I quit smoking on July 6th of last year. So technically, my one-year anniversary is today. Then, I realized that it was a leap year this year which makes it 365 days that I quit yesterday. I can't believe that I quit smoking a year ago. It feels amazing.
For those of you who are just beginning this long journey, I feel nothing but excitement for the day when you all reach your first year without smoking. Remember this, every craving that you get through is one less you have to go through. As long as you don't cheat yourself by slipping, every day is a day further from this wicked addiction and a day closer to freedom.
Remind yourself to expect the unexpected craving that comes out of nowhere. Try to find new ways to deal with your stress. Realize that this in time will pass and it really does get better, so much better.
Keep your reasons for quitting in your pocket or close by and read them every time you are feeling weak. For the first few months, I would look at myself in the mirror in the mornings and "psych" myself into my quit for the day--a sort of positive reinforcement. Despite my initial excitement about not smoking when I first quit, the novelty of "being quit" wore off soon enough, and personally that is when my true willpower had to kick in.
I had to relearn how to deal with stress without smoking. There was a really stressful situation about one month into my quit when my partner nearly died when she dissected the vertebral arteries in her neck. Then at six months into my quit I got into a motorcycle accident and was laid up for 5 months--boredom, weight gain, stress about the fact that I couldn't work that whole time (I am a waitress and had broken my foot and am still nursing a herniated disc). All things that just made me want to pick up the habit again. However, I knew that NOTHING good would come from smoking, and it wouldn't solve ANY of my problems and only make me feel worse. Did you know that it takes longer for a smoker to heal than a non-smoker? My doctor was surprised at how long it was taking for my bone to heal--first question he asked me, "Do you smoke?"
Anyway, here I am one year later. Never would I have believed life without smoking would be so easy, so much easier than life as a smoker. Never would I have believed that I would be so happy as a non-smoker, so much happier than I was as a smoker. Never would I have believed that I would have gotten control of my life and health and lost 25 pounds AFTER quitting smoking--Initially I did gain quite a bit of weight after I quit smoking, but I figured if I could quit smoking, then I could lose weight too. It just required the same kind of dedication and willpower. I guess you could say once I quit smoking, I felt empowered and realized that sometimes the hardest things in life are also the most rewarding.
Pardon me while I stand up and dance while I shout out "WOOHOO" at the top of my pretty, pink lungs.
Sabine
