Hi ya'll. I've not been here in a while and thought I should stop in and leave a positive word or two.
I'm getting closer to my one year quit date. Exciting! I have to admit, I wasn't all that confident that I would come this far without even one puff! But I have! I'm proud of myself, and I make sure to reward myself now and then.
If I can do it, you can do it.
I thought that cigarettes had such a strong hold on me (40 years of smoking), that I'd not ever be able to quit.
However, last year I began to work more on myself with raising my self esteem, educating myself about nicotine by finding this site and whyquit.com and reading Allen Carr's book (Easy Way To Stop Smoking). All made a HUGE difference for me. The confidence grew and grew, then with the help of my doctor, counselor, and a little wellbutrin, I finally crossed over to the other side! I wasn't sure if I'd stay there, but just took it ONE DAY AT A TIME, and I just kept listening to/reading self help material to increase my self esteem, and kept educating myself more about nicotine as much as possible.
As of now, there are lots of days that will go by where I haven't had one thought about smoking. I do still have days where it may catch me off guard and I feel a crave, but I just take a deep breath and think about how much good that deep breath feels and does for me. I think that deep breathing is one of the best tools of knowledge you can take with you on your stop smoking journey. I still use it today. I'll even see how many deep breathes I can get in while going to and from my car, so I can get as much fresh outdoor air as possible. I'm exercising more, and I still hunt for healthy snacks to help with the oral fixation. I was never much of a gum person, but tic tac's are working nicely!. And apples, and cherries, and nuts, and not so healthy candy, etc.
I'm feeling much more confident now than I did the first month or so, but I make sure to not let myself get OVER confident. Because I learned (From THIS site), to expect to be caught off guard on occasion, even way down the road. A craving may arise out of nowhere, and you don't want to cave in!
So I just keep reminding myself how GLAD I am to be an ex smoker, and enjoy the pats on the back from people who are proud that I quit, and the increased self confidence it gives me knowing I can take control of my life!! I was SO hooked on the nicotine and never thought I'd be able to quit, that I would say, "If I can quit smoking, I can do ANYTHING!" How LIBERATING it is!!!
Christine
N.O.P.E.
