Quitting is the shits. It affects you both psychologically and physically: extreme anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, craves, and so on. After about 4-1/2 decades of using tobacco, I had not contracted cancer so why put myself through this crap?
The reason to quit was quite simple: there is always the small “what if” about cancer in the back of my mind; I have been apparently genetically lucky so far. Nicotine also constricts your blood vessels and hampers circulation, it increases your heart rate, and it increases your blood pressure. I have always been active and nicotine was interfering with my physical ability. I’m not going to even go into the mental rationalizations I used to plan my life around the addiction; looking back, it’s just embarrassing.
Could I have quit without KTC? Probably, I had done it before but it didnÂ’t last. I want it to last this time.
KTC is awesome. Along with the tools and resources KTC offers, it also connects you with people who are going through the exact same as you. You may never meet face to face with your quit brothers but they are there for you. When you reach out for help or help someone else, it makes your ability to quit no easier but stronger.
To all my Jackhammers of June 2018 quit brothers: Thank you!!!! Less than ½ our starting class survived the 100 days and I’m proud to be quit with you 1 minute, 1 hour, and 1 day at a time! We have forged a relationship out of supportive necessity and developed friendships. I hope to see all of you post at the comma!
Thank you to all the supporters and conductors that post daily! Viewing hundreds and thousands of days quit is inspiring. You all have been supportive and proof that it can be done AND sustained.
The struggle is and has been worth being free of the grip of nicotine! Get your family involved in your quit. Don't ninja quit like you ninja dipped. Let your friends and family know what you are doing. Greater your accountability to friends and family will only help increase your resolve. My wonderful bride of almost 37 years is the one that found KTC for me early in my quit: Involve your family! ODAAT!!
Mambo
