I can’t believe that I missed this by a day but hey, after 3 years who’s counting? (Me actually 3 years quit on Feb 23rd 2011…… YeeeeeeeeeF*&^ing HA!!!!!)
OK, just to bore all you newbies, a brief history……. About a month after I quit (Alan Carr course and I would recommend it or his Easyway book to anyone) I realised that even though I was doing well ,I still needed support to keep me in my quit and so I joined this forum. It was one of the best things I could have done. The people I met on here were a brilliant bunch and we had a great laugh together…..they all know who they are/ where.
I learned many valuable lessons which helped make it easy….yes I said it ….EASY , to quit. The main thing being to understand what would happen as I progressed with my quit, from the quitzits to the extremely smelly farts to the (as a guy) wonderful effects of increased blood flow!!!!
How did I learn all this? Why by READING of course. The “READ READ READ” mantra was put about a lot in the early 2008’s as a great way to help understand what to expect with your quit and how to deal with it, and I reckon that from those days, the first really substantial batch of successful, supportive quitters emerged on this forum. Catwoman, CWord, Jude, Cavalier, Supervillain, Onemoretry, Austinlegro, Tomatpots, WickedFairy, Catmagpie and many others all gained success while supporting others, and this led to some who closely followed, NicFirth, StuartH and MargaretH etc. followed by others like JackieInv, Belleblue & Jamangie and many others all taking up the mantle and helping those who were to follow. (I apologise for the many, many names that I have inadvertently left from here but it really is a long time since I was on and even longer since I posted).
In the 3 years since I quit I can honestly say that I hardly ever think of cigarettes and that is a great feeling. It is a cliché I know but if I can do it so can any of you who are just starting your journey on here.
My advice (for what its worth) is to “READ READ READ” as much as you can…. “WHYQUIT” is great for real hard hitting facts about smoking and quitting and “Woofmang” is just brilliant for inspirational tales to help you when times get a wee bit tough.
And don’t forget, a simple sentence to boost you up when you feel down is great. Things like NTAP (Never Take Another Puff) and NOPE (Not One Puff Ever) are good.
I always preferred DBSFS myself, which must be said with a Glaswegian accent, whenever I felt the urge to smoke.
DBSFS Don’t Be So F£$%ing Stupid!!!!!! It really works Go on try it.
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Congratulations, amazing quit. Thank you for being there when I started and passing on the read, read, read programming, we did it and made it and then passed it on and they are still doing it.
John, I offer you congratulations on a job bloody well done and thanks
for letting us newbies know how you are doing. We thank you for the inspiration. I have spent quite a few enjoyable and informative hrs going thru old posts and recognize a few of the names still posting which is wonderful for us; o.k. I have had a right laugh with some of the jokes and at many of the discussions.
Catwoman seems more than familiar and I am glad that Not Catwoman, Honest is showing a few of her character traits:D
Good to see you post! You all came in at 1 year just after I quit and many things you said helped me enormousely! I am not really sure if that e should be there? So. Well done and thanks for your support. I am one of the ones who got this far because of your support.
It's like a school reunion except with people you actually respect.
[/warm fuzzy feeling]
Mr Legro, you make me laugh so much, you really do. Don't ever leave, the newbies need you.
I think it's absolutely wonderful the way people that are securely 1 + year quit stick around on this forum to encourage people who are starting out. It's inspirational, and enormously comforting, to know that it can be done. I intend to join the ranks of the oldies one of these days.
Congratulations on three years, that's just fantastic.
Stringing mantras together is a task not for the faint hearted. And I must add that the best mantra you ever strung together...probably whilst thumbing the edges of your mankini and engaging Maddy in semantics...was READ, READ, READ. Sources of inspiration do come in times of adversity they say :rolleyes:
3 years!! That's awesome :cool:
Both Catwoman and her cantankerous (!! ) quit bud Cav are still most certainly quit, 3 years mid January (Motorhead ROCK)
Ah, the fragrant CW...I learnt everything I know at her knee: quitting, laughing, quitting, cantankerous-ness, quitting, kicking butt, quitting...did I mention quitting?
Congrats, John! I'm a big fan of your 'read, read, read' mantra as well. Helped me tons to reprogram my thinking and was definitely a big part of my quit. So thank you and big well done.
Well, I'm a relative newbie in the grand scheme and I got it, the read, read, read mantra that is, and I'm passing it on (trying to anyway).
I sat for weeks and weeks solid reading and although not as fervent I still regularly follow links here and there and can come away from the computer at times totally re-affirmed in my quit. Whyquit for me is especially good a doing that!
It has become so that I do not feel I can ever justify another cigarette. I know too much...
I shall credit my signature to you lot, quite honestly because it works and it makes sense - thanks for sticking around, thanks for passing the knowledge on, just - thanks for being a pretty lovely bunch of people. Canatankerousness aside
its really inspiring to read posts from folk who have succesfully beat the habit for so long. i think i need to go read lots more like it to motivate me (am only poor pathetic newbie to this!)
but just wanted to say thanks for sharing...its helped
TKD what up, congrats on the Big 3. Yep, us 'read, read, read' peeps knew where we were didnt we haha? Chuffed with the name drop too, christ i'm shallow.
I considered posting on my third quit anniversary (12th March) but didn't get the chance cos I was away, but got an automated birthday message from the forum today which reminded me that I used to be active here a long long time ago
I remember all the people who have participated in this thread - we all stopped at about the same time and we all battled our demons together (pity none of the lists of ex-members mentioned me though :p)
I came to the realisation that I was truly over my habit a few weeks ago when I was on a night out with friends - a smoking couple had decided to quit just 3 days previously but while we were sat in a pub garden and one of them went to get drinks, he came back with a packet of fags, disappointing everyone.
To stop him chain-smoking, it was decided that only non-smoker in the group - ME! - should be given control of his packet for the evening. We agreed that he'd get ONE fag every 20 mins and was not allowed to scrounge off anyone else. After the first hour, everyone had had enough of his moping and I was forced to hand over what was left of his packet, which as expected, he chain-smoked. And when he was done, he bought another packet!
Since then, both partners have given up and re-started at least twice as far as I'm aware.
All evening, just like over the last 3 years +, I didn't even have the vaguest desire to light up, and his desperation at needing his regular fix made me realise yet again just how glad I am to have knocked my habit on the head.
I had a rather unorthodox stopping mechanism: I kept my last cigarette, and at the start, I didn't think of myself as having stopped smoking, but I was just putting off smoking that last fag, at first for minutes, then hours, then days.
Well, I stall have that dried up shrivelled object in its packet in the back of a drawer and hand on heart, I've had zero desire to smoke it since a few weeks after my quit.
I second the slogan so many in this thread have repeated: read, read and read some more, about the psychology and physiology of smoking, because from understanding why we do silly things we can stop ourselves wanting to do them ever again.
Good luck to everyone on here however far you are into your quit, and don't give up on yourself! Give up on the nasty evil weed!
I just launched an online quit claculator thingy (I uninstalled the one on my computer a long time ago; in fact both of my two current PCs were acquired since I quit!), with the following results:
36,000+ cigarettes not smoked,
saving approx £14,200 (I actually do have about £15K in my savings account I'd not otherwise have had there as I never stopped the standng order transferring my fag money from my current account to my savings account every week),
and at 5 minutes per cigarette I have increased my life expectancy by approx 4 months, 4 days.
I am nowhere near your quit; my craves are much easier now, but there are those times that I could, could, COULD..... just kick a dog (no, I am not advocating animal cruelty). From reading your post as well as those from other long time quitters, it gives us newbies hope that we may come thru to the other side reasonably unscathed one day.
Huge thanks to you and those before you for your time and inspiration.
CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!!!!!
Cheers
Jen
p.s. can I have a loan; somewhere round 14,000 quid? pretty please
What a fantastic quit.Your achievement is my aim,but three years is some timespan.Its wonderful what you have done for yourself and you are an inspiration to others here.The longest I quit before was 6 months.Best Wishes....douglas.j
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) quit bud Cav are still most certainly quit, 3 years mid January (Motorhead ROCK)
What makes long time quitters (2+ years) smoke again?
New Year Quitter - 8 hours or so down, x to go!
