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Get Support: Get a Plan

by Cina

Mountain View, California
United States

I found I could not quit without the help of a support group AND without the help of changing some of my habits, behaviors, and attitudes ... I'd quit before and always returned to smoking, even after a prolonged time without smoking ... the return was always connected with a deep gut-wrenching experience. Many of us have smoked down anger and other negative feelings because we were told we shouldn't feel that way or because we simply didn't know how to handle these feelings. This was how I returned to smoking before. I've now been off cigarettes for 3-1/2 years, longer than ever before, yet I know that I'm still only a puff away from a pack a day. However, this time I did things differently. There were three key differences: 1) I did a lot of the mental prep work that prep work, 2) I announced to family, coworkers, and friends, what my quit date was and asked them for their support ... the responses I got were overwhelmingly enthusistic support, and 3) I associated myself with Nicotine Anonymous, a 12-step fellowship that helps people deal with preparing for quitting, quitting, and learning to live without smoking through working the 12 Steps that were developed for Alcoholics Anonymous. This quit has an entirely different feel! It's wonderful to know that the urge to smoke will pass whether I light up or not. It's wonderful to know that talking with someone can help me over the hump of some big feeling that I feel I must smoke over. It's wonderful to clear the wreckage and pain of my past and start living anew! Believe me, it is working, and I'm absolutely certain it's worth the effort I put into it!