Well here I am. My name is Rick. I've tried to quit many times. Mostly on my own. Probably my longest was about 4 months. I've wanted to quit thousands of times. I've been a secret dipper for about 30 years now. My wife would occasionally catch me. I'd say I'm sorry and quit for a day or so before going back at it. Yesterday morning, I woke up saying I was going to quit but until I actually took my last dip yesterday at lunch and then had nothing left in the can, I guess I really didn't believe that I could do it. I decided that I simply wasn't going to go buy any more. That way I would at least have to make an effort to satisfy the craving. It's been 24 hours and it seems that all I can think about is "I want a dip but I don't have any" which makes me kinda uneasy. Right now, I'm sucking on a piece of a paper towel with a drop of cinnamon oil on it just to get some sort of flavor in my mouth. Because it's been on my mind all day, I got out on the web and discovered the "Kill the Can" website. I started reading some of the posts and articles and, you know it was kinda refreshing to know that there were others that had already been through what I want to get through and there seemed to be a general desire to encourage and help others and I'm all about encouragement. I need positive reinforcement. I also read a posting on another web site where the wife was actually posting to get tips on how to get her husband to quit. One of the responses said that it was pretty much hopeless to try and make them quit and that it wasn't going to happen until he wanted to make it happen. I'd say that pretty much hits the nail on the head. I've decided that I want to quit. So today I quit for today. I'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.
Update - Almost a year later now and I won't ever make the claim that the journey is easy. I still have cravings. Maybe not as intense but the thought comes to mind that a dip would be really nice right now and it probably would be except that the repercussions to doing so just aren't worth it. The June Goons would be all over me and I am thankful for that. They keep me on my toes. Of you are reading this and thinking about quitting, it is very much a personal challenge but when you take that challenge, you do so with a whole army of fellow quitters right there with you. I will be quitting the rest of my life but I'll never be quitting alone. Get yourself involved in the forums and reach out to someone before you grab the car keys to go to the corner station for a can.
