I just realized the other day (May 8) that I finished my 7th year of being nicotine free. There was a guy here when I started on this site who had been nicotine free for 7 years and some point, and I remember thinking how incredibly long and impossible that sounded. So when I realized I'd hit that mark, I thought I should come back and brag some. ...But I had forgotten the name of this site. Somehow, just now, I was able to remember the name "Stop Smoking Center" and miraculously was able to recall my old password! Ha!
So, long story short is that it gets way easier with time. That first year was so hard for me. I was on this just about every day for the first entire year. So many craves. So many emotions. So much obsessing. But all those cravings and obsessions kept getting weaker and showing less often, until...I'm now at a point where I honestly can't recall the last time I even thought about wanting a cigarette. It has to have been a year or more since that type of thought has crossed my mind. (I still have a lot of emotions, but that's just me. LOL) I totally forgot my own quit anniversary for a few years. But for some reason, the date "May 8" kept being brought to my attention this year. I kept thinking, "I know there is something important about that day." And then I remembered. And it still took me a few more days to find my old quitting site here.
That's how easy it gets over time. But it all starts with a simple commitment that one of our old posters used to encourage us to make on the daily: "I will not smoke today." ...And I won't!
