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Share your quitting journey

What the Ex Community means to me

Angie-Lah
Member
6 8 96

Sometimes a year will go by and I don't visit the site at all. And part of me is happy about that because it means that I've been able to move past something that was such a huge part of my life and that I hardly think about smoking at all anymore. And part of me is sad, because I want to try to engage more and give back what was given to me so freely by this entire community. I'm trying to make more of an effort to be here more, to pitch in, answer questions, or offer encouragement when someone is teetering on the fence. To share what's going on in my life in the hopes of deterring someone from taking one more puff on the road to cancer.

This is mostly just a thank you post. I didn't even discover this site until a couple months after my quit, but I'd entered a pretty dangerous period where a lot of relapses happen when I stumbled upon Become an EX. So I poured my heart out. I have a literal crap ton of journaling blogs from those first days, if anyone is just quitting and has any interest in perusing what those first months were like.

It wasn't pretty, but it became SO beautiful.

I don't know that I would have gotten here without this community. And then I kind of faded away, not visiting as much, popping in every 6 months to a year to announce another milestone. It was nice to know this group would always be here but there wasn't so much of a "need" anymore

And then the cancer diagnosis hit, and my family's denial of reality, and I found myself adrift with no kindred spirits with which to vent, talk, discuss, and rage against all the pain it caused. Then it hit me. Yes, I do. I have kindred spirits. And they're one little click away on my computer.

So thank you all, again, for everything that you've done. Every comment, every thought or prayer, every time you reached out and pulled me back in from an abyss. Every time you re-grounded me and helped me get back to sanity, thank you all so much.

If you're just discovering this site, or new here, or debating whether to quit, please use the resources this site offers. There are so many people here that are old hats at this. That have so much advice to give, and encouragement and love to offer. Take it. And then give back when you quit. Help lift those other newbies up.

Happy Tuesday ya'll.

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