Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I think I'll be using this site a lot. I am a closet smoker because it's not acceptable behavior for a teacher to smoke. My close friends smoke, as does my husband, but I'm far enough away geographically from a lot of my family to keep it from them. I have a lot of shame about being a smoker. I only smoke at home and in my car, never in public places. I have gotten to the point where I just want to be at home all of the time so I can smoke. I am losing productivity at work because I don't want to stay after my students leave and put in the
time. This makes me feel ineffective and adds to the shame. It's time for me to quit once. And for all. I plan to use a nicotine patch which I already have on hand and start this Monday morning to become a healthier, happier, and more productive me.