Hi,
Sorry to be here moaning, but for some reason today (1 year and 25 days after giving up smoking, without problems, as such) I find myself, just now, so much, wanting a cigarette.... desperately... It is not fair; I have been so smug for so many months now thinking I would never feel this way again, please help?
I think that happens to all of us ex-smokers every now and again!
I've been quit 14 months and a bit now, but for some reason the SNOW of all things was giving me cravings - I figure it must have been some sort of association with smoking in the snow in the past or something. (That and I had a bit of a virus - something about the chesty feeling I was getting felt EXACTLY like the feeling of wanting a cigarette!)
Keep busy - watch something cheesy on the telly, read a good book, suck a mint... it should pass MUCH quicker than those early cravings (I hope!)
And...congrats on the year and 25 days! 
In a way it's mind tricks, Pandora.... a little crave, we think about it, if we go the route of feeling deprived, the crave gets bigger and of course the chance is always there that you'll fall back into the trap.... I advice you to read up a bit again about nicotine and addiction for motivation and to strengthen your resolve.... craves at this point should only be thoughts that can easily be chased away with some positive thinking.
Also.... my buddy Fi on here talks about HALT (HALT-hungry, angry, lonely, tired) Sometimes we think 'this is a crave' but on thinking more about how you feel you might identify one of the above.... may feel like a crave but maybe it's something else.... we all get this 'empty' feeling inside sometimes..... can't blame it all on the fags.... wish it was that easy 
Stick with this quit of yours..... chances are you'll wake in the morn and have forgotten all about that crave xx
Its not unusual.
I struggled. I think I put so much effort and thought into getting to that '1 year' mark, I forgot what to do next. I almost felt like I had post holiday blues! Work through it though, it soon becomes normal to not be striving to the year and you can just relax about it all!
Pandora first off congrats on your first year smoke free, I think I can relate to how you are feeling seems like you spend a full year trying to get to the magic milestone and then you get there and maybe for a while lose focus as we dont have a set day to work towards, well thats how I am feeling at the moment and a little antsie but I dont actually want to smoke just dont feel completely great so hope as others say it wears off as dont want to spend the 2cnd year feeling c**p as well LOL
All the previous posters have pretty much covered the advice. Don't be surprised about those occasional yearns but rather enjoy the fact that you have again got past it.
I'm coming up to 3 years but still the first thing I thought of on Xmas morn was having a smoke. Luckily I didn't cos I'm a non smoker
Belated congrats on your 1 year milestone, Pandora :cool:
Interestingly, (or not), I am coming up to two years quitand today stopped at a newsagent to get some chocolate to fill my boring day at work and had a conversation all the way from the car to the shop with myself basically saying 'Don't buy smokes. Why do you want to buy smokes. Smokes are awful and for losers and you are a non smoker'. Previously i would only ever stop for smokes. The urge passes and it passes easily the more you do it and I reckon its good in a way to keep you on your toes and on your guard.
More of the same here too...
Watching the snow fall getting heavier and heavier, knowing I had a gig to drive to, waiting for the call that it had been cancelled, pacing the floor checking my phone, checking the weather reports, watching the traffic cameras and then suddenly wishing I had a fag to calm me down....
I'm not sure we ever eradicate our smoking history. We just learn to manage it. I think it's a bit much telling yourself 'today I won't smoke' when you've been quit for years but it's important to know that these triggers still occur after years of cessation.
I think it's important that we never look at these things as failings though. Thinking about smoking doesn't in any way suggest a desire to smoke.
We are all the same
Hi Pandora,
Firstly concrats on getting to the year stopped, and I think you are experiencing the same as everyone who stops smoking. Some of the quitters on this site you will notice have the saying "once a smoker always a smoker" even after they have quit, and I wondered why? But I think that it is a fact of life that once we have been addicted , wither it be alcohol, cigs, or drugs it might indicate that we have an addictive nature? so although we have quit our addiction we must always be careful of any feelings that might tempt us back to our old habits, and I believe that after we quit smoking we should never leave this forum because it keeps me focused on most of the reasons why I quit smoking when I rean the newby's section.
But I am sure that your feelings will pass but here is something to think about! I am writting this in my dinning room and looking out of the patio doors at my wife and Daughter smoking outside. There is ice and snow on the ground and the two of them are idicating that they are cold!! and both are now on to thier second cigarette,makes you wonder does it not?
Dannyboy
Absolutely agree with what everybody has said here, I think we get so far down the road and think that we will actually stop thinking about smoking, but i'm afraid I do agree with the old saying "once a smoker, always a smoker"! But it's not so much as keeping your guard up all the time, it's just remembering all those great reasons why we don't smoke, and what it was really like when we did, as time goes on it's certainly more difficult to remember and relate to all the reasons for stopping in the first place, I for one do not miss the self loathing that I felt, and i've gone down the route of thinking I could just be a social smoker, was back on 20 a day within the month. Please don't let these thoughts spoil your brilliant achievement, there will always be a little trigger now and then to set us off thinking about it, it's what you do with that thought that counts.
Hope by the time this reply arrives, you are feeling good. Happy New Year.
Lorraine
If you’re miserable because you want a cigarette, you’ll be even more miserable if you have one. Remember that you gave up because you didn't want to smoke anymore. Be strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!
