Seeing folks who supposedly "get it" cave is a real kick in the nuts. For those who know what it takes to get quit, its hard to fathom why you would throw it away. For those who proactively protect their quit, its hard to understand why you would even entertain the thought. For those who still deal with craves, dip dreams, survivors remorse, etc - its hard to even imagine why you would want to invite that back into your life.
The key thing to remember is that quit is not just an action, its a lifestyle choice. stopping is like a diet, you fall off the diet, gain a few pounds, get back on it. Quitting is changing your eating habits and exercise habits so you NEVER have to diet again. Its a full shift in mentality from "well, I cant have that because I quit" to "I dont want, need, or desire that. It does NOTHING good for me." Its knowing you could go back at anytime, and CHOOSING not to.
So when someone caves - its ALWAYS a conscious choice, but its one that started long before the actual act of caving. Long ago they did not embrace quit, they forgot what it takes to quit, they stopped protecting their quit, and they forgot that their is not a damn thing nicotine does to make life better.
Nearly every cave story starts off with "just 1" be it chew, cigar, smoke, etc. The ones we read here end with another day 1 after "just 1" becomes "back to where I was or worse."
New guys - protect your quit by posting roll and getting involved in every way possible. Embrace the suck and let it burn into your soul. Make quit your lifestyle instead of just another "diet." There is NO force on earth that would stop me from doing everything I can to prolong my life here with my family and friends. Is there temptation? Of course, we are only human. But there is also temptation for cheating on my wife, stealing, being black out drunk or high, gorging on unhealthy foods constantly, stopping workouts, etc. Sometimes its easy to say no, sometimes its hard to say no - but the answer is ALWAYS no.
There is no fucking way I am making a "conscious decision" to do anything remotely related to ingesting nicotine. I cannot think of a single reason why anyone who has invested any time into their quit would.
