((( pink )))

I am pulling for you too. It is so good to become smoke free.

I quit after over 30 years of smoking. Quit cold turkey, after tapering off and planning and thinking about it, March 1, 2005.

The best thing I did was to think of it not as giving up something, but of becoming a non-smoker. It felt like an activity to be not smoking...I was working at becoming a non-smoker. And I cut way back on caffeine before quitting, and drank a lot of water the first few weeks. Also, I timed the nicotine cravings to find out that they lasted only about 10 minutes or less, so when one started I knew how long i had until it subsided.

Did you know that smoking is an anti-anxiety behavior? You probably did since you are educated in the psych field. But I didn't and I didn't realize that it is often a reason people return to it. It explained why so many times when I tried to quit a crises would cause me to go back to it.

It's funny I found this post because for the last week I have been thinking about smoking again. Not that I will, because I am truly done with it, but that there are times I miss it. The humidity has been lower here the last few days and I have had thoughts of sitting out on the patio, smoking and thinking ... Sitting outside to smoke while reading or taking a break from a chore like cleaning was something I really enjoyed.

Keep at it. As my neighbor said to me when i was reporting a failed attempt to quit, "It's okay. You're practicing and one day you'll do it!". I didn't know it then and would have never guessed it but he had smoked for years and had quit. It was nice of him to encourage me to forgive myself and let myself off the hook. Very calming and helpful to me.

So, keep at it. You're practicing!