I am about done!

[JH63]

 This is not an urgent SOS. I am not going to smoke today!

I am writing this because I promised myself that I would post an SOS here before I gave up. I also promised myself that I would not smoke for 24 hrs. after deciding that I was going to.

I am worn out from working everyday on not smoking.  I mean I am bone tired of never doing anything but concentrating on not smoking.  As I've said before, I've never quit smoking, only stopped for different lengths of time.

 I want to Thank all of you for your support!

Your a great group of people with much knowledge on quitting smoking.

Thanks,

   Jeff

[Linda]

Oh Jeff hang in there, I know and understand how you are feeling. You have come so far to give up. I have had the same feeling but do not want to start all over. Just one day at a time !!! You can do this.  Don't want to loose another quit partner.

[NADA]

Jeff

 

All you need to focus on right now is getting through that 24 hours you promised to remain smoke free.  It gets overwhelming thinking about going through this day after day.  Get through today and when tomorrow comes you can reassess if you want to toss your quit.  Quitting often seems like a struggle without an end.  All I can say is, there is an end to the daily grind.  And once you emerge on the other side you'll appreciate just what an amazing victory you've achieved.

[Doreensfree]

Where,s my Frying pan......

Listen up !!!!!.......

I promise you will not be struggling for the rest of your life ...if it didn,t get any easier ,none of us would be here 

We have all been where you are ...

You have come so far to throw it all away ......

Our brains are our worst enemies ....your over thinking ...

Smoking will just be putting you in a early grave ...your worth do much more than that ...

Keep going ...

 

[Cbdave]

G’day 

Ever and that’s Ever day,hour, minute is so precious to me. I’ve survived a major cancer and some strokes not all minor to get here. I doubt I could have survived if I still smoked. I’ve walked and dieted to get my brood pressure meds to the lowest dose. Back on the cigs I could just throw that strait in the toilet. No amount of effort could compensate for the effects of those cigs on my health. Take it from someone that’s lived his way though the early times. It’s worth it. 

[jillar]

Aww Jeff, you're not going through anything worse than the rest of us who made it through. Keep reminding yourself that! 

Plus you set an 18 week goal, so why wouldn't you give yourself that time to see if you really want to start smoking again. My guess is you won't because you'll be feeling better by then.

You are so close to being done with the hard parts so why give it up now?

 

[Boo]

1 hour ago, JH63 said:

 I am worn out from working everyday on not smoking.  I mean I am bone tired of never doing anything but concentrating on not smoking.  

 

In the early days of a quit, it's easy to feel a bit like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill.  The process demands a great deal of attention in those early days and can feel like an exercise in futility.  Quitting smoking is very different from Sisyphus's situation though.  You keep pushing and the hill begins to flatten out, you get to level ground.  You reach a place where you can stop pushing.  With time, the days of pushing rocks up hills becomes a distant memory.

 

Addiction is our cross to bear.  We have two choices, both of which require some form of sacrifice.

 

Your first choice is to stop being a slave to your addiction.  It can be difficult on the front end but gets much easier with time.

 

Your second choice is to continue feeding your addiction.  It is easier on the front end as it allows you to stay in your comfort zone.  However, it becomes much more difficult with time as it begins to rob you of everything and continues in perpetuity.

 

Ask any long-term quitter here if they regret the effort required during the early days of the quit.  I think you already know the answer.

[Doreensfree]

Jeff.....

Weigh up all the pro,s and cons of smoking ....

Listen to the Elder Quitters here .....we all have quit having had or still have serious health issues ...

A smoker will never win ....

You might need up with threatened amputation like me ....

Then you would have a bigger choice to make ....

You,ve heard the saying ....No Pain ..No Gain ....it's true ....

I wish I could magic you to Freedom ,so you can feel how wonderful it feels ....but I Carn,t...

I can only tell you ...

I suggest you think very very hard about your decision.....

[johnny5]

Jeff,

 

I've done the whole stop smoking for periods of time and then relapse thing too.  I don't need to tell you that it is torture.

 

If you smoke, you will hate it and regret it and, with time, plan another attempt to stop/quit.  Don't do that.  You are already pretty far into your quit but believe us, it does get better.  It may take longer for some than others but things will get better.

 

Do yourself a favor and fight through this.  Keep the quit.  Nothing good will come out of lighting up a cigarette.

[RoryPlog]

Great move coming here first. It might not matter to you right this minute, but I really love no be a smoker right now. 

 

Right now I feel ok

 

Right now I can resist the urge to smoke

 

I'm glad you came here first, thats a great move right now.

[Reciprocity]

" I have tried about every method of quitting Chantix, wellbutrin, cold turkey, patches. I have watched many hours of Joel Spitzer's videos, always making that commitment to never take another puff.

But my commitment is just not strong enough! I get tired of lying to myself."

 

That's a quote from your 1st post here May 18, 2020. You stated your commitment isn't strong enough. It appears that hasn't changed  You're still romancing the cigarette and smoking in general. This is something only YOU can change and you MUST change that thinking in order to quit long term. The alternative is putting yourself through the withdrawal process over and over and over again. That's no way to live; it's torture!

 

You need to have a real heart to heart talk with yourself Jeff and decide if you want to quit more than you want to smoke. If the answer is yes. then fight for it and sweep those smoky thoughts out of your mind. If the answer is no then it's back to feeding you addiction and throwing away all the work and pride you have put into this quit. The choice is yours and yours alone. Choose wisely Jeff.

[Mee]

Jeff, I so hope you power through this urge to go back to smoking.  Once you have travelled this far on your journey, it is only a matter of redirecting those thoughts.  Don't allow your addiction to consume your thought process.  I know you have it in you.   

[bakon]

Sorry don’t know you. Haven’t been around, but be glad I haven’t.  The goat and all his friends including the pig all seen people come and mostly stay. Some leave. But you, so much I could have made fun of.  Eastern pan handle? You know there is only one pan handle on that banjo playing state.   My mother and sister live there and speak that jibberish. Both from a respectable place called Pittsburgh but guess they got brain removals to fit in.  Actually was in west by gone Virginia pan handle on Sunday.  Bought some fiesta ware. Which is also funny. Nothing fiesta in the state. Think there might be one Mexican and he is waiting for a ride out.  But I am getting off subject,   You want to quit quitting.   Dum dum.  Really that smoke is not going to be what you think it is. Going to taste like shit. You will get used to the shit taste again, it will go along with the stench of shit cloud floating along with you.  You friends that smoke will be happy to have you back, secretly knowing they couldn’t make it and didn’t want you to either.  Fking losers   Anyways fire up to disappointment window licker. Know we were all there and hung on just one more day, then one more, and another.  Till they added up to a point we were stronger than some urge we couldn’t think to beat. But we did. And in six months, no a year, you will go and say I should try again....and when you hit that day, we will be here. Because we all lived that mess.  Read my post on starting now....figure out what year your start begins, You will quit when you make up your mind. Because once you figure on quitting, really quitting, then you can’t go back. It no longer fits. I hope your already there.  

Edited March 25, 2021 by bakon

[Steven Drojensky]

Hang in there, Jeff

[El Bandito]

Hey JH, you’re getting all the old timers out.

 

Have a smoke. You’ll feel great. That wonderful rush of choking poison, filling your lungs, chasing away your self-respect. Oh to be back smoking again...

 

Oh wait...smoking is crap. That’s why you stopped. 

 

Deep breaths and big girl panties on. You can absolutely do this. I did, and I’m a skirt-wearing islander, with a crush on @bakon

 

Well done for calling yourself out. Well done for making yourself wait. Things will get better and you will realise you can achieve anything you set your mind to. 

 

Now. Keep on keepin’ on

[bakon]

Where you at Huckleberry?

 

get right in that head?  

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by bakon

[AceWhite]

don't obsess about an old girlfriend time to move on she's a skank

[Doreensfree]

How ya doin Jeff....Hope you decided 

To Keep That Wonderful Quit !!!!

[JH63]

 I am Back, and I am still not smoking!  I didn't want to post on here early in the day because I wanted to be sure I did not smoke today.

Now my window is closed, in order to smoke I would have to go through the same process again.

 

Thank everyone of you for your support.  I really appreciate it. This fight is far from over, and this could happen again.  I'm still shaky and my mind is still wondering in different directions at different times.

These three things saved me from going back to smoking. 1) Posting this SOS and waiting for responses.

2) As part of my quit plan I could not just pick-up. I had to wait 24 hrs. after deciding to do so, before I actually did. 3) I don't have any cigarettes around me or near me. I think I would have given in if they were readily available. I live in a very rural area. There are no stores close. I would have had to go out, drive about ten miles round trip. I just couldn't make myself do it. Too lazy I guess!

 

@reciprocity  I understand that nothing has changed in all this time. I still lack the commitment needed to actually quit! I do want to quit! But there is something lacking in me mentally. You are correct in what you say!  If I don't succeed this time, I'm going to quit trying and accept this as my fate! As you say, and I know, it is torture! Thanks for the honesty!

 

@bakon  Wow! I wish you were still around here also! I'm not that thin skinned, so we would have had fun!  I read all five pages of the post that you bumped up to me last night. Thanks, it really helped! I found some wisdom in there.  You definitely have a different way of looking at things, but it works for you! That's all that counts!

All of the dumb people are not concentrated in one state. That's the only thing I am sure of right now!

Edited March 26, 2021 by JH63

[bakon]

Good job Huckleberry. Keep Marching. 
one step at a time but easy if you enjoy the steps. Learn to enjoy the quit. Rewards. Go buy yourself an ice cream. Sure you can find that in the panhandle. 

[jillar]

14 minutes ago, JH63 said:

I still lack the commitment needed to actually quit! I do want to quit! 

 

Jeff, you HAVE quit! For almost three months now so I don't think you lack commitment. I think you're afraid that if you realize this then it'll make it real and that scares you because smoking was all you've known for so long. We want you to see the side we discovered from quitting. Its such a nicer way to live for everyone involved, not just yourself.

I love your SOS plan and am glad that it resets now. Hopefully you won't need it again but if you do we'll be here to help you past it.

 

 

[bakon]

Dum bunny is right, you are quit and you have a good plan. Who would think she could get two right in same post?

PS still think it says butt kisser above her picture

[Linda]

Jeff I am so glad you are still here. I am very proud of you and the way you saved your quit

[Reciprocity]

Good job Jeff! As breakfast food said; reward yourself for getting through a challenging time. Rewards are good. Every day going forward try challenging yourself to think about 1 good thing you have experienced since quitting. Saved money, better breathing, not having to hide from rain to smoke - whatever. There's many so pick one out every day and really focus on that benefit. Positivity beats negativity every time and soon you will start seeing the truth about nicotine addiction. It will happen - have faith!

[Mee]

Good job pushing through.  Jeff, keep marching forward and don't go back.  Life is so much better ahead!