Hi, as mentioned in a previous post, i started on patches and was off and on smokes for about 6 months. Once i decided that this is it I am not having another smoke this is what I did and this was my attitude. My attitude was simple, I knew I needed the patches mainly to take the edge off both cravings and withdrawal and my new attitude was i will not replace smoking with anything else, i will have to just live with what abstaining brings. I also told myself that i am not going to fight with it either, instead I will welcome, let the cravings flow and observe whilst waiting for them to pass, i also did drink a lot of water the first couple of months. When I found myself bored which was a lot because i wasn't having 20 or so 5 min smoking breaks i would research all quitting related topics on phone or desktop, i found myself watching you tube videos on quitting and also on addiction in general, this kept my mind on the job sought of motivating. I found topics that explained the cigarette delivery system and the patch delivery system very interesting which was helpful, I had a diary to express how I felt and I also wrote all of my theories about nicotine receptors ect... By choosing to do it this way I soon got used to cravings, withdrawal and sometimes i felt a little flat but the voice in my head told it's the little victories that lead to the big ones. Having a flat mood never lasted too long because each craving that flowed then observed then passed was victory in my eyes, after a few months i actually was enjoying this quitting period. Because I chose to use patches i considered my self officially free after around 6 months, I used patches for 9 weeks and another 3-6 weeks no nicotine at all. 21 months free. I wrote this because if it helps 1 person its worth my time writing it, my method, it worked great for me.