Why do I feel so LOW????

[nsd_user663_2415]

Hi

I quit 4 mths ago, to be honest I found it not too bad using Zyban, I have smoked for 28yrs on 20 a day!

But more and more as time has passed I feel really low! I find myself getting really angry like a time bomb that I am trying to control. This is so unlike me.

Has anyone else exerienced this?

[nsd_user663_2400]

I'm like that just now. But so is almost everyone I know, even non smokers. A lot of it is the time of year, clocks changing, dark nights, lack of vitamin D. Loads of people suffering SAD this year who haven't before because of the crap summer. It is made worse for ex smokers because we are still programmed to believe that smoking makes us less tense - which is not true.

Collect things, ideas, people, places that make you happy and hang on!

I suffered from depression for 8 years and it is hell but, just like smoking, you need to fight and fight and keep fighting. Be nice to yourself as much as possible but avoid sugar as comfort food coz its poisonous.

[nsd_user663_2367]

Hey Glenn I am just at 4 weeks now but have been where you are before and failed.

My thought on the problem is this. You can quit smoking but the things that made me smoke to begin with are still there. There is a reason I "chose" to become a smoker to begin with. These reasons do not go away because I quit smoking as a matter of fact they are brought foward.

In my case I believe it is a combination of some social anxiety, some conditioning (i grew up surrounded by smokers who "needed a cigarette" during stress) and the fact that I am legitimately stressed about certain situations in my life... ie I am facing moving to a new city, looking for a new job, renovating a house that looks increasingly like a disaster and have a younger brother who I worry about tremendously and I am financially strapped. All of these things make me depressed and want to smoke... I just try to keep reminding myself that smoking wont actually improve any of these situations and will infact make them worse. It is hard though... and I have failed in the past.

And the ANGER:mad: I realize that I am actually angry... I just dont have that moment to step away and reconsider my reacton so I am always on the verge of fighting. It has made for some very bad realtions with my boss.

[nsd_user663_2343]

feeling low

Hi Glen

My 7th week last week I hit a a real low. Like the other replies yes a lot of factors come into play ie dark nights, stress in our lives, others still smoking around us depressive news on the TV and in the papers coupled with the emotions that your body is going through when trying to quit smoking. My first few weeks were great considering I went cold turkey after 45 years of smoking. Just a few cravings but nothing I couldn't overcome by keeping busy and walking, walking, walking everywhere but now the dark mornings and nights are here this is getting a little hard to do. I had a little relapse last week, not due to a craving but to the anger I felt. When you can't have something, (no matter if it is bad) you want it. Human nature, and all the smoking aids and this forum are great, but where I live there are no local 'after' groups to give support. Smoking cessation clinics are there for 6 weeks or so when you are quitting, but after that nothing but a few follow up calls. Anyone else know of after clinics where smokers can go face to face and discuss their feelings, because I don't know of any. Smoking is an addiction as we all know and my small relapse was due to not being geared up enough on what to expect from the emotional side of my smoking and what I could do to support myself on the emotional side. I did see my blip as a failure which made me sad then angry. But no, no, no, this was the first time for me and I know by this forum that we are all experiencing some if not all of the same things. I do think you have to be in the right frame of mind to quit as willpower (mind over matter) plays a great part in the winning process as does follow up support too.

Not sure if this helps but keep posting, the forum is so supportive.

Linda

Smoked for 45 years

Quit 12 September (a bit of a blip Nov 3)

Method Cold Turkey

[nsd_user663_2415]

Thank You all!!!

I am off to doc's today.

Yes i think u are all so right in much of what you say, I do believe that when things get stressy as a smoker we would be able to deal with this so much better by removing ourselves from that situation by having a smoke. It seems that now that I dont do that the situation is building and building inside my head with no release valve:mad:

Its great to chat with you guys as you all understand,

Thanks again will update later!

[nsd_user663_2498]

Hello everybody....this is my first ever post.

I quit on 9th September and have just passed 10 weeks. After trying every aid known to mankind I've finally stopped using Champix. I took my last Champix tablet last Friday and since then I'm more stressed than ever, and wanting a cigarette more than in the previous 10 weeks.

After smoking for 35 years the longest I'd previously stopped for was 2 weeks. You can't believe how difficult the 2 weeks were for me.

Now I've passed 10 weeks one part of me says, you've got it beat.... then another part of me is saying "you're putting off the inevitable".

I've always wanted to stop and honestly thought once I'd passed 10 weeks I'd cracked it. Nothing is further from the truth.

Just when does it start to get easier.... its got to be soon or I'll crack up.

Bob...

[nsd_user663_2142]

Hi Glen,

Sorry you are feeling so low right now, but I hope your doctor will be able to fix you up. We all know the remedy is not to have a ciggarette, but sometimes that sounds like the perfect fix! Don't go there though - we are stronger than that and we will beat the blues!

Hiya Bob and welcome to the forum! Excellent job making it to 10 weeks. That is a huge huge amount of time and you should be very proud of yourself. I quit cold turkey but I am hearing wonderful things about Champix. We all have these bad feelings and we all know that smoking will not cure it really, it just seems that way. I think it is our unconcious minds trying to get us to break down and smoke. Last resort because nothing else our mind does is making us crack. The worst thing for us to feel is depressed or sad and this is why our mind puts us into the "sad" mode and prays that we will smoke so it will get its way. Uhhh does this make sense or am I just rambling on? lol!!

Anyway, I hope things get easier for all of us and fast!! These feelings right near Christmas are hard and trying on us. We will feel better soon! Don't give in to the nic demon, tomorrow will be better than today because we will be one step farther in our quits!

[nsd_user663_2421]

Welcome bob, this is a great forum fighting a common cause. I can only endorse what Boudee says, shes a wise old owl for a youngster. stay with us nicotine is a cunning foe, it never ceases to amaze me what tricks he can throw at us, You have no idea untill you start this journey just what its gona invole, but one thing i do know. resist resist resist and whatever nics throwing at you and it WILL go away. Good Luck x

[nsd_user663_2498]

Thankyou all for your support. I wish I'd found this excellent forum a few weeks ago.I only found out yesterday because I googled "Champix withdrawal symptons" and the forum popped up.

I've made an appointment with my doctor (luckily for today) and I'm going to ask for a low dosage of Champix to wean me off slowly.

May I add though that the side effects are nowhere near as bad as zyban.

Advice Time....:D

I've a plastic jokey type cigarette in the car. When totally stressed I've held the dummy cigarette and gone through the motions of taking a draw, flicking the ash, rolling it around the finger etc.... for a couple of minutes. While doing this I've tried to take in large amounts of fresh air into the lungs to get a hit (sad, I know). Seems to work but wondered if its bad practice holding the dummy cigarette and should I really be trying to get away from it.

Bob...

[nsd_user663_2421]

Hey i say if it works dont knock it, anything but give in. when old nick is dead you wont need it anyway. good luck.x

[nsd_user663_2115]

Do it !

Hey BackFootBob, I got one too - mines a Crafe that I bought from a chemist. It's got a dodgy filter in it but I took that out and me and her indoors "smoke" it if we fancy a cig. We used to do it loads but we've virtually stopped now. We really like the ceremony of smoking - but just not the smoking. I know it sounds a bit odd - but I missed that much more than I missed filling my lungs with smoke. And what we found really funny was that when we'd taken a "drag" of fresh air, we'd still blow it out like it was smoke, even though there was nothing there. Ridiculous. But nice too. Nice not filling your lungs with smoke but getting the same satisfied feeling.

Stick with it fella. It's all good as long as it keeps you off the cigs.

[nsd_user663_2415]

Update Folks

1stly hi Bob, 10 weeks mate, well done just keep going!

The doc said I was depressed!!!! Not wrong there was he?

Anyway he offerred me some pills which I have been on for a few weeks now and I have returned to my old self apparently. Much nicer person etc

We feel sure it is stopping smoking that was the cause just had to accept and learn about the side effects of suddenly stopping!

I never saw much info on the withdrawel problems etc either way it was well worth quitting!

Thanks All!!!

[nsd_user663_2142]

Yahoo Glen - glad to hear you are feeling better and people are finding you nicer Stick with the quit as it's the best choice of all! Have a great night!

[nsd_user663_2415]

Thanks

You sure are right about that! Never thought of myself as being the "depressed whinging " type, but had to accept that something wasn't right!

[nsd_user663_1966]

Hi Glen,

I'm a great believer in the theory that when you're young and experiment with smoking, if you are somewhat inclined to be tense, anxious, depressed, whatever it may be, your body recognises something that it needs in the cigarette smoke and dependency on that component of cigarette smoke sets in.

Without being at all consciously aware it, you then as a smoker self medicate your moods, tension, depression every day with the cigarettes you smoke. That's not to say that everyone who becomes addicted is depressive, just that if you are wired that way, you're probably far more likely to become dependent.

So for twenty years or more you may self medicate your moods every day in this manner, generally with increasing tolerance meaning the amount of cigarettes you need to do the job increase the whole time until one day you just stop taking your medicine. Hardly surprising then that your moods are going to go a bit haywire.

I've found this quit particularly difficult at times, with some really difficult periods of gloom and anxiety.

I decided at about 14 weeks I had to to mention it to my doc. He said he wasn't in favour of medication and he would ask a physchologist colleague of his to contact me. She did call me but I told her I was averse to the idea of being psycho-****yzed just because I was struggling to quit smoking and so that was that.

Thankfully at 22 weeks things have improved quite a bit, but even now I still don't feel like I'm quite the same person I was. I think I'm still more tense, more serious and less sociable than I was.

I think realistically it's gonna be a full year before all the effects of quitting smoking are behind me, but the really positive thing I can say about all this is that there is no effing way I'm gonna put myself through a year of this again, so the prospect of me even touching a cigarette again is pretty remote.