I'd had a few quits in the past but nothing serious. They would only last a few hours at the most & I would never really give them a chance. I didn't really want to quit except for maybe the last two years of my insanity.
I'm writing this milestone in the introduction section because I want all of you newbies to this wonderfule life to know that you CAN do this, I know you've all heard "If I can quit anybody can". Well I heard it too & remember thinking "They must not have smoked very long". I looked back st those times I "tried" to quit & remember how I freaked out after that little time that I gave it & would hunt down or buy some smokes. I was hopeless. Smoking controlled every part of my life & I couldn't see it. That old demon in my head made me think I had it all under control.
Things happened in my life that made me WANT to quit. I came on line & found a great support group. I educated myself about what my body & mind was going through. Most importantly to me I prayed for my God to take away my urges. They weren't taken away but they were not bad at all. I had a dear friend witha couple of years under her belt to tell me to let the urges come. Welcome them & let them just wash over you & then they're gone. The more you do this the weaker they become. It worked for me.
I was in awe of anyone who had more time quit than me. "How can they go that long without a cigarette" I wondered. I practiced NOPE, Not One Puff Ever, & soon I had a week, a month, six months, a year & the time slowly began to pile up.
During this time I have seen many relapse. A few come back but most don't. I have seen twenty years quits given up for one little cigarette. That's how vulnerable our quits are & how strong that old 'NicoDemon' in our head is. We are addicts & being addicts we will never be cured. But the thing about being a recovering addict is not that we can never smoke again. No the thing about being a recovering addict is that we don't have to smoke again.
When you're suffering from anger, sadness, madness or just don't think you can go any longer come here first. Post & tell us about it, get it off your chest. Phone a friend that understands & talk about it. If you can't get to a computer ask yourself one question. "Will smoking help my situation in any way?" If the answer is yes then by all means smoke. But if the answer is no, which is what the answer will be 100% of the time then do whatever you have to do to protect your quit. Act crazy if you have to but protect it. Never forget what brought you here. Never forget what pitiful shape you were in, physically & psycologically. Never forget how you planned every waking moment around smoking.
There will be days when you think you just can't go any longer & you've fought as hard as you can or you even feel you should give yourself a reward for being quit for so long (I know that sounds insane but I know people that have done it). But you can always reach down & grab just a little bit more, just enough to get you through this time. You'll always have that reserve of just a little bit more to give that will save your life. That's why your here isn't it...to save your life?
I've been quit for 5 years, 4 days, 7 hours, 33 minutes and 16...17...18...19...20...21 seconds.
