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@LeapOfFaith I had to do all sorts or mental gymnastics to get myself to quit. Ultimately I ended up originally committing to not buying anymore. I think that short circuited the fear I had about quitting. Switching brands may have played a part too. In any case, the universe is telling you it's time to put them down or else you wouldn't be here. You can do it on your terms or let the universe decide for you. It will be much easier to choose to quit than to be taught the harsh lessons from the universe. Good luck LOF.

NOPE

NOPE

NOPE!!!!!

Im sorry your husband doesnt give you support Come here we have got plenty .. Our brains can be our worst enemy Over thinking things .. You have put hundreds of poisons In your body for decades .. Its going to take a while to free you Mentaly and physicaly.. Yes it might hurt for a while,some hurt more than others .. Look at it positively. Your freeing yourself of probally killing yourself early from a deadly addiction . Its all good .

Still NOPE. It get easier with time.

NOPE

Incredible, inspirational work, Brioski!! Treat yourself today, friend--you deserve it! C99

NOPE - Not One Puff Ever

Welcome @Sandi149 really good advise from everyone. I tried everything many times, the only thing that really worked for me was cold turkey, took a week off work and just did not smoke, I survived and it really was not as bad as I had made it out to be. You can beat this addiction and no longer be a slave to nicotine, you just have to educate yourself about it and get it done. The nicotine only stays in your body for 3 days after quiting. All the best with what ever method you choose.

Welcome to the forum, @Sandi149. I’m sorry you are struggling, but you have come to the right place for support. I, too, lost a 7-year quit once. I also tried to “wean” myself off of smoking. It didn’t work. I had to either smoke or quit smoking. Hovering in between was too excruciating. It’s that way because of how withdrawal works in the nicotine-addicted brain. By continuing to smoke - even “just” one or two a day - you never give your body the opportunity to get to the other side of withdrawal. You’re prolonging it without resolving it. I used NRT (lozenges and patches) and found that it worked for me. Oral or patch NRT is a much less gratifying delivery system than smoking. So it blunted the sharpest edges of my cravings while I made the initial transition to quitting. It helped me get through the first panic of not smoking. After a few weeks, when the NRT no longer reduced my edgy feelings, I knew I needed to break free of nicotine completely. It was hard, but by that time I had built up enough quitting skills to get through it. I know this is really scary. You feel like you might lose your mind. But that is your inner addict being all panicky about not getting its fix. Junkie mind tells us all kinds of lies. Here is the truth: You will not die from withdrawal. You’ll be jittery and upset and off kilter for a while. It will suck. But if you stick with it, it will get easier. Life is so much better on the other side. You can do this!

20!!

Nope...

The time to bite the bullet is now.. Its like pulling a plaster off slowly it hurts more ..you have to pull it off fast.. All you are doing is prolonging the moment you quit. Arm yourself with your tool box , Come here and read everything join in with the newbies .. Come here and post every day .. It works ... Take that Leap...why put more poisons in just to try and get rid of them later .. You can do it ..believe in yourself .

I am beginning to feel a change in my head about quitting. This morning when I woke up the first thing I thought was “I’m not feeling the same twitch of having to smoke” of course I DID smoke but each cigarette after that was preceded with the same thought. I have been able to increase the amount of time in between cigarettes today but the thought of not knowing when the next opportunity will come makes me smoke. It’s odd because I can often go 5 hours at work without smoking and barely thinking about it! This mental game is the hardest part! Like when will I be ready to bite the damn bullet??

Nice to meet you @LeapOfFaith! I’ve certainly been where you are - I imagine most of us have been. The pattern you are describing is classic addict behavior. I, too, deluded myself for years that I could regulate or moderate my smoking. Hogwash. Probably the first thing to do is get brutally honest about being an addict, and to connect with your WHY. What’s not working for you any more about smoking? How has it imprisoned you, or harmed you or others? Once that’s said aloud or put in writing, then you can find your HOW. Lots of approaches work, different strokes for different folks. I personally did the NRT route, combined with an occasion (dental procedure) that made it impossible to smoke one morning. There are lots of ways to get started. This is a great place to record your ideas and get feedback and support. We’re here for you when you take the plunge!

Cristóbal Quit Date: 14 October 2012 Posted on QSMB Dec 17 2013 by JWG When my son was young he would walk to the end of the drive to wait for the school bus. I would stand at the bay window off the side nook of our home where I could look down the drive and watch until he safely got on board. Sounding like a good father this may be. But in actuality I found I enjoyed the heat off the glass and watching the life outdoors from the birds to the ever changing leaves of the seasons. Here I would smoke my morning cigarette. It wasn’t long I had moved a small bench near the window so I could sit and be a bit more comfortable And take in a bit more of my surroundings. I bought a nice brass ashtry on a stand to place next to my bench and would bring in my newspaper into the nook ., By the following year I came to realize It wasn’t much of a bench or that comfortable, So I decided to have some work done to the room and to the window I had a much better built in bench placed into the wall almost making me like a cat sitting on a lagre comfy ledge over looking the world , searching for his pray, like that fat robin I watch in the mornings searching out a nice fat worm. On day while peering down the drive , watching , waiting for my son to board the bus, I noticed a shadowy figure standing off to his side. I would not say it a ghost or man, just an odd shadowy figure,, quite perplex this left me , almost to the point of quizzy, what was this figure ,, what was it doing out there ? For the next few mornings to weeks perhaps months I would watch with an unsettling intent ,, always wondering , what was this figure, a shadow from a limb or tree ? In the afternoons if I were to walk to the end of the drive never was there any evidence of such a figure, questioning my son , was always the same “ your crazy” he would Say. But No I was not crazy ,, I saw what I saw and what I saw was a real as you and me. As the years past , I began to come to terms with the figure at the end of the drive , I knew well whatever it was meant my son no harm. But still each day I found myself looking out the window.. Years would pass , no longer did my son need a protective eye to watch him get on to the bus. But still each morning I went to the window for my morning coffee , cigarette and newspaper. Always peering down the drive slowly it was becoming obvious the figure had turned its sights to me,, no longer was I the watcher , but now the watchy. And with this the hair on the back of my neck stood up, Schools years would come and go, Jason would be moving in the fall to attend collage and I found my self remolding more and more I had moved my study down into nook , moved a side wall expanding the nook itself allowing me more room, I worked from home and really found with these accommodations I was just fine, plus saving me time from going up and down the stairs so much. At once this shadowy figure a bit of amusement now each day an every growingly obsession, a looming haunt always in the back of my mind. Never was it different from one day to the next , but over the years it was easy to see this was a man in grim black suit complete with over coat and hat. For years I asked visitors that would stop by , “what they thought of the man at the end of my drive ?” always to be givng the same response “ Still on that kick” so in time I stoped asking , I came to except it was only myself that could see him. But as a say , what I saw , I saw , and he was real. As real as you or I. By the second year Jason had moved out , my work had slowed down. To save some money on heating and other bills I pretty much moved myself completely into the nook , which now was more like a tiny apt. I had a small bed and fridge a microwave, my coffee pot . Sure I would still make it threw the maze the rest of the down stairs had become to make it into the kitchen if need be. But for the most part I was fine in my cubby. With less work these days I found myself spending more on my bench smoking my cigarettes watching my mystery man in black. With the difference being now slowly I could see he was approaching the house. Not each day could I notice, but slowly, ever so slowly he was making his way down the drive. Until the morning I woke to look out the window and there he stood straight across the drive. I knew then , right then.. Who had come calling ! His eyes were hallow as if none were there at all. His face a slunken gray like dead skin draped across a skelton . No longer was his black suit of fine linen now a grab more like canvas with a hood from the top of his head dragging past his feet. No more then I peered into his sullun face, he turned abruptly proceeding down the drive. I knew with out a doubt . His next stop was the front door. Dizzzy, breathless, my knees week ,, I stammered back, the back of my knees hit a recliner I had set up. nto which I fell. Sitting there now lost reality was gone ,, where was I ? what was going on ? what had I done ? I reached for a cigarette to comfort me , to guide me, to give me answers. And there I sat and smoked . Looking down on to my cracked and dried skin, stained yellow from years of tar and nicotine. I saw all the answers I was looking for. With my own two hands I molded my own death , from once only a shadowy figure at the end of my drive to a creature from the underworld. I forged my own end, one cigarette at a time. One day after another ,one year after another, all the while knowing death was monitoring my every move. Why did I not stop? I could have quit ,millions do it every day. Why did I not run from this house? was I blind, a fool ? Or an addict appeasing myself, to avoid the discomforts of nicotine withdrawal… *rasp*rasp*rasp* The cold steal of his scythe rattles the front glass… In Memory of JWG - Reposted by Cristóbal JWG Died of Lung Cancer shortly before his 4 Year Anniversary, 6 weeks after his diagnosis. Link to original post: https://www.quittrain.com/topic/10729-jwg-post-knock-knock-dec-17-2013/