Hi Quit Welcome to this site. Sounds like you're doing well so far....almost a week! And it also sounds like you're understanding that to remain smoke free you'll have to recognize and work on your individual triggers. I think nonic is right that many of us smoke to dampen the strength of our emotions. You might want to look at that. Many of us smoke as a form of reward, e.g., end of work, taking a break, finished a project. Whatever your triggers are, try to find a strategy for dealing with them. If you need help doing that, just ask...we've all got a million of 'em And congratulations on almost a week! -aloha [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/22/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 76 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,040 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $516.80 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 16 [B]Mins:[/B] 50 [B]Seconds:[/B] 43

Quit I am glad that you have joined us. You will receive a great deal of encouragement here and knowledge. You are making the right decision it is something that you will never regret DOING FOR YOURSELF. You see, we are addicted to a very strong substance. Nicotine effects us on many levels, a fact to which you allude. The physical addiction is one mean piece of business with which to deal and it takes a real lion heart to stand up to it. You are doing it now, and for that I give you all the credit in the world. I know first hand how difficult this can be. The other side of addiction is the emotional component. The nature of this part varies widely among addicts. For that reason, I can only offer you my experience with the psychological dependency that results from extended use of nicotine. I was what I call an "emotive" smoker. I was constantly fine tuning my internal emotional life by sucking down smoke. If I was angry, I smoked, if I was sad, I smoked, if I was happy I smoked. And this was not because I liked to smoke (although that is the untruth I told myself). Truth be told, I smoked in order to level out my feelings. Nicotine was a substance that I used to reach a level of "emotional homeostasis". I was in effect experiencing my reactions to the external world through a thin blue smokey umbilical chord. I lived in a nicotine dream, and as such allowed myself to deny who I was and more importantly what I was feeling. By now you are probably saying, ok so what's your point? The point is this, in order to do this journey, you must do it from the inside out. This must be a choice that you make from the center of that which you understand yourself to be. The decision can not be for any other reason than YOU WANT TO CHANGE. You must want with all of your heart to beat this thing back and live a life unencumbered by the demands of nicotine addiction. This cannot be something that you do for anyone else. If you choose that motivation, you will always feel deprived of your "little friends", when ever your internal wiring sends out the call for more nicotine. Further to that you will at some level become resentful toward the person or persons for whom you are doing this. And worse yet, if the person for whom you would like to accomplish this Herculean feat has never smoked, they can never understand the depth of your addiction. It will be beyond difficult for them to identify with your struggle. Here is a bit I wrote in my journal awhile back that I used to describe this idea of self-medicating. Maybe it will resonate with you. If so please take some time to "get right" with why you are doing this and then get it done in a very big way. Nicotine When I was hurt it told me everything would be alright as long as I didn't actually feel the pain. And I believed it. And I never learned to grieve. When I got angry it told me everything would be alright as long as I didn't defend myself. And I believed it. And I never learned to communicate. When I was afraid, it told me everything would be alright as long as I never tasted the fear. And I believed it. And I never learned to cope. When I was happy, it convinced me it was my friend as long as I took it to the party. And I believed it. And I never felt total joy. Good luck to you, we will all be right here when you need us... nonic [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]12/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 163 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,890 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1,141.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 29 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 30 [B]Seconds:[/B] 7

There you go, and that is right, you will beat it! Keep strong, and just remember there should be no reason for you to put that lit ciggie in your mouth! It is way too disgusting, nasty and smelly for you! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/15/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 83 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 1,660 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $539.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 12 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 38 [B]Seconds:[/B] 38

Hi Quit4good! I am happy you decided to quit, but I am wondering, Are you quitting for your boyfriend or quitting for yourself? I am hoping it is for you, because doing this for someone else is not likely to work. You have to want to quit, more than you want to smoke. Yes it is a monster, it is a drug addiction that we here have all been addicted to. I just want you to really be mentally prepared for this journey. Read all the posts you can, do the program to the left. You have come to the best place for support! This is a wonderful world wide community that is here when you need us! Welcome! :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/5/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,325 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $981.15 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 11 [B]Hrs:[/B] 10 [B]Mins:[/B] 22 [B]Seconds:[/B] 27

Hey everyone, just introducing myself. I quit on May 31, after my boyfriend, stopped by to "surprise me" and caught me smoking, I had tried last year to quit, he thought I had quit, but I lasted 2 weeks, and started sneaking around smoking again...I hated myself for doing that, but "the monster" as he calls it, was bigger than I am. I never want to see that look on his face again, and I need to do this for me, I knew that all along, but the monster is tough, after 13 years. I am using the patch again, I tried this before, and while it helped with the "physical" side of things, it didn't help the mental side, so now I am working on the "mental" side of my cravings...it's hard, but one thing that helps me is remembering the look on his face, when he realized I hadn't quit. I will beat this MONSTER!! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]5/31/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 6 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 120 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $21.30 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 0 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 56 [B]Seconds:[/B] 50