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Still all good! Lots of positive now. Sleeping well, not really craving anymore, if I get the odd one I squash that though quickly as its not an option. Having some anxiety issues still but I have separate that from quitting as I don't think it is related. Nothing else to say but keep believing it gets better, if you are stuck in the first days/ weeks

Welcome! I am new as well. If I can do it after 64 years a smoker then anyone can. 17 days is a great start. I’m not far from where you are. Do I THINK of them? Yes! Do I WANT one? No! That’s how I have to keep answering my craves. You wouldn’t be here if you still WANTED to smoke, right? So just keep reminding yourself of that. I’m home recuperating from lung cancer surgery. Lost half a lung. Don’t end up where I am. No fun. Keep posting and especially reading. We can do this. YOU can do this.

Congratulations @KEL on another awesome smoke free month!

Thank you everyone! This seems like a big milestone oddly. I am so grateful for this community. To all of those newbies just slightly behind me, it does get easier. Trust me on that. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. In a few short months, you will realize you haven't thought of smoking every minute you are awake. Instead, you are reminded you used to smoke and become so grateful you don't have to do that anymore. Don't take my word for it-make the year commitment and settle in. Again thank you-K

NOPE!

To all of the above, I would just like to add, "one can never do enough pushups". Regardless of the type. The pushup is one of the most wonderful exercises there is. Not only a great upper body exercise, but free, convenient, and can be done most anywhere. I do some form of them daily as part of my workouts. There are easily more than 15 variations of this exercise. As far as tips, the only one I can offer is to come here, type, and meander with your thoughts. Very distracting.

Nope... I shall never again!!!

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE

Congratulations @KEL on your 5 months smoke free

Congratulations @Sunnyside! So helpful to know that it gets easier!

……..Besides, I don’t have time to smoke. I spend too many hours a day trying to figure out this website! I finally made a ticker after a week and a half of trying. Unfortunately, I’m still struggling with the rest of it; like replying to posts. I want to thank everybody who has replied or spoken to me. I’m still floating around trying to read/find replies to thank people. Am I really this dense or am I in a brain fog from not smoking? Anybody?

Good morning! And Congratulations on your two months quit @Sunnyside!

Way to go, @KEL. Thanks for supporting me and others who have hopped on the Train behind you.

@JudiMD or you could be like me, tech challenged. @jillar is kind enough to help me when I have questions. You will figure it out.

Good job Kel. You are building a rock-solid quit for yourself.

WOW!!! @KEL you really are right behind me. Keep that quit going.

Congratulations, @Kel, I'm so happy to see your progress! And isn't it soooo worth it in self esteem, such a worthwhile achievement that just keeps getting better!?

Brain fog is real.

Yippee! Congrats. Yes, it does get easier..

Congratulations on two months and thank you for all the support you give to everyone

@JustinHoot99Thank you for posting this morning. I started therapy thirty years ago and have been through many therapists (psychologists and psychiatrists), both group and individual. The purpose of therapy is to get to the s--t we are not conscious of. The isms you speak of are not "therapy" per se. Instead, they are tools to reprogram the negative thinking which, for the most part, we are not aware of. Hence the purpose of working with someone who can help us access those things we cannot get to. "Thats why quitting is difficult for me. Quitting smoking simply consists of not doing something. Thats not an action." It is action to change your thoughts. It is action to make a choice not to do something. It is action to do something else other than that which our junkie brain is telling us to do. We are so programmed in this culture to believe we can "do" something to "fix" the mess. Its completely out of our control. I do get that there are gender differences here, but I am firmly male in my psychology which has been mighty confusing for the other parts of me. So I have engaged in the mental masturbation you are caught up in which is to try to negotiate out of the unvarnished truth: I am an addict. And so are you. Quitting smoking is difficult for you because you are addicted to nicotine, not for any other reason. In order to move past this nonsense, I needed to do is understand that my best thinking, my most prized possession (my mind), got me into this sorry state of affairs. I need to suspend all thought and do the things that others suggest will help me to get out of my active addiction so I can see what is underneath, what the addiction was hiding. Or I can die. @DenaliBluesFlash cards help me. I made a stack of things I wanted to remind myself of when I got into those "blank spaces." It does get easier.

Hey, @JudiMD. Thanks so much for sharing and posting! We've got a few weeks in our rear-view mirror now, don't we? Something to feel proud of. At least in moments where I'm not a hot mess! Quitting after 64 years takes a lot of grit and determination - I think you are amazing. I'm really sorry to learn about your diagnosis and surgery. Body trauma, emotional trauma, and the trauma of quitting all rolled into one. How is the recovery going for you? I'm having ups and downs, but small successes are steadily accumulating. I'm not an expert on this platform yet, either. But bumping around and sorting things by "start date" and "recently updated" has exposed me to a lot of wonderful people and posts and a lot of practical wisdom in this community. (Plus it keeps my mind and fingers occupied, which is helpful!) Good people here. Glad you are one of them. Denali Blues

Congrats on completing day one @JustinHoot99! And thanks for raising the topic of action. I can relate. A fiendishly clever aspect of my addiction is how it takes habituated behaviors + emotions + physical/chemical dependence and ratchets them into a really tight knot that seems impossible to untangle. As I start to pry those strands apart, I find that each one wants to smoke for different reasons. Each one has the power to sabotage my quit. I suspect that each part of my addiction needs its own attention, reprogramming and healing. Thinking about my behavioral habits or my “action” strand: until not smoking becomes my baseline (which I am months and miles away from) I need substitutes. The vacuum of not smoking is just too much to deal with. Also, at this stage in my withdrawal the reward centers in my brain are still pretty fried and screwed up, so things designed to make me feel good - taking a walk, breathing deeply, noshing on snacks, etc. – can irritate the bejezus out of me, instead. Depending on my mood. A new coping mechanism I started this week is a “Mini Honey Do” list of small tasks that need doing around the house. Nothing arduous or time consuming, or else I’ll procrastinate and it won’t help me combat an immediate craving. Simple stuff that can be done in 15 minutes or less, things I know I can’t fail at. Tighten the loose screws on the recycling cabinet door. Scrape whatever that sticky goo is off the laundry room window. Change the light bulb that’s been flickering in the bathroom. Swap out the HVAC air filter. I have to write these down because when I am stressed or sunk emotionally, my mind goes weirdly blank. I’m so used to meeting that moment by smoking that it’s hard to remember or imagine doing anything else. So I get up, look at the list, pick something, do it, and cross it off. It feels sort of silly, but it’s better than picking up a smoke. It adds a little novelty to my coping routine. And there’s the silver lining of stuff getting done around the house… Ditto on your comment about writing here being helpful, too. Reading your post and responding helped me ride out a nasty crave wave this morning, so thanks! Rock on with your day #2! Denali Blues

Stay close to the site and keep busy. 17 days is a great start. Best wishes.

NOPE…

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

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

One thing that seems to be helping me is replacing my thoughts of smoking. So when I think "I want to smoke" I immediately replace it with "I want to breathe fresh air" and when I think "I need to smoke" I replace it with "I need to breathe fresh air" It allows me to be proactive instead of debating the issue.

NOPE…

I am so excited for you! I will say that it does not surprise me. It takes a great deal of self reflection to realize that you want to make big changes in your life. To accept that you can look into the future and chart your own course. When push comes to shove you are knocking down any barrier put in front of you. YOU HAVE THE POWER

Congratulations Kel .. You do have a nice Quit going ....nearly half way . You are a valued member here ....who is always ready to support other posters ..well done .

Good job Sunnyside. Congratulations.

It's brainfog @JudiMD

Ah, the months they are adding up! Good for you!!!

Thank you all

I think the key to quitting smoking (destructive habit) is less doing nothing and more doing something different (constructive habit) and getting so immersed in the something different that you forget about smoking. Have you ever been doing something that you enjoy so much then you realize hours have past and you thought about nothing else?

Funny (not haha but hmmmm funny) that quitting smoking means doing nothing- physically. Yes in reality all you have to so is nothing to stop smoking. The actual act of doing nothing becomes the difficult part

Just got back from my HIIH workout and ready to start day 2. Yesterday I went through the normal day 1 symptoms: tired, somewhat dizzy, difficulty concentrating. My work load was thankfully and uncharacteristically low yesterday, so that was a big help. I expect today will be similar regarding the symptoms as the nicotene leaves my system. Then I have to deal w/ the real monkey on my back which is the psychological part. Psychology and I have a strange relationship. I've been to a psychologist and fully believe in them. I believe in habits and believe people can create them using psychology. I purposely created a habit of exercising everyday 5 years ago this May. I haven't missed a day since. But I also have trouble w/ some aspects. Which isn't to say I think they are wrong or don't work, just they don't fit in my mindset. I hear things like "be mindful" and "concentrate on feeling good about yourself" and my mind acts like a deer in the headlights. If it isn't an action, I don't get it. Thats why quitting is difficult for me. Quitting smoking simply consists of not doing something. Thats not an action. Sure, I can come up w/ a list of alternative things to do like eating candy, fruits, and carrots. I can go for walks, look at my inspiration memes I put above to my computer. But it is all going to depend on my simply "not doing something". Much easier to do something like create a habit of exercising daily. That is something I simply go do. And once I complete the task, I'm good for the day. My mind doesn't keep bothering me about every few minutes the rest of the day. Psychology is something I know is there, I just don't like. Oh well, I'm meandering. And for me, one of the few things that does take my mind of wanting to smoke is typing. And so.....I type. And babble.

NOPE

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

Oright you mob, time for a public service announcement from the great land down under..... You've quit before and failed? You are not alone, many others have too, it does not mean you can't quit. STEP 1...ask yourself "wot did I learn" and "why did I fail". STEP 2... don't beat yourself up, don't dwell on the negative, put your focus on now and this quit and move on. STEP 3... Quit again. STEP 4... Never give up, because you are worth it.

So, funny @KEL I am right here, re-reading this thread. I am going back to reread it again. There is so much to learn in this thread. One word "action" speaks to me. The action for me is I wake up every day and I am breathing. I am also not hiding from the fact that I am addict. I want to face it and struggle through it. For me, doing this will teach me that only I can change it. I still admit that I want to smoke. I want to embrace the pain so much that I never want to feel it again. Is that an "action"?

I'm not very Tecky either ... When I first joined the forum ...I could just about type with one finger ... I've learnt such slot along the way ...Thanks to the kind folks here ... Don't worry Judi ,it will come ...focus on your great Quit ...

I hadn't given it much thought, but I did start something a bit similar this month called movement snacks. In addition to my normal daily workouts (HIIH training), I added 3 movement snacks of hanging leg lift, pushups, and pullups that must be done daily, though any time and number as long as I do each. I didn't do it as part of quitting, but simply as part of my general exercise program. I'm very focused on health, except for my lungs. lol So true, I just hate that I can't make a normal to do plan and know when completed, the job is done. I believe once an addict always an addict. It should get easier, but it is always lurking in the back ground. That is something I hate, even if I can't change that is how it is. Very similar to alcoholism and any other addiction. Once a habit has been established, you can't undo having had the habit. Your brain will always remember what you did, the purpose for doing it, and the reward you got (stimulus, relaxation, focus, whatever). The desire can be weakened, but never entirely removed. At least in my opinion. Maybe this is what some spiritualists mean by "achieved nothingness". They all quit smoking? lol

My bike was more this

The magic cigarette. I had to smoke one first thing in the morning because it woke me up. Also had to smoke one right before bed so I could get some sleep. I had to smoke when I needed to focus on something. Also had to smoke when I just needed to clear my head and zone out for a bit. Finally figured out that attributing so many contradictory "benefits" to identical cigarettes was ridiculous. I need to relax or I need to focus sounds better than I need another fix. Facing the fact that I smoked because I was addicted to nicotine and I was addicted to nicotine because I smoked was important for me. Helped me recognize the futility of smoking.