I dont know...a buddy of mine quit for over a year and one day I was asking him how long it took before he just didnt want one anymore...and he tells me...I still want one every single day, every time I see someone smoking, after every meal, every morning when I wake up , even when I see someone in a movie or on TV smoking...and then he said...you know what this is stupid...and he went and had a cigarette....I felt really bad, like maybe I tipped him over the edge...FOr you guys who stay quit forever...all i can say is WOW!!!

thanks for the insight, Peter........ you're right - when you think of all of the places we were allowed to smoke....anywhere in our homes (if we chose to), our cars (made mine into a portable donut shop, since I wasn't allowed to have my smoke and coffee inside!) So.....we have a lot of routine to break. There are the fortunate ones who did not smoke in the house, or the car. Perhaps meals are their trigger (try to stop THAT habit ;) Bottom line is, you have to expect the crave and be prepared for it.... Congrats on your own quit - awesome job - and welcome.....glad to see you posting! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/19/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 41 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 621 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $276.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 3 [B]Hrs:[/B] 17 [B]Mins:[/B] 39 [B]Seconds:[/B] 11

Good post Peter! Brent (bemused face) Mad Englishman [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 12/8/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 52 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 368 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �260 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 8 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 42 [B]Seconds:[/B] 57

Hey guys - i join here three weeks into my own cold turkey quit. Thought I'd share some thoughts on how i got this far - maybe useful to some of you... 1. You have to break habits. There is the dopamine / behavioural link in smoking. For example � in places you have been, things you have done in the past � if they included smoking your brain will have been reprogrammed to expect dopamine from smoking � if you don�t provide it you�ll feel tense, angry and unhappy. So, application. I have not watched a DVD downstairs in my living room for 3 weeks. Normally late evening I would have watched one and had about 5 cigarettes (that was my single strongest linkage). Now I know that my trying to watch DVD�s downstairs is a disaster at the moment � so I climb into bed and watch them on the computer instead. It breaks a habit. Don't look to walk into temptation - it will find you anyway and needs no encouraging!! AD&D parallel or those of you old enough to remember Gary Gygax!! You�re a 1st Level Paladin � you think you might be able to take on a ghoul � but you�ll probably get your ass whipped as you�ll have to save vs paralysation every time you�re hit. You decide to stay smart and avoid graveyards at night until you�re 3rd level with a Ring +2 vs paralysation...then you�ll go cemetery visiting... (people with bemused looks on their faces)... 2. Get a placebo Peppermint tea�.Yes I�m afraid so. Not smoking after the first week is really all psychological so anything that you can do to assist it is great. As I smoked a cigarette going into work and coming home instead I have a flask which I drink tea from. Three good things there � 1 is de-toxing. 2 is hydrating. 3 is placebo � replacing the smoking and for me it works. Clearly the actual tea has little effect but as you will find it�s all psychological. 3.The psychology of it all This was interesting for me. The bottom line was that someday I was going to stop smoking. You know, I was not going to smoke all my life, I would get married, have kids and smoke in front of them??!! Hello! So I was going to have to stop at some point. Whenever that was � it was not going to be pleasant � but there was no way around it. It�s like a loan � it gives you pleasure at the time, but you can�t get rid o

Great name :) Welcome to the SSC Your #1 reminds me of something: [i]"Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day watching TV. Instead I will move my TV into the bedroom."[/i] ;) ~all the best N2k p.s. #4 Reward yourself often for staying quit. 3 weeks is terrific! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/20/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 162 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,575 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $810 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

sorry, I didn't mean bagsgirl... I meant badtaste. Sorry for the screw up. :8o: :blush: Crave the Quit! Butterfly [IMG]http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c177/kissnflirt/littlebutterfly.gif[/IMG] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,347 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $306.9 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 31

WOW Bagsgirl! It sounds like that's something that he's been thinking about doing for a long time and I don't think that it was your fault that he smoked... I think that was inevitable. One thing that your friend was doing that is soooooooooooooo dangerous to a quit is romanticizing the smoke. You CAN'T do that! Just remember how awful it smells, remember how it burned your throat going down and how it stole your money and robbed you of your life!!! Remember how it controled you to where you wouldn't go places where you couldn't smoke and if you HAD to go to one of those places, you were constantly counting down the seconds till you could go smoke. Think about the fact that it made you a social outcast! But whatever you do, don't think about how wonderful it would be to smoke again... that's what it sounds like your friend was doing and that's a dangerous thing! That will almost always lead to a slip or a relapse. I have made a few mistakes along the way, but I have basically been quit for over 7 months (smoked 3 times out of the last 225 days) and I can tell you that despite my mistakes, I am definitely at a comfortable point in my quit. I don't think about smoking everyday. When I see someone smoking, I don't envy them... I pity them. Occasionally, I'll think about wanting one, but it's just a thought... and I immediately dismiss it and laugh at it, saying to myself "how ridiculous?!?! I don't smoke!" And let it go. You can't relish the thought (or as I like to say, make love to the thought) because then you're going to cause yourself to miss smoking, and that's a dangerous thing. It's all about attitude. What kind of attitude do you want? What attitude do you CHOOSE to have? Crave the Quit! Butterfly [IMG]http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c177/kissnflirt/littlebutterfly.gif[/IMG] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 10/28/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,347 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $306.9 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 6 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 34 [B]Seconds:[/B] 26

Henry, Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. We all learn from one another and this will help a new member realize it can be done. Please continue to share with us and let us know if we can help you. Josie ______________________ The SSC Support Team.