johnny5

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE!

Congratulations on 11 months smoke free @Gus and thanks for all that you do to help others here. It is truly appreciated. Huge congrats!

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That's a great decision, Oslo. You can do this!

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Some more Jimmy Buffett, just because

You haven't let us down, although I know we do feel for you struggling like this. First thing, if you feel like you are about to smoke, post an SOS. Wait for people to respond and try to let them help you. The videos help a lot of people but they don't help everyone. I know successful quitters who, for whatever reason, didn't like Joel's videos. If they don't work for you, there are other resources, like Allen Carr's "Easyway to Quit Smoking" if want to find the book online, the website KEL mentioned, or just continuing to reach out to us. Ultimately, as long as you think you are missing out on something by not smoking, you will still be tempted to smoke. Realizing that nothing good comes from smoking and that the struggles with quitting are only temporary, you will be better prepared to stay quit.

Hi Sunshine. Quitting is not a quick event. You are re-learning how to live your life without cigarettes, something that was a huge part of your life for a long time. What you are going through is normal for a lot of quitters. Think of quitting as a journey as you are re-learning how to live your life as a non-smoker. In retrospect, a lot of quitters, myself included, look back at the first few months as a positive and growing experience, even if we felt depressed, empty, miserable, etc. at the time. You are doing great, even if it doesn't feel that way right now. Keep up the great work, things will improve with time.

NOPE!

NOPE!

Welcome @Sunshine and congratulations on our decision to quit. You are doing a great thing in putting cigarettes behind you. The last few years that I was a smoker I made numerous failed attempts as well so I can relate to your experience there. What really helped for me was joining a quit forum like this. There is a lot of education and support you can get here. Understanding nicotine addiction and having the support of others really does help. There are many ways to quit but I also quit cold turkey. Along with this forum, I would recommend reading Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking." I would not say that this book makes quitting easy but it does put smoking into a different perspective, especially for a cold turkey quitter. The main thing I took from the book is that smoking really does nothing positive for you. It is all negative. Once you realize that there are no positives to smoking, it does make quitting a bit easier. You may struggle early on but if you feel the urge to smoke and can't shake it, start a post in the SOS Board part of the site and wait for some help to keep you from lighting up. Also, pledge in the NOPE (Not One Puff Ever) thread daily. It does help. Welcome again, it is good to have you here.

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All of the reasons you provide are excuses we told ourselves to keep smoking. I know I told a lot of them to myself. You are right about them being debunked or downright false but I know it is hard seeing that in the early days. You are right, it is better to stay quit. Over a period of time of being smoke free, you will see how false these reasons to continue smoking really are.

You are doing a great thing in quitting smoking @mediahound Welcome to our site!

Yes, buying a pack and starting again may be easy but quitting again will be really hard. Fight the urge, it will go away. Don't worry about Monday, worry about today and making it through this crave. Not giving in will be a huge victory that you can build this quit on. Keep the quit, you will not regret it. You will regret smoking again, though. You can do this, Kdad. Don't smoke.

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NOPE!

Congratulations on 9 months smoke free, Katgirl. This is huge. I hope you celebrate.

Congratulations on 5 years smoke free, Rozuki. That is awesome. Cheers to you.

Welcome Oslo. You are doing a great thing in quitting, especially at an early age. As Boo posted and Jill re-quoted, successfully quitting has no regrets, only not having done that sooner. That was perfectly put. There are tons of benefits to quitting and aside from any early, short term struggles (which are temporary), there is no downside to quitting. Welcome again. You are doing a great thing.

Quitting for others sounds good but ultimately you have to quit for yourself. I started smoking in college and soon got a girlfriend who hated cigarettes and she would say, "it's so easy, just don't smoke" and would sometimes be quite insulting about "how can you just not figure this shit out. Just don't smoke." and those were the nicer things she said about me smoking. I got to the point to where I not only felt horrible about myself being a smoker but grew to resent her for her advice. The advice is correct but is amazingly difficult for someone who is not a nicotine addict to understand. Also, I hid it from her when I claimed I was trying to quit but now I realize that it is really tough to hide smoking to a nonsmoker, with the odor, etc. Having someone else wanting you to quit is great inspiration but you really have to want it yourself. They simply don't understand. Smoking isn't going to help you quit. That sounds so reasonable to me now but that wasn't a message I wanted to hear when I was trying to quit. You really have to commit to not taking another puff. If you have to go to nicotine replacements, etc., it is worth it. You've been fighting this desire to quit and then return to smoking for a long time now. Please believe it is worth it to commit to not smoking and the start is to commit to not taking another puff, even if you commit to it one minute, hour, day at a time. You can do this, Kdad.