Great question, LL! I guess I fall into the "protect my quit" camp. Early on, I made the decision that [b]everything[/b] except family was secondary to my quit. Anything that interferes with my ability to stay a non-smoker has been eliminated from my life. Without remorse. That doesn't mean I have been unwilling to face triggers head-on. I have and I do. But my perspective is that without my quit I'm a dead man, and if something has to go in order for me to stay alive -- it goes. I'm not saying my approach is better, or even useful, for anybody else. Just how I got from there to here. And it may not be the best strategy to get me from here to the next place, but I tend to stick with what works. Legend [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]2/25/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 93 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 558 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $116.25 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 29 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

LL et al, early on, the thought of protecting my quit as if it were an infant was instrumental in my being able to get through each day without smoking. I live with a committed smoker. My grown children smoke. My boss smokes. Indeed, it seemed like I had no one around me who didn't smoke. I found out early on that being very near to smokers was a major cause of craving, anxiety and general pissedoffedness. In most cases, the best way for me to protect my quit (and my sanity) was to stay away from most of those folks for a while. My children live far away, so that wasn't a problem, but my husband....well, that provided me with the hardest test of all and that's where the attitude of protecting my quit really paid off. I never stopped living my life. But I also never had any resentment about "adjusting" my life -- my quit was far more important than socializing. I never felt like I was denying myself anything -- in fact, I was willing to postpone a few things temporarily to make sure that this was my last quit. Rusty :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]12/13/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 897 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 25,116 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,139.50 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 126 [B]Hrs:[/B] 12 [B]Mins:[/B] 13 [B]Seconds:[/B] 12

Lamplighter, There are some who belive that we should "protect our quits" and there are others (like me) who believe that we should simply live our lives and face the triggers head on. The more we avoid life, the longer we are going to prolong the cravings. It's a pretty accepted theory that the more times we come in contact with any given trigger, the weaker that trigger becomes. Does that mean that I think that, in the first few days or weeks of being quit, someone should go out to a bar with smoking friends and get rip roaring drunk in order to "face their triggers?" Of course not! That person should bring along a list of reasons why they quit, only go with non-smoking friends, have the number of a quit buddy they can call who will talk them out of smoking, tell their friends that under NO circumstances are they to allow us to smoke, bring some posts from here along to read in case our will power faulters AND post earlier in the day about the situation in order to get in the right frame of mind and draw strength from this support group... and most importantly, do NOT drink in excession!!! So yes, some accomodations should be made, but do I think that we should avoid triggers in the beginning in order to "protect our quits?" No, I don't. After my 3 slips, I quit drinking for over a year. When I finally did start going out again, I was MISERABLE!!! I couldn't go out without having MAJOR cravings and feeling like I was going to smoke EVERY time I went out!!! I was more than a year quit, but was still having difficulties because I hadn't ever faced those triggers smoke free! If I'd faced them head on without smoking in the beginning, then they wouldn't have been triggers more than a year down the line! Now, it doesn't bother me one bit to be out with smokers while drinking! But I've dealt with that situation enough that it's not a trigger anymore. Again, [b] the more we do things smoke free, the weaker the trigger becomes.[/b] Yes, I DO think that we need to be smart and take precautions and perhaps make some adjustments, but I do NOT think that we should avoid life! Life's short enough without taking a chunk out of it in order to quit smoking! If we sacrifice too much of our lives, then we run the risk of going back to smoking because we feel that we are denying ourselves things in life that we really enjoy doing. We might think "Oh no! I can't do (such and such) because I'll want to smoke!" Well??? The fact is that the sooner we DO (such and such) smoke free, the sooner we will do (such and such) without even WANTING to smoke!!! And isn't that where we all want to get to anyway? Crave the Quit! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 711 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 17,775 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2,936.43 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 50 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 42

Hi Lamplighter (Am still not used to the new name) I don't know if I am qualified to answer yet, but I have been very careful to protect my quit in some ways and yet in other ways, not. I have been very careful with alcohol, tried to plan ahead if I am around certain family members who smoke. Carry a stock of emergency gum and straws for stressful times. Practice deep breathing. But I think the most important thing is that I am so very aware of what I am doing compared to before I quit. And I will notice right away if this or that situation could or would be stressful. Never gave any of that a thought before. It has eased a bit as I move along my quit and get more comfortable. I am getting more confident with myself and my ability to make it through a stressful event. Now mind you, I haven't had any MAJOR stressful events yet, but like I said am getting more confident. Now some things, I refused to change, because I decided I wasn't going to give up other things that I love just because I quit smoking. I have refused to give up my morning coffee. That was a big one that I wouldn't give up, and I haven't had a problem at all. I don't make my family smoke outside (Hell, we live in Canada where it gets to -40) but I haven't found that to bother me either. I figured, from time to time I am going to be around them so I may as well get used to it. Other than that I play it by ear day to day. Still telling myself, Smoking is not an option! NOPE :) [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/5/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 85 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,125 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $896.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 10 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 57 [B]Seconds:[/B] 46

And, to avoid confusion, I'm talking primarily about people in their first few hundred days. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 83 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,075 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $767.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 44 [B]Seconds:[/B] 10

We hear people talking about "protecting the quit", and what they're really talking about is living in a way that is least likely to provoke overwhelming craving. For instance, they may decide to cut down on coffee or they may decide to avoid arguing with their spouse for a period of time, rather than risk getting overheated and grabbing a cigarette. But... there are some people who live in nearly perpetual crisis. There are people who seek out crisis or who need to create it if it's absent. There are people who see themselves as victims and are constantly creating situations to reaffirm that identity. There are those who have serious anger management issues and who are very likely to interpret events and remarks in ways that will give vent to their anger. There are those who are actively addicted to alcohol or tanquillizers or barbituates. There are all kinds of issues and forms of personal dysfunction that would make successful cessation of smoking inordinately difficult, and perhaps impossible. So, is there a lesson there for the rest of us? Are we "protecting our quits" in all the ways that we could or should be? Or are we allowing things in our lives that would undermine and jeopardize our chances for a successful quit? [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B]3/6/2007 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 83 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,075 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $767.75 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 11 [B]Mins:[/B] 43 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37