I made the transistion from quitter ex-smoker at around the 9 - 10 month mark. Now it's totally out of mind except when I'm thinking about helping someone quit.
I sincerely wish I could tell you that you will feel normal in X amount of time, or on such-and-such a date. Alas, even I can't pull that one off (lol). All I can do is insure you that if you remain smoke free and focus on getting on with your life, it will happen someday. This is not a promise I make to you, but a promise you can make to yourself, and it is a promise you can keep.
I see progress in your story: periods of no smoking, reduction of intake over time, that sort of thing. You are moving toward freedom, just moving a bit slower than some. And much quicker than many, as well. Don't forget that. Focus on the positive, new me.
Here's a positive: You've roughly doubled your longest (now second-longest) quit. That is awesome. And it grows every day you do not light that one cigarette.
Every time you feel the need for a cigarette is your opportunity to renew your committment to your personal freedom. Everytime you do not light a cig, you have renewed your promise to yourself. Everytime you renew your promise, the promise and you grow stronger.
New me, you are creating a new you every day. Damage is healing, cells are rebuilding, brain synapses are reawakening. Recovery happens if you just let it. Focus on the new you, not the old one.
Normal? What is normal? You will never feel normal again. The normal you are speaking of is how you felt when you smoked. You won't return to that again without smoking. You will create a new normal and you will have to learn what that means, how it feels. It will be better than the old normal, by far.
ElderOne
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/23/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 827
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,540
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,919.98
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 150 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 11 [B]Seconds:[/B] 52
