this message is not only for myself,it is for any of the newer members{newer than myself}:
I was like you in thinking that I have to make a change in my life, and just like so many others,that scared me.No I have not officially stopped smoking yet, but after I took the chance on this website and typed as honestly as I could here,I discovered a wealth of knowledge and ideas that I would not have thought of alone.So many people have taken time to respond to me that I could never mention them all,but I thank each of you .I can say that I'm still very afraid of the "new life "ahead of me.I do also now have more courage to face this head on,and continue trying the steps to recovery,because lets face facts.with out trying,I have already failed.my fear of dying outweighs my fear of changing my habits.I feel that the times that I've quit and failed are because of two strong factors. one is the fact that I always told myself that I would rather smoke than anything else{I now believe any thing else would be better}.and two,I was trying to go it alone because of not knowing that others faced this the same way that I am{not just a doctor who I think is paid to tell me to quit ,but not to tell me how}.As I stated I am not only surrounded by people here that can and do advise on tips and tools for a new non-smoker,but I also have true to life stories on how hard this really is and some hints on things I can do from experience to help me to succeed where I had failed so many times.I will use this blog as a journal of my journey to freedom from this.to look back on later and ,I hope, to inspire someone else's attempts to change their lives as well--I'm learning that this can be done and more important it can be done BY ME.
