ODAAT and the Ease of Quitting

Well I have been debating a “speech” for a few weeks now and I finally decided to give it a whirl. I know when I found this site I browsed a lot of speeches and stories and it showed me it is possible to quit.

First and foremost I’d like to thank the “Zombroski Nymphos” for being in this quit with me. We had our ups and downs but I think once we all came together and went “all-in” with our quit and cut some dead weight we’ve had a pretty solid group. The groupme app has been awesome and brought a handful of guys a lot closer.

Secondly, I’d like to thank the vets and conductors we had. You guys kicked some ass in the beginning and really showed us what needed to be done to make this group work. Awesome job.

I guess my next bit will be more of an “advice” section than anything. Yes my story of dip begins like so many others. Hell it turned into a 12 year career of 1-1.5 tins a day. Am I proud of it? Hell no, I wish I had found this site much sooner as it may have helped me stay quit when I went 7 months on my own.

For all the newbies looking for inspiration. YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DOING THIS. You have to buy into it, get rid of the excuses and be patient as it takes time to retrain your brain to do things you thought could only be done with a dip!

1. USE YOUR GROUP– This one took me some time to buy into. It seemed odd to just text or chat up random strangers. As an adult you’ll get over it. You’re all in the same fight and sometimes it’s best to have someone in your corner who knows what your going through. Our group fired up a groupme late in our quits and I think it has been awesome. I feel we’ve gotten to know each other a bit better and it puts a handful (or in my case 25 people at my fingertips).

2. POST DAILY AND EARLY – This one is pretty self explanatory. Wake up, piss, post, carry on with your day. Your post needs to be a pledge and a promise to those quitting with you. Posting lackluster late in the day says, hey guys I made it through another day….. Show each other the support you deserve and expect that support and promise in return. If people slip up, bust their ass. Letting people not post or post a status update is doing everyone in your group a disservice. HOLD EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE AND TO THE SAME STANDARD YOU HOLD YOURSELF.

3. BE PATIENT– quitting is going to suck, especially in the beginning. BUT, it is manageable. You can do it. After the first 3-5 days you have no nicotine left in your system. This is when your mind plays tricks on you and everything becomes a mental game. The fog is very real, you may go through a day or action and have no memory of doing it. It, like the suck will pass.

4. HAVE A PLAN– This could be my single most important piece of advice. Have a plan for your quit. You will have cravings. You will feel like you have to have a chew. The reality is the cravings will pass and you do not NEED a dip. For times like this have a replacement. Fake chew, seeds, chewing sticks, straws, candies…. whatever you want. I personally leaned heavily on fake chew the first little while. Stock pile it so you do not run out Having enough on hand to not run out will ensure you don’t give in to the nic bitch if you “run out” of fake stuff. Always keep a spare on hand. Even late in your quit a badass crave can spring up, be prepared.

5. ENJOY LIFE– once the fog lifts and the cravings subside realize you never needed chew in the first place. You can enjoy time with friends and family and not worry about getting caught or having to ninja dip to avoid it. There were a lot of activities I didn’t think would be manageable without chew which I have done and enjoyed so much more because I didn’t have a cat turd stuffed in my lip.

I’m thankful to have found this site and look forward to helping others kick this addiction as well.

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member stieramus