Quitting smoking.....

just the mere thought of it invokes terror in the heart and minds of the hardcore smokers. I was one of them for so long. Every time I thought of it, my heart would race, I would break out in a sweat and reach for the ever present pack of cigarettes always close at hand, always by my side, and smoke even more. I defined myself as a smoker. After all, there are only two kinds of people in this world, those who smoke and those who don't, right? Well, I smoked! Yes, I tried to quit countless times. I hated myself with each failed attempt. Then I lived in denial for another month or three or four, or year or five or six, until I found the courage to try again..... and fail again. This went on for over twenty-seven years. I took my first drag off a cigarette at the age of ten. By sixteen I was buying my own and smoking in front of my parents. I made my first real attempt to quit at eighteen, but after that failed, it was another four years before I tried again. After that attempt, it was another six or seven years, and so went the pattern.So what made this quit for me different? Support. This board. The people here. It was quite different when I joined almost four years ago at the age of forty-three. Posts didn't live in perpetuity and there was a whole different group of folks (some are still around, katiem,Herbal cigarettes, kl, bob, jennelle, j/q) - posts were blue if you hadn't read them yet and grey if you had. I lived here. I read every post and responded to every post. I wrote 20-40 posts a day. I finally wanted to quit more than I wanted to smoke. I listened to what the old timers told me and took it one day at a time. I cried, slept, screamed, laughed, read about addiction, and read some more. I changed the way I looked at smoking. It took a while,quit smoking, about a year and a half, but I finally defined myself as an ex-smoker. Last weekend I was at a friend's house, and I was the only non-smoker. There were five other women there, and they were all smoking (we were outside). I watched them all and felt their pain, smelled the stench of slow death, and was so grateful I didn't do that anymore. I had not one thought of gosh, I wish I could have a cigarette. Instead I thought Gosh I wish they could see there's life after smoking.I don't come around here too often anymore, but wanted to let you all know that. There is life after smoking. In fact, it's a pretty awesome kind of life. It's a life of FREEDOM. It's living with the heavy, stinky smokecloak of addiction lifted like suddenly seeing the blue sky after the clouds part from days of rain. It's a feeling of accomplishment that spills over into every aspect of your life. If I could quit smoking, I can do ________ - anything!It's the best thing you will ever do for yourself. It's difficult and challenging, but it is so worth it, and so are you! If you are quit, hold onto it with everything you have, because it is easier to keep a quit than to find a new one. If you're thinking of quitting, there's no time like the present. Life happens and there will always be excuses, but you will never regret your decision to take back control of your life and redefine yourself. One day at a time, it's do-able. KTQFan of the LungFannyRitaThree years, nine months, one week, four days, 11 hours, 49 minutes and 55 seconds. 27609 cigarettes not smoked, saving $4,831.58. Life saved: 13 weeks, 4 days, 20 hours, 45 minutes.