Nearly didn't make Day 8 !!

[nsd_user663_4887]

So nearly quit quitting last evening - I have to say I have felt like garbage since I stopped - I wonder when the first signs of improvement will come ?? On day 8 today - realise the habit has been in place a long long time - stopped myself going out for a packet last night simply by reminding myself what a dirty ashtray smells like even to a hardened smoker and accepting that if I " fell over " I would have wasted this effort and most likely would NOT try again - the withdrawal is too unpleasant.

[nsd_user663_2190]

Hello there. Sorry to hear you had a bad night. Day 8 is still early days and it takes quite a bit of un-conditioning to get over an addiction that's been going on for many years but I'm sure you know all that anyways The questions below have helped me get through rough patches cos if you answer them honestly while you're craving it'll help put things back into perspective. The one that I kept repeating was "Will quitting be any easier next time around?" and the answer of course is no.. so just gotta keep on swimmin along

QUESTIONS

* Why did I quit smoking?

* How long did I smoke?

* How long have I been smoke free?

* How long do I think it should take to be free of this habit?

* If I go back to smoking, will I want to quit again?

* How long will it be before I do? Weeks...months...years? When illness strikes?

* Will quitting be any easier next time around?

* What do I think smoking will do for me?(benefits??)

* Is it worth giving up what I've worked so hard to do?

[nsd_user663_3728]

Hi Hoboatheart

Well done getting to day 8 that's great sorry you hit a rough patch last night but well done getting through it

Yes the withdrawal is unpleasant but so worth while and it will get easier for you everyday you keep going even if it doeasn't feel like it sometimes

One day you'll suddenly realise Heh I feel great

Please remember it can only get better for you

Love

Marg xxxxxxxxxx

[nsd_user663_4887]

Thanks for the support

Thank you both - as I say the reason I didn't fall is exactly that - the thought of going through this again is not a good one !! I can categorically say that it would be MOST unlikely that I would even contemplate trying again - I am doing my best and Day 8 is further on than Day 1 - that's the only way I can deal with this - day by day - to be truthful I did not expect to have even achieved this much so that's a plus !! I also tell myself when the craving arises a ciggy would probably taste disgusting now and I would be very disappointed to realise that I had just blown it after a quick drag !!

[nsd_user663_4703]

Hi Hoboatheart,

The first signs of improvement are already there, I assure you. You have stopped poisoning your body and your body is reacting to it. The feeling you have are exactly the same as I had (smoked for 30 years). The withdrawal you are going through is simply a reaction to the withdrawal. In a way and I know this may sound silly, I actually took comfort from the fact I felt awful , I took comfort from being a loss, because it meant my body was reacting to what I had done through choice. And this is the reality of stopping smoking; we all do it through choice.

I experienced sore throats and sleepless nights, also but again I saw this actually positive thing, because again I saw it as a reaction. The reactions do stop and the craving does diminish but it simply takes a time. Give yourself this; give yourself time and space to enjoy your new found freedom. Also it is worth remembering that having a cig now will not make all your wrongs right.

Best of luck with your quit.

Regards stateofgrace

[nsd_user663_4844]

Good Job on day 8! It is getting better....

Good job on staying strong. It is weird because I think the changes on how you get over and recover from this addiction are so incremental it takes a while to see the "big" changes. It is like everyday you are adding one grain of sand to a jar...you are working so hard at the end of each day you check the jar.....at first it seems hardly worth it as all you see is a little dust in the bottom of the jar...thats all you have to show for all your hard work. But one day you will walk past that jar and all those grains will have added up and it will seem like all of a sudden wow....the jar is 1/2 full! You will think...."Wait, when did that happen?!"......

You will have to fight off a lot of challenegs but you can do it! It is much easier to keep going now then to have to start all over...trust me...this is my 7th quit! I don't want to go through this again!! I am also using hypnosis.....along with nico gum and this forum. I think all three are equally helping me fight this monster!

Keep it up!

Hanna

Quit 7: Day 18: 39 year old mom of 4 : 24 yr smoker: 20-30 a day.