Time to Dust of this intro a bit. 500 Days of quit
1 thing you never realize is how long it takes to heal from years of self poisoning. When I started out my quit I estimated I should be clear to go after a months time. Boyyyyy was I Wrong! After joining KTC I come to the conclusion that I was going to need a battle plan. I new I was going to have to set Quit goals to even have a shot at this new found freedom. Once I got zapped with that awful and foggy funk around 95 days quit I new 3 months was only a blimp on the radar of quitting and journey towards independence. So I set out a 6 month goal, Once there I again was feeling the effects of the damage done years past. That 200 funk hit me around 175 days quit and the actual agitation of that phase lasted well into my 200's. This could be do to season change change as well, summer time camping, camp fires, outdoor activity's and sunlight (for us Northerners) was great but hard welcome.
After that i felt pretty good leading up to my year mark. 365 was a huge win for my quit, but it i was still craving hard and I (like a lot of people) started asking myself "Will this ever end?" , "Is it worth this annoyance?" , "Will it be like this forever?" My addiction wanted me to come back, but my mind new better (Thanks to KTC and the tools I learned those first 100 days). I Pushed on with the help of my April Thunderbirds, The encouragement from vets who text me daily still, and the need to pay it forward to the new foggy brained bastard looking for a way to win as well.
I really started to feel my stride around the 480 mark and 500 has never felt so good. Its getting sooooooo much better as each quit goal is crushed and I'm well on my way to being a 15%ers (2 year mark statistic). It takes a brass pair to quit cold turkey, its not rainbows and butterfly's by any sense of the imagination and there are some really dark days but its worth everything once your on the other side reaching down to help the next guy see the light, you also get to see the respect shine in other peoples eyes as they wish they could overcome their own addiction as well.
My 500 advice rephrased off of something I read a little while ago:
" Being a successful quitter takes work and dedication, Its about being the type of person who doesn't miss roll. Its easy to WUPP your first 100 days when your in the suck, But its crucial to show up when your feeling great, even if its only posting 1 time in your group and logging of for the day. Getting on roll EDD for 2 seconds may not look like much, but it reaffirms your Quit" The programming is what I'm after, I make a conscious effort every morning, Am I winner or am I a looser? What do winners do on the hard days? THEY SHOW UP! If your reading this and planning to quit, TOSS THAT SHIT AND LFG!!!!! if your a new post HOF guy , GET AFTER IT and STAY AFTER IT!
Nick-Otine Free- 500 days of pure quit. LTBE, yesterday is long gone, tomorrow may never come, so today, Let your quit be enough.
0-100 days of quit: your in the shit/suck/trench's, lots of hard days sprinkled with some really cool fresh breath of air before you push on to your HOF day. Exercise it critical, magnesium and Ashwagandha vitamins before bed help get you some much needed sleep. Probiotics help alot for gut issues as well I used Kefir brand for a week or so. that 70s funk is a huge ass surprise and derails lots of quits. I almost lost mine from days 85-95. I also quit dipping fake on my HOF day and switched to sugar free gum. theres no way around these hard times, Through is the only option, no it now, accept it, grab a pair and get it done.
100-200 days of quit: Can get lonely, your kind of on your own now, Us vets kinda push you out of the nest to encourage you to fly, not as many people post roll with you, group members start to drop like flys. There is a 200 funk that hit me around 170- 250 days quit actually. it was a trying time but I had the honor of being a conductor to keep me my mind busy from the cravings. But your group its and your quit line are extremely important during this phase. hopefully your in a group text with your fellow team and also having vets telling you there is hope if you get make it through the day. may sound simple but it means everything when the nic bitch is whispering. our brains are finally starting to realize you in this thing for a long haul so lots of psychological warfare happens upstairs.be patient , this to shall pass.
200-300 day of Quit: Honestly you start feeling pretty good during this phase, your craving start to become less and less. It makes you wanna start being complacent. your start day dreaming that you may be cured. you start to wonder if you slip away from your responsibility , word, and WUPP that maybe no one will care. and if a few do so what, maybe you can try this thing on your own again ( what kept me in it was the remembrance of all the times I tried to stop dipping in the past, I could never do it alone, KTC is the only thing that got me this far so like the saying goes " if it aint broke dont fix it". ) had a week long crave around 260ish so this pickle kept on keeping on. don't fool yourself during this time thinking you got it whipped, YOU DONT KEEP PUSHING!
300-400 day of quit: You start to get that thumping in your chest, could it be that year mark ringing in the back ground? Its puts a smile on your face when you reach this quit goal! you feel like the king of the mountain. Never had you thought you would make it this far. I had once in the past only to fail shortly after so I was excited to surf uncharted waters. I did have a weird rage moment in my 320s and a couple splatters of craves throughout this 100 but all in all it was not to bad. Once 365 hits you see even more group members fade away and even worse stop texting back. Its sad to see so many piss away all the hard work they put into becoming a better person. this is also the stage where you feel a bit more confident and start to improve other areas of your life. Quitting is contagious just dont let your hat get to big, seen lots of quitters cave around this time as well. WUPP and just stating in your group that you feel like shit that day makes all the difference. ROME was not built in day, you did not undo years of dipping in 400 days, dont be naïve and stick the course!
400-500 days of quit: This was a strange time in my quit, I actually had a couple weekends where craves were almost watering my eyes (again maybe summer time) but i did actually have a back up can of fake for emergency issues as this and dipped fake for about 2 weeks for this first time since my HOF day. But for the first time my brain was finally telling me you got this. the rewiring worked, all the blood,sweat,tears i put into this quit finally paying off! the WUPP EDD pushed me to keep my word and allow no wiggle room for that dirty nic bitch! around 480 it hit me like a wave of mamas fresh biscuits! I have loads of quitters digits and i still text vets, tweens, and newbs daily to make sure I'm leaving no stone unturned. As Henry Ford said " Whether you Think you CAN or Think you CANT,....You're Right!" Jump First and grow wings on the way down man! There is hope for you, im resting here at this Half dangle but im not sold on the idea i wont be challenged in the future, " When the devil ignore you, then you know your doing something wrong, conversely , when the devil comes at you, maybe its because your trying to do something right"
