Welcome, katenalbert.
I was a life-long smoker too and I quit. YOU CAN too! If you're going to be nervous, be nervous about NOT quitting, not quitting. The consequences of smoking can be deadly. The consequences of quitting smoking are a new life of FREEDOM, savings, and increased self-esteem. The first thing to understand is that you are a nicotine addict. We call ourselves smokers because that is the visual, but we smoke to get high on nicotine.
I've found the more you know about beating your addiction to nicotine, the easier it is to quit smoking. And that really is what it is all about. You don't really even want to smoke. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. But you are addicted to nicotine, (all of us here are, or were.) Once you are on to his nicotine's ways and deceitful lies, you will find it within you to say, "NO MORE." Not One Puff Ever = N.O.P.E.
One of the best ways to get educated, in my opinion, is to read the Allen Carr book, The Easy Way To Quit Smoking. You can find a link to the free online version here. I also recommend doing the tasks outlined on this site in preparation for your quit, (even if you've already begun your quit,) because the first couple weeks, as you probably know already, are not what most people call fun, (sorry Mr. Carr.) But if you've planned ahead what you will do instead of smoking, since you won't be doing that anymore, you will get through. Once you beat the addiction, you will still need to master the old associations you've wove with dopamine highs. It is a process. It is a journey. The only way to the other side, to the freedom of living smoke-free, is through. You can do this!
There are a handful of members here we all affectionately refer to as Elders; folks with sturdy, steady quits under their belts that hang around simply to help newbies like you along. Read their blogs, take their advice, trust them. They are wise and they mean well.
Then, hang around here as much as you can. Whine, cry, scream, (wait! hit the brakes! SCREEEEEECH!!! What am I saying?) Laugh, giggle, smile and dance your way through this journey. How difficult it is, more than anything else, is how you perceive it. You are not giving up anything. You are gaining everything, from a healthier body, to increased wealth,to greater self-esteem, to a whole new awakening on life! It truly is freedom and it's yours for the taking. Sometimes I wonder if it is not better to be an Ex-smoker than a Never-smoked. You enjoy the same freedoms as they but, having been a slave to addiction for so long, you appreciate freedom so much more.
So welcome aboard. We are all here to walk this journey with you. Educate, prepare, commit, and then quit. It really is as simple as that.
Be well. Be happy. Be FREE!
