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Welcome aboard @overcome! You have come to an amazing place for support in your quit! I could not have quit without this site. There is an amazing group of quitters on here that are committed to helping others do the same. What helped me the most during my initial quit was reading all of the threads I came across on this site and they helped even more than the videos and the book, but arming yourself with knowledge about your enemy and yourself is the key to victory! I look forward to following your quit!

G'day mate and welcome aboard. In the first few weeks I had an app on my phone to help chart my quit. So the two best things I got from the app were the random sms messages I'd get that would say...1 hour smoke free and then a little medical fact about what that had done for my body. The other thing I loved as a little memory game to help get through craves...it was just a turn over the cards and find the match, it was timed forc3 minutes...just enough time to beat the craves. I used nrt chewies (gum) and that worked for me. So onto the pointy bit of this post... I am another who had a long quit and lost it...sure there were circumstances that contributed to me smoking again but in retrospect I chose to put something in my mouth, light it and smoke it. What I learnt is that for me I am only 1 puff away from a pack a day. I don't constantly crave a smoke anymore but the knowledge that for me, even though I will never smoke again, I'm like an alcoholic and I will always be a smoker, I just choose not to smoke. Kinda like a dormant volcano, I'm a dormant smoker. I don't want one anymore, plenty of stresses have pushed my buttons and I've not even been tempted but I'm always ready incase they do. I have a plan for if that urge comes and of got a train load of mates to talk ne off a ledge. Best advice anyone gave me during my quit.... you only need to quit fir one day ...... those days just add up to forever. You wake up and say to yourself, I will not smoke today and then repeat it. Once you've done it once, you know you can...I mean come on, it's inly 1 day.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement, warm welcome and allowing me on to the train! Spent time with wifee picking up juice and good food for next week. One of the big hitters for me was learning about the blood sugar drop. Last time I tried to quit a few years ago, my heart was beating so fast, thought I was going to have a heart attack. Trying to be a little more prepared this time when I quit for good. We also picked up some NRT lozenges that I hope to not use but have just in case, what ever it takes. I do agree with what one person wrote though, the battle will be won in the mind. This was the case long ago when I quit using Alcohol, simple, dont take a drink, not easy though. Like NOPE, Not One Puff Ever, simple, not easy. Forgot to mention, seeing all of your quit dates is encouraging, congratulations to you all!

Apart from reading this board, another thing that really helped me get through the first few weeks was to stay busy. Lots of physical activity. Tasks to keep my hands occupied. Mindless stuff listed out in advance (because the brainfog really clobbered me). Just constant motion. Not only did that help me power through the cravings, it helped me manage the cauldron of feelings that surfaced, as well. (“Dunno what to do with that emotion… oh well I guess I’ll just wash the car windows.”) Glad you have nicotine lozenges in your quit kit. I found the fruit minis to be very helpful in a pinch. I, too, lost a multi-year quit once. Thought I could be a casual/occasional smoker. But that was a delusion… within a month of my “just for tonight” choice I was back to more than a pack a day, with nicotine controlling me. It took me decades to quit again. This QuitTrain group is a big part of my quitting commitment this time… it’s helpful to have such a wonderful group of supportive people and accountability buddies who understand what quitting is like. Good luck with your count-down today!

Welcome Overcome, you are truly making the best decision of your life. Just grab a seat on the train and start your journey to a happier and healthier life. Look at all the many articles and videos that are available here because knowledge is power. Plus, lean on us because we will be here to support you the whole way. You can do this just Believe in yourself and have faith.

Hi, @overcome - great to meet you, and welcome to the Train. There are a lot of good people and posts here that have helped me pull through difficulties of quitting. We’ve all been through hard times, ourselves, and we’re standing by to help other newcomers. +1 to what you and @johnny5 said about reflecting on where former quits came unraveled. Coming to terms with our triggers and rewiring how we react to them (without nicotine) is a big part of the recovery process. But worth it to get free! You can do it!

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

Us long time Quitters here ...where just where you are once my friend .. We came just like you ...seeking Freedom ... Stay close to the board ...ask questions ....I'm sure someone here will have done that and wore the tee shirt to give you a answer . Jill was right is asking you to write a SOS when your quit feels threatened ...there is always someone about , It's quieter than usual here due to the weekend ...more members will be around tomorrow for your Quit Day . And don't forget we have lots of games here to keep you occupied....quitting can be fun ... Not the chicks and sticks game though ...you will combust ..lol... Looking forward to getting to know you better .

Nope!

NOPE

G’day NOPE .....Not One Puff Ever....

NOPE

NOPE…

NOPE…

NOPE!

Thank you to everyone for all the information on this site, I have been reading/learning since early this am. Preparing to quit Monday the 4th, taken the week off work to work through what I see as the toughest part (withdrawal's). I have quit various times in the past but never made it for more than a couple years, so am still hooked after 35years. My Son gave me some words of encouragement when talking about quitting with him last week, he text me "yep, think of all the stuff you've overcome ... quitting smoking wont seem as bad after" so that is my user name (overcome). Ordered Allen Carr's book so will read that tomorrow. Again thanks to all for the info and support.

NOPE!

NOPE

Congratulations on 6 years, Jillar! I hope you are breathing easily! Thank you sincerely for all your support of me and all the other awesome quitters here on The Train! Thanks bunches and munches.....

Nope!

Oh wow, Congratulations on 6 years Jill!

Hello and welcome .... We will help you reach Freedom .....and stay Quit .... We have alot of great information here ...take your time to read all you can ... Never get complacent...even after all the years I have been quit ....I know it would only take one cigarette to get me hooked again .... Quitting with support has helped me make this my sticky quit ... Join in ..helping each other makes your quit stronger ... You can do it .... I also read Allen Carr....that book really helped me ....I hope it helps you too .

I believe support is key to a successful quit & there's plenty of support here! Welcome on board the train

N. O. P. E. for 8+ years. A QSMB Avenger checking in, happy to see so many familiar faces still helping others. Newbies, if you've made it this far, you've got it. Help others, help yourself. It's worth it.

Welcome @overcome, you've come to the right place for your forever quit. Maybe all you need to stay quit once and for all is a group of people to talk you down off the ledge when you feel like you might cave to a crave. There's almost always someone here 24/7 and it doesn't matter how long you've been quit. If you need extra support, we're here to give it. Just post in the SOS forum and we'll do our best to help you through it

Welcome to QuitTrain, @overcome and congratulations on deciding to quit smoking. You are doing a great thing. It is also great that your son supports you in this. Support from family and friends can really help. I do recommend Allen Carr's book. People have various reactions to the book but it really helped me. One of the big things that I took from it was the idea that smoking really provided nothing good to the smoker. It fed a temporary crave but that crave would come back. The best thing is to leave the smokes behind once and for all because nothing good comes from it, only bad (disease, wasting money, etc.) I am concerned about you saying that you had made it a couple of years in a quit (or a stop). I had several unsuccessful quits before quitting for good but they were far shorter. I think it is good for you to think about what triggered you to relapse after a quit that long. Identifying that trigger and developing coping mechanisms for overcoming that type of trigger really helps. Also, there is a NOPE pledge on this site. You can pledge NOPE (Not One Puff Ever) meaning that you will not smoke, even if it is for one day at a time. That can really help. Also, take it one moment and day at a time and your quit will grow. There is a lot of support and knowledge, along with offbeat games and distractions, that can help you on your quit journey here. Welcome. It is good to have you here.

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

A big NOPE

2. Use as reflective emergency signal mirror

1. Use as s coster.

Thank you @Kris. I quit 14 May and am just a silent lurker. I love checking in every few days to see the support

Yay TobacNo, five days is great!

I’ve got 3 days. This is what’s helped me the most: God please help me, God please help me, God please help me, God please help me, God please help me..... ??? Also calling another recovering Nicotine addict is helping a lot. Gummy Bears

Reading, reading, drinking coffee, reading, sleeping, reading, drinking coffee, and deep breathing.

The opposite here...couldn't sleep at all...I was running on empty...thankfully it soon settled ...

Brilliant...it is the most rewarding thing you can do ...Freedom !!!!! I still get a huge feeling of achievement about all this time...you will too...

I think you will be very pleased going forward CP1973 :) Yes, the craving will still be there but not always and not really even craves - more just thoughts of smoking with the occasional crave thrown in. I found that to be true with me anyway. We're all a little different in our experiences and timing but with us all, it just gets better the further you get into your quit. You're doing GREAT Claire!

Yup, that's the way to do it AG :) Distract yourself and deep breathing to calm those anxious moments we all feel early on in our quits. You're lucky you can get outside and enjoy nice weather. Was well into the minus temps and snowy when I quit so I just huddled up inside for awhile. I know one of the things I noticed and enjoyed first when I quit was how much easier and more comfortable my breathing was. You're going about this exactly right too. Just deal with the here and now at first. Don't look too far down the road. day by day, hour by hour at first. You'll very soon be much more comfortable with this whole quitting thing :) Enjoy your start gazing 2-night. Sunsets are nice too when we get them :)

Hey guys, Hugs to you all and hope you are all hanging in there! Be strong. Since it has been a beautiful day outside---sun shining and a bit breezy and warm, I made myself go outside and take the dog for a walk. Not sure about others but I'm finding just taking the time to enjoy the outside for a few minutes every day helps. Just to be in the sunshine, or take in some flowers or gaze at the sky for a few moments has been helping me. It has been giving me a sense of calmness and just a moment of peace where I can take a deep breath and inhale and say, "O.K. You got this. Just pull yourself together and make it through the next few minutes. You can do it. " If you haven't already then try spending some time outdoors. Go for a short walk. Sit out back on your patio/stoop or whatever and enjoy a cup of coffee or soda. Stargaze tonight.

This is my 12 quit day Had 3 cigarettes yesterday after 10 strong days of NOPE. Now I gotta start all over. Sooo hard cause I get really gloomy &I cry like a blubber a lot plus get pissed at my boyfriend who I also made my ex. Yesterday. Well HERE I GO AGAIN. So hard. Glad you are all here for us.

How can a person sleep 12 hours a day when we have career's? It's not like I can take 5 month's off work simply because I stopped smoking. I hope you will begin to enjoy life. Cigarettes are not what will bring you joy. We both know that. It is finding that 'something' that FEELS like joy, I guess like smoking did to you?..... All I can say to the new people who want to become a non-smoker is: first off, you want to WANT IT, and badly. Not just because of health reasons, family, friends etc. YOU are the one who has to want it, and then YOU are the one who will go through whatever your body will do when you stop feeding {smoking} the poison. It is not a fun little stroll in the park..not at all. But every hour, every day you can say 'wow, I didn't smoke for {x} amount of time'...will hopefully make you want to keep setting another short goal. Maybe another hour, 1/2 a day and so on. It still sucks. For me anyway, it sucked bad. In spite of all the health risk blah blah blah, there were times I did enjoy a cigarette with my coffee. A cigarette with my friend's on wine night. Or a cigarette when I was pissed off at the world. Now.........I drink tea, don't go out on wine night, but still get pissed at the world and find something else to do rather than focus on not smoking. It is NOT easy.

Quitting is scary. The scary bit is BEFORE the quit. Fearing failure, or worse fearing success...the fear of NEVER having another cigarette. SCARY! So when I quit, I always focused on being Happy. I had done it. I quit. That's good news! Then sipping water. Keeping busy.

I quit cold turkey so i knew that the first few days will be tough, and if i can get past that then i can truly give it up completely. The first day will be bad and you will often feel the urge to light up but you also become more aware of your triggers. On the second day you first feel proud that you could actually go without a smoke for one entire day and for me that was huge motivation to carry on for another day. On the third day, you are even more proud of your accomplishments, there are still strong urges to smoke at times, but it is less frequent now. On the fourth day i saw a drastic reduction in my desire to smoke and the urges were reduced substantially as well. I remember on this day i had to drive for a good hour for a long meeting with a client, and normally after such a meeting i would have been running back to my car to grab a smoke, but this time i did not feel like i needed it and this was an awesome feeling. Remember that when you were smoking you were essentially taking a break from an activity, and i felt that it was important to still takes those breaks when you get the urges, but now fill those breaks with other tasks. I started browsing the news, taking a walk, eating a few snacks, and yes drinking lots of water.

Keeping busy. Merlot. Switched from white to red. Cutting down on coffee. Switched to green tea at work. Trying not to dwell on it! Deep breathing.

I also decided to drink tea which I never did before. I bought different kinds and fussed around with tea things during my break at work. It really helped me to have something to do other than go outside and smoke. ...today I had an orange tea at about 11:00 . Good to give me "some thing" until lunch

At the beginning: Attitude was my biggest weapon: I do not smoke anymore! Also used nicorette gum for the first week or two to help with cravings! NOW: Attitude is still my biggest weapon: I do not smoke anymore! IN THE FUTURE: Attitude is going to be my biggest weapon: I do not smoke anymore!

Lmao - from day two - "Watching your counters is helpful too. No problems so far, son in hospital with broken hand. Getting surgery now, so just sitting around watching people walk by carrying their oxygen. Easy." Me? I spent the first days in a fever induced semi coma, and the chest hurt to much to choke down more than a puff or two. The vape pipe was making me gag. After I sorta came to I lived on the forums and read the literature. The joel videos were my favorite. Read the Allan Carr book right off the bat.

Run. Not long - 5 minutes - as long as smoking the cigarette would have taken... as fast as you can keep it up for 5 minutes. Guaranteed you won't want a smoke for quite a while afterword. Want to kill the craves for all day? Go on a 10-miler. Easy Peasy

Water Dancing Cleaning Naps Basically kept busy and posted like a woman possessed :)

Being here,lol and read, read, read. Also staying busy helped me. :)