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Welcome Tyme2B Many (maybe even most) of the people here smoked for decades. So, to think you "can't" is simply untrue. Granted, it can be very tough in the beginning. I kept a count on an app every time I had an urge.....the first several weeks I had 50-100 per day! In the past this would have caused me such anxiety that I would have dumped my quit. This time around I approached each urge as a mini-battle whose ass I was determined to kick. When I won each battle for an entire day, that would be a victory. Finally, when I surpassed my previous longest quit of 3 weeks I knew there was no giving in. Now I can look back and see I was using the NOPE strategy. I strongly recommend you look into the Daily Nope section of this website. Anxiety is a tricky thing and it's not easy to overcome. But it can be done. I found walking (even a few times around a room if I couldn't get out) to be helpful. At some point you will find that quitting will diminish your overall anxiety and enhance your health in so many more ways. You can do this Tyme....let us know if you need help or just want someone to lean on.

Tyme, you just have to decide that there are absolutely no circumstances in which it is okay to smoke. Even if you are curled in a fetal position screaming and bawling your brains out, it is not okay to smoke! Please get with your doctor to see if there is something that might help with the anxiety. Smoking does calm you down, but only because it temporarily relieves the symptoms of withdrawal...which will return whether you smoke or not. You CAN do this!

NOPE!!

Hi Tyne. You are making the right decision to quit smoking. It's the very best thing you can do. In time, after whatever withdrawal effects you experience calm down, you may likely find, as I did, that smoking is a huge contributing factor to anxiety. You don't realize this when you're actively smoking. Like Nancy said, you feel like it's calming you but all the smoke is doing is quelling the withdrawal. After 5 months quit I feel much calmer, sleep better, have zero panic attacks. Another thing you may want to think about is finding a therapist or counselor to work with on healing from the abuse. Maybe others here would have a different opinion but in my experience sometimes people use smoking to push down their feelings about difficult issues in the same way that gives rise to eating disorders, substance use or other unhealthy coping mechanisms. If you don't have insurance coverage or can't afford therapy, depending on the circumstances you may qualify for therapy at no cost PM me if you want additional info about this Just wanted to float that and to say welcome (back) and congrats. Stick with NOPE no matter what. You can definitely do this!

Thank you very much for ALL for your support! I think I will need to post a daily diary each day. I plan to start tomorrow. If Doreen had not sent me an email I likely would not have accessed the help I need but I’m sure not doing well on my own. None of my friends or family smoke...they have all quit. But they are not good sources of support for me. I need DAILY support. The cause of my high anxiety....not that this is an excuse....At the moment my close friend has Class C3 ovarian cancer & my Mother has a Class I tongue cancer. Neither have ever smoked. My mother is & always has been very abusive. And I can’t leave my Sister to deal with her alone... HOWEVER this is about QUITTING SMOKING. There seems to be no GOOD time to quit. So NOW is as good a time as ever. I need to deal with my anxiety & will see my Doc if necessary to deal with anxiety as I know that anxiety will be getting worse with quitting. BUT I must do this. Thanks!

NOPE!

Hi tyme.. Good for you ,for jumping back on the train... We can give you all the tools in the world to quit..but in the end ,it down to your wanting this ,more than anything.... Take smoking off the table no matter what is going on... You had a 6 months quit..so you can do it...you just have to remember one puff will put you right back where you started... Take the daily pledge...make that promise to yourself everyday... Read all the stuff here again ,to refresh your mind..you can do it..if I did..i know you can ...x

Belief in one's self is absolutely critical for a successful quit. If you think you can, or you think you can't; you're right. ...and of course we never "quit," so much as we devote ourselves to a life-time of abstinence. Embrace it. Own it.

Both of the above responses are good ones Tyme. I know the anxiety is very difficult to deal with particularly in the initial stages of your quit but you just need to do it and stick with it. The calming effect of smoking is just because you satisfied your urge for nicotine (which will begin building as soon as you are done that smoke). It's a never ending cycle the you CAN break. Just as many others have.

Nope

Writting english makes my brain hurt so ill just say this: yes, you CAN quit smoking, anyone can. Hell, there was a time i thought i was doomed to smoke forever. Then i quit, i was climbing walls for 5 months straight but i did it. You gain resistance in every single day you stay off the smokes, plus excitement to last just one more day. You have all the information here, thats 90% of what you need, the other 10% is in the nope pledge section. Sleep well, wake up, turn on your computer and put that nope pledge online. Then endure it like everyone else did. At the end of the night you might want to revisit the nope pledge and leave your thoughts, we´ll be there for you, plus a nice picture of a lolcat from me, everyday, because im a nice guy. Grind through that motherfucker nicotine monster one day at a time and rid yourself of this horrible addiction that will no doubt kill you if you let it. You got this!

Is this for me? LOL....if yes, Im good!

Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for anxiety. Not only is smoking not helping you with anxiety, it is actually exacerbating the problem. Withdrawal symptoms, dopamine pathways that have been hijacked by cigarettes, and inefficient breathing patterns that lead to a pattern comparable to hyperventilation lead to heightened anxiety for smokers. Dispelling the myths and lies of smoking is a vital part of the process and for most of us required daily reinforcement. Addicts must learn to lead their thoughts rather than be led by thoughts. Tyme, if it required superhuman ability to quit smoking most of us would not be here. Quitting is a matter of making a commitment to yourself and vowing to never take another puff. You absolutely can do that.

NOPE

Congrats to the Astros.

Congratulations Jackie on being 10 months quit! Only 2 more for that magical 1 year anniversary :) Hope all's going well for you!

Yeah, kind of a long TV Sports drought for me now. I don't watch too many regular season games in any sport so not much coming up any time soon in the way of playoffs. I love watching the winter Olympics which are coming around in Feb. 2018 but, being in South Korea, the time difference for "live" stuff won't be favorable. As Boo's friend would say, "they just start those games way too late for me down there"!!

NOPE!

OO

Thank you Lisa! A Quit Buddy would be great! I’ll get things under control...

YAA Great news...you and Tyme can be quit buddies ..it really helps to quit along with a friend.. Helping each other along ..also helps your own quit...x

Hoping to follow your success in quitting Lisa!

Keep focused T2B and try to focus on the benefits you'll be seeing (better sniffer, better taste buds, clothes don't smell of smoke, saved money etc.). They are small things but it's important to keep a positive focus as best you can despite all the external stuff going on that you can't control. This thing (quitting smoking) you CAN control. It's completely in your hands to make it happen. Come here as often as you like and unload whatever baggage you like. We're here to help even if that's just to let you blow off steam or just simply dump some emotional baggage off for a bit :) We KNOW it's difficult. We KNOW it's unpleasant at times. That's why we're eager to lend support :) You CAN do this!

NOPE!

Yes - good series for sure. Nice for a team that has never won the title to finally win it! Just too bad they couldn't have won the series at home. Oh well. A win is a win!

I wish I could stay up for game 7 but I have a meeting in the morning, just got in from work tonight and I'm fading fast. I'll hear about it in the morning and see the highlights later in the day. Enjoy the game, boys! It's been an exciting series (what I was awake for anyway).

I love nfl football but the Ravens haven't been doing very well then last Thursday night, Joe Flacco suffered a terrible hit and was taken out with a concussion and an ear that was split open but they Ravens won in a shutout. I started a football thread but it didn't really take off and honestly there're so many Patriot fans... What can I say? Ugh. That about sums it up.

nope

Nice job Dee! 11 months quit as of today and only 1 more month to the big party that will end with you you being escorted to the Lido Deck for a lounge and one of those fancy umbrella drinks :) I think I see your ship headed this way now!

Glad to see you here Lisa :)

Oh.

Only five-months 'til the pitchers and catchers report to camp.

Great win for the Astros. Great win for the city of Houston. Also, a great win for Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated who predicted the Astros would win the 2017 World Series back in 2014. In 2014 the Astros had never won a World Series and were cellar dwellers. Reiter saw the potential of the young players Houston was putting together and made a bold prediction. And now that guy is viewed as a baseball prophet. Tip of the cap to Houston manager A.J. Hinch. Sacrificing one at bat in the ninth inning to leave Charlie Morton in the game was a spot-on call. I don't care what the analytics crowd says, you don't take the ball from a pitcher with a hot-hand.

Hi Peace Train...thanks so much for your advice....I have been to Therapy regarding “mother abuse”. Unfortunately I have been told that removing myself from her is the only thing that will help. I can’t do that as she is sick & elderly plus my Sister would become even more stressed as well. As a retired nurse I think I just have too big of a heart ? However, I can & have recently removed myself from her constant texting so I DO get some respite now. Hoping that will help me to do something for myself...anxiety is definitely my trigger....I need to learn smoking does NOT help anxiety....my addicted brain just thinks it does. I quit before using this site...you are ALL helpful. I cannot just give up & go off the site this time because I will not win this battle without help.

Aww well done chicks...I was caught messing about ...carnt do pictures..

Nice work, chicks!

-20!!!!!!

-19

Dee! You're cruising toward a HUGE milestone... wave to the 11 on the side of the road as you pass it on the way toward the full year mark. You're an inspiration!

WooHOO Jackie! In the double digits now! I'm admiring that quit, girl!

Awesome job Dee. Salute.

Good work Jackie.

Yes! Congratulations to the Astros and thanks to both teams for some great World Series baseball! I'm so happy Altuve got the final winning move! I'm a fan.

Get over it !!!

Welcome and Hello Lisa MK glad you got on board. This train has some wonderful passengers! :)