Welcome to Freedom!
If you are not yet a member of Freedom please click How To Join.
Freedom's message boards exist for one reason only, as an aid to our members in remaining nicotine free today. Like your body, Freedom is a 100% nicotine-clean forum and we ask all members to respect our site's freedom from nicotine and Relapse Policy by pledging NEVER to post to Freedom's message boards should you decide to relapse. Any relapse permanently revokes group posting privileges. In the entire world there must be at least one place where recovering nicotine addicts can find sanctuary from the drug that would destroy them. We are not here to listen to justifications for relapse because, frankly, there are none.
Our Courtesies and Rules
Member posting conduct and our forum's rules are outlined in Courtesies & Rules.
Please read them carefully.
Our Daily Educational Threads
Each day that you visit Freedom you'll find that we have brought up new educational threads to help keep your recovery insights growing. Even if you have read them before, it will benefit you to briefly review them again. The total reading time is usually less than 30 minutes a day and the understanding, confidence, and wisdom gained can prove invaluable.
Joel has been a professional smoking cessation counselor for 26 years and a smoking health educator for five years before that. We try to cycle through his more than 90 clinic articles in Joel's Library and hundreds of insightful Freedom posts by keeping an almost equal mix between education and support threads on the main thread index page. The link to Joel's complete library is in the left margin as is the link to Joel's Videos . We are very fortunate to have Joel as Freedom's education director. Although involved in conducting regular live programs in the Chicago area, Joel freely gives of his time in addressing individual concerns here at Freedom.
Our Mission is Deadly Serious
It is very important that we all keep in mind that Freedom's message boards are not for general socialization or debate. Although we enjoy ourselves and human bonds are formed, this isn't a place where folks come to make new friends or to have a good time. Freedom is home to nicotine addicts, many of whom are fighting for their very lives and some of whom will die if they lose. Many arrive knowing in their hearts, lungs, bloodstreams, and minds that their window of opportunity is beginning to close. Others are already dealing with cancer, recovering from heart attacks, or strokes, have advanced lung disease, or must quit before their physician will go forward with necessary surgery. They cannot lose this battle!
We are a no nonsense forum and we take our mission very seriously here at Freedom. If you are looking for new friends or to be liked by others, or desire to engage in debate, please fulfill those needs at one of the thousands of social message boards or chat rooms on the internet. You may not care for Freedom's intense and constant focus on quitting but our success rate for those who take the time to read, learn, and get involved in Freedom's group experience may possibly be the highest online rate anywhere. If you're serious about recovering control of your mind, health, and life, then you're in the right place.
Each day we have a milestone parade thread in which we let our hair down while proudly sharing our statistics and milestone anniversaries. It is very important that you not depend upon the group to remember or celebrate your recovery milestones or you will be very disappointed. There is far too much happening here at Freedom and most of our members have so little time to spend with us each day. Don't let your accomplishment go unnoticed, join us in our daily parade and proudly strut your stuff or, better yet, awaken early and start the new day's parade!
You also need to know that we do not engage in debate of any kind at Freedom as debate does nothing to further our mission of staying nicotine free today and can tend to be divisive as member opinions vary greatly.
Before leaving, we encourage you to bookmark or add our link to your list of favorites so that you'll always be able to find us.
Let Your First Message Board Post
Also Serve as Your Diary
We STRONGLY encourage you to use your first post not only to introduce yourself to us but also as an ongoing recovery diary to which you can always quickly refer in order to accurately measure your progress and healing. It will not only let you create a record of your progress but will allow us to reach into your thinking and lend guidance when needed.
What are your reasons for quitting? What was it like living in chemical slavery?
The wind beneath your recovery wings isn't composed of strength or mountains of willpower but upon the dreams and simple honest truths learned from years of living the self-destructive life of a chemical addict. Those truths are reflected in your reasons for quitting. Our minds are conditioned to suppress memories of stress, pain, and anguish. You will not accurately recall the details of early recovery within just a couple of weeks and your reasons list will likely shrink. Your detailed list of reasons can serve as a first line of defense during any recovery challenge. Don't be shy about posting but you can expect our members to be as frank and honest as possible in trying to help open your mind and thinking. It is our mission at Freedom to provide you with information and truth about nicotine addiction and recovery.
Before making your first post please read the following threads:
To make your first post and start your recovery diary:
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Type a title for your post in the box entitled Subject.
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Type your post in the large box below the toolbar.
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When done, click the Send Icon
Don't worry about typing skills or spelling as we could care less about such things. There is no class system here and many of our members are from countries where English is not their primary language. Let your guard down and simply be you!
Once your thread goes out on the board it won't take very long before someone will come by and post to it.
To see if anyone has posted, click your Refresh icon at the very top of your browser. That will update the page.
After someone posts to your thread you can answer them by posting back to the very same thread.
To do so click the word Reply at the top left of the post.
When you are done typing your reply, click Send and it will go to the Message Board as a new post that will be attached to the bottom of your original thread.
Now it's time to make that post! Have fun as you commence what just might be the most wonderful journey of your life!
Always remember the golden rule - No Nicotine Today, just one day at a time:
Never Take Another Puff, Dip or Chew!
Last Updated on 09/07 by ssh
Copyright 1999 -2008 Freedom from Tobacco
