Why did you quit, what have you gained?

[Still winning]

I think it would be good to take a moment to not only remind ourselves why we quit but what we have gained. Sometimes in a the middle of a struggle the words, "it gets better, hold on" are great but we need to see more. This is where both long and short term quits come into their own...from the very first day there are benefits....  

 

I will start for you:

 

When I quit I expected to be able to breath a little better and not be financially struggling every month.  I am both of those and more!

 

From about 3 weeks I slept better than I ever had, for a shorter time and felt more refreshed. The way my whole chest feels is amazing, a deep breath is so deep it's nuts!  My ability to exercise has gone off the chart, sadly I still look like a blueberry in colour but I can keep going long after I would have. I rarely get close to running out of money, I'm not loaded but I finally have a bit of breathing room and have not struggled to pay a bill since I quit!  Big news!

 

Unexpectedly, my self worth rose massively! A belief system was set up where I believed if I gave it everything I had, I could achieve anything. I believe this is a direct result of facing and conquering triggers. It set up a precedent where if I believed in my mind I could overcome it, then I could. This continues to grow and despite always being confident, now I am also confident of my ability to achieve things, whereas before I feared failure in a big way.

 

I want to say it gets much easier later and the benefits are bigger and better than you could ever imagine. 

 

What have you found?

 

 

[Gemzee]

I quit because I was fed up of cigarettes controlling my life! I'd be having a meal with friends or family and suddenly the cigarette would comand me to leave the table and go out into the cold and smoke...also while watching a film with my fiancé. In the middle of conversations I'd be forced to leave. Basically the cigarettes made me a rude, inconsiderate, smelly person!

 

Now I longer smell, I can enjoy meals, films and conversations! I feel free now!

[El Bandito]

FREEEDOM!

 

(In best Braveheart voice)

[Pippa]

I was totally commited to fitness then realised how stupid it was to have a killer gym session- only to light up as soon as I left the gym !

 

Plus I got sick of living with my asthma puffer in hand. . good look at the gym NOT !!

 

Oh - and cigs are extremely expensive here AND - they are pretty much banning smoking everywhere !

 

 

But apart from that - smoking was great ... Yeah sure !!!

[JackiMac]

I wanted to quit because of health issues and hearing so many horror stories, and I could not justify it financially, I now smell so much better, my hair, skin and eyes are brighter, breathing is easier, I put away the money I no longer spend into various bits and bobs and I am paying off things sooner, My house and clothes smell fresh, I can't get over how disgusting the smell is, its what gets to me the most that smell, I imagine the damage that has been done to my body and can only hope that I can repair it slowly over time.  I don't want smoking to be the death of me........

[BAT]

I was just finally ready to quit, and It feels great to not be a smoker anymore  :)

[Rooster]

I quit because I was tired of being compelled to do something I found distasteful and didn't even make me feel good in anyway and to honor my grandma who died due to smoking diseases

 

I've gained so much, exercise is so much better, my hands haven't been nearly as cold this winter and sleep is much better after a night out. What I didn't expect was how much better my sense of smell has gotten in such a short period. I also have a small bit of glee when my friends duck outside in below freezing temperatures for a break and I stay nice and warm inside

[Doreensfree]

I'm sorry I'm one of the horror stories ....watching hubby struggle with copd....I carried on smoking...after all my breathing wasn't a issue.

Then I suddenly developed a heavy feeling around ankles....walking started to get painful....still smokkng...

Then came thick black bruises ..i looked as if my ankles had took a battering....they were sore and itchy at the same time...

It kept me awake every night....I would just rub and scratch...I still smoked....

Going to a routine check by a nurse for something else...I mentioned my ankles....

She looked and ask do you smoke...? Yes I replied.... I was rushed in to the doctor immediately....

I will leave all the medical stuff out...it turned out...stop smoking NOW.....or risk amputation of both feet above the ankles....

I came home in shock...and yes smoked my last cigarette..crying with every puff....

I promised certain people I love I would fight to quit....I stumbled upon these wonderful people....

Between us I did it.....sooo

What have I gained....my life.....self respect...courage....and two feet....xx

[cpk]

Favorite "gain" this week: Have a lot more time in the evening to read, without interrupting myself to go smoke on the porch, making me physically ill. Sometimes the small pleasures have the greatest impact! Reading smoke free rocks! :good:

[Tink]

Reason - to stop dodging the bullets, having cancer at 29, family members dying young (all smokers) and mum disabled due to smoking at 63 a pattern was forming and I did not want to be a family statistic.

 

Gain - confidence, like what you had in your youth, like the feeling you can still do anything you wanted to if you set your mind to it and you are not too old to change the situation you maybe in and unhappy.

 

For a long time you think about yourself for once and not everybody else, can be a bit selfish but sometimes you need and deserve to be a little selfish.

 

And of course Rez xxx

[jimmy]

me and my wife had wanted to quit for a while and said enuff of wanting to and just quit

i breath better smell better and feel better . y ou think i would have quit sooner

when my dad passed away in 93 from smoking  and i still smoked till 3/3/13  not more stinky close  or breath   quitting is so worth it  if you havent done it yet  dont wait   do it you can  

[cpk]

Wanted to add, why I quit...

 

I was never a comfortable smoker. It always felt like something foreign to do...

 

the hardest thing, mentally, was always straddling the fence from smoking to not smoking...

 

This site has been a godsend because it has finally helped me put my values front and center...

 

and to put a quit philosophy in place.

 

This quit has been insanely difficult...but the support here has been GOLD...

 

When I have done and dusted one month I am going to be posting a big thank you to all the

Lords and Ladies of the Quit (that will be later this week)...

[cpk]

I started going through the albums and cutting all the cigarettes out of the pictures...

 

Is there anything more insane than that????

 

Besides all the physical grossness, smoking is crazy making!!!

[Runfree]

Why I quit....because being a smoker was closing doors on opportunity..opportunities in all aspects of life.  Being a non-smoker gives me the chance to secure my hopes and dreams, or in the very least opens the door to pursue them.  I want things, ya know.

 

Benefits...they're unfolding daily but I see improvements in my overall well being...physical, mental, esteem, etc.  I am no where near "there" yet, but I have the chance to get there being a non-smoker.  That part is the most wonderful.

[Ramona]

This particular quit was motivated by my boyfriend's 55 year old uncle who has terminal esophageal/lung cancer due to smoking.  He will not get to experience his retirement after working as a Police Officer for over 35 years.  Also, 2 of my boyfriend's grandparents died young from smoking related diseases.  Seems my BF's chances of staying healthy, if he continues to smoke, are not good.  I want to be an example for him.

 

I quit for me because freeing myself from this addiction is something I have always wanted.

 

So far I have noticed greater confidence and self-esteem.  This was a surprise side effect for me too Marti.  I look forward to even greater feelings of self-worth.

 

Serenity is another welcomed change.  Though I do experience an occasional nightmare day(s), there are also days where I feel calmer than I ever did as an active smoker.    Serenity is the best.

[buMbLeB]

Why did I quit? I didn't mean to, honest! I quit by accident. Long story short, one day after years of clever doublethink and self deception, I thought a thought so stupid, and brutal, and ridiculous that it laid bare what I had worked so hard to keep covered. I didn't use the word, but in that moment I saw I was addicted and I knew what that meant, and I couldn't unsee it. I never smoked again.

 

What did I gain? Oh, 40lbs or so. Yeah... But I'm still a better cyclist now than before, and my legs burn before my lungs do. Like TEW above me, I gained a serenity that I had forgotten existed - it's so strange to think I used to smoke to relax. I'm ashamed how much I adore sleep, now that I can do it for real again. When I hug people I love (hi Mom!) I don't pull away early out of fear that I stink. When I'm with friends I'm actually in the moment, and not jonesing for a chance to break out and smoke up.

 

Ahh, there's too much to write. But one thing more - I gained freedom. All those days and nights of torture waiting to smoke, running out of smokes, running out to smoke, stacking quarters or hustling to the ATM at 2am... even if I'd believed I could quit, I just assumed I'd have to struggle and live with the "loss" every day of my life. Imagine my surprise that somewhere along the way when I wasn't looking, I just got over it. Fully and completely. It's nearly midnight now, and I've had a few drinks, and I'm completely out of cigarettes. There was a time when that last bit would have been the only thing on my mind. Now, I just made myself laugh.

[babs609]

I quit because I was sick and tired of the struggle....tired of it beating me down.  Tired of being controlled by the killer..tired of being a slave to the addiction

 

Gain? about 30 lbs on top of 30 lbs already that I struggled with on and off all my life..but that's ok because that was my final weight gain.  I no longer diet...I live a healthy lifestyle...something I could never say before I quit..no matter how many times I lost weight and promised myself I would never gain weight again--it was worth the weight gain for me because it's never coming back.

 

 (I only gained weight because I was substituting cigarettes with food--that's ok for the first week or 2 but after that...find another substitute that is healthy)

 

Confidence is through the roof...I am a different person now...happier and braver than ever.  :)

Quitting smoking has taught me that fear is an illusion...a made up fantasy in our own heads which stops us from doing things we want or need to.  Realizing this fact about quitting smoking has made me realize it in all areas of my life.  Fear is BS and really just prevents us from LIVING to our fullest potential.

 

Quitting smoking has taught me, thru this forum...that support groups do work and it's smart and courageous to turn to others for help.  Weakness is believing you can do it on your own...and then NOT doing it..sticking your head in the sand again...and continue on the path of self destruction.  That's cowardly.  Thats' what keeps you stuck in your own nightmare as a smoker. 

 

 

Can't say enough about it, really.....quitting smoking is the best thing I've ever done  (besides my babies of course)

[MarylandQuitter]

What really struck home for me was when I first started to seriously considering quitting smoking and I ran across the Bryan Curtis story at whyquit.com.  When I saw the picture of his young son sitting on his wife's lap, he was so sad.  I thought of my little girl.  At that point I knew that I not only wanted to quit, but also needed to.  The guilt that I'd been feeling, knowing that I was stealing years away from my daughter with her Daddy had been weighing very heavy on me.  Once I read about Bryan and could put a picture in my mind of things to come if I didn't quit, I knew I had to find a way. 

 

I knew that I wasn't "planning" on being a smoker for the rest of my wife but at the same time knew that it was a strong possibility if I didn't change the way I looked at smoking.  I went to my doctor for something unrelated and just happen to mention to him that I wanted to quit but enjoyed it too much and man, did he ever confront me with the bullshit coming out of my mouth.  After I left his office, I knew I could never look at smoking the same way.  That was it.  No matter what it took to quit, I was going to do it.

 

When I put out my last cigarette that weight of guilt lifted.  I knew I had made a good decision and was very proud of it.  I kept reading "Stop Smoking Benefits Timetable" and had it bookmarked so I could easily access it.  I read it over and over and over.  It was like a lifeline to me.  Instead of focusing on wanting to smoke or a crave, I forced myself to focus on the benefits, my blood pressure, my blood oxygen level back to normal and the list goes on and on.  Of course I still have cravings but I kept my focus and each time I looked at my little girl, I no longer had that guilty feeling and knowing how sad she would be should I die and early death due to stupid smoking.

 

No matter when I die or what I die from, I WON'T DIE A SMOKER!!!!!!  My doctor told me two weeks ago that I'll probably live to be in my 80's, even though I smoked for so long.  Who knows but I do know one thing, none of us knows the future so quit now, keep your quit and get on with enjoying life.  Look at the members here running 5k's, marathons, workout beasts they are.  Look at some of the these people; if you saw them on the street you would think they never smoked a day in their lives!!

 

Just because you smoked doesn't mean anything other than you once were a smoker.  When you quit you start to live again.  Your body loves you for it and rewards you by healing itself.

 

Anyway, great thread.  :)

[sgt.barney]

Choose Life!

 

 

Easy Peasy

[beacon]

I quit because an short illness showed me that I am not in fact superwoman who will never die