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Nope!

NOPE!

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

Nope... I will not cave!!

NOPE

So, it's now 24 hours since I lit up my last cigarette ever! i didn't note down when I put it out, so I use this time to mark the turning point. It's been surprisingly easy, actually. So I suppose Allen Carr was right: it IS EASY to quit smoking - provided you do the mental preparations first. After 25+ years as a slave to the NicoMonster I have my fair share of failed attempts behind me, so I know some might find that statement a bit offensive and why. There are many roads leading to Rome, and for me it seemed like this was my only option. Whatever the case might be, I have put a surprisingly easy 24 nicotine free hours behind me!

Hello! I'm Shymaid, and I've been a Nicotine Addict for over 25 years. On 05/26/2022 I lighted up my last cigarette at 05:40 PM CET. A Cold Turkey quit. The road to this point in time has been long, as you all can see, and with uncounted attempts of quitting behind me. This time it will be different, though! Why? Because I've started to work with where the problem really lies: in my head! I am an addict, and I have to admit that. Being an addict makes the NicoMonster seem like a huge thing, when in reality it really fairly small. I might just have 24 hours under my belt so far, but for the first time I haven't been climbing the walls for those hours! So how did I come to this final point? Well, that's a long story; and while I made several attempts on and off over these long years, they became more and more serious over the last 5-10 years. Two years ago I decided I really did want to quit. Well, I didn't really want to quit, as picturing a future without nicotine was impossible. So while I've been constantly trying to free myself for two years (!!!), I didn't manage it for several reasons. In October I had my last serious try; a week at a family cabin, alone, without cigarettes or any other form of nicotine. No car of bike, so getting to a store was not possible. I did survive that week. I didn't fall over dead for any reason, the world didn't collapse etc. You probably know the doomsday thoughts going through your head when you try to pick up the nerve for yet another try. However, when departure time came, I had known for hours that I would start again that night. And I did. While I was disappointed in my self to the point of self-loathing, I had also learned a very important lesson: now I KNEW the physical addiction wasn't as bad as I had thought. The main hurdle was in my head. At the cabin I wasn't going up the walls because of the withdrawal pangs, as it did when at home. When I didn't have any access at all to nicotine, the monster was also much smaller compared to when I do. One attempt some years back I controlled myself for about 6 weeks, and those weeks were pure hell where I couldn't even go shopping food. If I did, I knew I would get a new pack and start up again. And I did. With a few months of 'trying to cut back, so the final quite becomes easier' BS, I had stumbled upon a few resources that made today possible. Some times the YouTube algorithm works in mysterious ways. Last spring it recommended a yoga channel to me, right at the point where I was so claustrophobic that I couldn't breathe. With 9 months on and off I finally continued a daily practice from 1 January this year - Day 147 today! This has helped me prepare for this moment more than I probably know. In January I was recommended a meditation music video, which in the end led to a channel called Minds in Unison. It is run by a hypnotherapist, Thomas Hall, and has various kinds of methods to help people with various problems. I went for some subliminal, and unlike many other channels, he actually includes what subliminals he puts in there. A very important point! So I figured I'd try it out, for various problems, and have been listening on and off since. Not all related to smoking, but then everything is connected. For this time my smoking has been bothering me more and more, and almost driving me as far up the walls ans the withdrawal pangs has done! So the other day I decided to check out Mr. Hall's website, and he has a blog there. One recent post was on how to stop smoking, with one recommended resource was forums. Which led me here. While lurking I saw the praise of Allen Carr and his book, so I did a search and found a pdf version. As this is somewhat of a confession time, I will admit it was put up for free. I just hope one day I will be able to pay it forward somehow. Stolen or not, I started reading it on Tuesday, continuing into Wednesday. As I was overripe for putting this filthy thing behind me, I tried to quit from Thursday morning. Problem was I had 10 more left in my packed, and it had not been hidden while I spelt as promised... So I lasted for a whole hour when I got up yesterday. Not the other person's fault for forgetting, as it was all down to my own weakness! Open packets have been too hard for me to resist, in particular my own packet. So I smoked these 10 cigarettes while starting to type up Mr. Carr's book. At the same time I played 9,5 hours of subliminal music for self-forgiveness. And I felt the fear of a nicotine-free life starting to lift. When that was done I switched to stop smoking music, and have been playing that almost constantly since. The last cigarette was lit just over 25 hours ago now. It was the 11th of the day, actually, as the 10th was smoked while I was too distracted and I wanted to smoke that last one focused. Why? So I didn't feel deprived of really 'enjoying' that last one. Quite ridiculous when you think about it, but there you are. At least I don't have to sit and pine about how I didn't pay attention to my very last cigarette, haha! Since then it's been surprisingly easy. While living somewhat on an hourly basis and having to emergency-read in Carr's book to remind myself that I am now a non-smoker, the pangs have been fairly weak and easy to handle compared to what it's been before. As I said, my problem was in my mind. Have i successfully retrained my brain? No, absolutely not! But I have good tools now, and I really, really, REALLY want to be free of this damned cigarettes! Increasingly I've been feeling more and more sick after one, or even just a half; having a very bad taste and feeling of tar covering the inside of my mouth long before the end of the day; etc, etc. So you could say that my mind has been preparing to take this step for some time. Including realizing that NRT wouldn't be the way for me, as I really had to kick the nicotine itself, and to do that handle the FEAR. The fear of the withdrawal pangs. The fear of never, ever feeling that nicotine hit my brain. The fear of who I really am, as I have never known that. This last point is a very important one for me. I started in my early teens, before I knew who I was. So the only me I know is the slave to the dead weed. The Nicotine Addict. And that is really really scary! I mean, what if I actually manage to quit?!? Who am I then? Where will that lead? Can I face up to who I've actually been while living in this self-imposed slavery? Stepping into the unknown can be very frightening, but it was no option of continuing as I have these 25 years. So it really was just 'DO', haha! So this is my brief story up to this point! So far it's going very well, surprisingly well! I will stay strong! P.S. I apologize for this wall of text, and if you managed to come to the end I thank you for listening. If this can help anyone else, even just one, it will be worth having put out here.

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

I did this. I really wanted to focus on the last one too. It was more about saying goodbye for me. Kind of bittersweet. But also cementing my resolve. I knew without a doubt that I would never be spending time and money on cigarettes ever again. You have a solid foundation built for your quit!

Nope!

NOPE!

NOPE…

NOPE

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

NOPE!

Welcome aboard the Quit Train Shymaid. Good call on giving up the smokes. The difference between my real quit and the hundreds of mini-quits that were thrown away after a brief period was a change in mindset. Really digging in and trying to understand my addiction made all the difference. Once I realized that "facts" about smoking that I accepted as gospel truth were in reality complete garbage and the "reasons" I gave for smoking were just excuses to continue feeding my addiction...the whole game changed. You are on the right track Shymaid. Smoking was not as big a part of our identity as we made it out to be. I had the same concerns when I quit: "I'm a smoker, it's who I am!", "My cigarette is like the sixth digit on my left hand, I can't lose that!" It was all much ado about nothing. On a trip to my parents house, I saw a high school photo of myself from right around the time I started smoking. I had a peach-fuzz mustache, a mullet, and owned at least two pairs of acid washed jeans. I wasn't a slave to those bad choices anymore, why would I feel obligated to continue smoking? The process of quitting forces you to face some difficult truths. It also teaches you some valuable lessons about yourself that will have a positive impact on other areas of your life. Quitting smoking is a temporary challenge that will reward you for the rest of your life.

Oh, I'm already wondering why I've wasted 25 years on this idiocy! Thank you, Gus! It feels very solid and like it's the only way I can go. When I get to that point, I usually stay the course. In my twenties I kicked a very bad Coca Cola habit; woke up one morning and didn't want any more, then just resisting buying any more for a few weeks. Stopped drinking about 8 years ago, though I hadn't had an alcohol problem since my teens. So it's not the first quit I've done, but most definitely the strongest addiction!

Thank you, @jillar! I will admit I've thought about taking one puff over the last hour or so (there's another smoker in the house, so it can be scary!), but it's not really been a serious thought and only lasted a couple of seconds before I put it aside! And yes, my savings will explode!!! I live in a very expensive country, in particular when it comes to cigarettes and alcohol. Won't miss putting all that money into the treasury, that's for sure!

Oh, that 24 hour mark is definitely felt! The NicoMonster has been having a temper tantrum for about an hour now, but I'm able to control it apparently! *very proud* I'll write something up on how I came to my final turning point, and how that has turned out for the first 24 hours going Cold Turkey when the final hour has passed. Only 40 min to go now! Isolation can definitely make things harder, but for me this time it's been not wanting to rock the boat too much at this fragile stage. I proved to myself that it was mainly a problem in my head about 6 months ago, so I've been focused on maintaining and strengthening the thought pattern of not needing nicotine.

It sounds like you're truly ready to quit. That will make all the difference. I, too, was hesitant to share at first. I lurked on the site for weeks before I signed up. I initially signed up because I know that addiction feeds on isolation, and writhing around in my own head was a certain recipe for relapse. But I ultimately found this community to be more helpful than I ever imagined. Congrats on getting your signature up. You're close to hitting the 24 hour mark - way to go!

Welcome aboard, @Shymaid. It's great to have you join the Train! The first 20 hours is a big deal, so good on you for making it through. You are smart to be reading and absorbing everything you can, to lay a strong foundation for your quit. That - and plenty of distraction tactics - can be super helpful during the early days. You'll find a lot of different perspectives and experiences on this forum. Everyone's journey is different, so start a thread and tell us what your own quit is like. What you share might be just the thing to help another newcomer take the plunge someday. This community can help you learn, talk things through, and stay occupied. The people here are very supportive (and wonderfully wacky). So glad you're on this journey with us!

1. Make contact with friends from other galaxies

Well, here's one! And this post asking this question is why I actually signed up so I could reply. Hopefully any decrease in activity is due to fewer smokers, but as others point out that doesn't necessarily mean fewer nicotine addicts. Fingers crossed, however! As for myself, I now have 20 hours under my belt in this quit (I almost typed 'try' but it's a QUIT not a feeble 'try'!), and doing good so far! Been sitting with my nose in Allen Carr's book - even typing it up to really let the info sink in, and my cravings isn't near what it has been before. Started reading here the same day I read the book the day before yesterday, but I think I got a bit scared to sign up as my cravings aren't really bad at all. 'Will reading about other people's experiences with The Bad Cravings TM make me feel mine stronger?' 'Will I start to expect what happened to others to also happen to me, thereby creating it in the first place where I might not have had them if I didn't do that?' etc, etc. I have a strong tendency to overthink things, to put it mildly! But I read your question and felt obliged to answer! And at least I can get a ticker (provided I managed to set the damn thing up correctly, lol! I suppose I'll see with this post! Ah, nope! I suppose I'll have to fiddle around with that one a bit more, haha!)

Wow - 3/4 of the way to the Lido Deck! Just stick with Nope and soon you'll be relaxing on the Lido Deck with one of those fancy umbrealla drinks

Congratulations on 9 months smoke free, Yoda. Great job

Congratulations @Sirius on eight years quit! Hope you check in and let us know how you're doing

Indeed! Since reading Carr's book, I've been reviewing all the excuses I've used over the years. A bit fascinating how they changed depending on circumstances! All silly in the end! I hear you! I'm at a time where many changes have to happen, both by choice and by force; which includes thinking about what I'm doing and why. A bit if soul searching, and that's not always fun. So perhaps it better to say that I wonder/fear how much I've been holding back with techniques like smoking, but far from limited to that one. That remains to be seen! Looking back at your life can make you question 'What if...?', which is ok as long as it doesn't drag you under.

Welcome @Shymaid You are doing a great thing in quitting smoking. It is great to have you here. Posting about your experiences helps you and others as well who may be reading it. Post away, it does help.

NOPE…

Exactly! As I've struggled these past two years especially, I've time and time again thought the last cig of the day would be my last one, and then suddenly realize I couldn't remember smoking it And yes, I did feel deprived. Yes, I didn't feel I'd said the goodbye I needed to say. For better or worse, it's been some sort of 'companion' over the years, so putting that final line in the sand felt right. Then turn and walk away forever!

Woohoo @Shymaid, see how that's done?! A whole day done already!! And you've already saved over $14.00! That's AWESOME

10. Pinch someone. Kitchen Strainer

WooHoo! Congratulations Yoda!!!

The old saying "hard work pays off" really counts!! Congratulations!!!!!!

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

1. clean behind the dresser

Congratulations @Shymaid That first day is the toughest. You are doing a great thing in quitting smoking. Keep up the awesome work!

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Good job Yoda. Here's that monkey gif you like...

Glad you can look back on Day 1 with a sense of pride. Here’s to many more to come!

It's gone so quickly today, @Gus! Still, I do feel a bit relieved that I can finally go to bed in about an hour Get a break from the cravings and the body can work on eliminating all the foul stuff in peace

Congratulations on your 8th year!!

Thank you, @DenaliBlues! It wasn't really an option at this point, so I guess I was ready to take the big step!

7. Assorted lost cat toys

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NOPE!

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

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