DenaliBlues

NOPE!

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Great job @Brioski!! Way to defend your quit despite adversity. Congratulations on hitting the two month mark. Here’s to many more months to come. It gets easier soon!

^^^^ YES YES YES, YODA! The junk they put in cigarettes and vaping juice is designed to keep us hooked. Although this paper has some limits (it’s not a controlled study, it’s a discussion of fragmentary tobacco company documents), lots of what it says rings true to my experience. I had a very strong preference for two “light” cigarette brands that contained high doses of pyrazines. I experienced those brands as intensifying the rewards of smoking. Nicotine alone in the form of NRT did, actually, help me quit. Zero doubt in my mind about that. But neither is there any doubt that it felt “incomplete” as a substitute. I was hooked on nicotine plus something else - some pyrazine cocktail, perhaps - that took much longer than 3 days to clear my system. The indications that pyrazine additives activate 5HT in the central nervous system would help to explain some of my longer term withdrawal struggles, too. The chemical cocktail I was hooked on had hijacked my brain’s serotonin and dopamine systems… all my “feel-good” chemicals were held hostage, and my digestion was altered also. I’m glad to he able to read and reflect on this article, because understanding more about how I was hooked can help me better understand what support I need to recover from this addiction that causes so much suffering for so many. In the meantime… ^^^ Right there with you, Gus! Fury over being controlled is a big factor that fuels my quit. I refuse to be owned any longer. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!

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7. Decoupage

I love this, @Paul723. Thanks for the bump.

round the bend

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… a home remedy for itchy elbows? I ask because…

4. Cut out letters for an anonymous ransom note

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Many congrats on two years of sweet freedom, @Dianne!

Impeccably neat groomer

7. Donate them

Bravo

Twerk all day

… I thought I needed a new hobby. So I tried…

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Welcome back, @darcy. Congrats on your first 24 hours. So great that you’re back on track. Totally agree with @jillar that your sense of what’s possible hasn’t gotten a fair shot yet. THIS can be the quit where you give yourself that chance. My Addict Mind pulled all kinds of fatalistic crap on me for the first 3-4 months… about my being destined to fail, destined to be unhappy, not having the capacity to ever feel well, having smoked for so long that quitting no longer matters, etc. It threw the kitchen sink at me, trying to rationalize why it was ok to revert to smoking again. It was nonsense, of course. “Through a mirror darkly.” I recognize that now. You’ll get there too. Your life has circled around this addiction for a long time, but you CAN break free. You made a great start on that today. Well done.

Hang in there @Brioski. Quitting is emotionally and physically discombobulating. But like you said, protecting your quit means you have stepped OFF that merry go round of regret, and that’s huge!! Keep advocating for the medical help you need. We’re here for you.

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