Sazerac

You are stronger that any crave, Iml. Much, much Stronger. Congratulations on your quit. I hope you know, I believe there is No Wrong Way To Quit but, I need to speak out. Weaning yourself off nicotine S L O W L Y sounds like weeks of torture. It is weeks of torture. I want you to have a successful quit and I am behind you All The Way but, have you thought about cold turkey ? In three days and nicotine is pretty much gone from your bloodstream, and the rest of the work commences. At some point, you still have to go cold turkey, the day your patches are done. It will still take those 3 days for nicotine to leave your bloodstream. I don't want to rush you before you are ready or fiddle with your plan, but, I do encourage you to give it a thought.

Do you really mean, I would love to smoke ? or, are you just saying that casually, jokey ? If you 'would love to smoke really', I wonder why ? Why would you love to smoke ? You know, it is a lot more than a bad habit to avoid, don't you ? Why would you love to smoke after you quit and, I assume, educated yourself about addiction ? Why would you love to smoke ?

From ever lurking around here, I see we have some gardens amongst us. Will you share some photographs of your trees, your flowers, your quiet benches, your sturdy fences....all of it. Can someone answer my question ? Why do I have one Sunflower facing direct South and one facing direct North. My compass confirms. I have only seen Sunflowers point to the South or South East/West but, haven't a lot of experience with them in my garden. Here, you are facing South. I think this is pretty weird, are the poles shifting or what ?? After the freeze killed my forest of Fence Post Cactus, I am trying to heal myself with ever cheerful Sunflowers. I hope the crows ignore them.

Please join in the discussion

Congratulations, J, on your seven months of Freedom !

In a romantic mood, this evening and I thank you for letting me indulge myself.

All you can do is prepare as best you can, put on some bravado with your make-up and have at it ! This build-up before is always the worst part. You'll be great, of course, you'll be great. The audience wants You to like Them, that is the dynamic. They want to be a good audience so, let them be on your side. All that and deep breaths, you are going to knock em dead. Don't forget, on Wednesday, we will be in the crowd, wildly cheering you on.

Good Morning, Iml. I'm glad you are having a break from quitting madness and building up reserves for the next onslaught. It makes it harder when we get blindsided but, craves may well surprise you, that's just the nature of the beast. All we can do is be vigilant. I am throwing in support to your plan for step 2. Just the concept of having a plan can be mighty helpful in a quit. Congratulations, you quit smoking. You'll be nicotine free in no time !

I am so glad you both are here. Sslip is the best, topper than top shelf. Is it just a rumour or is he going for Royalty like the fluffy one ?

Hi Sslip. You did so great last night with Sunny. That was so cool, I be it made you feel really friggin good. Like the hero that you are. Morning ? evening ? Jo, from the upside down land ?

Hi, Barry and Jo. Not usually up this late. I'm drinking a glass of whisky with one cube, celebrating the fact that I just finished writing a new piece (essay ?) for my writing blog. It's about some ephemera, old photos...train tickets, stashed in an envelope that friend just sent to me. It's still kinda rough and needs editing and if anyone want to edit, they are free to give it a go. I can't look at it anymore. I lost it once when the site froze. This whisky is going to be GOOD.

This is so right on Sslip ! It's hard for me to remember when or how it got better but, you completely nailed it. the longer I've been able to go without thinking of a cigarette the better my concentration has got on other things. And the better my concentration has got on other things the longer I go without thinking about cigarettes. Win, win

(inability to move or react to stimuli) I call this......my second husband. Oh, is that too harsh ? Darn.

are you here now ? click the chat box, I'm there and we can have a hello

I am honored that my post is helpful to you, of course you can use it ! Use anything/everything that resonates with you. We all have the same addict voice, that we will always share. Now, we refuse to be an obedient addict, because we have so many more better things to do. Don't forget we also have a 'chat' (I believe it is operational, I'll check). Some SOS posts have gone into chat and been helpful and more immediate. How was today ? I bet you were kinda washed out from last night. Take really good care of yourself, pampering is in order.

Sunny, I saw you poking around the SOS threads and worried and watched for an SOS from you. Then when you signed out, I felt OK about it, it looked like you had gotten what you needed. I am so glad Sslip made contact, what a hero. Yay Sslip !!! Your husband is a hero, too and YOU are a hero to yourself. Well done, you. You don't smoke anymore. There is no reward in smoking anymore, those days are fcking OVER. New Day. New Rules. Reward yourself, Sunny. Something awesome.

'informal catatonia' was just word salad, Sunny, though you made it sound like a delicious cocktail, informally of course ! I used 'informal' to differentiate between a true medical catatonic state ( inability to move and lack of response to stimuli) and to signify that I just felt catatonically inclined but, was able to move and respond (albeit slothfully) I'm glad to hear it, reci. Well, not 'glad' exactly but, you know what I mean. "It was by far and away the most debilitating and longest lasting quit symptom I experienced. " yes yes yes.

Congratulations on your first month DeVredux ! One month is a huge accomplishment but, remember you are in the early days, months... Quitting smoking is a Journey and you must protect your quit FOREVER and a day ! Triggers for the first year are often seasonal...first Springtime walk in the park, first summer fun, first Autumn memory. Don't be surprised to be surprised by craves or smokey thoughts, arm yourself with education, rewards, distraction...arm yourself with everything you can think of. You are doing great. Every craven crave beaten down is one less you will ever experience again. Thanks for your honest post, it helps me stay on the path. S

Surviving The Great NicotineFree Fog Some people experience a mental fog soon after they quit smoking or using nicotine, others don't. It can last from a few hours to a few weeks or longer. My fog wasn't consistent, showing up unannounced and somewhat dismaying. Who am I kidding ? It was disarming and seemed impenetrable. I couldn't have made thoughtful decisions and was glad they weren't necessary. My fog lasted over a month and lingered far too long. Not what you want to hear, I know, but remember, this was only my experience. Everyone's quit is unique, much has to do with attitude, general wellness, behavior/lifestyle, nutrition... Keep some tricks in your tool box to help you, just in case, and keep your blood sugar up. Antidotes ? forced walks, cold air, intentional breathing, too much coffee, 'embracing the suck', attention to my blood sugar, alerting people that might be affected, not stressing out about it...understanding that it will pass. Duration and Density ? On a scale, (10) drastically impaired to (0) normal. -For three days, with OTC help and Whisky, I flirted with informal catatonia (10) -For two weeks, I had little concentration, I wasn't making executive decisions or problem solving (7) -At four weeks, I slowly wakened to lethargy (3) and indolence (2.5) -It tapered off so s l o w l y, it was hard to mark but, that could have been my inattentiveness. pfftt. Have you experienced The Great Smoke Free Fog ? What helped you ? How dense was it ? When did it clear ? Enjoy this lovely short film and listen to Sounding the Sumburgh Foghorn in The Shetlands.

Congratulations on your YEAR of Freedom, Joe. Happy Nicotine Freedom.

Congratulations on your Four Months of Freedom, RoryPlog !

Happy Three Months of Freedom, Roopy !

Oh, this is great news, Martian ! Congratulations ! Celebrate wildly and amply reward yourself ! Thank you for all your contributions here, I always look forward to your posts.

Happy Six Months of Freedom, Brand New Ela ! You are brand new, how exciting to hear you are 'truly living a new life'. Thank you for being here and thank you for all your contributions, they really make a difference.

Happy Sixth day of Freedom ! Denial is one of the benefits of addiction like all the other lies. 'it relaxes me' (it doesn't) there are a million falsehoods. Educate yourself about addiction, knowledge is the greatest tool you can have. Remember NOPE, we are addicts and Not One Puff Ever must be our mantra. and HALT (are you Hungry, Angry (emotional), Lonesome (bored), Tired ) Often, we think we need a smoke when we have other issues to address. Here is Babs609's thread, HALT , and my thread, Riffing On H.A.L.T