JohnQ

As Doreen said, it's a journey, not a race. From my own experience of quitting hundreds of times, the physical cravings eventually will stop soon but the mental ones may take a long, long, looong time. They hit me a a few times this (3rd) week too, but I don't ever want to be an addict again, the Quittrain forums and NOPE work for me. You got this idontsmoke.

Congratulations on your 3 years of freedom!

NOPE

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t So true, we really need to comprehend this fact to kick this addiction. Hi Lilley, I'm really sorry to break to you, but the sad truth is that you are an addict, and so AM I. We're both Nicotine addicts. Like most smokers I've been denying it for years, but accepting this fact has been helping me to fight this addiction. I now realize I didn't really enjoy smoking, I smoked to feed the Nicotine addiction. I used to plan for all my previous quits as well, birthdays, new year resolution, anniversary, etc. But I believe all those plans were just excuses to smoke longer, again probably due to the "perception" of enjoying the smoke. I've done too many of those "planned" quits, they don't work if you still think you're "giving up" smoking on that date. On June 1st, I realized how pathetic I was with all the excuses, so I said to myself "the hell with the plan! ", I dumped all my vaping stuff, torches, cigars, etc., including 2 packs of Cuban cigars worth over $300. I guess I've had enough. If I had stayed with my planned quit, I would still be smoking right now instead enjoying 3 glorious weeks of Nicotine free so far. So the real question is: Do you really want to quit? If you do, right now is the best time to quit.

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Amer and Dan, I smoked for about 40 years and I've tried to quit smoking many, many times in the past 24 years, so I've experienced the Nicotine withdrawals countless of times. I've had a lot of different types of "issues" from time to time but I don't recall ever having any issue dragging out over 2 months. I know everyone is different, but it just sounds really odd to have a Nicotine withdrawal symptom that can last over 8 months which makes me suspect that all the issues you've been having may not be related to quit smoking. As many people have suggested, see your Doctor about these issues. For anyone who's lurking the forum, don't be discouraged when you read this thread, the lengthy issues experienced by OP is not the norm, it's unusual to have withdrawal symptoms that long. The mental issue is usually the main problem, not the physical withdrawals. So educate yourself about quitting and you will quit successfully. Good luck Amer and Dan, please keep us posted with your progress.

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Great video, Joel's explanation of the danger about this type of quit starting at about 5:10 mark really hit home for me, describing exactly how I failed many times in the past. Well, not this time, I'm sticking to NOPE. Jeff, please watch the video, I think you'll find it very beneficial. Throw away those poison sticks and get back on the train with us. Hope to see you back here soon.

Hello Sarah, You'll be happy to realize that it's the best decision you've made to get on the Quit train to freedom, just stay close to the forum and you'll be fine. There are several others like myself just got on the Quit train this month, let's stick together and ride this train to our new freedom. John

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NOPE

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I've been down that road many times before Jeff. I smoked for almost 40 years, quit and relapsed many times. I also set myself up for failure in the past with many idiotic excuses for lighting up, and I used the same "I don't know what happened"... But deep down inside I knew what happened, and I'm sure you do too. Who are we kidding? we're just Nicotine addicts, like everyone else I've had many of these Nicotine withdrawals in the last 3 weeks that I've experienced it many times before. I also used to think that "I wasn't beaten down by cravings or urges" because these withdrawals are not overwhelming urges, for me they were feeling of emptiness that I needed to fulfill with a smoke, they were not strong but they kept dragging on and on. Now every time I feel it, I log on to read, somehow the Celebrations forum is the one that has been helping me the most, all those successful quits with years of freedom inspire me to make my pledge of NOPE and kick the Nicotine monster in the butt! Every time I did it I gained more and more confident, now it's not "I hope" but "I know" I quit for good. I'm really sorry to have to say this: You and I are Addicts and we must always remind ourselves that 1 drag will make you become an permanent addict again. And I'm also sorry to contradict to your statement "I wasn't beaten down by cravings" because you did, I used to think the same because that's the trick of the Nicotine addiction, people might be fooled that the Nicotine withdrawals feel light, not strong urges, but they are extremely powerful, otherwise we wouldn't relapse again and again. When I realized this perception about the Nicotine addiction I started seeking for help and found this site, fighting the Nicotine withdrawals is the main reason why I keep logging in. We need stick to this site to fight this addiction Jeff, we all need help because it is a very powerful addiction, if it was easy to quit smoking the Tobacco industry would have been out of business a long time ago. Once you determine you want to quit for good, stay close to this forum and fight the addiction. You can do it Jeff. Hope to see you back here soon.

NOPE

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Congrats on your 2 weeks free Nana! Awesome milestone mate!

I'm so happy for you Mona! Well done, congrats on your 2 months free!

Well Done Kate! Congratulations on your 4 months of freedom!

Congratulations greenlight!!! 8 years is awesome! Thanks for coming back and sharing your great milestone with us!

And it's a great decision Irene! Stay here to march with me and all the June quitters to our new freedom

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