Hi Jerthie - I just have to echo the comments of xvaper and Anne!  Also, I know how debilitating anxiety can be, and I know that your mind tells you that lozenges are a coping tool. I truly hope you can let go of that idea. It's false, and it's harmful. On the other side of your fear is freedom! Sending you a virtual hug:)

I am sending both you and Jerthie a big sunshine hug for all the hard work you have been doing to join the nicotine free lifestyle.  

Well done!!! Seriously - nice work indeed.

Cheers 

Soaking up that sunshine hug! Thank you Anne!!!

Thank you Martha. My anxiety does act up quite a bit. I know that a full on quit would be ideal for me, but I am nervous. I am so steady at 6 lozenges a day. I am thinking to stay put here until the new year, and then come 2023, go down to 5, then 4, etc. I am so sorry everyone... I just don't want to do the full quit yet! But I will continue to post, and keep others connected! That's the best I can do!

Thank you Anne, though I am not completely off of the lozenges. I will continue to post and stay connected, but I think this is the best I can do until the new year! You are amazing, I love your no-nonsense love!!

Jerthie, even though we support each other, when it comes right down to it we are all on our own journey. You must do what's right for you, and I totally respect that! Wishing you strength and peace :)

Martha

Thank you Martha. I feel good and have hope in the way I am approaching my quit. Kudos again to you for hitting one year smoke free! And to everyone else who have succeeded in your struggles to beat nicotine addiction!

I have every confidence you can win this struggle.  We are with you all the way, your way!!  Cheers   

That means the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think I know what I am doing, and I actually do have confidence in the way I am approaching all of this. I feel good about my 6 a day. I am able to not have the ones I at times really really want. It seems like a slow tortuous way to go about it, but I know how I am doing this. I will stay put at 6 a day until January. Thank you again for still continuing to believe in me. I just want to be honest and transparent about how I am doing. Again not a full quit but much better than when I was at 12! Much love to all of you!!

Truly, I know I have come such a long way even though I am not at a 100% quit. The biggest change for me is knowing deep down inside that the lozenges do not make me skinnier, prettier, sweeter, smarter or kinder or even more hard working. When I used to suck on them for 30-45 minutes, they would dissolve slowly in my mouth while I imagined and felt that I was all of these things. Now that they only stay in my mouth for a minute or two.. Or at times less, I am forced to swim to shore without that nicotine sensation dissolving in my mouth. What do I do instead? Well, now I connect with others. And now I am able to get things done without them being in my mouth for such long periods of time. It is truly amazing. In the beginning of my reduction, I was on here a LOT as you all probably read and know. I needed in the beginning to always be connecting. It was a lot harder in the beginning for me to stay at 6. I couldn't get things done without the feeling of the lozenge in my mouth, hence I was on here connecting and that helped me tonnes! Now I am able to tackle things on my list but I still do want to post some messages here that are insightful on top of updating my general progress or struggles. So what insight do I have to share tonight? Simply this... Nicotine does not make you braver, kinder, smarter, stronger, more confident or better. It prevents you and delays you from tackling emotions and tasks which are the very things you need to be tackling to become the person you want to be and live the life you want to live! If I could be 100% quit right now, I would be. But like I have said I am putting my own spin on this quit and just appreciating what I have come to learn and realize over the past 2 months. Every day is getting better for me.. Not because things are better but a lot because I know I can now accept things just as they are without relying on nicotine to make me feel that they are better. Nicotine does not make your life better. It does not make you better. It makes you feel an escape out of what is really keeping you uncomfortable or unsettled. Nicotine is a facade. For so long for me it was a facade of being skinny and pretty and sweet and successful. Now what am I without the dissolving sensation of nicotine in my mouth? That is still unfolding for me as I speak.. And I will continue to let it unfold and continue to update you all on this truly amazing journey!! Thank you all again so very much for your support and for continuing to believe in me!!!