Hello Robert. I hope to one day soon be welcoming you to Freedom. I just popped up a post Starting day 3 of your quit. that addresses the time period that you are now coming into. Today really is a pivotal day in the evolution of your quit. Physically, it may either be better today, worse today or the same today as the past two days, but once through today it will physically ease up without question. We couldn't say that with any confidence prior to this point. There is no way to predict who will peak on day one, two or three, but once the third day is overcome the vast majority of people will feel a vast improvement in the early symptoms, those reactions that some people find to have been almost debilitating and creating a great sense of fear that life will never be worth living without cigarettes. It is crucial to note that the way people feel the first few days of a quit is not what it feels like to be an ex-smoker, but rather what it is like to be a smoker in the first few days of a quit. More accurately, it is what it feels like to be a person who is in a drug withdrawal state. It is a state that is temporary and more significant than that, it is a state that you are hours away from being over now, or maybe even over by the time you are reading this. Just know that whatever it may have felt like and took out of you to get here, the payoff will make it completely worthwhile. The pain and suffering you will likely avoid over your lifetime makes the initial struggle that a person may go through well worth the effort.

Robert, you have a great role model and example to learn from here and in your real life. Your father-in-law has set an example that must be obvious to you. You knew him as a smoker, you witnessed his quit, and you have seen him evolve into a person who really appreciates life after smoking. If you somehow missed the transformation and self-awareness he developed along the way, he was really good at chronicling his adventures in life as an ex-smoker. His posts here have been among some of the most insightful and thought provoking posts we have in our repertoire to inspire people to quit. You have the added advantage of knowing him when he was still a smoker and totally incapable of having such self-revelations because of a drug that was controlling his thoughts and ability to think for himself. That drug was doing the same thing to you and to the vast majority of other smokers in the world. Cigarettes were also costing all these people a small fortune, their health and over time, their lives.

I hope you take some time and go through our boards and look for Dave's posts, as well as the posts of lots of our seasoned members. The more you read and learn the more convinced you will always stay to never take another puff!

Joel

Normally I just pop up a few posts that I have written that I feel might address issues with a specific individual. In your case though I think I will just pop up a few of your father-in-law's posts. You will see that he has had a lot to say on the topic that quitting is possible and that there is life after smoking. I hope you enjoy his insights here--I know that I always have.

Stronger or Smarter?

It's Worth The Effort

I Want "Something"

Today Is A Good Day (It's Just Too Much Trouble)

No Magic Here

This Is A Lot Easier Than It Looks

What's Next?

Pros and Cons

A Life Free of Nicotine

This Not Smoking Is Okay.

Attention Lurkers