Chrysalis

owl

manhattan

Congratulations, Natalie, on a job well done! For me, one month was the biggest milestone. I figured that if I could not smoke for one month the rest would be downhill. (Turns out I was right.) It's a pleasure to have you to share my journey. Just keep doing what you're doing and get yourself something really nice with all the money you saved this month. Hooray for Natalie!

stir

coward

Congratulations, Becca! Keep up the good work. And keep posting here-- I need some inspiration. I, too, am struggling to get rid of my "quit weight". To your health!!

flickering

Hey, Jeffery, how have things been going for you this week? Are your rage attacks any better?

nervous

spooks

Colleen, I was thinking of giving you the link to my "seated yoga" online class but that would be much too tame for you. I guess you're just going to have to be patient until you heal. Sorry...

Gosh, Sarge, that looks like SUCH a fantastic trip! I mean, if one is physically fit enough to do it safely (which I know you are). I assume that those colored lines with numbers represent different paths for ascent. Please do let us know which one you use so we can look at the photo and pretend we can see you. :) You have a wonderful time, you hear? But please don't break anything (well, don't break anything important ;) ).

Bakon, I'm sorry to hear that your wife has cancer. My brother had cancer and I was his primary care giver, so I know how stressful it is! But it sounds like she is responding to the treatment and being able to gradually get back on an even keel. I will include the both of you in my prayers.

Beacon, you can't do it all-- nobody can. You can't work full time with long hours, tend to a family, take care of a home, plan menus and shop, cook, clean up, work out, be a loving wife/daughter/friend/neighbor, worship sincerely, pay bills, have play/fun/relaxation time, etc. etc. Which of these are you willing to give up? Apparently, you have given up menu planning and cooking. So buy lots of Atkins or South Beach frozen dinners. Or hire someone (a neighborhood grandmother or a stay-at-home mother or your own mother, if she's nearby) to come in and shop and cook for you one day a week and put everything in the freezer. Basically, I'm saying that you can't have it all; you can't do it all. You must choose to accept less than perfect on some aspects of your life. If you insist on healthful and nutritious home-cooked meals, you will need to take time away from something else. If you can't take time away from something else, then you will have to be content with meals that are not quite what you would prefer. Just don't beat up on yourself for not doing everything perfectly, or even well. Set your priorities and let everything else go.

How are you feeling, Colleen? I hope you're doing better. Did you try any of the home remedies? Treat yourself well, OK?

If you are feeling stressed out or anxious or have difficulty sleeping (all common symptoms when you quit smoking), I highly recommend this 30-minute mindfulness meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's available for free on Youtube here: Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn

Thank, Laura! The Jon Kabat-Zinn mindfulness meditation on Youtube is great! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKQAmtfra3k ). I'm going to add it to the "Things To Do During Your First Nicotine-Free Week" thread because I think it will be very helpful to newbies. One thing was funny, though. Jon Kabat-Zinn said right at the beginning of the session that one should lie down and relax but do NOT fall asleep. Ha! Fat chance! At least, when I listened to it at bed time it was so relaxing that there was no way I could stay awake. I have to sit in a chair early in the day to be able to get through the whole thing. Live and learn. :)

Thanks, everybody! You're all so knowledgeable, supportive and FUN! When I first joined you all helped me through a really bad patch and now I'm feeling solid in my quit again. Coming to QT was a very good decision for me. I am proud to be part of this great group! ((( :wub: QT :wub: )))

Good for you, Ex Smoker! You are exactly right-- once you truly commit inside your own heart and your own head, half the battle is done. Your Hell Week is over and you never have to do that again. It gets easier from here on out.

Stoptober is the 28-day challenge to stop smoking for most of the month of October. It's based on the belief that after 28 days without a cigarette, smokers are five times more likely to give up smoking for good. Stoptober is created and funded in England by Public Health England. You can sign up for lots of free support tools from apps to packs. Click here to join in and Stoptober will email you support throughout your 28 day challenge. If you are going to participate in the Stoptober challenge, Quit Train is here to help and support you! Quitting smoking is absolutely the SMARTEST thing you could ever do for yourself. It is easier than you think. But to succeed in the long run you need education about the nature of nicotine addiction and how to beat it. You also need the tips and tricks of successful quitters and (sometimes) a few good laughs to lighten the load. We can provide all of those elements and more. Accept the Stoptober challenge. Join Quit Train. Savor your freedom from the slavery of addiction!

Just to clarify, a few days ago Paul posted a reply to a "Pre-Response" post that I thought could possibly be interpreted as being embarrassing or confrontational by the OP. I PM'd Paul and explained my thinking. I asked him to edit his reply so as not to offend the OP. He didn't respond to my PM and he didn't edit his reply but he did delete it (we peons can't delete the whole message, just the text). That's all I know.

Hi, Marti- The book is called: "The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga: The Philosophy and Practice of Yin Yoga" and the DVD is called: "Chakra Theory and Meditation" by Paul Grilley. I'm just starting them. Right now, I'm still in the chapters covering "What are chakras and why should I care?" (or words to that effect :) ). As soon as I get into the actual meditations I'll let you know what it's like. I will say that, based on what I've watched and read so far, this is what I wanted-- a combination of positions (asanas) together with breathing and energy work. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes.

The bit about the muslin cloths is how you know that this is a REAL home remedy! You would never find that in a medical or even an herbalist's prescription. It's a homey slice of life that we can all identify with. Thanks for keeping it real, Marti, :D

Jackie, the day I joined Quit Train was the day you relapsed after a beautiful 7-month quit. Having come from "the other site" I was impressed with your courage in posting about it. Over the next days and weeks I followed your story very closely because I was going through a rough patch myself and wanted to see how someone else handled it. Your strength, wisdom, honestly, determination (and, yes, your chagrin) were inspirational to me. So here we are a month later. To me, one month is the hardest milestone to achieve. That's not fooling around-- that's a real quit. I have never seen anyone fall so hard but get back up so quickly and so well. Your relapse might have been very disappointing and embarrassing to you, but your story and your example will help future quitters to see that even if you relapse you can pull it together and still grab the brass ring! Happy anniversary, Jackie, and congratulations on your 1-month-plus-7-month quit!

Whew! The problem isn't me! As you probably know, I recently chose to walk dogs as part of my exercise routine. I've been doing it for 1 hour three times a week for about 2 weeks now. I used to walk dogs at this same rescue organization 2 years ago and I thought I knew what to do. But this time around, it seems as though every single dog I walk, while not vicious or anything, is completely unsocialized. They don't relate to humans, they don't wag their tails, they ignore commands, they pull your arm out of the socket when they walk, etc. This is not a fun experience for either me or the dog. It used to be rare to get a dog this poorly trained but now it's almost every dog. I began to wonder what I was doing wrong. I finally got a chance to talk to a long-term staff member the other day. It turns out that a year ago this shelter got the contract to administer the animal shelters (i.e. "dog catcher") operations for TWO counties! Plus continue the non-profit shelter they had all along. So their most experienced staff who used to train the shelter dogs have been transferred to the county facilities. The remaining staff at the shelter are relatively new and have very little time to train dogs-- just feed, clean, let out into the runs, load into vans for various adoption events, feed and clean again. So that explains why the dogs are out of control. The problem is not me. The dogs (or rather the dogs' environment) has changed. Nobody actually trains them any more. I feel reassured by that. And now that I understand better what is going on, I know how to deal with it. I will work intensively three times a week with only one dog and start the training from the very beginning. It may take a couple of months to work up to walking well on a leash. And that's OK with me. It won't be as much exercise for me as I had anticipated, but I'll do something else for exercise. At least I will be making one dog happier and improving his/her chances of being adopted. That's very good.