I’ll quit tomorrow...I’ll quit tomorrow...I’ll quit tomorrow...just one more cigarette...just one more day...
It climaxed in a state of near panic, these frantic deals – what a mess I truly was.The last year has had a lot of ups and downs. I found the emotional adjustments to quitting very difficult. There were times that I was on such a roller-coaster ride of emotions that I honestly thought I was diagnosable and I strongly considered talking to someone about obtaining some mood-stabilizing prescription drugs (which shocked my closest friends – I’ve always been very anti-meds). In the end it wasn’t necessary. Like all the other phases of my quit, it was just that, and it was also an important part of the process.
The Process
Get it?Quitting smoking is a process.
I get it.
This is just one of the things that you have helped me to learn, but it’s probably the most important one. Quitting smoking is a process. I know that that there is no one ultimate “arrival”, but rather a whole series of arrivals through time...little victories...moment to moment...day to day...week to week...month to month...and without doubt, year to year. I’m on the train! Actually I’m blowing the whistle & callin’ “All Aboard”.
I really have turned into one of those “born-again ex-smokers”. And I don’t care! The thing is,I genuinely feel sorry for people who are still smoking and I am so grateful that I've managed to kick this thing. That feeling started pretty early into my quit and continues to strengthen as I go along. I really feel sorry for smokers now because I remember how I thought I was stuck in my habit...that quitting was nearly impossible...and how unaware I was of how much of life smoking dictated.
When I smoked, every part of my day was organised around smoking - from making sure I had enough time to fit in a cigarette before a meeting to making sure I had enough smokes to get me through until my next buying opportunity. I really didn't realise how enslaved I was, and I think the same is true for most smokers. I find it sad and I wish all of them could know the freedom I have found. So yup, I’m up there blowing the whistle and calling “all aboard”.
I’m really not sure I would have made it to one year had I not fortuitously stumbled upon this place about 2 months into my quit. This is my ‘Smokers Anonymous’ and it is absolutely brilliant & has been absolutely necessary. I truly hope that I can pay forward even a small fraction of what I have received here. This is a truly precious space.
Thank you for telling me that what I was experiencing was ‘normal’.
Thank you for always providing me with hope for an easier, better tomorrow.
Thank you for putting NOPE into words so that it could become my mantra.
Thank you for reminding me to celebrate my achievements, and for celebrating them along with me.
Thank you for helping me to understand that quitting smoking is a process.
Thank you for helping me to find and walk the road to FREEDOM, and for walking it alongside me.
I’m also not sure I had realized just how much strength I have at my disposal for my own directed personal use before I embarked upon this journey to freedom. But I now know that I can do just about anything. Really. I went from smoking a pack a day to running a marathon in 8 months, 2 weeks, and 1 day. Yahoo!!!!!!!!! You think I’m ever going back to smoking?
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
Not bloody likely!
Page 2 - Quit Smoking Help / Advice
