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Kdad, I will try not to ramble b/c I have a lot to say on this subject. My husband bugged me for years to quit. (he does understand, he quit 41 years ago) I was a serial quitter with some substantial quits under my belt, but I simply waited for "the Big Excuse" and would happily go back to smoking. The "Big Excuse" will always arrive because life throws us some really hard stuff from time to time. I quit working a few years before retirement age for reasons I won't bore you with. Not having my little bitty income made a big difference, and I started to feel super guilty for wasting money on cigarettes. I'm gonna do it!! It will make him so happy!! He said he will support me every step of the way. He said he will take whatever evilness I dish out. And boy did I. I was a whiny baby, a she-devil, I had temper tantrums, panic attacks I spewed nonsensical mumbojumbo...I was horrid. He would just hug me and tell me how great I was doing.....I wanted to kill him. He was the reason this Bi*ch took over my mind and body!!! I fought this quit every second of every day. But I belonged to a quit smoking forum and soaked up the love and support, I read and read and read (I knew education was the key), I watched videos, I posted often, I pledged NOPE. (it took me a few weeks to start pledging, but when I was ready it really meant a lot to me) He told me when I reached 6 months I could smoke if I wanted to...when I hit 6 months I said okay I'm going to get some cigarettes now. He talked me into waiting a year. Same deal...got up early and declared Time To Go Get Those Cigarettes! He said Crap didn't know you were gonna be this tough! Talked me into hanging on....uggggg I kept fighting because I knew I would hate myself for giving up on another quit. I made the choice to make it so hard and now I realize how ridiculous I was for _________(I'm not going to say for how long, I don't want to discourage anyone) At some point I turned the corner, I started to see the lies for lies, I started believing the truths. My education was finally paying off. Now, even though I still think of smoking more than I should, it's a fleeting thought. I remain vigilant. I'm much smarter now. I am surprised of the strength that was within me. I do believe this is my sticky quit. I don't know if I could do it again....so I think I won't. KTQ

Thanks for support! I am still smoke free.

Welcome, @Oslo! You have found a great place to help you out on your quit journey...knowledge is power so read everything you can here, watch the videos and participate in the forums. Don't let the fact that you have tried to quit before, and failed, stop you from trying again... you can do this!

It certainly has been a long and winding road for me on this quitting journey. I am definitely in a much better place now...both physically and mentally. I still remember those early days of my quit and how I thought "Will I ever get to a place where I am not constantly fighting the craves?". It was so exhausting but I kept trudging forward, ever so slowly! I am still here to let you know you eventually will get to that place and it will be a source of immense pride!! I truly think I couldn't have done it without the online support of a site like QuitTrain or QSMB (my first support group which is no longer around). Thanks for acknowledging my 5 yr (!!!!!!!) milestone, Rozuki the Rockstar

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

nope

NOPE…

Glad your still smoke free....1 day down ....repeat ....

NOPE!

Nope

I was a serial quitter for several years. I'd post at a previous forum that some members here were also a part of, so some of them may remember how I'd fail repeatedly. One of them (not here in this forum) told me I wasn't serious about quitting if I was not just sticking with it. That wasn't true. It was embarrassing to be in the cycle of getting excited about quitting, stubbing out what I expected was the last cigarette, set my signature ticker with the quit date, and post daily pledges and relapse. I didn't always post my attempts at quits, but many of them. Whey your why-quit becomes stronger than your why-smoke, you'll make it happen. Your why-reason should be something to feel excited about, strong enough to give you a kick of dopamine or adrenalin, a sense of power, and maybe guilt isn't doing that. I wanted to be sure I could survive Covid, so I quit just as it hit the USA in 2020. The vision of being on a mechanical ventilator in a hospital was a chilling one for me. I was on one once, and it was not pleasant to return to consciousness and find a tube down my throat, feeling immobilized, hearing beeps and hisses, disoriented, alarmed. Don't give up on yourself. You can do this.

NOPE

Congratulations @Katgirl!!! Oh, it's great to see how the months of freedom are accumulating!

NOPE

Congratulations Katgirl, you're doing great. Keep it up and don't forget to reward yourself today.

YAY @Katgirl! 9 months down! WooHoo!

Congratulations on 9 months smoke free, Katgirl. This is huge. I hope you celebrate.

Woohoo another month down @Katgirl, congratulations!

NOPE

nope

@Kdadcan you update your quit date and ticker so we know where you are in your quit? It helps us when you need support to know how far along you are

NOPE

Yay for you, Katgirl!

Nope... I will not fail

Nope!!!!

Welcome aboard @Oslo! I’m glad that you found us and it’s a great thing that you recognize the need to quit smoking while you are still young. It’s not the easiest thing you’ll ever do, but it is so very worth it! Read everything you can on this site. It’s all good and so very helpful. I especially hope that if you feel that you are going to cave to a crave, you will reach out to us on our SOS forum. Someone is almost always on and we all really want to see newbies succeed with their quit, so we do our best to talk you through it. I’m looking forward to following your quit. Don’t worry about those that doubt you or have lost faith in you. This is for YOU. Your health. Your life. See you around.

awesome quit @Katgirl

Yay! 9 months is amazing

Congratulations Katgirl ...Three quarters of the way there ...nicely done

NOPE!

Good job Katgirl.

nope

Congratulations on your five year quit, Rozuki, and it sounds as if that is one of a many positive changes you've made during the last five years. Enjoy your smoke free life and all the new scenery!

Excellent advice! I know you can do this @Kdad! Stay close!

Good for you @Oslo for realising while you are still young that this addiction isn't worth giving it anymore of your time. You have already tried and failed lots of times, that says alot about the fact you are serious about quitting. Now has to be the commitment from you that no matter how bad the craving are at first you have to do anything else but smoke. Have a look around watch some of the videos and get yourself in the right mind set to quit, we will be with you all the way

NOPE!

NOPE…

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever.... (replace Ever with Min,Hour, Day as required)

Congrats, @Katgirl! Don't forget to celebrate and reward yourself... and KTQ!

Never mind, got it.

@Kdad you have to delete the old ticker FIRST, then make a new one and put it in your signature. And the quit date under your profile pic says 11-22-20. That's the first thing we look at when we're trying to offer our support...

@Gusthis last one really wasn't that bad. It wasn't like I woke up panicked that I might have smoked. It was more like I was at a crossroad, I took a peek down the old road of smoking but my life (the other person in the dream) didn't want to go that way so I keep throwing them away.

You've been fighting this desire to quit and then return to smoking for a long time now. Please believe it is worth it to commit to not smoking and the start is to commit to not taking another puff, even if you commit to it one minute, hour, day at a time. You can do this, Kdad. Great advice ....we all believe in you ....you have to start believing in yourself ...

Quitting for others sounds good but ultimately you have to quit for yourself. I started smoking in college and soon got a girlfriend who hated cigarettes and she would say, "it's so easy, just don't smoke" and would sometimes be quite insulting about "how can you just not figure this shit out. Just don't smoke." and those were the nicer things she said about me smoking. I got to the point to where I not only felt horrible about myself being a smoker but grew to resent her for her advice. The advice is correct but is amazingly difficult for someone who is not a nicotine addict to understand. Also, I hid it from her when I claimed I was trying to quit but now I realize that it is really tough to hide smoking to a nonsmoker, with the odor, etc. Having someone else wanting you to quit is great inspiration but you really have to want it yourself. They simply don't understand. Smoking isn't going to help you quit. That sounds so reasonable to me now but that wasn't a message I wanted to hear when I was trying to quit. You really have to commit to not taking another puff. If you have to go to nicotine replacements, etc., it is worth it. You've been fighting this desire to quit and then return to smoking for a long time now. Please believe it is worth it to commit to not smoking and the start is to commit to not taking another puff, even if you commit to it one minute, hour, day at a time. You can do this, Kdad.

NOPE

NOPE!

There is no way I could quit for someone else, and I really wanted to but it would never work out. When I relapsed at 1 month I considered keeping it a secret but because I really wanted to quit I knew I had to come clean. Everyone was really supportive and didn't put me down in any way. Now I have 3 days again and am starting to feel a bit better. It's still a bit of a roller coaster ride, but I am doing this for me because I'm worth it.

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

NOPE!