My story begins nine years ago, it was just after my father passed away from a massive heart attack, and here i was smoking three packs of cigs a day, it was unreal because my breathing was not good, and i knew i had to stop smoking but it wasn't until my husband pointed out that with all the smoking i was doing ( 3 packs per day at 15 dollars a pack) i could of been able to buy myself a new car...when i actually sat down and thought about what my husband was telling me i thought wow that is unreal....,my husband was a smoker but he did not smoke as much as i did, I had so many attempts at quitting and failed every time, but i knew that this time would be different because my husband and i were in this together and we were quitting together....

Quitting smoking i knew it was going to be hard but i would not give in no matter how much i wanted to give in i would not allow myself to, so for the first month i had found this site and i had put myself on the patch, it was really happening i was determined to quit smoking and so i did with the help of this forum and the help of everyone's advice of drinking water with ice, and getting fresh air, i managed to stop smoking.

for me when i sat down and thought about it, this is just mind over matter, it's all in how your thinking, if you think you can do it then your going to, but if you think that you can't then you won't.  having to find things to do to keep your hands busy was a challenge for me because i was so use to holding that cig, but i took up crafts just to keep myself  busy and i would clean non stop which made my home smell so much better, 

after while food started smelling better, and tasting better, my clothes smelled smelled better and so did my home. i had a lot of challenges that i had to face without turning to smoking, like family members passing away, friends passing away but i would not give in to smoking.

Awhile back i had lost my best friend of thirty years to smoking, she had a massive heart attack and  passed away and she was a smoker, i tried to get her to stop smoking but she just wouldn't and so because of that i am now in this world without her. Facing that was a huge loss for me but i still would not go to smoking again because it was not going to bring my best friend  back.

During this path you are all going to face some real challenges the key is to think about things, " ask yourself these questions"  " is smoking going to help my situation that i am in?" your answer will be NO this is what i had to do to ask myself these questions and that is how i kept going.

Smoking was my " go to" when i was nervous, sad, anxious and feeling happy, but i took that plunge with my husband and we stopped smoking together and i am thankful that we did because now we can do more things together and live a longer healthier life.

This may seem impossible to stop smoking but i now have NINE years in without smoking and so i am living proof that this can be done, you just need the will power to say " NO MORE" and walk away from it, giving yourself a better life 

yes i did develop allergies after i stopped smoking but i am alive, and i am happy and that is all that matters, i can live with allergies :) 

good luck everyone, i really hope that my story helps all of you in your journey 

your non smoking friend 

Liz  

Thank you Liz for sharing your story...... absolutely helps to reassure myself that #1 it can be done #2 that when you get through “to the other side,” your happy, and #3 that it definitely feels freeing that you kicked it!

congrats to you both! Keep going! 
 

Eve 1/30/2020

Thank you for sharing, Liz. Very inspirational & a reminder  of the nasty crutch we all relied on.

The further i get from my quit date, the more important it is to remember how badly that addiction controlled me. Cannot slip up and go back - forward only.

Congrats.