I quit smoking yesterday, and am 1 full day smoke free working on two. My blog title reflects the fact that although I have tried many times over the years, this is my last try, as I am DETERMINED to succeed. It was very humbling to return to this site for the first time since 2008 and see that if I had kept it up, I would be almost 1000 days smoke free by now. 😞 Since then, I have tried cold turkey at least 2 times, which was a miserable fail and also Chantix, which worked, until one day I woke up crying for no reason and realized I had becom progressively more depressed every day (very scary). The rest of the time I have either been in denial, or totally disgusted with myself for not being strong enough to quit.
But what's past is past, and I can only look forward. A wise person once said change happens when the pain of changing outweighs the pain of staying the same, and for me that is so true.
When I compare the pain of changing (cravings, sleepiness, irritablility, weight gain)
With the pain of saying the same (shortened life span, health worries, constant sore throat, guilt, disappointing my family, bad smelling clothes and car, being a slave to cigarettes)
There is really no contest. I do realize that I will need help on this journey, so for the first time, I am actively joining a support group. I hope to make work with other ex-mokers out there to beat this addiction once and for all!
L
