Chrysalis

Bandito, I'm so happy for you that your business was successful and that you now get to reward yourself for your hard work. Good for you! As for your questions-- based on my observation of other mid-life-crisis-sufferers, they don't CARE about the answers to those questions. They know what makes them feel good and they do it. So if other people's opinions are going to be an important part of your decision-making process, go back to work for a few more years. You're not in enough crisis yet. :D Have fun!!

drama

Little red riding hood (you sure are lookin' good!) How do you know when you are in love?

Look at it this way... I am a child of the 60's because I ironed my hair, wore tie dyed shirts and bell bottoms with frayed hems, made macrame wall hangings and believed in "power to the people". Music: Neil Diamond, Moody Blues, Barry Manilow, BeeGees.

Little deuce coupe Favorite vacation spot?

Yum yum yum!

Flying purple people eaters! What are YOU afraid of?

Blue on blue What is your favorite dance style? (Yes, DD, I'm finally gettin' it! :) )

Baby, it's cold outside. What is your favorite color?

snooty

Well, Evelyn, you obviously have the right to participate as much or as little as you like. But experience with thousands and thousands of quitters over many years has shown that the two things that are most closely associated with long-term success are: 1) continuously educating yourself about the nature of nicotine addiction and how to overcome it, and 2) reading and posting frequently on the forum. This is just a fact. I know that when I first quit--well, actually, for many months after I quit-- I thought about smoking off and on all day every day. I won't say that the thoughts always rose to the level of a craving, but the thoughts were there. By coming to the board every day (sometimes several times a day) I was reassured that what I was going through was normal and temporary, other people went through the same things and came out the other side. I learned how to deal with the physical and mental withdrawal symptoms, and I got a lot of distraction and a lot of laughs when I was feeling bored or depressed (especially from the "Non smoking Cats, Dogs, Animals, etc" threads). If you have never relapsed and don't think that you ever will relapse and if you really hardly ever think about smoking unless and until you come here, then by all means stay away from the boards. But if you are like the overwhelming majority of ex-smokers, frequent participation in the forums and continual self-education about your addiction are the KEYS to a successful quit. You are not a "special snowflake". You are most probably just like the rest of us. The voice inside your head that is telling you that reading and posting on the forum is a bad thing is probably your junkie brain. Don't listen to it.

Congratulations, Action! Thank you so much for being such a great role model about how to manage a successful quit. Thank you also for showing us how to embrace and encourage others to keep their quits. Your kindness and support have been invaluable to me. I hope you thoroughly enjoy the view from the lido deck! And just to help you remember how far you have come in one year, here's one of your earliest posts: "Posted 31 October 2013 - 07:24 PM Went to cinema and when I got to the car park I remembered that I ALWAYS have a cigarette walking from car park to cinema. Freaked out and brain stopped working. Drove into concrete pillar and snapped off wing mirror. Had argument with wife about it. Really angry at myself and my mind keeps telling me a smoke will make everything better. Couldn't concentrate on the film because of it. Can't sleep because of it. It's been hours since. Not at SOS yet, but getting pretty damn close. Not at confident as I thought I was. Sigh... Bad night." Between you qutting smoking, Tasha's weight loss, your new and improved home and your recent clean bill of health, you two have really have engineered a brand new day for yourselves! Congratulations, Ross!

Food, food, glorious food! What did you wear to your senior ball?

head toss

sneer

sittin on the dock on the bay What is you favorite city?

Gosh! All of the above! PLUS-- I don't have to watch any more scary, heartbreaking dying-from-cancer videos because I finally GOT IT!! I QUIT!! Thank you Terry Hall and Yul Brenner and Gerry Collins and you other brave, selfless sufferers. I hope to never see you again.

Chiller! Who is your favorite movie star?

stinky

Singing in the rain! :) What was your first job?

decayed

Laura, I think that smoking does relieve stress but it works in a way you don't expect. I think that smoking helps relieve stress in two ways: 1. When you were smoking, you would need a nicotine "fix" every 20 minutes. If you couldn't smoke right then your stress level would increase because of nicotine withdrawal. So when you finally did smoke and the nicotine got to your brain, you felt stress relief. Your brain learned to associate having a cigarette with relieving stress, but the ONLY stress nicotine relieves is nicotine-induced stress. It doesn't help with stress related to bratty children, financial worries, flat tires or anything else you can think of. So, yes, your junkie brain thinks that smoking relieves stress. What you must do is get your rational brain into gear and realize that the ONLY stress nicotine fixes is nicotine stress. 2. In the past when you were feeling stressed or angry or anxious you could take a 10-minute break and have a cigarette. You could remove yourself--physically and mentally-- from whatever was bothering you for a few minutes and give yourself time to calm down. Now that you don't smoke, you need to find some other way to give yourself a little break and calm yourself down. You can still step outside, if you like, but instead of smoking you can practice deep breathing for a few minutes or put on your headphones and listen to your favorite music for a few minutes or go in your bedroom and punch a pillow for 5 minutes--whatever works for you. I think that if you develop your own strategy to cope when you're feeling stressed and implement it frequently you will feel much better and be easier to get along with. And, yes, what everybody else said is right-- this is a common phase when you quit smoking and it goes go away pretty soon.

Wash that man right outta my hair! What is your favorite month?

A-a-r-r-g-h!! Does anybody know a song about sieve brains??!! OK...What was the name of your first girlfriend/boyfriend?

pocketful of rye