Oh btw, Lady- I guess Phillip and I are not like most men, because trust me, no laughing off the craves here!!! ;p [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 117 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,718 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1053 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 19 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 6 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18

Oh my...just my type of post :eg: [quote] am sorry that you find reading about what goes on in this process scary, especially at seeing and witnessing the process of long term quitters and I would rather have these quitters share the truth about their process than tell me a lie or sugar coat the events. [/quote] Sorry to quote you, Phillip, but I couldn't have said it better. I firmly believe that, whenever possible, people should be made aware of as much of the big picture before they go stumbling blindly into the unknown. I don't think it benefits "newbies" to paint a rosey picture; in fact I would argue that that's a good reason so many fail. They feel in control, a bit smug, then boom, a crave hits; and God forbid alcohol or something else is involved when that happens. Perfect recipe for what is so cutely called "a slip". As Mama said- show me an addiction where people become immune to the crave.....ever. It doesn't happen. We need to arm ourselves well and be vigilant and patient. I'm proud to have overcome a 4 day killer crave last week. If that frightens you....GOOD! :8o: :eg: [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 2/18/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 117 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,717 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1053 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 19 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 12

I 'm not a long term quitter as I only have 104 days in but I have reached that time that so many have the bad craves that last for days. I haven't had that and I kinda think that maybe if you expect it to happen it will. I'm not complaining and that's just my opinion. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/5/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 104 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 2,716 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $208 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 15 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 41 [B]Seconds:[/B] 21

To all sorry about how long this is and it is of length. BFS Thanks I too would like to hear from other long term quitters. Breaking Free as one of the people that posts pretty much everything involved in my quit here goes. (I wasn't going to post to this thread and then I thought why not see what comes up.) This quit is the longest that I have ever done and despite what all the medical evidence says there are physical symptoms that come for me. They are mostly to deal with my breathing issue and the physical problems that I have from the damage that I have done to my lungs from smoking for 36 years. Something medically called "smokers lung" it has to do with the hardening of the bronchial receptors, they get hardened like scar tissue. Yes there are a whole lot of mental symptoms and I "should" probably deal with them elsewhere and I choose not to. There simply is so much more understanding here on this site because this site deals specifically with quitting smoking and the cessation of the consumption of nicotine and by products of cigarette smoke. There is also a policy here of non judgemental discussion without referals to products, treatments and other medical opinion including psychological or mental health opinion. I for one am grateful for this as typical western medical information has not helped me with quitting smoking in the past. My personal opinion and you can take this or leave this along with anything else in my response, I say that the most supportive thing that I can do to help other quitters is to tell it like it is for me and simply work this recovery process one step at a time. We are all works in progress and all any one of us can do is tell our truth, our experience as we see it and experience it, taking ownership for what we are saying and keeping the experience as our own. If this "upsets" of scares other quitters then I am sorry and Breaking Free as you have so often put out, move throught the fear, take the leap. I don't believe that I am in denial about what is happening to me on this quit journey. I see so many quitters here loose their quit at the 80 to 120 day area, something must happen. Whether it is mental or physical or a combination of the two there is no denying that this is dangerous territory. Keeping

Hi all! :) *I'm just here for a minute dog gone it* Lady, BFS, or Shevie: Please would one of you give Breaking Free my email address on your SSC private messanger when you can? T/Y *hugz all around* Missed you all. [color=blue][font=Tahoma]All the best~[/color] [img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6922/n3us.gif[/img][size=3][color=blue]2[/color][/size][img]http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2344/k6ob.gif[/img][/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/20/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 301 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,624 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1505 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 28 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 51 [B]Seconds:[/B] 0

Sorry, let me rephrase that: We used to [i]think[/i] we liked smoking. Until we changed our minds. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/31/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 288 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,324 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1152 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 28 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 17 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2

A thought is not reality and a memory is not a craving. We used to [i]like[/i] smoking. We just changed our minds. Mc [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/31/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 288 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 4,324 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1152 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 28 [B]Hrs:[/B] 1 [B]Mins:[/B] 12 [B]Seconds:[/B] 17

To me, memories and craves are entirely different. Memories are a thought or an association. Craves are a desire, a longing, and more physical. The "taste" of a cigarette or the anxiety that comes with the crave. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 350 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,018 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1225 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 30 [B]Hrs:[/B] 22 [B]Mins:[/B] 7 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

Rob, I have not doubt that by six months you and Phillip will be right there with the rest of them just laughing it off and moving forward. It really doesn't matter though. All that matters is that none of us ever light up another cancer stick as long as we live so that we can continue to enjoy this freedom from smoking. I don't know about the rest of you but.... When I smoked, I wanted a cigarette all the time. Now that I don't, I only want one some of the time. Good night all. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 7/1/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 349 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,999 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1221.5 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 30 [B]Hrs:[/B] 20 [B]Mins:[/B] 15 [B]Seconds:[/B] 54

Breakingfree! Awesome post. Don't EVER apologize for posting your thoughts. This is a support community, our quit family. There is nothing like a great discussion to wake everyone up. All that being said, and being a quitter that is over 300 days, I want to say that I disagree with you. Prior to this quit the longest I had ever quit was four days. As Rusty said the emotional aspect of this quit is the hardest. In part I do agree with the thought process that you posted. What I disagree with is the actual physical crave. For ME, in the beginning the craves make me feel I would go totally insane, seemed to be never ending, and were a physical NEED. Further into the quit, the craves are more like a strong desire. That wanting a cigarette is like wanting to take a cruise to Alaska. Do I need a cigarette or a trip to Alaska? No I do not. Do I want it sometimes, yes I do. There is no way I would ever intentionally give up my quit however, there have been times that I have needed help saving me from myself. There have been times that I almost bought cigarettes or asked someone for a cigarette later in my quit. If I am totally honest, there was an instant just a few weeks ago when I was frustrated that I actually asked one of my old smoking buddies for a cigarette. Did I want it? Did I crave it? Yes, I did. More than anything at the time. He didn't give me one. Thank God because if he had of, I would have smoked it. I believe our addictive thinking is still with us long after we quit the physical act of smoking. When some things happen, our addictive minds immediately start thinking that the cigarette will somehow allow us some magical release, a safe haven to hide in if you will. This feeling is very real and to me it is a crave. Most importantly, if we don't reach out for help in times of need we risk losing our quits. A lot of older quiters do not post about craves because they don't want to discourage newbies. I have heard this from older quitters time and time again. I think whether we are on day 3 or day 363.. if we feel a need to reach out to this support community to keep our quits, we should feel free to do so. The last thing any long term quitter wants to do is discourage a new quitter from experiencing the freed