Seconds: 50
I think that what Breather is saying is that as you get further on in your quit there will be times when life does not go as you want and so the temptation is there to think that maybe buying a pack is not going to be a big problem. I had the same situation when a friend of mine kept smoking when we would go out to clubs etc. I had quit for a good amount of time 8 years ago and I felt ok hanging out with this person (never smoked with him) until I started having stress come up in my job. All of a sudden you start to justify maybe having one because you think you can handle just one. I started taking a couple of drags off of his cigarette one time and before you know it I lit the spark inside me. It took about 4 months to go back full time smoker but I believe doing that one started me all over again. I think what happens is as you are further along on your quit you can get complacent in that you forget how bad the habit really is and how vulnerable we can be no matter how long you have been nicotine free. Maybe Breather can answer for you but I don't think he was acting on any sort of physical craving which you are going through having only quit for less than a week. I think it's more complacency that drives a long term non smoker to think of buying a pack. HALT by the way means Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. It goes that if you suffer from any of those then be carefull because it may lead you back to smoking. The idea is to watch that those don't get out of control and lead you back into smoking. Ron
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 6/17/2008 Smoke-Free Days: 436 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 7,848 Amount Saved: $2,746.80 Life Gained: Days: 67 Hrs: 2 Mins: 0 Seconds: 5
Hi, Breather. Posts like yours scare me a bit. In the beginning, quitting is damn tough. Today was my hardest day yet. I found myself having a long dialogue with myself about whether or not I was really able to quit right now. (I was trying to convince myself that quitting cold turkey was unwise and that I should "just have a cigarette and start over with a NRT.") I honestly don't know how close I came, but this thinking, I recognized where it was coming from. It was the junkie in me trying to give myself an excuse to smoke. Fortunately, it didn't happen. I think it really came down to the fact that I feel I've been given a second chance - one that you rarely see - where I could just put down the cigarettes and make an honest attempt at being a non-smoker. If I had picked them back up today, that would have been the end of it. So even though it has only been a few days for me, I really do understand everything you said - relapses don't just happen, they are planned. And I also believe that if I give up now then I may never try again. It is a scary thought, but it's also something you can draw strength from; at least, I know I do. I admit the idea that months, even years after quitting, those temptations can lie dormant inside of us and wield their ugly heads at the worst of times is very scary, but knowing is power, and from the way you describe it, it is not like the beginning. Anyway, sorry, I didn't mean to make this about me. I really just wanted to acknowledge I had read this and - well, found it full of wisdom. You've officially inspired me, lol.
P.S. Can someone please tell me what H.A.L.T. means? (I see the acronym, but what does it mean exactly?)
My Milage:
My Quit Date: 8/23/2009 Smoke-Free Days: 3 Cigarettes Not Smoked: 75 Amount Saved: $11.13 Life Gained: Days: 0 Hrs: 11 Mins: 44 Seconds: 37
, 
breather
Deb
