Or 1 long year. That is how long it has been since I have had a cigarette. Not bad.
It is not hard to quit. I had done it many times before. But I was always drawn back to smoking. Not this time. It isn't that I don't want a smoke (I'll always want to smoke. It is the nature of the addiction.), it is that I WILL NOT SMOKE! I am stronger than the drug.
I discovered that what worked for me to quit was just one thing:
Will Power!
No pills, patches, or gimmicks would do the trick for me. I stuck to the plan of never buying or bumming a smoke and it worked! There were times I wanted to kill, maim or otherwise destroy people and property (A great big thank you to the HTBC [if it exists and I'm not confirming its existence or denying it.]). But I did get over it (For now.).
And now I have the satisfaction knowing that I can do something that Barack Hussein Obama doesn't have either the will power or desire to accomplish. Even with all of his resources.
For those who are contemplating or just starting out on this journey I have some words of advice:
Keep trying.
Use what ever method that helps you quit.
Have a great sense of humor.
Know that the HTBC is there to help you (If it exists and this is NOT a conformation of its existence.)
Have a support system. (I used the great people at QuitNet.Net)
And Finally, don't fear. If you try and fail, just try again, and again until you succeed you can do it. I know you can. For I did it! Just keep at it until you win.
Today and this year could be the year you finally quit. Do it for yourself, your kids, your loved ones, just do it!
Every New Year's Eve I like many people around the world make a resolution or resolutions to change something in their lives.
For me last January 1st, I vowed to quit smoking. I did try in January and failed badly. Then I forgot about my resolution. Until September. Then I tried again. But this time I had help. I went Cold Turkey but had on-line support from QuitNet. I have been free of nicotine for 102 Days!!! I didn't think I could do it!.
If you are thinking of quiting in 2010 give QuitNet a try. They have a very good success rate. Quitting smoking can be done!!!!!!! I know that for a fact. Do it for yourself, your children, your grandchildren, your spouse, for your cat, for your dog, because Barack Obama hasn't been able to. JUST DO IT!
This year I have a new resolution. This year I plan to lose 2 dress sizes. Or about 50 lbs (22.67 kg). If I can quit smoking, I can lose a few pounds. What is your resolution?
I have been going Cold Turkey for 3 weeks now. It hasn't been easy, but I feel a lot better. And I am starting to plan on what I will do with the extra money I will have from now on. Perhaps a fancy trip, or new clothes (I would really like a mink coat one winter!)
I don't think I will go back to smoking again, I just can't afford it.
Have you ever wondered what additives are in your idiotstick? Not just the usual Nicotine, but what the cigarette companies are allowed to add to "enhance the smoking experience"? Here is the list:
This reads more like a lab experiment than a pleasurable experience. Doesn't it.
Today is my 20th day of Cold Turkey. It is also the 7th anniversary of my husband's death. I know that smoking contributed to his heart disease and his early death (he was only 54). I miss him every day and wish we could have just a little more time together.
If you do smoke, consider what you are doing to to your loved ones. Who will you leave behind? What their lives will be like. And then set a date and quit. It isn't easy, but it is rewarding.
To Alexander Münch, hang in there. You have fine sons and should be around a long time for them. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!
For the first time I don't have a physical craving for an idiotstick. That is amazing!! What that means is that my body is no long physically addicted to Nicotine. It only took 18 days to clean out my system (I had smoked for over 30 years).
I really believe that I CAN beat this addiction. And I am doing it without pills, without patches, without gum. With nothing but my own Will Power.
I admit that there were times I thought that I would go out of my mind, that I would be climbing the walls, that I couldn't hold out without a puff. But those times are over.
Experts on the addiction of Nicotine claim that it takes 21 days for the human body to be totally rid of the toxins from smoking. And the journey back to a healthy body is a painful one.
But it seems to me that each day it is getting easier to quit. That what I first thought were insurmountable odds and an impossible quest, is turning into nothing more than a difficult journey, not the climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
While before I decided to quit, I would treat myself to a smoke after I finished a post, now I revel in the satisfaction of doing a good job (I just might get me some fancy chocolates to treat myself).
Quitting isn't hard if you really want to quit, if you have support from your family and friends, and you have help from G-d. I think I have prayed more these last 18 days than I did in the last few years.
If you do smoke and want to quit talk to your doctor. He or She will be able to help you get started.
And I haven't killed anyone yet! My patience has been worn thin these last 17 days. I have blown up at everyone and everything, wanting to kill and maim. How lucky that certain idiot celebrities have not come close to me. Or a certain liberal newscaster propaganda reader, Ed Schultz, is not within my grasp.
How fortunate for one Whoopie Goldberg that I wasn't inside that studio when when she uttered that idiotic statement:
I was amused when after giving one of the most self-centered, anti-American speeches ever given by a sitting US President, the IOC decided to bestow the 2016 Olympics on the city of Rio de Janeiro and not on the city of Chicago (which lost on the first round). It was a shame that neither Jesse Jackson nor Sen. Roland Burris were near me for both blamed Chicago's loss on George W. Bush and not the plague of violence that is gripping the Southside (the exact area in which they wanted to place the Olympics.
Yes I would have killed all those people in an instant.
But I am getting better. I have discovered I don't need the idiotsticks to calm me down. Just let me rant for a while, and I will be fine.
So here is to Day 17, a bit of ranting and raving, and hopefully a much more calmer me!
I almost lost it yesterday. The cravings and the pain from this addiction was so great that I almost ran out and bought a pack of idiotsticks. That is exactly what they are. For only an idiot would want one. And at one time, 16 days ago, I was that idiot!
I realize that I will always want a smoke. That is the nature of addictions. But I can never allow myself to give into the desire. I have to resist this desire every minute of every day. There will never be a time in which I can let myself go back to the idiotsticks.
But I am not alone in this. I have family and friends rooting for me. They are on my side, helping me along. And G-d is there with me. Not carrying me through this, but guiding me through the rough parts and guiding me on the path of righteousness.
I remember Psalm 46:
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
And I leave with this to inspire you:
Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop
Monkey in the Middle is now a NO SMOKING ZONE!!!!!!!!
Many long time readers might be wondering what has happened here at Monkey in the Middle. Where is the hard-hitting analysis of world events and politics?
I ask all to bear with me a little while longer. After smoking for over 30 years, I am trying to quit cold turkey. It is harder than you can imagine.
But as soon as I am able, I will be back to normal.
You can keep up with my daily progress here, and I ask you, my readers to remember me in your prayers.
I've been through Hell Week (week 1), and Heck Week (week 2). The crazy period of the first 3 days Cold Turkey. And now it is Day 15 and I haven't had a smoke or killed anyone yet.
I keep going, praying to become a non-smoker. I know I can do it!
To inspire all this Monday morning (I hate Mondays!) here are the Carpenters.
Rainy Days and Mondays
They will get me down, but not enought to make me ever smoke again!
Each day seems to get easier as I go longer without a smoke. Yesterday I only climbed the walls for 20 minutes instead of the couple of hours I went through during the first week.
We kind of celebrated last night. BBQ from a good BBQ joint. For dessert my oldest made brownies. Warm, moist brownies, covered with French Vanillia ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry.
Live is good and sweet!
I know I Can Do This, but can I ever give up the chocolate (or would I want to).!
Yesterday was a bad day. The craving for a cigarette was so bad that I almost ran out and bought a pack. What stopped me was the pouring rain. I didn't want to get wet, so I suffered and DID NOT SMOKE.
Nicotine is like a Demon. A Demon will do anything in its power to entrap you. Yet it will try to destroy you if you attempt to leave or destroy it. The same is true of Smoking. It will love and cherish you, until you try to break the habit. Then it turns on you, torturing you physically and mentally until you give in to its demands or are free of it (just like a terrorist).
So to help me fight this Demon, I turn to G-d for guidance and help, to friends and family for support and prayers, and to on-line sites that encourage me to keep fighting. Sites like TheQuitNet.
If you are trying to quit smoking or just thinking of it, give them a look-see.
And to help me and anyone else fighting the Demon called Nicotine, this song is for you!
In the past I have tried many products and devices to help me quit. They worked only as long as I used the product or device. Now I am doing this Cold Turkey and it is working.
Each day I will post my progress and if it is getting easier or worse for me. I hope that by doing this a smoker can get the courage to quit. It isn't easy to do, but it can be done!
If you need help you can find it at QuitNet. They have been helping me through the hard days.
I ask for your patience (my temper wears thin), your prayers (I haven't killed anyone yet) and your support.
