Cristóbal

People think they love smoking, until they are explained the truth about nicotine addiction. Then they hate it !!! Congratulations on your two years, keep going !!! Cristóbal

Hello Sparky, This is great news !!! Start this quit right, be sure to watch Joel Spitzer´s video below about relapse prevention, then do click on this link https://whyquit.com/joel/Joel_Index_04_Relapse.html This is the link he talks about in his video that will take you to many articles and videos that are about relapse prevention. Education is key to getting a stickey quit !!! Cristóbal

I learned that smoking in reality is a cruel slavery of all that you are. Today, after quitting smoking over 6 years ago, I still feel like a happy drunk every day with this beautiful freedom. Cristóbal

↑↑↑↑↑ I agree 100%. I am sorry to learn you have lost your father Kate, that is a horrible loss. At the same time, you may want to ask yourself, Is there a valid reason why you must wait to start your quit ???? Cristóbal

Be sure to enjoy the benefits of your best holiday gift ever.....your quit !!! Stay focused on being able to smell and taste your holiday food - think of it while enjoying every holiday meal, it will blow away any trigger thoughts that you may have. Be sure to watch Joel´s video about the holidays: Cristóbal ???

Thanks for posting this, Eric made some wonderful posts !!! Cristóbal

Hello, So sorry to see this has happened, please let us know how you progress with the recovery. It could have been worse - be glad that you quit 3 years ago, it could have been the difference between death and surviving this. It is never too late to quit smoking. Cristóbal

Hello Wansit, Congratulations on completed Week # 3 !!! Your Dad still wanted to smoke because even after 26 years of not smoking, he did not have enough education to eliminate the lies the addiction had created in his head, telling him there were benefits of smoking. As long as you believe there are benefits of smoking, you will not have a happy quit and you will feel like you are depriving yourself. So how do you go from the Point A of being a smoker, to the Point B of being a happy non-smoker who has internalized that there are no benefits of smoking ??? It is done through education about nicotine addiction, and how it affected you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Quitting smoking involves stopping smoking, but that is not all of it if you want to have a stable and happy quit. Invest time in yourself and your quit, and educate yourself as much as you can: Check out http://www.whyquit.com Watch Joel Spitzer´s videos here on QuitTrain https://www.quittrain.com/forum/15-joel-spitzers-quit-smoking-video-library/ And spend some time every day on this forum, asking questions as you did right now. All of this will help you put your mind and body where it needs to be - with a strong educated quit, ready to live life again as it should be lived: in complete freedom of all that you are as a human being, from addiction. Cristóbal

Hi Lilly, I am glad you have been using these resources, they certainly have helped so many people quit smoking over the years. The education you are getting is critical to helping you put your mind in the right place, and finally ending this awful cycle. The support from this forum is also very important. There is almost always somebody here to help if you have a bad day. Both education and support are key in their own ways, and both will help you finally end this awful cycle. Cristóbal

Once you internalize that smoking has no benefit - and learn that one puff will start the active addiction again - then you will have your stickey quit. As human beings, we do not want to do things that will not have a benefit for us. So once you internalize that smoking has no benefit, you simply will not want to do it. It is exactly for these same reasons, that most people who have never smoked, never start. Cristóbal

This is good, you are leaving the active addiction by going out, through the same door you opened to come in. Do you remember when you first started smoking ??? I think we all do. Those first cigarettes were not something we liked at the beginning. We had to pay the price of coughing and feeling dizzy, to become a proud smoker. That was what happened when we opened the smoking door to the addiction, years ago. Now, you must go through the same door to get out of where you were. The price of your exit, is withdrawl symptoms, however the process of leaving involves much more time and discomfort. Smoking sucked when we started. Smoking sucked when we smoked. Smoking sucked when we stopped. What does this tell you ??? Your perverse feelings of enjoying withdrawl, show that you have had enough of this garbage. Keep going and never look back, there was never anything good about smoking, it all sucked - you are doing excellent !!! Cristóbal

......because I am busy trying to survive....and I cannot talk any more. N.O.P.E. - Not.One.Puff.Ever. Live your life by it. Cristóbal (First posted 25 November 2014)

Just one month to go !!! This means, it is the........ Close your eyes, and when you open them you will be on the Lido Deck !!! Cristóbal

Hi Markus, It is great to see you again, I remember you from QSMB. This is a really good post, because it explains to the reader that nicotine addiction has no intelligence. It is primitive, and not the 10 meter tall monster so many people think it is. We have intelligence, and we can learn. This is wonderful !!! Cristóbal

Thanks for adding this great video, to this fantastic post. Keep bumping it !!! Cristóbal

Hi Lilly, Stay close to the forum and keep educating yourself about nicotine addiction and the process of quiting smoking. I suggest you go to http://www.whyquit.com and read as much as you can. Also, watch Joel Spitzer´s videos here on QuitTrain, the link to his library is here: https://www.quittrain.com/forum/15-joel-spitzers-quit-smoking-video-library/ The more that you understand what nicotine addiction and quitting smoking is about, the better will be your chances to have a happy and permenent quit. Cristóbal

Keep going - it gets so much better !!! Not all days will be like today, but you will have more and more great days, and less and less bad days. This is a promise !!! Do you see the smile on my face ??? That shows perfectly how much I love life as a non-smoker. ??? Cristóbal

In your first week, especially if you quit cold turkey, eat small meals so that your blood sugar levels do not go low. When you were a smoker, every time you smoked a cigarette the nicotine caused your liver to release sugar into your blood. When you stop smoking, your body has to learn how to adjust your blood sugar levels by itself, without nicotine. It takes some time for this to happen. Because of this, low blood sugar in your first few weeks of your quit can become a physical and mental trigger and create craves. Avoid these triggers by eating these small meals. If you do have a strong crave, it is very useful to eat something very sweet immediately like cookies or candy. After 5-10 minutes, your blood sugar levels will go up, and this higher blood sugar level plus just the passing of some time, will help your greatly to manage your crave. This advice is also very, very useful when a member posts a SOS message on this forum. That is always my first recommendation. Cristóbal

Another foto of Greenlover (Beth). This was taken in the hospital with her daughter, also right after her first heart attack. I think it was in 2013, or perhaps in the early months of 2014. Cristóbal

Confession: If I forget to put vinegar in the rinse of the clothing washer machine, I think I can feel the soap on my body. Am I weird ??? Or just a little bit obsessed ???

Hello Parsley, Congratulations on completing two months !!! Just keep going, it will continue to become more easier. The worst times are definitely behind you. In one or two more months, you will notice more changes in your body as the nicotine receptors in your brain go to sleep. In the meantime, stay by this forum, and keep close until you have reached your first year anniversary. Cristóbal

Beth and I were very good friends on QSMB. She was a wonderful person with a big heart, and little tolerance for people who could not embrace the idea that quitting smoking, meant QUITTING SMOKING. She posted with common sense, and reacted to other people´s posts with common sense. The friendship started slowly, when my quit was about 6 months old, and then grew very quickly after her first heart attack. This foto was taken in the hospital after her first heart attack. She did not survive the second heart attack. Both heart attacks - and her death - were caused by smoking. Cristóbal

Hello Sazerac, Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary !!! Thank you very much for staying here and helping others with their quits, the support and wisdom from your long quit is so important. Fireworks for you, of course !!! ??? Cristóbal

Congratulations Rez on your 5 year anniversary !!! Of course there are lots of fireworks for you, well done !!! Cristóbal

Congratulations MissyCat on 4 years of wonderful freedom !!! I remember you from QSMB.....wow, 4 years, time is going by very quickly !!!! Cristóbal