Thank you Blairsville for always being there in the last year....
I'm really not sure I could have made it without you.
Love,
JudyE

Joyce's Ramble Hello to all you wonderful citizens of Blairsville....

I missed my one year anniversary yesterday due to a storm that fried my telephone lines, so please bear with me.

This past year has been such a challenge. As we all know, quitting smoking is such a huge, huge undertaking. Most people cannot successfully do it.
I remember how, with desperation, I frantically searched for a smoking cessation site and fell into Blairsville. Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.

Hell Week for me was actually Hell Month. My life consisted of mints, gum, vivid dreams (Nicoderm Theatre), weight gain, patches that caused rashes and constantly banging at the computer keys, ranting and hollering in Blairsville. I must have looked like the village idiot! I remember wondering at the time if normal bowel function would ever return!

The people I met here, like Donald, Elizabeth, John Miller, Tess, Bob, Blair and NH John tolerated my often acidic posts, and told me what a great quit I had going! Imagine....these beautiful people, total strangers, all said that I was doing something "great."
For me, that encouragement was the key. Constant encouragement, peppered with humor and daily inspirations (thanks to John Miller) was the recipe for me to face another day without smoking. As weeks turned into months, my family's encouragement waned, as they believed I had this thing "beat." It was only in Blairsville that monthly anniversaries were recognized, paraded and applauded. This was the "fix" that was slowly replacing my urge to smoke.

Soon, I began to realize that the FEAR of being without a cigarette was actually worse than not smoking!
Like standing up to the schoolyard bully, I soon learned that the "illusion" was not the reality. Pretty soon, it wasn't even a fair fight. Perhaps the most important thing was happening: My Thinking was Beginnning to Change!!!

It took a few months for my sense of smell to return....pulling out my winter clothes last year was disgusting. I tossed my winter coat for a "non-smoking" one. Soon, I could smell cigarettes on other people....and I felt sorry for them. In the meantime, I started to enjoy some of the rewards of not smoking: nails and teeth that stayed white, changing pocketbooks without finding tobacco in the bottom, and my first non-smoking van.

Yesterday, I scoured my sons' bathroom (ugh) which was in desperate need of cleaning. After scrubbing the tub, I remembered how terrible a cigarette tasted after using cleanser. It was almost like smoking cleanser! See, the memory process had changed: instead of romancing the cigarette and remembering how wonderful it was, I was able to remember how terrible it was! Reality had won over the illusion.

With the money saved, I bought a family membership to a gym with both an indoor and outdoor pool. What a great way to trick my "wanna be buff" teenagers into spending more time with Mom and Dad!! My greatest reward, indeed.

I was told early in my quit that miracles happen here in Blairsville. If you are new here, or if you are struggling, stay here......and catch a miracle.

Fondly, Joyce
One year, 23 hours, 19 minutes and 50 seconds. 14638 cigarettes not smoked, saving $2,561.80. Life saved: 7 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours, 50 minutes.

I haven't done alot of things in my life that I've felt proud of....I've got to say that today I do feel proud. Today, I celebrate one year smoke free!!

I smoked from the age of 13 til...well...one year ago. LOL. Ok, ok that's 22 years I smoked. (Do the math if you want the age hehe) Let me tell you when I stood at the beginning of this path I couldn't fathom ever travelling this far down the road. One year seemed some unattainable goal yet here I am today standing on that path where the sign indicates I have reached that very goal!

It's been an interesting journey. Not always a smooth one, but a most definite worth while one. I can still remember the awful dog days of the first two weeks. I would not have made it without the help of so many citzens here at Blairsville. I'm not sure if everyone here realizes the gifts they give to so many with their gracious support. I'm so thankful to all of you that lent their support and kind words to help me through.

Those of you who need help, its here at Blairsville, all you need do is ask. If you hang on very tight and ask for help when you need it, you will keep your quit. Also if you are thinking or just starting out your journey, I want you to know that quitting is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. Once you do quit and find yourself not thinking about that nicodemon daily you will feel the same way. I don't think anyone has ever regretted the fact that they are no longer smoking. I've never heard anyone say GEEZ I wish I were still hooked on that pack or two a day habit. I can't think of one down side to being an ex-smoker.....well except maybe having to smell other peoples puffing. ;) (I never would have thought I'd some day hate the smell of a cigarette!) The benefits from quitting are tremendous. Some were even a pleasant surprise. I now enjoy summers rather than feeling my heart do over time and having a feeling like a heavy weight was on my chest. I can actually go and sit in the sun now....I couldn't do that before without feeling extremely uncomfortable.

I know today that I will always be an addict, I can't change that. What I can change is how I handle my addiction. The nicodemon and I have battled it out for the last year and he's pretty much flat on his back with my footprint embedded in his stomach. That's where he'll stay! He still tries to use his old bag of tricks occasionally but I'm savvy to him now...he used to roar at me but now he can barely make a whimper. As long as I keep him in check I'll continue to be free.

I keep him in check by using what I've learned in the last year of being smoke free. It may be different for others but for me it was the patch, the support of the wonderful Blairsville Angels, research & information from all sources via the internet (Bob's place, Michael's book were high on that list), bike rides, walks, yoga & weight training, sunflower seeds in the shell, popsicles, PHISH food!! & water, giving support as well as getting support (to and from Blairsville), hot baths (people you MUST pamper yourself in those first weeks!), Solitudes cd's, reading, and oh did I mention SUPPORT! :) Basically, I really feel that support played a huge part in keeping me smoke free in those early stages. Do whatever it takes to keep your quit!

I just want you to know that if you're feeling like you can't make it, you can. I, too felt like I couldn't....but here I am today and I have made it this far! I'm free and so grateful for it! Thank you Blairsville!

*sits on porch in her very own rocker*
WOOOHOOOO!

I am still active on the boards encouraging and inspiring others to follow this path . I am happy to say I no longer have chest pain,headaches,shortness of breath, my skin is clearer, I no longer smell, I got my singing voice back,I can run!! Its is a never ending list of benefits that grows as more time goes by !I am now 14 months smokefree today 9/13/02 and I just have to say THANK YOU to the American Lung Association, The Freedom from Smoking program and MaryElla Douglas .For without this program I would still be a slave to my addiction .
Chrissy Lang