WOW that has went fast one whole week!!!! I cant believe it!!!
Feeling good guys however - was wondering has anyone had any problems with thier legs!!! I have had really swollen ankles feet and calfs and sore knees too :confused: I have been putting it down to the exercise I have been doing but have rested since Sunday and last night I lay in bed unable to get to sleep with the cramps and muscle pains in both legs - I then got to thinking maybe it was something to do with my quit- you know the whole more oxygen and improved circulation etc
Any one able to comment on this!!!!
Thanks
Kellie xxx
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Ah that has put my mind at rest a bit willl ride it out for another while hopefully it goes away gonna go swimming tonight see if that helps!!!
Any tips for week two I am getting a bit weary now as I have been finding it quite easy so I am waiting for a big crave or someting or the old faithful - I did it this time I can have a few and do it agaiin no bother!
Dont get me wrong I am 100% committed but I just want to try and prepare myself for the week ahead as this is the longest I have ever quit I really do not know what to expect from week two if that makes sense!!!
To be honest, I don't remember very much about week 2 - but I do remember my tactic for craves was to acknowledge them (out loud if need be) and that I knew what they were and why they were there - and also that I knew they would go away if I just kept not smoking.
There are 2 truths, absolute truths about craves.
1) They will go, whether you smoke or not. Knowing that, whats the point in smoking?
2) Smoking solves nothing, and makes nothing better - the situation is the same but you have been poisoned.
For info on week 2, probably the best source is people going through it now
I found the craving to have definitely eased up in their intensity and are much more under my control, i.e. I have learned how to cope with them much better. For me I look at my watch and remind myself to see if I am still craving a fag after 3 minutes - I usually forget.
The folk further along the line may be able to confirm or refute this - but I definitely feel I am over the worst now and that every day I am more and more in control, it only takes a wee bit of will power to tell myself I won't feel better for having one.
I did alot of 'deep breathing' (in with the good.. out with the bad) during my second week and that helped tons.
I also found that giving myself credit where credit was due to be a great help too, you have done well, you got through your first week, see that as a great thing!
Week 2 for me was actually not that memorable in terms of, i didn't pay it much attention, i did find my week 3 a struggle on the monday but that was a stressy day for me anyway (like any monday), but it got better. I'm now in my fourth week and this week has been quite a bit better since 'monday'.
I think monday is definitely my danger day and its only due to stress of mondays too mostly. Hope your second week goes well, and it won't be long before you've gone 'half a month'
Well done so far just take it one day at a time. Read the posts and links there is a lot of good info in there to get you thru the bad times and a lot of great people on this site to help you with advice and info
As for pains I am near the end of day 29 and everything has hurt at some time, but I have been doing 1.45 in the jym as against 1.00 when I was smoking
If Coors Light only did patches how cool would that be:cool:
Day 29 almost the one month mark for you thats brilliant congrads! And an extra 45min in the gym - amazing!!!
Jase - you mentioned about giving yourself credit this is something I am finding really difficult I keep getting the feeling that I haven't been a non - smoker long enough to be proud of the achievment yet if that makes sense I am positive that I will never smoke again but instead of feeling good about having quit I keep getting feelings of sadness and dissapointment that I ever did smoke in the first place - I cant believe I put my body through that poisoning it every day I guess this is another mind issue I have - for eg: even when I get 97% in an exam I am so dissapointed I was unable to achieve 100% even though if someone else told me they got that result I would be delighted for them - I just feel like I can always do better and push myself a little bit more which has served me well in some aspects of my life but a lot of the time I feel dissapointed with myself! So I guess my question really is how exactly do you give yourself credit!!!???
You just need to stop being so hard on yourself and realise that while you can take academic exams for qualifications and get your 97% and then next time you can even get 99% and think whooohooo i beat my last exam mark.. there will always be someone who you feel didn't have the same issues you had and seemed to sail through that same exam whereas you fretted and stressed all the way. Thats just how it is on that. We were born competitive, and you constantly see yourself in the shadow rather than say 'hey hang on, you know? even though i've stressed and punished myself', i still succeeded here.. and i've still passed this exam whether i got 97% or even 98%.
If the pass mark was 85% for that high grade then that 97% still puts you in the very very high top % of passes.
To deny yourself the pat on the back is like painting a beautiful picture and hanging it in the gallery, knowing its your best ever painting and then someone comes and has a look at all your work .. and you get nothing positive in comment from them, and you feel deflated... so you keep on trying.. and paint another picture, constantly trying to beat the last.. and yet.. the person who never comments .. in his mind he's thinking... bloody hell thats good, wish i could paint like that.. they just chose never to pass on that compliment to you.
To be proud of ones own achievements and in the case of quitting, to be true to yourself that you've allowed smoking into your life and now that you are trying to quit here, that you are dealing with a massive drug addiction which has had you hooked for far too long. You get a really rough day and it knocks your confidence in your quit cycle.. and you wind up thinking that you are getting a 65% in your 'exam'?
Thing is.. the next day is different you get to look on the previous day...some folk here refer to that bad day as a 'wobble' and yet you can now look on your 65% from yesterday and think.. hang on a minute, when you really look at it.. this is not an exam.. its an addiction, and i felt really lousy yesterday, but that result i got was more like 95% because i simply could not see at the time that i had rode through a serious down day and come out the other side still not smoking. You didn't reach for a smoke to comfort yourself... and in my eyes and many that are reading.. thats a total success.
So just as the person looking at the paintings didn't comment and the folk around you didn't give you perhaps as much positive re-enforcement as they could have.. you just need to realise that the real scenario here is that you gave it your all and are still NOT smoking.
I know its hard to see about giving yourself credit first before expecting it from others, but you will in time with this addiction, time is a wonderful thing, and you will look back on the 'now' in some weeks time and think.. you know? i was hard on myself, and you'll definitely see that your original feeling of 65% was a 100% pass mark in the grand scale of things.
In case no-ones told you today? I AM PROUD OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR.
You just need to be able to give this sense of pride to yourself first, even if you can't quite see it just yet.
(I hope some of that made some sense to you, we are all different you see and i have a knack for seeing the positive even among what others see as negatives.. and as i've said in another post i've written elsewhere, i wish i could pass on my positive energy to folk when they really need it, in fact, i'd bottle it for folk).
/peace to you, i hope you have a better experience in the coming days.
Without your false buddy to get you through those moments tell you its ok to smoke when really the smoke is the root cause of the problems?
Yes its normal, very normal. Remember the addiction is creating you an illusion, trying to make you think that you need to feed that addiction in order for you to feel ok again.
Well its a convincing illusion sometimes, and and the feeling down bit, and the insecurity is all part of its secret arsenal that its testing you with now to see if you'll crack.
Those feelings will pass, and will be replaced by a renewed positivity and well being. Its hard to get you to see this if you are not there already, but i can definitely tell you hand-on-heart that this does pass, you may get the odd down day even later in your quit, but you will definitely see things in a better perspective over time. Every single day you add on to this quit now is one step closer to regaining control of you, your life and all that you truly can be.. which is why its 'baby steps' right now.
Withdrawal isn't easy for many of us, but as soon as we on here realise that we are all just normal folk who have seen the light regards this addiction and are doing really well at coping with quitting (even if we sometimes feel down on some days), then we find that suddenly quitting seems like not only the best thing we've ever done/achieved, but it also opens up so many more possibilities we would otherwise have not considered.
You will get there, you truly will, just recognise that addiction to nicotine is testing you, and who you are and that this is a fight that you will win and come out the other side smiling, happy and without the need for this drug to help you get through your day. It will be replaced by a sense of well being, and certainly the feeling of accomplishment that you are seeking.
hi kelu - yeah its normal. quitting plays havoc with your sense of self sometimes.
i actually continued smoking for ages as every time i gave up i thought i was too cheerful and had too much energy and wasnt confident to deal with it so i went back to smoking to hide and blend back in ... how stupid is THAT!
now thats all mental.
just keep reminding yourself that you are actually far smarter when your not smoking as youve got more oxygen to the brain.
hold in there - its gotta be worth a few blue days to come out the other side chilled and peaceful non smoker.
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