You are most welcome to post my thank you letter to your website.
I've gained so much insight from the discussion threads these past several days; it has all been such a TREMENDOUS help to me. I find it so incredible that in your email to me requesting my permission to post my thank you letter, I should find confirmation of a revelation I just gained this evening. I've spent the greater portion of this day struggling with extremely intense craves for nicotine, without the accompanying sickness I experienced during the first four days, and about two hours ago I came to realize/recognize that the "power" of the crave was not coming from outside of me, but from within me. I had to face the addict IN ME and it brought me to tears. The inner conversations I've been having wth "my junkie [i.e. other] self" and "Nicodemon" are a farce and a copout and a waste of time. Tonight I had to face myself as the addict and it was almost more than I could bare. I went through tears of sorrow and anger when I realized I am not just addicted, I am an addict. My feelings then turned to panic and fear because I understood why I failed at all previous quit attempts, and I didn't know how I was going to be able to succeed with this quit. Then it all got whittled down to one simple truth: NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF. Remembering those four words was like having a life preserver thrown around me.
I am so grateful to you for providing such a simple solution to such an otherwise horrific dilemna (at best). I am personally benefitting greatly from everything I read on your website and right now I especially appreciate the various discussion threads. It feels like I have so many people WITH ME as I struggle through this and that means a lot to me.
Thank you, again.
Cathy
and
Dear Joel,
I wanted to take a moment to tell you that my decision to quit my nicotine addiction was not a New Year's resolution but the result of the death of my dear friend for 25 years, Pat, to bladder cancer on 2/7/05. It was a horrific experience for her and for me and it really woke me up to the realities of the harmful effects of nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking. As this month progressed I became more and more determined to NOT be smoking on the first anniversary of her death, partly for my own sake and the people whom I love and care about, and partly in honor of her. She is not the first friend I have lost to cigarettes, although I didn't realize that until I began educating myself about the harmful effects of nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking. Other friends' illnesses and deaths were labelled in ways that did not "blame" cigarettes but Pat's illness and death were openly blamed on her 40-year, 4 packs per day cigarette smoking habit. Although she had quit smoking in 1992, she refused to ever see a doctor and ignored symptoms until it was too late and the cancer had spread throughout her body. Following bladder removal surgery in late November 2004, her health steadily deteriorated until she passed away in a hospice on February 7, 2005. I personally learned a lot throughout that whole experience and I became determined to take better care of myself. Quitting smoking is on the top of my list.
Cathy
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
Prev Message