All I had time to read was the topic. It said "will i ever be ready" and to that I say that there is only one person that can answer that question that counts....and thats you. No one else can do it for you...we can give you advice and words of encouragement...but only you can decide to fight this evil....and its a decision you must decide to continue to make on a daily basis.

I think I've read every post and reply on this site thus far and yours is the most compelling one I can find as to why I need to continue on with my quit. Thank you for sharing your eloquence with words. I wish you well, I feel certain you will make it it you give it one more try. Thank you for giving me renewed energy and determination! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/23/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 47 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,420 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $235 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 9 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 20 [B]Seconds:[/B] 9

hi paula, i'm sure most of us here didn't think we could do it. in fact, i'm surprised how many days it's been. i used to think like you but now look at me. i wish i can be 21 and quit. it gets harder when you get older. when i was 21 i said i wasn't addicted and i could quit anytime. that anytime turned into 12 years of smoking and trying to quit numberous times. each time i learned something new but i wasn't truly serious and gave myself excuses to smoke. did i really enjoy it? sometimes it tasted so nasty but i still smoked it. was i much happier afterwards? no i felt sick and disgusted! but it didn't matter and i continued to smoke. nicotine doesn't make us do anything. it's a substance that when taken will make you want more. but you are the one who initially has to touch it, light it and smoke it. it's not easy but it's not impossible either. my dad smoked 2 packs a day for 30+ years and he's quit for 7 years. you are young enough to reverse the damage done to your body if you stop now. for some, it's too late. the ultimate decision is up to you no matter what i or anyone else says. it has to be for you and when you're finally sick of smoking and willing to stop. i never used a support group before and now i am using a several. it's helped a lot and i feel good about this quit. you need to do whatever u can to take care of u. just remember that life is full of problems to deal with. there may never seem like a right time but you have to just pick a time. many ppl. have succeeded and you are no different. we all used the same substance so we all know how you feel. this isn't impossible like you may feel. really take it one day at a time. there is nothing to be scared of. each day it gets a little bit better. just focus on today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. this concept really does work. good luck!! elle [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/28/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 69 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 699 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $172.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 4 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 32

Hi all Thanks , thanks and many thanks I could not say it better and after reading all posts, feel stonger to keep my quit Carlos [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/1/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 8 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 84 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $8 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 1 [B]Hrs:[/B] 7 [B]Mins:[/B] 38 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1

Paula, I want you to read [url=http://www.stopsmokingcenter.net/support/viewmessages.aspx?topic=29023&forum=1]this[/url] thread about what happens after you slip. Repeated slips and relapses, like what you have experienced for the last year, cause our brains to think that it's OK... just this once. And of course, it's NEVER just once! Paula, in order to quit, you MUST stick to N.O.P.E. Quitting will NOT work if you have one here and there. It's an all or nothing deal. There is NO smoking allowed when you're quit. If you quit, you do not smoke and if you smoke, you are not quit. You can't have it both ways!!! That, right there, is your problem. You asked, "what's wrong with me?" Well, what's wrong is that you're an addict like the rest of us and as addicts, we can either smoke or we can quit, but we can NOT have it both ways. So, what you have to ask yourself is "do I want this quit badly enough that I will fight for it at all costs and not give in no matter what?" If you're thinking in your mind that you can smoke every once in a while, or only on special occasions, or that you will try to not smoke, but if it gets hard, you can just have one... [b]then you're not ready to quit!!!![/b] My advice is don't quit until you are really and truly ready to take on this addiction and fight it to the end. If you're not ready, then you'll just keep on smoking and torturing yourself. Yes, I said [b]torture[/b] yourself! That's what you're doing when you quit, smoke, quit, smoke, quit, smoke...... YOU'RE TORTURING YOURSELF!!! So, you have to make the decision. Are you ready to quit and REALLY quit? Are you ready to fight this addiction and not give in no matter what? Are you ready to grab ahold of the freedom that awaits you if you quit smoking? If so, then join us. If not, come back when you are. That's my advice, for what it's worth. Paula, you've seen me struggle too. You've been here long enough to have witnessed my mistakes and screw ups and you saw me torture myself again and again by quitting and slipping. So, you know what I had to go through in order to finally quit for good and stay quit, but I'm here to tell you that it IS possible! I am living proof of it. And I REALLY want to see you do this too... but you have to want to t

I've been on and off this site for almost a year now. I have many attempted quits, the longest of which lasted about 5 weeks. I am terrified of continuing smoking and I am terrified of quitting. I have read everything that I can get my hands on about the dangers of smoking, I know that if you injected the amount of nicotine that is contained in one cigarette into a vein, it would kill you. I have used patches, gum, willpower, alan carr's methods and hypnosis. All of which did work initially but I always went back to smoking. I honestly don't know whats wrong with me. Yes, I know that I am completely addicted to nicotine and I can admit that freely. I know that nicotine plays all kinds of games with our minds, like brainwashing. I'm hoping that by writing all this down it will help me realise something that i might have missed. I remember when I had quit for a few weeks, I felt great. Of course, it wasn't easy. I was going abroad for 10 days with non smokers. Everything was different to at home, there were no habitual triggers which I suppose made it easier. I had thought to myself that evrything would be fine if I could make it to a particular date, 21st November. Made it to that date, and through the day and I thought, yes, I've beat it! About 1am 22nd November, I was in my garden puffing away. All that effort down the toilet! I suppose, in my mind, I had only set the quit to last that long. I didn't take it one day at a time. I thought I was strong but I was wrong. I'm 21, I've been smoking for 8 years, with the amount of cigarettes increasing all the time. I'm up to about 23 cigarettes a day at the moment. I spend �45 a week on cigarettes. My house and all of my clothes, and I all smell like smoke. I remember what I loved best about quitting, a nice pink tongue. Every night when I go to bed now, my tongue is yellowy-brown. My dad smoked about 40 a day for 40 years. He has quit for 3 years but still struggles. He has emphesyema and has had a collapsed lung. My mam, a non smoker, died 3years ago of cancer. Only 3 of my friends and my grandparents smoke. I wish I had never started. I don't want to smoke for the rest of my life because I know it will be a very short life if I do but I'm just so scared of quitting. I have turned cigarettes into a cr

Paula, Go read all your posts, starting from eleven months ago when you joined. I think you will be amazed at how much you have changed since then! You sound so much stronger now. Look at all you have overcome through your life. You are stronger than this addiction. I know you are. Figure out you strengths, Paula. Use them to get past the weaknesses. If you can't be positive (not all of us can), then get stubborn! If you can't use will power, use trickery. If you can't look out in front of you, stare down at your feet. Trust in yourself and rely on others (boyfriend, family, SSC...there is strength in numbers). We CAN do this! [color=Purple]~lbugg~[/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 417 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 22,152 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2752.2 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 40 [B]Hrs:[/B] 17 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 4