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

NOPE…

NOPE!

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

NOPE

The train ride seems to be bumpier than before. I best be putting my seat belt on!! Have to get my mind set back in the right space.

NOPE!

Buckle up. Knuckle down. Ride on! The bumpy rides lead to great destinations.

@Lindayou can do this. you took a little vacation from your quit. it will take you a few weeks to settle back in to the routine of doing something other than smoking. Just like when you take a vacation from work. it's a kind of tough to get back in the routine but after a week or two it was like you never had any time off at all. I have faith in you.

Trying to get used to the new morning routines. Today was the first day that I got up first and had to wait for the coffee to be ready. Had a moment of panic (normally I would have smoked while waiting). Well I made it through okay. I have watched Joel's videos many times now & his voice pops into my head "...never take another puff". The other one I keep telling myself is "craves don't kill you -cigarettes do!" At some point I will post about what I think has helped/not helped me get through this (#1 is this forum group and all the resources here! - oops Spoiler Alert). Right now, it's easier for me to stay logged in but not post very often. PS Isn't it crazy when you see your ticker - I have avoided (at least) 76 cigarettes which I would have smoked without even thinking about it but if seems a huge number when I see it listed like that.

Yesterday did a 4 mile walk. Today. 40 squats, 2.25 mile walk, 30 squats, 1.25 mile walk, 30 squats, .5 mile walk, 10 pullups

I’m glad you are on the Train, still sharing and staying connected and staying determined, @Linda. Your voice of experience is helping me ( and others, I’m sure) fight stinkin thinkin… the illusion that smoking again will make us somehow feel better. So thanks for you. It’s not hard because you’re weak. It’s hard because nicotine messes with our brain chemistry and is an emotional as well as physical addiction. I know that when I lost a really long quit once, my addiction came back with a fury - twice as strong as before, like it was determined to win. I let it boss me, for a very long time. But you’re standing up to it! Sometimes I think we are meaner to ourselves than we would ever be to another human. If you were supporting a friend who had relapsed, what would you be telling her?

N O P E

babs609 Quit Date: 07/13/2012 Posted September 20, 2016 Life is really so simple...WE are the ones who make it complicated Because the truth is....if you BELIEVE the cigarette will give you any kind of comfort or joy...then you will suffer a great deal. Not just in the early part of your quit, but for YEARS after...if you can stay quit that long. This is where the education part comes in. If there is something you want that you believe will make you feel good...most people don't have the willpower to refrain from. Those that do...are miserable and live their life miserably always thinking they are being deprived. They aren't. It's all in their head. All about their belief system. I remember a show that was on...not sure if it still is but it was called 'My Strange Addiction. The people on that show had some of the strangest addictions I had ever heard of. I only watched 1 episode and on this episode..there was a couple who became addicted to coffee enemas. Their addiction became so bad that they took turns taking care of their kids so the other parent could spend 8 hours in the bathroom giving themselves an enema. That sounds crazy to you, right? Of course! But to them...it relieved them of their suffering. Well folks.....that is how non smokers look at smokers. With good reason....because after the initial physical withdrawal that only lasts a short while....that is exactly how it is. All in your head! You believe in it. Because you believe in it...you obsess over it. Because you obsess over it...you drive yourself crazy trying to convince yourself maybe this was a bad time to quit...maybe just one puff...maybe i'll just be a social smoker...maybe this..maybe that. There is no maybe. YOU STILL BELIEVE--and until you de-program your brain with constant reading, videos, repeating NOPE, mantras like 'there is no such thing as 1 cigarette" or just constantly remind yourself that you are a non smoker, that smoking a cigarette DOES NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING for you..until you reverse the programming that has been in your head for so long...you will always suffer, you will always be a minute away from relapse...you will always struggle. Even though there are thousands of "excuses" why people relapse or smoke...here are the most common BS lies. 1. Boredom--what's more boring than putting something in your mouth and lighting it on fire...really? I can think of a thousand more things to do with my time. 2. Anxiety--smoking increases your heart rate thus..increasing the anxiety (the only time smoking relieves you of any symptoms are when you are in the withdrawal period and it only gives you relief because you are feeding the addiction) 3. Help you concentrate--Really? again...an illusion (after the first few days) Smoking adds thousands of chemicals to the bloodstream and ultimately decreasing the oxygen to the brain. How does that really help?? We need oxygen to THINK...not jet fuel. 4. " I'm under too much stress right now" This is life, you will always have stress. The smoking trap was designed to hook you for life. The only 'good time to quit' is NOW. 5. ANY OTHER LAME EXCUSE ENTER HERE...cause that is what it is. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/7522-are-you-a-believer/

I know I can do this again,but for some reason this time seems to be harder than ever. Not sure why??? But I know I have to get it done this time. Maybe the disappointment in myself for giving up what I struggled to get.So I hope all the newbies can learn from my mistake!!!

Congratulations @Mee on an awesome four year quit! I hope you're doing well and stop by for an update. We miss you!

Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope

Great work Mee! 4 years is something to celebrate and treat yourself to something special in recognition of what you've accomplished. I hope you are well and just going about life as a happy nonsmoker!

Great job Mee. Congratulations.

Watching that "cigarettes not smoked" number in the early days helped me put my smoking in perspective. Addiction and delusion go hand-in-hand. When I was craving a cigarette, my reflections on cigarettes were very different from the reality. During a crave I misremembered the smoking experience entirely. Smoking a cigarette was not some magical experience in which the skies would part and the world fell into perfect harmony. In reality, I smoked thousands of cigarettes without even thinking about it. Smoke breaks were a throwaway experience that provided nothing more than a temporary fix...nothing magical or romantic about that.

@Mee

Congratulations and well done @Mee!

congrats @Mee4 years is a mighty fine quit. well done.

Sorry you got dream-clobbered again, Yoda. So strange that using dreams often feature “magic” or “accidental” smoking… that happens to me, too. Unnerving. The subconscious is so baffling. Take heart in your reality - you have a really strong quit. They’re waiting for you on the lido deck.

Grrrr. Those smoking dreams ,they play with your head .... What a relief when you realise it was a dream and not reality ... It shook you up ...because they are so vivid ...they stay in your memory for a while .... This just shows how much your precious quit means to you Yoda...

another smoking dream last night. In my dream I found myself smoking and got extremely mad at myself for giving in so I threw the cigarette down. then another one magically appeared in fingers and I took a puff, got madder at myself and threw that down. It was kind of a loop like that for a while. What's so strange about this is that I still feel like I smoked and I've been up for almost 4 hours.

I remember your last quit being extremely hard for you in the beginning so it's probably the same as last time but you were so far past those days you feel like it's harder. You got this Linda and now you know just how valuable all that time quit is.

Nope!

NOPE!

Nope!

NOPE

Congratulations on 4 years smoke free @Mee. Great job

You fought so hard for your quit ....you can fight again ... Your stronger than the Nico monster ...back to basics Sweetie ... One minute at a time if you have too... Don't be hard on yourself ...you sat right back down in your seat on the Train .... That takes determination....you should feel proud .... Stay close to the board ...post away ...we will help you along the track .

NOPE

NOPE…

Sometimes a singer and a song writer is more than just an entertainter.....Archie Roach was an elder, a leader, a teacher and an example for all that regardless of the crap you get dealt and the hardships you face your life is always what you make it and you can rise above, but more importantly bring others with you. My favourite Aystralian of the year your passing is way to soon but your music will forever be the soundtrack of my life. VALE ARCHIE! And the last song...

Deep breathing during craves.

Funny, out of the blue. The stressful weeks of my daughter and her family moving to Texas are past. I'm finally rid of the piles of bags and boxes of their discards that I'd simply dumped in my home, lining the walls and furniture, until I could sort them for donation or the dump. Got rid of the last of it. Then I planted a small flower garden, and the daffodils are coming into bloom. Three days of tranquility. I awakened this morning in the middle of dreaming that I'd smoked. I was bewildered because I had no desire to smoke, didn't want to smoke, and I'd ruined my almost-two year quit. I'd have to reset my ticker, confess to the QT friends, and start over. Quelle nightmare! I don't remember if I had thoughts to smoke during the stress of my daughter's move or not. Certainly I didn't after I'd restored the peace and quiet of my own home. The mind is quirky, yes? Have a great day, everyone.

NOPE……

Way to go FM, you got this!

More Bug on a Rug And finally - Baby Bug on a Rug

One step at a time is the right way to go, FunkyMonkey. Great job!

Great post FM....Take it one minute at a time if you have too....

I remember one of my weird dreams when I was early in the quit .... I was in some big exhibition hall, big crowds milling past, and I was standing there with a table full of cigarette cartons. I was like 'well I don't smoke anymore and I don't want to smoke' so I tore one open and was walking around passing them out to people LOL I wonder if that was my mind throwing the addiction away

@JohnRPolitoThank you. I appreciate your insight and really grateful you are taking the time to help those of us in the early stages. Karen

Welcome to quittrain @JohnRPolito, thank you for all the resources you provide and have allowed us to use from whyquit

So long as they remain nightmares, Kate, smoking dreams are protective, especially once complacency arrives. While I don't claim to be "average," during my first year I think I had 2 or 3. And for the first few years I probably averaged one a year. Now, 22 years since my last nicotine-fix, it's been 4 or 5 years since my last nightmare. But considering I was a 30-year heavy smoker (3 packs-a-day during the final 5 years) I find it amazing that while my brain is filled with hundreds of thousands of smoking memories, when constructing dreams my subconscious has only made me a smoker roughly a dozen times over 22 years. And let me tell you, my smoking dreams truly are nightmares. To set the stage, in 1999 I quit and started WhyQuit (then purely a motivational site) and in the fall started an online support site. Since then, I've presented nearly a hundred live quitting programs, have had a number of journal articles published and wrote a quitting book. So, imagine what it was like relapsing during my last dream and thereafter worrying that I had to start all over again, and that at any second I could be caught smoking and exposed. My emotional response was so disturbing that it forced me to awaken. Even then, it took a few seconds to realize that it'd all been a nightmare. That being said, my next smoking dream, if any, will again remind me just how much I relish being free. For it will be a vivid reminder of the amazing journey I once made. Breathe deep, hug hard, live long, John (Gold x22)

I wish I would get to the point it only was in a dream. I still am battling the demon when I am awake. Good thing I am a tough old lady. One day it will get a TKO.

Really appreciate you both sharing your experience!