I heard it here, more than once, but Nancy YoungAtHeart said it yesterday on Missy's blog: "we should not feel guilty about being sick from smoking, we were addicts, we did not have enough information about consequences, but rather we were surrounded by adds for cigarettes".
For years I considered myself a "light smoker" because I was smoking around 15 cigarettes-1 pack/day, until one day, in a Dr's office I had to check the Heavy smoker box (for 20/day). But that did not help me quit smoking, just made me upset about the label I felt on my forehead when I enter that Dr's office.
So many of us here, longtime smokers, are now facing the consequences, in a form or another. I now know I carry a sclerotic liver along with mini-cysts in the pancreas, both of them have smoking as a high percentage responsibility in the permanent changes.
And it is so hard to face every day, live with the consequences, and not thinking, all of these could have been avoided IF I HAD ONLY QUIT SOONER.
How do we get pass the feeling of guilt?
I did some search here and Thomas' blog below speaks at large about it.
Now, if I could only absorb, accept, forgive, get passed and start to really enjoy and be proud of the accomplishment: 2 years smoke free and counting...
/blogs/Thomas3.20.2010-blog/2016/02/17/let-go-of-shame-and-guilt
