Jonny5

I remember that I was going through the motions, telling myself that I wasn't giving up anything etc etc, just like Allen Carr told me. and I remember thinking , ok yeh, I can buy into this, I can look at things from a more positive perspective. I was prepared to follow the don't smoke instructions, but I did suspect Allen Carr was just trying to point out the obvious, and that made me feel a little patronised, but he was telling the truth, don't smoke and you are a non smoker.. well yeh of course. I had already decided that I was going to see this thing through, I wasn't going to give in this time. but the penny didn't drop until day 18 for me. I remember clearly. I was sat in this same chair that I am now. I was in the foulest of moods, I was snapping at my wife for no reason, it was not like me at all. I stood up and said to her, " I'm sorry, I'm being an A hole to you." she said "it's fine, you are going through a hard time quitting." I was embarrassed and didn't like the situation one bit. And I said to her "I'm going to stop being a moaning b**tard right this minute, because I'm fed up of being that guy. and in an instant I wasn't that guy any more. I did have control over me. and over how I was reacting to quitting smoking. I believe part of me had still felt I was giving up something before that moment. I was still experiencing craves quite badly on that day, but right after the conversation with my wife, I stood up and faced one of the craves. and I actually said out loud, come on then, do your worst, give me your best shot, because I'm not going to smoke, so go ahead and punish me. kill me, or whatever it is that you've been threatening. of course nothing happened. nothing does happen. but the moment I realise that, is the moment that everything happened. I was free. my tormentor had no weaponry that could harm me ever again, it was all just fear. that was the day I started saying to myself and others, "what's the worst thing that could happen if you don't smoke?" and it was the day that I realised that Allen Carr was a genius, the simplicity of his method blew away all of the rubbish that I had accumulated over the years, the rubbish that stood in the way of my path to freedom.

Well Done Jenny, nearly 2 years!! great work :-)

You may have forgotten Suz, But I know that someone is about to hit 5 Years quit in a few weeks, You were always there to look up to Suz, you still are :-) Thank you :-)

funnily enough, for me, my favourite milestone was 5 and a half weeks, because that was the longest that I had managed to quit before. to get past that point meant that I had been further than ever before, I was in new territory. I had proved something to myself. second to that, getting the 1 Year anniversary and being welcomed to the olde pharte club was awesome :-) then I had proved something to everyone else too :-) I'm looking forward to 1000 days :-) that will be cause for a celebration :-) as it falls 6 days after my 40th Birthday :-)

Yes, I'm pretty sure that is how it will feel for you in the future. It's good that you can call upon your experience of how your feelings evolved towards alcohol, and apply them logically to how you imagine you will navigate the nicotine cessation. I found the same to be true, but the other way around, for me my experience of quitting smoking, and the evolution of my feelings helped me sort of pre navigate how I would respond to the emotional side of alcohol cessation. there are many lessons to be learned from every facet of our pasts.

that makes a lot of sense, I like that.

this is it in a nutshell, it's your desire to quit vs your desire to smoke

that's quite normal in the early days, I had the odd melt down, I even threw my sugar bowl through my kitchen window on about day 10, we all adjust to the process differently, and our resolve is tested differently, but the process remains the same. I can't remember who said it, but I was often told "fake it till you make it" and it's true, walk the path, and you will learn the way :-) I felt so stupid as I was replacing the window pane, a very real in my face reminder of what I had done in my rage :-(

I read it twice. the first time some years ago, I didn't follow the instructions, and I refused to buy into what he was saying, I decided to use the "easyway but I know best way to stop smoking" needless to say i didn't know best, I was using my smoker brain to find compromises. the second time.... well here I am :-) He knew best. and now I do too :-)

in the many quits that I've watched, I would say that you are well on course to "getting there" You have all the right attitudes and commitment, those two things are amongst the biggest stumbling blocks to success for many people. and when personally you do get there.... well you'll know, you really will just know, and it's all good, very very good, and it's like the biggest ever sigh of relief :-)

That was me, many times, over many years. I made a choice this time around, with the help of Allen Carr, to be a happy and cheerful non smoker :-) The alternative is being miserable, whiny, and really quite unpleasant to yourself and to others. in my failed quits I was such an A hole. everything that went wrong was because I wasn't allowed to smoke, it wasn't my fault etc etc the people who championed my quitting effort, I perceived as my tormentors, each word of encouragement, I took as an underhanded threat that there would be immense disappointment if and when I failed. One quit, I wasn't too bad to other people, but I did feel that I was missing out, and that led to rebellion and failure. One quit was because I was courting a never smoker, part of me wanted to be able to be content with not smoking, the other part grew resentment towards her. Each of these quits was 100% all me, no one else was for blaming or for accreditting, sure there were influences, like the book I mentioned, but it was all me. That is what led to this sticky quit. I knew what I wanted to be, and I made it so. I tuned my perspective to see the positive in every facet of my quit, for example, a crave was no longer a desperate longing, it was a growing pain. The second hand smoke that I once sought out became it's truth, a cloud of poison designed to retrap and kill me. The act of looking cool smoking was replaced with ridicule at imagining someone sucking on an exhaust pipe whist swaggering around like James Dean. I imagined what I wanted to be, and then I created what I wanted to be. Sure, at first you are an actor in a personal play, but with time and commitment, you become what you want to be. Some may think of this as brain washing, maybe it is? I think that smokers already are brainwashed, by themselves and the media, and by disgruntled abstainers. If I am endorsing Brainwashing, it's only washing away the rubbish that you don't want anyway :-)

I guess what I am saying Marti, is trust in the process, I promise you that it will get better all by itself, just keep putting in the legwork, and your rewards will follow :-)

That is fantastic mate, I remember the feeling myself, for me it was kind of like I gained some trust in myself and in the process, through actual tangible proof. these epiphanies if you like, keep happening throughout your journey, and each one feels wonderful :-)

I think that they are the dying embers of triggers that you have rewritten. Action sums it up very well that you just stop having those thoughts. in time you get retrospective thoughts about smoking, in the sense of you realise that you hadn't thought about smoking, sounds odd I know lol these feelings are a happy feeling rather than an annoying one, it's kind of like a relief, pride, and an affirmation that you've got this in the bag, all rolled into one if that makes sense? Action, would you say that your experience with realising that you didn't think about smoking during your stressful week was like that?

I done exactly the same thing Rob, it just made me more hungry lol :-)

Yes, what happens is smoking causes stored sugars to be released into the bloodstream, not sure how it works, but that is why you don't feel such hunger as a smoker. when you quit, you have to find the fuel from elsewhere, this is why people recommend fruit juices etc as quit aids. PS, some of the crankiness associated with quitting is actually a symptom of low blood sugar, so if you are feeling pretty crappy, get something to raise the blood sugar and see if that helps :-)

that's awesome, well done :-) I bet it has it improved your confidence about facing stressful situations in the future?

I dread to think. Given Ive saved nearly £13,000 in just over 2 years

I saw this today, and thought I'd share it with you all, as it really relates to quitting so much

Post of the day Sarge. I like that a lot :-)

You've achieved what you set out to do. get your thinking straight, and understand that if you are glum and gloomy it's because you are missing the point. accept the proof that your mind ain't thinking right, everything else in life that we seek to achieve results in a good feeling. it's your inner junkie that is distorting your victory and making you sad.

that tickled me mate, what must our cousins from over the pond think of us Brits hey?

I took it on faith that he knew something that I did not... He did ;-) when the penny drops, you'll understand that too. You have such wonderful times to look forward to :-)

it's a cycle that will repeat itself for as long as cigarettes are made and sold. We were once in your brothers shoes, affraid to quit. Someone was once in our shoes, telling us to quit, saying it's easy, like your brother, we did not believe. one day he will be in our shoes, baffled as to how he could have been so blinded and bound, and telling someone new how to quit :-)

agreed, and when mixed with some misinformation, and false belief, you have a self created prison;-)