Ladybug

I am not sure you will ever read this, but I hope you know

8 months........you are one of my hero's

You have no idea how happy I am to see this! YES 3 days counts on our books....:-)

Wow! So happy for you!

Yeahhhhh! Congratulations!

Congratulations

I am so bad with names.....hmmmmm it's Paul right? Welcome Paul and if it's not Paul...welcome anyway :-)

Welcome! Glad you are here!

Nice to meet you Becca :-) Hope to read more from you!

You don't need luck! Just stay here with us A friend sent the A, B, C and D's to me in my early quit. I attach it here and hope it might help you as well. It was my quitting bible :-) I smoked for 35 years...I quit...IF I can do it...so can you! The A's: •Avoid situations you know you cannot handle •Alter your response - change the flavor of your coffee, sit in a different room, meet your friends in a neutral (nonsmoking environment) •Accept that some days will be tougher, and that by sticking it out you will get stronger. The B's: •Believe in yourself....you can do this. •Behave! You don't have to be a total brat....it's not going to kill you. The C's: •Cope with it and write down how you feel. •Calm down. There is no reason to panic you don't need cigarettes. The D's •Delay your next craving for as long as possible by: •Distracting yourself - keeping busy is extremely important. Go for a walk, or pull out your guitar. •Drinking lots of water or some herbal teas, keep it in your mouth for a while, enjoy the sensation. Chewing gum can help too. •Deep breathing. An easy way to relax. You might have done this 200-300 times per day when inhaling smoke. Emergency Coping Plan: AVOID the situation. Identify the situations when you normally smoke or chew, or feel cravings. For most, high-risk situations include work breaks, finishing meals, having coffee or being in a bar. Plan how you will avoid these situations for a few weeks. Plan for alternate activities. LEAVE the situation. If you find yourself in one of these high risk situations, leave if you can. And, leave before you get a craving. DISTRACT yourself from the craving. If you find yourself in a situation you can't leave and you get a craving, distract yourself from the craving by: Thinking about something else, like your Benefits of Quitting (or how much money you’re saving every week, how your body is healing itself). Doing something else to distract yourself like drinking water or deep breathing exercises. Thinking about an upcoming event in your life, such as a vacation. DELAY acting on the craving If you can't keep your mind off it, then make a deal with yourself that you will wait 5 minutes before you give into the craving. The craving will usually pass in a couple of minutes anyway. If you delay, the craving will go away. Use SELF TALK A craving may be accompanied by negative thoughts about your ability to resist it. Use positive self talk statements to combat your negative thoughts. Talk loud if you have to

Your mind is made up...it's sounds like you are ready! Enjoy this board and open up! Don’t just be passive and read, become an active member of this board. Get to know the people and let them know you! After all we all have something in common! That’s why we are here. I am looking forward to your posts. You are not alone! I smoked for 35 years and quit 7 weeks ago....if I can do...so can you! It is a bit of a roller coaster....so fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride

Welcome Rob!

Glad you are here! Welcome!

Hello Amber....I am glad to see you here! A Baby Boy.....well can we discuss the names :-)

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TPAM lives in Ohio :-)

I pledge to not smoke on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday! NOPE because I don't smoke anymore and 5 x S.N.O.T. Smoking is not an option today!

Thank you so much Markus! Reading - writing and posting has helped me a lot. I just went through some of my early notes and laughed. I sound like I don't know what I am doing....I really recommend it to everybody! It's like a free therapy session

Welcome!

Welcome DJ...I hope you have a great weekend too! :)

CHOO CHOO has to be in there somewhere!