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Good morning all!! Mornings are always hard in the beginning. But I must get through them one day at a time!!! Hope everyone is having a good day!!

Sazerac suggested that instead of thinking about a cigarette, quitters should look for: This is good advice for all of us.

DB. Visceral tug... perfect term for those bewildering moments of confusion throughout the day. The term fits in other aspects of my life, visceral relating to the viscera a term my cardiologist uses directing to the internal organs, of which my 50 years of abuse has sadly damaged. Luckily my body still has the ability to mend. Thank you for your comments they are taken to HEART! But on the lighter side as each day passes and we can (as my father said) sit up and sip soup, hopefully realizing that we are here, we have started this journey to better ourselves and how lucky we are that we still can. Cheers. Stew.

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

Wowie Bri you are doing amazing!!!! Congratulations and keep it up!!! Yay for you!!!

I think you have been playing the Cbicks and sticks game too long my friend.. Chicks on the brain ..lol .

Nope!

The wife & I went for a drive today, going up to a huge farmer's market up in Mennonite country - about 1.5 hours away. Suddenly I excitedly tell the wife to 'Pull in over there!" Pointing to a property that was displaying a bunch of random animal lawn ornaments. These weren't just normal lawn ornaments, these were HUGE lawn ornaments! I had spotted a big yellow chicken that for some reason caught my attention. It was bright yellow with a red hooded head and a orangish beak. As she pulled into the place, I jumped out of the car to get a closer look. The chicken stood about 6 foot tall an probably 3 foot wide? It was a nice chicken ... I mean, really nice. I admit I was smitten a little bit with this massive painted hunk of formed concrete I imagined it sitting proudly on my front lawn; the neighbors in awe of my new home decor addition, I was already planning on adding a sound system that could be controlled from my cell phone. I'd record chicken sounds then amplify them and play them as people walked by on the sidewalk across the street from our house. It was going to be a real head-turner!! The whole dream came to a sudden crashing halt when the farmer that was there told me the price .. 2 grand I had figured maybe a couple of hundred bucks? But ... 2 grand - NO WAY!! I was so devastated I forgot to even take a pic of my lovely chicken. Just got in the car and told the wife to drive on. Man; was I bummed out Needless to say, there's no giant yellow chicken sitting on my front lawn tonight

Nope....to 2nd degree

Gus you scared me, I did not recognize you! Welcome @titanif!

NOPE

NOPE…

Nope!

NOPE!

Looks like I have some snow at my cabin. There will be a fire in the gazebo along with hot buttered rum.

NOPE!!

NOPE!

The entire time we smoked most of us couldn't wait for that first cig each morning to quell the rather pronounced withdrawal symptoms that a nigh long sleep creates. I think that's probably why it's such a tough one to get over. Even though there's no longer any reason to have greater withdrawal symptoms in the morning once we quit, that thought is still programmed into our brain. Takes some time/repetition to change that. Distraction and a change in your morning routine should help you with that morning issue. Keeping your mind just a bit more focused on your new routine can't hurt.

There's a couple things at play here I think. 1. You did some welding that you haven't done for awhile, possibly since you used to smoke? That would for sure bring on those cravings. 2. You just reached your 3 month smoke free milestone and I have often heard people say ... "Beware the 3's"! 3 Days, 3 Weeks & 3 Months. Weird shit tends to happen at these points. 3 months and you're no longer a new quitter but you're not completely there yet as a non-smoker; still some work to do. Because you no longer have daily challenges you may tend to let down your mental guard a bit. Use this experience to remind yourself to be on guard always for those sneaky, out of nowhere assaults by the nicodemon. You done good today by realizing what was actually happening! You stood tall and refused to be seduced back to having a smoke. Keep this experience in mind for future when you get bush-whacked out of nowhere and you'll be fine!

Nice Halloween pic @Brioski!

NOPE!

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Another awesome month closer to a year quit @Brioski, how cool is that?! Well done! I hope you have a great day and celebrate your success

I agree with everyone, excellent advice!! Keeping super busy and distracted was a big one and the noticing the beauty was actually a good one too bc a few times there was literally nothing else I could do but say out loud “That flower is purple….that leaf looks soft…” etc. it sounds crazy but it helps. You’re doing amazing gf even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.

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NOPE

NOPE!! NO WAY. NOT TODAY.

Yeah, your head definitely knows it. You just need to help your body and heart remember it, as well! They are panicking a little right now, without their “fix.” But you are there to help them through, to protect your beautiful new quit, to stay strong and remind them that it’s SOOO much better on the other side. NOPE!

Yeah, mornings are tough for a while. But they get better. I, too, found staying busy/distracted to be really important. One day at a time for sure!

That’s some MAJOR pat-on-the-back, strong, and amazing shit right there. Reward yourself for coming out of that on the better side

Sorry you had that bad day. But I love this story, of coming into awareness of something that felt like a visceral tug, of not surrendering your power to it. Yeah, some days it does seem like triggers are everywhere I look, too. But each time we stay free it makes us even stronger. Pffft on triggers. NOPE!

Welcome! Glad you found us and congrats on being smoke-free. I quit in 2022 also and still find this forum to be wonderful reinforcement and a place for great insights (and some belly laughs, too). Looking forward to seeing you around!

Big late congrats @Brioski so happy for you!

Welcome titan!! This is an amazing group and they’re the most supportive people you’ll ever know lol. The games in the game section here are cool too a great distraction

You guys you made me cry!! Thank you friends

Nope.. no smoking ever again

Welcome aboard! We’re happy to have you!

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Yayyyyy Linda, you go gf you can so do this!!

Wo hoo, Linda’s back on the Train!

I remember these day ones they suck!!!! Since I keep doing them,must like to torture myself

You are doing SO GREAT! Happy 8 months, B. I'm really proud of you, and grateful to have you here on the Train. Rock on, girl.

Congratulations on crushing another month. Eight months is a great accomplishment. So, don't forget to reward yourself today because you deserve it.

@Brioski What a nice quit you’re growing! Keep it up- you got this! Congratulations on 8 months!

Congratulations on 8 months smoke free @Brioski Great job!

Fantastic @Brioski I hope you have a great day today and realize just how epic this is!!

Congratulations B 8 months is a quit to be so proud of Sending you a little package as a reward for all your hard work