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Memorable Freedom Threads

The First 72 Hours

Why Prior Attempts Failed - Contrary to conventional wisdom, a permanent successful recovery is vastly less dependent upon "planning" than "understanding."  In fact, findings from two studies indicate that spontaneous attempts are twice as successful as planned ones (see West 2006 and Ferguson 2009). Although poorly understood, it seems to suggest that delay in getting started breeds needless anticipation anxieties that sap and erode determination, motivation and resolve.

Put another way, none of our prior attempts failed because we selected the wrong recovery commencement date. They failed because we failed to understand and master the principles underlying our addiction.   It doesn't take brute strength or raw courage to navigate the up to 72 hours of healing needed to rid the body of all nicotine and move beyond peak withdrawal.   Instead, it takes protected core dreams and desires that stay fueled and available within seconds, as the primary defense against challenge.

Discovering Online Support - When a smoker first discovers online support, with hundreds of quitters encouraging each other on message boards, it can be a pretty exciting time.  The support encounter and experience itself has fueled thousands of successful recoveries. But more often than not, the novelty eventually wears off, crisis arrives, and the uneducated quitter is left with little to fall back upon except words of hope on a screen.

Rule #1 - Put Your Recovery Education First - The below education links are intended as a roadmap of the basic knowledge, tools and skills needed to navigate the first 72 hours.  The last link is to Joel's Library, a collection of about 90 short clinic articles. 

Since 1972, Joel Spitzer has dedicated his life to nicotine cessation and prevention efforts. His last community position was as cessation and prevention services advisor to the Evanston and Skokie Health Departments in the Chicago area. Since 2000, Joel has volunteered at WhyQuit where he freely shares his program's core content and decades of wisdom. One complete cover-to-cover reading of Joel's Library will substantially enhance the likelihood that you'll never again take another puff, dip, chew or vape of nicotine.

It's time now to go to nicotine dependency recovery school, and put education first.  There will be plenty of time later to post messages.  Keep in mind that the six-month nicotine cessation rate for ignorant uneducated school-of-hard-knocks cold turkey quitters is only about 10-11%.   Although horrible, according to a March 2003 study which combined and averaged the results of all seven over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine patch and gum studies, only 7% of NRT users were still not smoking at six months.

A quality dependency recovery education program should at a minimum elevate your odds over OTC NRT by at least 400%. None of us are stronger than nicotine but then we don't need to be as it's only a chemical with an I.Q. of zero. Our most effective weapon is a mind filled with understanding, truth, confidence, excitement, new skills, and relapse prevention wisdom.

Cessation Advice Warning - Please don't take offense, but serious drug recovery programs do not allow brand new quitters to share their personal quitting tips and wisdom with other new quitters. Frankly, for the most part, it reflects a failed nicotine addict pretending to be credible. Credibility is earned. Make sure the person giving you advice has proven the worth of their words by their recovery having been bronzed (3 months), turned silver (6 months) or gold (a year and beyond). Accept their wonderful words of encouragement but be cautious when it comes to relying upon their wisdom.

  1. Preserve your memory of your reasons for quitting

  2. Master recovery's only rule: The Law of Addiction

  3. Understand the basics of nicotine addiction

  4. Adopt each of these 20 basic quitting tips

  5. Develope recovery patience: Just one day at a time

  6. Focus on victory here and now

  7. Learn how to avoid blood sugar symptoms

  8. Know that you may need half as much caffeine for the same effect

  9. Use attitude to reduce recovery anxiety

  10. Don't expect your educated recovery to be difficult

  11. Master your mind's junkie thinking

  12. Understand the need to extinguish use conditioning

  13. Have at least three crave coping plans ready to go

  14. Learn to relax and embrace your subconscious healing

  15. Quit for yourself, not others

  16. Locate and destroy all nicotine delivery devices

  17. Develop a postive attitude about the healing that's about to occur

  18. Prepare your mind for being around users

  19. See withdrawal as a stepping stone to comfort

  20. Create your own zero tolerance relapse policy

  21. Download a free quit counter, app or meter

  22. Spend as much time as possible in Joel's Library

  23. Visit WhyQuit's support group: Turkeyville &

  24. Keys to navigating 72 hours and moving beyond peak withdrawal




Memorable Freedom Threads




Knowledge is a Quitting Method


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Discover Smart Turkey



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Reformatted on 10/22/20 by John R. Polito