Hmmm toughie.. My quit has been HARD but a few things got me through(in no particular order) NRT (patches and Gum) You Lot! (HUGS))) My personal attitude (Be happy) My counsellor(Thanks Mel) My wife (Jen x) My friends Thanks gang!!! My dog in the manger attititude!!!! Mix them all together and who could fail? me xxxx [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]8/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 304 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,688 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �1,596.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 59 [B]Hrs:[/B] 5 [B]Mins:[/B] 48 [B]Seconds:[/B] 15

I read Bears post and wasn't sure what to do....I have been thinking about this all evening. I still stand tall with my strong belief that we make our quits what they are. Everyone has different attitudes, it is part of our personality. Everyone is going to quit differently, kicking and screaming or kicking the habit with a vengeance and a smile on your face. It just depends what road you want to take. Yes, it is hard to finally put those cigarettes down and even TRY to quit. If it was a picnic everyone would quit. It is not easy and that is why so many people still smoke - nicotine is addicting. We all are addicted to it. I choose the road to recovery because I don't want to die. I don't even want the wrinkles caused by smoking! The more you know about the addiction I think the better you will be. If you know what to expect from your body and how it is going to react to the loss of nicotine, the more you will embrace the challenges that come with quitting. It is a challenge, its a fight, whatever you want to call it. The way we conduct ourselves during the battle is our choice. So, once again, there are my two cents. As I have said in the past, if my words help one person to quit, my work is complete. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/8/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 150 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,250 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $630.00 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 23 [B]Mins:[/B] 13 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

I am one of those "easy" quitters. I quit once before (5 years ago)with the patch, and I didn't have a terribly difficult time then, either. I started smoking again because I thought I could be a "social smoker"...and a couple of outside influences made me take up the habit again full time. What made this quit easy? Several things. 1. I had no doubt that I could quit again. This is a double edge sword...if I quit once, twice, gee I can smoke again and just quit a third time. I don't expect this to happen. Being a non-smoker is just too good, and I know my own strength now. In the first few weeks I kept reading about the "freedom", and I wanted to understand what that was...I had no idea! I expected the worst, hoped for the best. I also tried Chantix this time...and did 10 of the first twelve weeks faithfully. I believed it would help, so I give part of the credit to the medicine, and part to my resolve. 2. This website. Last time I quit I had only the patch. I was surrounded by non-smokers who said "just quit". Neither they nor I understood the depth of the addiction, nor would I believe I was an addict. I just had a habit. I didn't know about the power of a positive support group. During that last quit I didn't know if what I was feeling was normal or not. I didn't benefit from anyone else's experiences. I was flying blind, but still quit for 9 months. This quit...this site made it (dare I say it?) fun! I would never have believed that quitting smoking could be fun. Some of you longer quitters that were so inspiring during my early days are still here...and I look up to each and every one of you. When one of you slips on this mountain, I hurt, and I want to give back the support that you all gave to me, a stranger. I can't thank you enough. 3. On this site I was fortunate enough to join several like-minded yet very positive people on a particular thread. It was filled with humor, friendship, imagination, determination, and very positive reinforcement. I looked forward each day to reading what clever chapter the others had added, and much of my concentration focused on trying to add witty chapters of my own. These people became quit mates, yes, but more than that too. I could not have "enjoyed" a quit as much without these extremely talented people (they know who they are). Even though some of them are no longer posting regularly, we all know how to reach each other if we need our support. I see other threads now that are doing the same for many quitters, and I know how much it can help. You can find whatever kind of support you need right here, as has been mentioned several times in the last week or so. Soft love, tough love, etc. 4. Both of my daughters quit with me...well, shortly after me. One posts on this site now and then. I like to think that I was setting the example for them, which kept me going strong. Also my Sweetheart and I have worked very hard planning for an early retirement. To hear him talk about the things he wants us to do together in just a couple more years...and also to hear him almost beg me to quit smoking to help ensure that I am around to do all these things... was and is a great motitivating factor. Gee, this is much longer than I had planned. I don't know if I answered your question or not, but I feel it was a combination of all of these things that got me through. If only one was missing I may not have been successful, or had an "easy" quit. Define easy....define hard. I believe if I set my mind to do something, then I can do it. Anything that can help me do it is all the better! As I heard so often in the beginning... [quote] everyone's quit is different. [/quote] I hope you find things getting easier as time goes on. I feel guilty when I hear that my heroes are still having to struggle. Peace and love, Nance [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]2/14/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 113 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 3,390 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $548.05 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 56 [B]Seconds:[/B] 11

Bear started a post about �brainwashing� regarding whether or not the quit is hard and I would like to catapult from that topic and pose a question to all quitters and especially those later in the quit who have been through the first few months or so. If your quit was easier than most, what made it easy for you? What piece of advice would you give to those who are struggling more than you are to make the quit easier for them? What helped you through? Why do you think you had an easier quit than others? If your quit was particularly hard, what made it hard for you? What advice could you give to those who are also struggling to help them make it through? If you were to do your quit again, what would you do differently to make it easier for you? What would you have wanted from this site in order to help you more so that it wasn't so hard? For me, the quit was very difficult. I had a lot going on in my life for the first several months after I quit. If things had started going awry BEFORE I quit, I never would have started my journey at that time and instead would have waited a while for my life to calm down a bit. Therefore, if I were to do it again, I don�t think there�s anything I could have done to make the quit easier for me, since the thing that made it hard was out of my control. As for advice for newer quitters who are also struggling, I say latch onto a quit buddy and hold on tight!!! Depend on each other and drag each other through when you have to! That�s the ONLY way to survive this thing! Who�s next? Crave the Quit! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 720 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 18,000 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,973.60 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 50 [B]Hrs:[/B] 19 [B]Mins:[/B] 45 [B]Seconds:[/B] 34