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I wrote this on another forum today, but I thought it worth re-writing here, mostly because this is the biggest lesson I needed to learn to finally make my quit stick. I may need to re-read it in the days to come... I hear a lot of people say that stress caused them to return to smoking. I get it. I used that reasoning in the past, too. But it was just an excuse to feed my addiction. I see that now. If you think there will ever be an easy, stress-free time to quit, you are wrong. While we may experience periods of low stress, life will always throw curveballs at us. Illness happens. Death happens. Jobs are lost. New jobs are begun. Relationships hit the rocks. We move. We travel. We work. We live. Life can be hard. But it's no excuse to start smoking again. Believe me, I understand stress. I suffer from severe bipolar disorder. I was recently diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that can affect the heart and lungs. (I saw a cardiologist for the first time yesterday.) I am currently watching my dearest friend die from acute liver failure. (It's an extremely ugly way to go. She's suffering horribly. She's only 41 years old.) I'm living through one of the most stressful periods in my life. And I'm doing it smoke free. I chose to quit during a stressful period, because I needed to learn that stress is no excuse to smoke. And right now, each day that I remain smoke free, I am solidifying this truth in my mind. I am freeing myself. Finally. It's been an uphill climb, but every single step has been worth it. Don't wait to quit. And don't give yourself an excuse to start again. Smoking won't eliminate stress from our lives. It just won't. And it won't help us cope, either. Once we learn that, we are truly free.

Gday NOPE I don’t smoke anymore C

#NOPE

Just to remind folks ....It's not just your lungs and heart that smoking effects ....my lungs were fine...I didn't have a cough ...smoking can effect any part of the body ....and it not always where you expect .... My friend had Pancreatic Cancer.....it was far to late by the time symptoms showed....when she was given her diagnosis ,she carried on smoking ...she believed all the lies that surround this killer addiction...very sad ... In answer to your question JB.....Yes ....I was very scared.... When I joined these great people ,I didn't know whether it was too late.... I owe this board alot ....

Nope

Thank you Abby for such an honest and open post. I'm sure you sharing this will help many more to come. You are doing great and should be so proud of yourself. And again, I'm really sorry about your friend ?

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NOPE....... ?

I thought smoking would help me grow up faster so I could be an adult and call the shots in my own life. For me, smoking was freedom. I finally quit when I was out on a busy hiking trail, and there were older people trotting up mountains, and I was at the bottom gasping while my poor dog waited patiently by my side. Other peoples' dogs were having a blast, running up the trail. But my dog had to stand next to me while I wheezed and struggled, and it was just humiliating. I wasn't thinking about my health, I was just thinking about my lack of dignity. Sounds so crazy!!! But there it is. I just want my dignity, and I also want my genuine freedom, that I gave up the day I started smoking.

NOPE!!!

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Thank you for sharing Abby....I'm sure it will help lots of folks ....The first thing we did ,when we faced stress was reach for our crutch ... We believed it helped us cope better ....it was in truth the exact opposite..... You have come along way and got over that big hurdle ... My thoughts to you and your your friend ......

Agree. Feb 10th i should've been 9 years free but on 9/24/12 i got stress/bad news lost direction and in fact i did feed the addiction by saying/doing the F-IT .. Its our crutch and a miserable cycle. Until we break the cycle we're controlled by it. Its a mental game Yup.. You get it

NOPE (got 6 inches of heavy wet snow on Sunday night here!)

Ash Wednesday

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NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

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Nope not today

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Jillar leading all the Newbies in their cleaning tasks...

Just checkin the showers are clean !!!!

"Medieval manuscripts were the imageboards of their day, full of murderous illustrations, however for some strange reason many people look as if they were bored with life anyway and their killer did them a service. Scroll down to see the funniest examples of medieval art where people are getting stabbed but just don’t give a damn." https://www.sadanduseless.com/just-dont-care/?fbclid=IwAR0nXxCPkPJL6xHU-9tqziWfmtzsXNYjjKPN7y3TrD_Kl7rd56qaYuIZZqw

@Linda Thomas cleaned the kitchen at record speed!

Same. Particularly this: "I was so delusional while smoking, I convinced myself that cigarettes were such an integral part of an enjoyable life that the risks involved with smoking were worth it."

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

On point Abby, on point. Stress is there and will always be there but it is not an excuse for smoking -- that will only make things worse. For the last two months I have gone thru some very stressful times from a death in the family, health issues, and housing issues (as well as some very strange family issues) and let me tell you I almost used the stress from all that to pick up a smoke again. With grace I realized that smoking would not solve the stress -- not even make it feel a little bit better, so after a little more than a year quit I think I realized that even though I have to remain vigilant I believe I now have the upper hand in this quitting thing. During the quit process we have to remember that curve balls are going to thrown at us!!!!

NOPE!

Thank you Abby for your post. I am so sorry for your friend. Smoking did nothing for us. NOTHING. Dealing with stress in a clear and clean way is the way forward and much easier without the stress of addiction.

I just wanted to thank everyone. With out the support from everyone here I never would have made it this far. You people are the bomb!! Thank you all for being here when you're needed the most!

So this is the recipe my grandma taught me and the one I still use.... Ingredients For each egg 1 1/4 cup self raising flour 3 dessert spoons of table sugar (leave out if not doing dessert pancakes) Some vanilla essence (about half a cap) Enough milk to make it a bit funnier than you want. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit for an hour, if it's hot leave it I the fridge. After an hour, add some milk if it's too thick. Then on a hot pan, greased with butter, pour your mix and leave it until the top is covered in little popped bubbles then flip.

Omg frickin auto correct.... .Runnier..cos it gets thicker, just like my fingers and head.

@notsmokinjo - Not quite sure what that means....when I start to giggle then that's enough milk? ?

I missed a lot of yalls celebrations congrats to al of you for quitting wtg keep up the quits .

my dad smoked till the day he died at the ripe old age of 56. and yet I smoked for years after word my self but 6 years ago I took my life back and quit. with a lot of help from the great people on here. I will be 56 july 12th so yes I does bother me. but I wont ever smoke again so if you haven't quit do so now. its so worth it. sorry my ticker is off but cant get it to count up. so just leaving it as is.

^^^ Ironic isn't it ICH? Started smoking to find freedom yet now you will actually find freedom by quitting.

@catlover is on laundry duty And @Icanhike is vacuuming the halls

The toilets were a mess from the last party, so I have them working on those.

CBDave is getting prepped for the cooking!

NOPE!

NOPE ?

NOPE - I don't smoke anymore.

"We're all gonna die from something...what are you gonna do?" That and: "I could quit smoking and live longer, but where's the fun in that?" I was an addict. Any acknowledgement that my addiction was going to kill me was masked by denial and delusion. Throw in a bit of gallows humor and I was ready to totally ignore the realities and consequences of my decision to continue smoking. I was so delusional while smoking, I convinced myself that cigarettes were such an integral part of an enjoyable life that the risks involved with smoking were worth it. Addiction breeds delusional thinking. Delusional thinking shapes your perception. Your perception becomes your reality.

I remember feeling very mortal early in my quit and actually still to this day. As a smoker I felt invinsible I suppose. Too busy smoking, too much in denial to see what's really happening. But it was a lung cancer diagnosis that prompted my quit. And that young mum that got diagnosed did die shortly after diagnosis. Her getting diagnosed just clicked something in me. She wasn't old. She was young. Had a wonderful husband...children. I dinny want that to me and seen for the first time ever that it could be. So yes I think the thought of death is absolutely enough to make people quit. And it's really pretty straight forward once you realise these fags will kill you. Other quit reasons in previous quits, those quits were hard for me and I never managed longer than 22 days.

My perception of death or debilitating disease as a result of smoking was one thing when I was a smoker but is now completely different as a non-smoker.

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, Abby. Now you know that there is nothing you can't do because you've had so much thrown at you at once and are managing to get through it gracefully, no matter how painful it may be at times. Thank you for your post which may very well help put things in perspective for someone who is struggling with starting or maintaining a quit; and thank you for being there for your friend when she needs you the most. I wish you the very best with getting your health issues under control, and have no doubt that cigarettes no longer stand a chance against you.

You will get your Dignity. ICH......and a whole lot more ...Freedom is wonderful....soon youj,ll be running that fast,your dog will be panting....

#NOPE