Good job, good message.

Maybe I'll try to put a melody to the words.

Interesting thought, doing a talk on your adventures. I've been thinking of doing something similar. It has been a crazy life. I have lots of incredible things to share with the world. I'll forward you an outline when I I decide what I might want to say.

Dancin' thru the day.

Good day,

Andrew

Hey Andrew, 

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your very kind message and support. It is greatly appreciated, thank you!  

Big congratulations to you on those 2+ months. That a terrific accomplishment. It's also great to see you staying so close to the forum, seeking support, lending support, and sharing your journey with others. 

Like you, I smoked for multiple decades too and had more than one attempt at quitting before joining the forum in 2018. The last prior one was in 2016 when I mistakenly thought that I could have 'just one'. Then I found myself here in 2018 trying to quit again. Thankfully the forum is a truly amazing place for help with smoking cessation and for support, which is so wonderful. The people on this forum have been and still are amazing. I love the way we all support and cheer each other on and I'm glad to see that continuing. Terry often referred to our members of the forum as the forumily (forum family). I think that's a great description of all of the amazing quit-buddies we have here, including you. 

I'm sorry I'm late responding. I'm trying to catch up on a few posts I've missed recently after being off for a little bit. 

I'm so sorry to hear about Rascal. I'm so glad though for the happy memories you have to hold onto. Those moments and memories will no doubt continue to live in your heart and bring some comfort and hopefully smiles for years to come. 

It's great that you're finding so many ways to use distractions on your journey. They're a great help and music was a great one for me too. I see the same is true for Lore. It's good that you like working with your hands too and that you have such terrific projects lined up to keep them busy. I'm sure the kitchen will be lovely when finished. I see you've been getting in a bit of walking too. That's not only a wonderful distraction but also great exercise. 

It's really good to see you staying with your quit. That's so important and one of the best decisions we can make for ourselves. It's also good to hear your determination. That's half the battle. I'm so happy for you and the progress that you're making. Keep posting, keep going, and yay you on those two plus months smoke free!  

Again, I apologize for not getting to this sooner but way to go Andrew! Best wishes as you continue on your smoke free journey. 

Have a great day.  

P.S. 

Another thing you might want to think about, both as a distraction and also as way to eventually look back at how far you've come, would be to start a journal on the forum. If that's something you might be interested in, you can start your journal by creating a journal thread under the 'Quit Stories and Journals' heading in the menu. If you would rather not, you can also read other quit-buddies journals there. Many of them are truly inspiring too. Anyway, I just thought I'd mention it. I hope you have a wonderful week. 

Hey Denim:

I can't sleep tonight so I decided I would send you a reply to your wonderful post. I want to thank you for your sensitive thoughts and feelings. I can't tell you how much this site means to me and all of the great folks that I have met.  They have been invaluable to my journey. We are all addicts trying to overcome this horrible condition and it is so important to have others that understand. 

You really touched me with your observations about my dog. He was the only dog I have ever had, and I miss him terribly. My wife and I have decided we are going to get another soon. That should ease the pain that I feel every day that he has been gone. 

Your post was so meaningful. You connected with everything that I talked about. It's almost like we have been friends for a long time. I was really impressed with you, and it takes people like yourself to make a difference for others in a special way. 

 Yes, music has been a savior all of my life. I sat playing my piano today and it was almost a spiritual experience. In fact, this process of quitting smoking has opened me up to new feelings that I never knew existed. It's simply a matter of taking care of oneself, much like my quitting drinking 5 years ago. Such self-destructive behavior is so unnecessary in the short amount of time we have on this earth. 

I enjoy staying busy. I have been gifted with many talents that allow me to do incredible things with music, art, writing and anything else that I have attempted. 

There is not enough time in the day to do what I want to do and thank the Lord for everything I have in this life today and beyond. This "forumily" is one of those things.

Again, thanks for what you do.

Good day (or night)

Andrew

hey young lady:

how are you doing today? just thought i would check in.

did i tell you that i have saved your lyrics and would like to write a melody to them?

i no longer have a guitar but i do play my piano almost as good

i was a successful amateur musician in my past life and have composed songs based on other peoples' lyrics, not promising anything but i may give it a try sometime

hope this post finds you well 

good day

Andrew

I am well Andrew, Though still at 6 lozenges a day. Sadly. I am thinking of starting a quit tomorrow. I will keep you all posted! I have not wrote any poetry lately, but may start again. Of course it's okay that you saved my lyrics! If you would like to add music to them, that would be great!

I admire how you are using different art forms as a way of coping with your quit! I look forward to reading more of your posts soon! Till next time... Keep up the amazing work!

Amazing Andrew!  Keep dancing! I hope your energy rubs off on me!

Hi,

I've perused this forum a lot, but never posted.

I'm a longtime heavy smoker (age 13 to 63) who has never even tried to quit.  Now I have to least temporarily, because I am having hip replacement surgery in a few weeks and will be in hospital for 24 hours.  I smoke in part to deal with anxiety and insomnia, and my anxiety is sky high right now.  My GP won't give me anything for the anxiety, although I do have sleeping pills, but they don't work very well.

I am feeling scared, more than anything.  Scared I'm going to lose my mind.

Can't even use the patch the day of surgery, so I'll have to go 24 hours without nicotine.

Badly needing help and support.

I feel for you.  I think fear is what anyone would feel in your shoes.  Pray.  Give your fear and anxiety to God, our Lord Jesus Christ.  You will get through it. You are not alone!

Hello there G,

I think you will find that it is much easier to not smoke than you realize.  Distract yourself every time an urge to smoke comes up.   Start now - every other urge to smoke, do something else.  Take a hot bath, enjoy some chocolate or a cold ice tea.  Do anything to distract yourself away from having that cigarette.  I thought I could never give up smoking.  I would panic whenever I got down to 10 cigs in pack.   When I quit (cold turkey) it was so easy I was so surprised.  If you can get past the first three (3) days, you are on your way.  

Start practicing control over your reaction to cravings to smoke.  When you get a craving, try putting it off a bit.  Don't let the smoke be your master -   you be the master of it.  

One thing many people have done, seems to help - take some Halls throat lozenges and, once they get going in your mouth , try breathing air through a plastic straw.  The coolness will wash over your throat and give you that sensation that you get from smoking.

You can do this!