Abby

Were you scared of succeeding ; failure, or both ? What I thought was scared of failing was actually that I was scared I might succeed . Succeeding mean't I would never smoke again . It was not the fact I would fail but the fact maybe ; just maybe I could succeed and become that ex smoker . I was scared because I wasn't sure I knew how to handle "life" without a cigarette . I smoked 25 years and used a cigarette to cope with everything; even the successes in my life . I wasn't sure I could do on my own WITHOUT a cigarette what I could do WITH a cigarette . Found out you can :) So I was afraid of failure ,yet I was also afraid of succeeding , how about you ?

I'm in Nope for me as well.

NOPE Have a great smoke free day everyone .

Nada Never NOT GONNA SMOKE NO WAY NOPE THANKFUL

Totally commited . Its NOPE.

Taking one day at a time and getting educated about addiction as well as listening to the testimony of others has helped me learn how to protect my quit . For the most part I never think of smoking anymore but the loss of an 8 year quit followed by many more years of smoking taught me that I can not think of anything else but "NOPE" in order to remain smoke free. I need to remember that addiction is tricky and that if I ever "think "I want or need a cigarette ....... it is stinking thinking ! My go to was my addiction . To think that I may not ever be tempted again would be very unwise on my part . I am an addict and "One puff" will lead me back . Nope is my final answer . I agree with others that remembering I am an addict is something that helps protect me .

:) Whata wonderful story . I never got the chance to meet either of you, but so glad I stopped in today and have gotten to see your post . Congratulations . All the best . _Sherri

Yup Izzza here .

Nope

Yes I remember her story, she shared on a blog I posted . She is one of the first people when I popped in to welcome me and I believe you welcomed me as well Sazerac . Thank You for posting this . Smoking really hurts .

(Caps for emphasis only) Ug ! You know the times when you don't feel well and you feel like a truck ran over you ? Well I had lots of those days ; today is another. Those kinds of days were days that I figured smoking would fix everything ! Not anymore :) Ok, so its a bad day .. Bad days happen . That is something that is not in my control , but choosing to smoke or not is something "I" own the rights too. At some point in my life I may be tempted to pick up a smoke ; it might be a bad day , a crisis ; something totally unexpected could trigger the addict in me tomorrow, but smoking will not happen. I have learned that smoking cannot be an option EVER and having that mindset is VITAL to keep my quit . I lost an eight year quit many years ago . My foolish thinking caused that . Just "one" led to many more years of smoking . Smoking so much that it almost put me in my grave . That mistake can NOT happen ever again . "Not an option was the mind set I had to engrain in my thinking to quit . I had to live , eat and breathe those words five plus years ago . "SMOKING IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN" ever again " Its off the table . Trust me , I didn't have a good outlook on my quit .. I wasn't positive ; I wasn't a happy quitter ; I didn't have a good attitude and I wasn't thankful to quit . I was just plain ANGRY that I had no choice but to quit . It was my last straw and I had hope the size of a pinhead that I was even worth quitting for, let alone be able to quit for a day . So to the new people looking in , YOU CAN QUIT ... YOU CAN DO IT because even if you think you don't want to .... YOU KNOW YOUR WORTH IT enough to try ! Stay a while . IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE ! I want to share with you how good it feels today almost 2000 days later because I know it can mean HOPE for you . I remember looking at my elders and watching them ... watching their numbers grow ; watching them giving back, what others gave them and I held on to my quit each and every day, because I knew if they could do it ... IT WASN"T IMPOSSIBLE for me either. So is it impossible for you ? no ! So you see, I know you are not exempt from this freedom and there is hope and freedom for you too. If your just starting , I know its tough . If you don't feel GREAT thats ok .. If you feel crappy , thats OK too . It will get better and everyone here understands . Let all those here even just one day ahead of you be your hope for tomorrow . When you are weak they are strong . Hey, don't even worry about tomorrow just for the moment look after you today . Thats it ... JUST FOR TODAY . DON'T LIGHT A CIGARETTE . No matter what ... KEEP GOING and you will come to reach your goals ; One day at a time . One hundred days ? You'll get there . A year ? You will get there too. Yes and you will hit 500 days .. and 1000 days But the most exciting thing is this : You will never be afraid of the words "NOT ONE PUFF EVER" again . You will JUST KEEP WANTING MORE ! So I would say good luck , but its not luck ; its hard work, but its worth the work . Its doable ; and its worth it . _Sherri L.

Andrew oranges help with cravings , as well as cinnamon . Distract yourself as much as you can . Change your routines around . ( ie) What I did was; I would have coffee and read the morning paper , lunch followed by a walk then dishes . etc. Delay . Remember the craves will pass . They WILL pass . Themore we get through each of them successfully , the easier it becomes. Never feed the dragon . You have to starve it to kill it. Smoking is not an option . Discuss, come here and vent share , or help others , express whats happening. You are not alone . Drink lots of water ; cinnamon tea, herbal teas . Frequently brush your teeth in the beginning , that too seems to help A dab of salt on the tongue providing you do not have HBP can trick your brain and help cease a crave Many craves are because we are either hungry angry , lonely or tired. Check and see if one of those applies when you crave ; something as simple as a nap can be very helpful . Remember to get passed this and through ; don't smoke . It gets easier I promise. You have already put in a lot of hard work .... Keep moving forward . You are doing great . _Sherri

I think I am one of those . I guess we all just have to give the site a chance . I know I have posted some blog entries and checked in on occassion to the nope page but I have seldom come to the main threads . I have found that at first glance it was difficult to find the current posts. I need to familiarize myself a bit better with the site and with people here and try and post more often. Quitting smoking is important. Being proactive was important for my quit .

Success rate for today . 100 %

Congratulations everyone its another nope day behind us , and ahead of us .

NO not one

If you link that thread does it fall at the back of the line. I would like it kept here so it is more current . Perhaps new people looking in would also like to share in this thread as well. Willthis stay on as is with linking up to the other? . I know I never looked at those pinned posts when I came here and probably still won't . I prefer daily threads . Thanks

A broad question . Everyone is different . Many factors could apply . Quitting is not linear . "You are right where you are suppose to be , would have to be my response to others who feel they are not being confident soon enough . I did not make comparisons to others.

This is great ...I thought there should be an old post somewhere , refreshers are great and new ideas as well hope everyone will keep posting .

1 year

Hmm no more cloud of smoke in front of the screen . NOPE

Not sure what I am doing wrong (. My posts do not post correctly. If anyone can guide me please message me ) Thanks . never mind got it .. :)

These are a few of the things that helped with my quit. Perhaps something may connect as a useful tool or option for someone else . Please add yours . The more the merrier . The more tools and options we have the better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) Hot Cinnamon tea ( cinnamon anything ! ) really seemed to cut down cravings . 2) Ginger tea helped with gastro issues, as well as walking . 3) Lol now don't laugh but one thing that helped when my worst craves hit ,; I mean the "I'm going to get a pack " or when I was romancing was to go was to soak my head in cold cold water . It always brought me back to reality , and would not go out with wet hair lol ... by that time the thoughts would pass . Seriously try it lol . 4) I got gerd symptoms after quitting . ( key was not to eat or munch on foods late at night ) which many will tend to do when we quit and walking after meals . Raising the head of the bed will help as well . ( Everything seemed to level out and adjust after some time into my quit had passed . ) 5) A ping-pong ball ...yup a simple ping-pong ball helped me . Redirected my thoughts. WARNING! Not for use against partners if your angry unless you have the table and bats to go with it and can play a game of ping pong out to win :) 6) My better option was to going to the zoo when I had quit depression . You will not be sad there. If you have one in your area go visit take your spouse , your niece , your grandchild, or just go alone :) 7) I also found going to the greenhouse surrounded with beautiful flowers to be helpful . I left purchasing a plant to grow along with my quit . I highly recommend doing that . Its a reminder if we nurture our quit , take care of it , it too will grow into something beautiful . Sherri L.

SMOKE? EW! I could smoke if I wanted to , I have the choice , but I don't want to , so its a NOPE for me . And THATS MY FINAL DECISION !

Copd , Heart Disease , Cancer, Stroke . IMMUNE SYSTEM? The most common thoughts and fears about smoking are copd, heart disease , lung disease and stroke but what damage can smoking do to our immune system and what role does our immune system play to help fight colds and cancer . Quote: "If your immune system is Superman, smoking is kryptonite. Smoking weakens your immune system. The chemicals in cigarette smoke are an ongoing source of damage to cells throughout the body, and your immune system must continually work to fight off this damage. Eventually, immune system cannot keep up with all the damage caused by the smoke. In fact, new research shows that once weakened, the immune system may not even be able to send out tumor-fighting cells to battle the beginnings of lung cancer. So smoking cigarettes could simultaneously cause lung cancer and weaken your body's ability to fight it. " Dr Oz.