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Nope!

Nope

N-O-P-E

NOPE starts my day.

NOPE

Good late morning all my lovely fellow NOPErs... today is a very special day for all the lovely Norwegians as it is syttende mai, Nasjonaldagen ... so lets hope all in Norway enjoy their public holiday and flag parades. It is also IDAHOTB ... International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia... and lets face it, in the wise, wise words of Jim Jeffries (don't life history will show him the be the genius visionary he truely is)..."Hate never got ya nuffin cept more hate. Were all gunna have some arsehole we hate. So just don't hate em, be nice to them.. it wont make em be nice to you but before long at least everyone else will see that their an arsehole and your not. Don't Hate" (kinda paraphrased). So don't hate peeps cos haters look like arseholes... the Britskis wear purple today to show support so I spose it could be called Fluffy Day... but there do seem to be a lot of rainbows around. So.... if anyone asks you if your Homophobic or if you want a smoke the answer today is NOPE... not today, not tomorrow, not ever, forever! Oh our NOPES got those flags in Norway waving.... Topic of the Day: The 60's....

I have always been pretty quiet on the board here, not ever really posting much besides my daily 'NOPE", but after reaching the Lido Deck I thought sharing how I have succeeded in my sticky quit could maybe help others in their struggle, because lets face it, the struggle is REAL when quitting this damn addiction! I smoked for decades. I started in my early teens (probably around 14 or 15 and I am 48 now) with a few "quits" along the way, such as when I was pregnant and a couple other tries besides, but for the most part I was a very committed smoker and thought I needed it, loved it, and it was my "best buddy" who helped me through stress, sadness, happiness, anger, etc. I honestly don't know what changed in me, but I just finally came to the mindset that unless I quit, smoking likely going to kill me off with some horrible illness and I realized that I wanted to be able to live the rest of my life to the fullest and not die of a smoking related illness. That being said...how I did it was this: I used the patch and educated myself on this board about the addiction. I lurked here for several weeks, reading what worked for others and getting to know what MY addiction was all about and formulating my plan. I decided that they do "studies" on these things and so I was going to actually follow the directions on the box of patches and go with the entire program, instead of trying to get off the NRT sooner. I was a nearly pack a day smoker and the only modification I did to the "instructions on the box" was I started at step 2 instead of step 1. What I did was picked a week that my husband would be traveling for work (I figured I was going to be VERY crabby and wanted to spare those I love as much as possible) and during that week I put the patch on and also smoked a few a day, readjusting my schedule and when I smoked, etc., just started changing things up...part of the reason I started at Step 2 was so that I could smoke a little during the first week (that is NOT in the instructions), but I knew the psychological part of my quit was going to be the hardest and needed to change things up while being able to get my "fix"....after 5-6 days of that one day I was on my way home from work and had 1 cig left and just said to myself, you are not buying anymore this is your last one! I changed the way I was thinking about smoking in that when a crave hit, I told myself NOPE and also reminded myself how smoking does NOTHING for me, reminding myself that smoking would not solve one problem....if I got angry, I would still be pissed off at whatever it was and smoking wouldn't change that...we had an impending death in the family and I told myself that smoking wasn't going to change that-my sister-in-law was still going to die from ovarian cancer, it wouldn't heal her and stop her cancer and save her...if I got bad news of any kind, a cigarette wouldn't change any of it, and so that was my mantra...cigarettes do NOTHING FOR ME except keep me addicted....I played mind games with myself and refused to come out on the bottom!! Now, I do love an occasional cocktail and I knew I smoked a lot more when I drank, however, I decided that quitting smoking wasn't going to ruin that for me. One person I know said that after they quit they didn't enjoy a beer for like a year....wait, what? a YEAR?!?! I told myself "challenge accepted", I had several drinks on day 5 of not smoking and while I did crave, I didn't smoke (being with a non-smoking drinking buddy was helpful in that I had no access to any, but I still got tipsy and didn't smoke!) I also followed the instructions on the box of patches and did the step down to step 3 as scheduled. I honestly don't know when I actually quit the final step, I believe it was slightly less than the "prescribed" time the box says, but I got to a point where I kept forgetting to put it on and I felt fine without it so I stopped that too. At first when I would forget to put it on, I went ahead and still put it on when I remembered it even though I felt fine...I just didn't want to chance it.... In the early days (weeks, months) of my quit I also did a lot of pacing, drinking water, eating snacks (yes I gained weight but at my age I don't care-I shouldn't be seen in a bikini anymore anyway)..I spent HOURS on this board reading and reading and reading...it was a great distraction from craving! I also went to bed really early and slept as much as I had time for...see when you sleep you don't crave and hours pass without smoking so I used that tool as well... So, for me, the mindset was key and what I told myself during craving.... I do still get the very occasional crave, but I mostly just find it very annoying and they pass pretty quickly. Going forward something I continue to tell myself is "remember how bad it SUCKS to quit, and you NEVER want to have to do that again, so stick to the quit!" Seriously, I know that I never want to have to quit again and I also know that if I had even one puff I would be back at a pack a day in no time, so my daily NOPE continues to be important. For what its worth...that is how I did it!

G'day world NOPE C

Okay, so it's been a little while I've been quit now, but the last few weeks had been the first time I'd actually been feeling like a non-smoker at times. Last night, I'd had the best of nights out with the kids, but once home a bitch of a crave hit me. The intensity was something I'd not felt in around 3 months and caught me totally by surprise. Fortunately I have enough invested that it did not threaten my quit, but the discomfort was horrible, I had nothing to answer it other than just heading to bed. Not sure where it came from or why it was so bad, but it was a salient reminder if it was needed that I can't afford to be complacent. Vigilence is the watch word. I hope I'm not going to experience that too often. Just a reminder to me and others, ups and downs, on to better things tomorrow.

NOPE....not now...not ever !!!

NOPE not on this beautiful sunny day..?

It's a big fat Nope from me this morning!

NOPE!

Nope!

Good morning? nope!!!!

Good morning! NOPE!

NOPE...

NOPE to all of the above! Kindness rules!

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

NOPE!

NOPE! Never on Hump Day!!

I try to learn things from what I experience everyday; why am I experiencing a situation? What can I learn or what do I need to learn? And while there is so much nonsense that I cannot make sense of that I experience as a result of having quit smoking, sometimes it is my "overthinking" that keeps it from making sense. So today, I think simply put, I am an addict. If I leave it at that, my smoking behavior makes "sense". And it makes "sense" how I became addicted because I have become a little bit educated on the addictive properties of nicotine. Yet, since I am also "me", more than an addict, the me who was kept in the dark for many, many years, but who is now seeing the light - I cannot make sense of why I (or anyone) I believed my addicted persona's lies for so long. Was it a self-esteem problem? ummm---I always thought I had great self esteem (Afraid and too weak to quit without nicotine's help...lol - there I go overthinking - too much for right now.) So for now, it is enough for me to understand and accept that I am a nicotine addict! Today, I will not overthink it and go down rabbit holes; I will just not smoke. Eventually, if it is important in my journey, I may understand the whys behind things, but for now, I will “take heart” and persevere. I am stronger than a crave. If I need help, I do believe you have my back and are in tune to things that may beginning to make me question myself. My quit is new, fragile and precious. I cannot get complacent. I QUIT and will "just not smoke" - it is not an option. I need to remember this may be a lifetime battle for me. Thank you all. I got this battle for now and need to take heart and prepare for more to come.

Sorry for your tough night Shane, they do sneak up on you when you least expect it ? Glad you just went to bed, I did that plenty in my first year. Hoping, and usually it was, for a better tomorrow. We just keep reminding ourselves that we smoked for a lot of years and this addiction isn't going down without a hiccup in the road every now and then. Thanks for posting and reminding us all to be forever vigilant

NOPE!

G'day world NOPE starts this day C

NOPE!!!!

Five twenty one I wake Every morning to chirps The birds say hello

Travel is supposed to broaden my horizons It mostly exhausts

Good morning. I pledge NOPE today.

NOPE!!

#NOPE

eeeek................. I have a new addiction...... Popcorn.. NOM NOM NOM!! NOPE...

NOPE!!!!

NOPE!

That happened to me a few times as I progressed further through my first year. I would be going well for weeks, even a few months, and weird thoughts / craves would hit out of the blue, for no easily understood reason at the time. It is a reminder that we are all addicts. These instances will grow a lot less frequent and a lot less intense with time. Eventually you will get to the point where you just have the occasional, very weak, thought of smoking that you can easily brush off. But, you have to remain vigilant. You did great and it does get easier with time. I understand it is frustrating when these feelings emerge out of the blue like that. Just keep NOPEing and you will be fine.

It is good that you had the strength and knowledge of what to do. I too have a couple of close calls like this and it has made me aware that I must be on guard all of the time for these sneaky craves, I just try to understand what may have triggered the crave. Good job you are doing well.

Sucks that a good night had to have a cruddy ending... frickin Nicob1tch, wish she would just gasp her last and roll over and die. I know what you mean though about those random strong craves that just land from nowhere... your not really in danger but they are so frickin frustrating.

#NOPE

Better Rest Up P.T. There's gonna be a party ?

Guess what I still do On Thursdays I write Haiku It's my new habit

Strawberry jam, scones, clotted cream, sausage rolls, oh - a royal wedding.

NOPE!

Yes , these times seem to sneak up on us at times when we are not expecting it. I had a long moment recently where the first thing that popped into my mind was "have a smoke"!! Once I realized that had happened I was shocked that the feeling was still so strong and took over my thinking without me really consciously thinking about the situation. It was very pronounced but didn't last very long and it was pretty easy to dismiss for what it was. I was just surprised that that Nicodemon was still there .... ready to pounce on any moment of weakness or upset. Protect those quits friends, no matter how fresh or old they are. We are all still addicts. We need to remember that always.

NOPE! Happy Friday, everybody!

I'm leaving town again - you can dole out the "punishment" as you see fit. It should be the chicks tho as they are at the root of the problem ?

The rain comes The clouds turn darker Flash lights sky Night is quiet Until thunder roars Storm is here (I just looked up haiku ...lol)

Look ! an inferno, spontaneous combustion like july fireworks. Now, all that is left, twirling column of smoky, mysterious ash. What ignited first ? Blood or bone, perhaps the thought, 'I'll have a fire now'.

Hi Iml Your dong well for Now think one day at a time each hour day week is a great success

Dense jelly surrounds Don't recognise, im bereft What happened to me?

Hi Sunny Sorry you smoked but Quit asap don't let the nicodemon talk you in to waiting to quit again. This should have taught you there is no such thing as just one cigarette