Just thought I'd check in. All is well in rain drenched Surrey. Scotland are celebrating going smokefree! When are England going to follow?
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1069
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,043
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4810.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 104 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1
Just saying 'Hi'...so good to be smoke free. Quitting is the best thing I have ever done.
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1077
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,163
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4846.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 104 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seconds:[/B] 39
Parola,
I'm afraid I can't help with your IM problem.... I just wanted to comment on what you said in you earlier posts.
It is normal that you feel uncomfortable when you first quit smoking. But you must keep fighting to be free. This phase will not last too long. The best advice is to Delay (Delay making any decision to give in) and Distract (find something else to concentrate on). Talk to yourself - tell yourself that you can do it - look at everyone around here quitting. Do not buy a pack 'just in case'....that is planning for failure....and I guarantee it will lead to a relapse.
It will get easier, I promise. You can do this, and it is worth every step that you have to go through.
Be strong.
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1074
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 16,116
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4833
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 104 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 49 [B]Seconds:[/B] 36
BFS,
Many congratulations on hitting your first 1 :) :).
Your ramble was wonderful and inspiring and honest.
And it does get better from here too...far better than you could ever imagine now.
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1020
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,303
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4590
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 99 [B]Hrs:[/B] 6 [B]Mins:[/B] 18 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32
Well I guess that is your first of maybe five cravings this year!
Yes, Pen, we must guard against over-confidence and complacency....remember how hard we fought during those early days and how great it is to be here now.
I still have a craving every few months, but I try to laugh it off 'where the heck did that come from?!' And sometimes there is no apparent reason.
Lizzie
One of the things that scares smokers the most is to hear ex-smokers say they still have cravings even years after giving up. Indeed this is one of the 'lies' that kept me smoking for so long. The crazy thing is of course that full time smokers have many more cravings than quitters.....but you don't see that at the time.
When you quit, the first 2-3 weeks, those cravings can really come at you in waves. We all know that this is the tough crazy craving phase.
Then at month 1 the madness is starting to get better. You are coping more effectively and you plod onwards having a mixture of good days and bad days. These are the rollercoaster days - dancing one minute, miserable the next.
By the time you reach around 5 months, you are feeling much more confident in your quit. You have been through just about everything the addiction has to throw at you, and are starting to feel more comfortable as a non-smoker. You are not necessarily happy all the time, but the rollercoaster is levelling out.
Now let's compare that to a full time smoker....as a full time smoker you experience cravings and triggers every day. If you smoke a pack a day, on average that's 20 triggers which provide you temporary relief when you light up. If for any reason you can not light up IMMEDIATELY eg you are in the store/sports centre/cinema/work, then you can start adding up additional triggers and minutes of cravings before you get your temporary relief. Given that one can smoke in fewer and fewer places these days, I would estimate that the average full time smoker has about 30 cravings/triggers per day. Let's add that up over a year....say 10,950.
So let's look at those stats....
Triggers per YEAR
Full time smoker = 10,950
Ex-smoker (after 6 months) = 100
Ex-smoker (after 12 months)= 50
Ex-smoker (after 18 months)= 10
Ex-smoker (after 24 months)= 5
Never smoker = 0
So do not be worried when ex-smokers say that they still get triggers....it does not necessarily mean that they would want to start smoking again.
Lizzie :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1013
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,198
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4558.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 98 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 2 [B]Secon
Hello Healthy2 and HHB,
Your stories are so like many others. Sometimes this addiction is so darn subtle that you think you have it....and that's when the warning bells should start ringing.
Your stumbles are not the end of the story, as long as you get up again. Over my quit time, I have seen many people go through a crisis but come out the other side. This is nothing to do with you personally, it is part of the learning process....and the fact you are here means you want to go again.
What helped me most was reading here....and posting when you want to discuss. You have to understand everything you can about addiction and with people who understand the journey that you are making. Do not be discouraged, there is no reason why you can not 'make it' this time.
Good Luck,
Lizzie
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/23/2003
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 1009
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 15,138
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] �4540.5
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 98 [B]Hrs:[/B] 4 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 24
Yes, Pen is perfectly correct.....but it was fun making you think.
In the UK, it is 'the sound of Summer' and evokes images of long sunny afternoons, tea (ie food) in the pavillion, warm hoppy beer ...and we are still in January, sigh.
Thank you Jan and Brent - you will be here too....just keep putting one step in front of the other.
LOL Melanie! We are 2 continents separated by a common language. Pen is of course referring to my local international cricket stadium....not sure what the leather and willow were about though....hummmmmm :eg:
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