A Story of Numbers After my eighth serious quit attempt in three years, it finally took. Support from the QuittersWin group and mindful use of NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) helped me finally sever the chains from my 45-year, pack-per-day addiction. I noticed a difference right away! By the end of day two smoke-free, I was …
October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Early on an October morning (5 years ago today) as I drove to work in the rain, I sat at a red light in the center of my hometown. There are two routes that will get me to work in about the same amount of time. One route …
Maybe Miracles Do Happen? If people can maintain coherence and avoid terrible detox symptoms, they might be able to hold hope long enough for a miracle to occur. I’ve seen the bumper sticker that says “Expect a Miracle.” Some days I might scoff at such unreasonable hope. Some days I might wish that expecting a …
Part One – A Fierce Storm Today Rehab and Detox beds are nowhere to be found. Demand is higher than ever. Resources are more scarce. Staff are harder to hire and keep. Overdose deaths (CDC figures) rose 30% from 2019 to 2020 and another 15% from 2020 to 2021. The system has been broken for …
“It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.” – Ella Fitzgerald That’s so true in so many aspects of our human journey. Some of our past needs to be processed or better understood in order for us to move on. But there are plenty of things in our past that we …
My name is George and I am an ex-smoker since July 20, 2020. This is my story. I started smoking at the young age of 12 years old, thinking it was a cool thing to do. Eventually I became a full-time, heavy smoker in my late teens and continued smoking for about 50 years. I …
#ICOVIDQUIT Rodrigo recognized that all aspects of his life got better when he quit smoking. Sure, the physical/medical benefits can be exciting. I’ve watched people get so healthy after quitting cigarettes that they were able to safely stop taking medications for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and other medical conditions. But the non-medical benefits may be equally …
#ICOVIDQUIT Patanisha decided to try and quit smoking when her doctor explained the increased risk she faced from COVID-19. While quitting was undoubtedly one of the hardest things she’s ever done, it’s also been one of the most rewarding. I LOVE what she says about quitting boosting her self-esteem. For over 20 years I’ve been …
#ICOVIDQUIT The benefits of quitting may surprise you. Katie is very happy that she took this step – especially now! Maybe a pandemic is a reason to do it, rather than an excuse to wait. Listen to Katie’s calm courage: “It’s a feedback loop. When I would smoke, the feedback loop was, “I’m stressed, I don’t know …
#ICOVIDQUIT People with courage enough to even try to quit smoking in the midst of a global pandemic are brave souls indeed, Hassi found a clearer mind, clearer voice, and clearer conscience. It’s hard and it’s worth it! Here’s his story. Get the support you need. Quitters are still winning – even in the midst …
Disclaimer: The video in this post was produced by L L Bean and while it’s not an advertisement, I want make clear that I neither endorse their products, nor do I receive any consideration in exchange for posting their video. I’ve owned some great L L Bean products, but they didn’t pay me to say …
Emmet Fox told a story about a bear that might be worth our time: “There is an anecdote of the Far West which carries a wonderful lesson. It appears that a party of hunters, being called away from their camp, left the campfire unattended, with a kettle of water boiling on it. Presently an old …
9/11 is a day that we will never forget. Janice has a very special reason to remember that day and the truth that silenced the “little voice in my head.”
I fell in love with a few pages of the book that I found on social media and started sharing them while I waited for my copy of “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” to arrive. I’ve shared the pages at seven treatment groups in three days. I’ve shared the images on …
A friend texted me his favorite JFK quote last night. It’s from a speech Kennedy gave in the stadium at Rice University in Houston on September 12, 1962. “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that …
