Reciprocity

Hope you had a great Birthday!

A belated Happy BD wish to you Grace. I hope it was extra special :)

I liked the -5 better :P -14

hford, either write out a short jot-note list on paper or make a list in your cell phone of the reasons YOU want to quit. Something you can take out and look at whenever you are tempted to have just one. Smoking needs to be completely off the table for you to make it through successfully. You need something you can carry on you at all times, take out and read when you need to. Not only will it remind you why you are doing it, it will distract you from the thought of smoking for a minute or two. Long enough to let the worst of that craving go past. Also, it gives you something to do with your hands too. Stay committed to NOPE, no matter what that voice of addiction is saying inside your head. It's the only way AND, it works 100% of the time :)

-12

Hope you have a great one - your first smoke-free B.D. Congrats :D

-10 (we need more sticks :( )

Kenzie - yes it's important that you stay close to the board here while you are traveling along the quit path. If nothing else, it will help keep you focused. You're doing fantastic and should be proud of what you have done so far. These are the really tough days and you're winning!!

-10

Nice Job Kenzie. 2 great things about getting trough hell week: 1. You actually did it !! Be proud of yourself and reward yourself with something a little spacial. that's the toughest week of all. 2. You will never have to go through that s**t again providing you keep to the NOPE pledge :)

Well then "Happy First week Jk!! :) We'll post up something tomorrow in our celebration thread so tune in for that. We have another 1 week quit on the same date as you 6/6/17 :) Good to know you got checked out because now you know you're at least starting your with a clean slate. As I said in an earlier post though, don't be surprised if there are some sort of changes in your body or your body's functions as you move through the quit process. Not sure how long you have been smoking for but the sheer number of chemicals we smokers continued to dump into ourselves for years is amazing. It's no wonder our bodies change a little as they are readjusting to the way things should be. That's one of the main benefits to quitting. Allowing our bodies to heal and become normal again. Keep up the good work. That initial week in particular is a tough one - I remember it well. Keep taking things a day at a time for now and you'll be fine. Just keep to the NOPE pledge (Not One Puff Ever).

Hi & welcome aboard the quit train hford :) Yes, posting first day IS a good idea. Commit to quitting not only to all of us but more importantly - to yourself!! That's what is required an unwavering personal commitment to Not One Puff Ever (the NOPE pledge). Follow that each day and you will have found freedom from this deadly addiction. Sounds easy and it is; just takes a little hard work on your part. We are here to support and hopefully inspire you along the way. You do need to think about what caused you to relapse last time though and have a plan ready to avoid the same situation again this time. Not a bad idea either to post up in the SOS page in the thread titled; "Prerespond to You Own SOS". List all the reasons you want to quit and make a personal message that will be meaningful to YOU. That way, if you are tempted to give in during the early days, go there and remind yourself just how important this quit is to you. Hope you continue to join us in the discussions here - see you around :)

Late to the party but .................... NOPE!

Good Job & Welcome hford! Best thing you can do for yourself is to Quit smoking!!

-7

This is it in a nutshell. Never give up not matter what; no matter when!

Oh no you don't !!!!! -10

OK so now you have completed that most difficult 1st Month of your quit. Well Done! That first Month is really tough. It's like running a marathon as a completely different, non smoking, being :o At the end of it, you are exhausted and just want everything to be normal again. Things do start to settle down at this point or they have for a little while. You have educated yourself about this deadly addiction and have developed your own set of tools to help yourself deal with cravings when they come upon you, unannounced, and threaten to ruin your quit that you have worked so hard to achieve. You're starting to feel confident and proud of yourself and, rightly so! But, you've been noticing that something is different now. When you first decided to quit, you announced to your family, friends, coworkers and others your intentions to improve your life and your health. They were happy for you. They were all initially attentive and eager to verbalize their support any chance the had to do that. You felt special. It was likely just what you needed while you were doing battle with the addiction that was threatening your very life. You were under siege from an addiction that was strong and crafty, trying to trick you into feeding it each and every time you felt weakness whether due to some unexpected life situation or just being tired of fighting during the first month. Yes, this support from everyone close to you was just what you needed! Now as you travel into your 2nd and 3rd month, all that support seems to have faded like the smell of fresh cut grass on a summer's morning. OK - you have come through the most difficult part of your quit but, you still aren't there; not completely there anyway. You still have cravings from time to time. You still have lots of thoughts about smoking. You feel you have control over those things but ....... where has all that support gone? Now, relatives, friends and coworkers seem to have the attitude that you should just be over it by now, but, you're not. You know you're not completely there yet. You're not going to be completely there until you've gone through a whole year of potential triggers. You know, those seasonal changes that can create triggers out of nowhere that might hit you at a weak moment and make you think; I can have just one. Look how far I've come. One won't hurt :) Don't be fooled my friend. That one will turn into many. Just ask someone who has relapsed after 1 year or 2 years. It happens when you don't remain committed. So, where do you go for your support after 1 month smoke free. You come here! You come to a place where like-minded people reside eager to commend you on your accomplishments and a place where people understand exactly what you are going through and exactly how you're feeling. Be ever on guard and nurture that early quit. Stay with us and participate to not only protect your own quit but to nurture others that are coming along behind you. That too will help to solidify YOUR quit. It's easy and, it's free! Congratulations on making it through the most difficult month. Now go forward and make it stronger and rely on us for support as you have in the past. (Sorry for the long preachy post :unsure: )

-7

Belated congrats C2B - 3 months - 1/4 year is awesome!

A belated congrats Jim. Well done on your 4 months quit. As you say, it's not easy; that's for sure but, that's what makes each additional milestone that much more special!

PM sent B57 :)

Wow, Treetop!! Only 1 more month to the Lido Deck. Better get yourself packed and hunt down those water wings. Great job on that quit!!

Congratulations for reaching this most difficult of milestones Feely. Hope you drop in and say hello. Keep that young quit going!!