Dripping Tap

[nsd_user663_22856]

Hi All. I've got 5 1/2 weeks under the belt. My longest quit before this one was 5 1/2 weeks so I will soon be in uncharted territory. I'm trying to learn from the mistakes of the past.

The last quit I made a deliberate decision to start smoking again. Why? The underlying annoyance. The mild but constant aggravation. Like listening to a tap dripping when you are trying to fall asleep. It doesn't hurt and it's not overt but it grinds on your nerves.... and it doesn't stop.

I don't want to use a cigarette... if I did I would be smoking... not writing. I just want someone to turn off the dripping tap.

Craves are hard but temporary and is what most people talk about. Has anyone else had trouble with the dripping tap? Any advice on how to get past it? How long did it last for you? I can honestly say I have never reached a point where not smoking has been as comfortable as smoking.

[nsd_user663_20978]

yeah i know the dripping tap syndrome , it witters away at u niggling away in your brain i am on day 61 now and it does get easier

the best thing i have done to stop it dripping is breaking the associations i didnt to start with as i felt safe and secure as old me as new non smoking me was someone i didnt know

but i gradually broke the associations to smoking my daughter started stage two swimming lessons so i made a mental note this is non smoking mum watching her do her lessons then i took up walking everyday and cause i never walked much before it was a new pass time in which i was a non smoker, i even listened to a different radio station cause the old one reminded me of smoking, i have taken up a brand new hobby of geocaching which i have started since quitting so have absolutly no associations with smoking

basically the more new stuff u can do or change the way u do your normal stuff the longer the gaps between the dripping tap

[nsd_user663_23622]

Hi JJ I know what you mean. I lost my last two quits because of this. I just gave up. This time I used the Allen Carr Easyway book and it worked. Re-read the book, especialy the part that says don't wait for something to happen, it already has. I made myself accept everything he was saying and so far so good.

[nsd_user663_20558]

I totally identify with this - great description. And I can't exactly advise how to turn it off. But I can tell you that for me, in the last couple of weeks it has gone away. It was with me all the time for about eight weeks. Then one day I just became aware that the constant low-grade niggling just wasn't there any more.

I've had one or two walloping big craves since then, mind you, due to unusual triggers mostly. But I have also gone for two or three days at a stretch hardly even thinking of cigarettes at all, except in that I've come on this forum. And I never, ever in a million years, thought I would hear myself say that.

So hang tough, it will improve.

Good luck!

H

[nsd_user663_17388]

Because I was reading this post I checked my own dripping tap and.....someones fixed the washer.

It's gone. I am three months and two weeks into my quit.

Someone somewhere called a plumber without me realising.

Hope that helps

[nsd_user663_15147]

Good for you Looper

Jumping Jupiter - hang in there, it goes away. Notice that when the tap is dripping and you're trying to sleep the more you concentrate on that noise being there the worse it is and the louder it gets!!

Don't give it more importance than it deserves and just move on, someday you'll realise, like looper, that someone's called the plumber.

[nsd_user663_4821]

Hi All. I've got 5 1/2 weeks under the belt. My longest quit before this one was 5 1/2 weeks so I will soon be in uncharted territory. I'm trying to learn from the mistakes of the past.

The last quit I made a deliberate decision to start smoking again. Why? The underlying annoyance. The mild but constant aggravation. Like listening to a tap dripping when you are trying to fall asleep. It doesn't hurt and it's not overt but it grinds on your nerves.... and it doesn't stop.

I don't want to use a cigarette... if I did I would be smoking... not writing. I just want someone to turn off the dripping tap.

Craves are hard but temporary and is what most people talk about. Has anyone else had trouble with the dripping tap? Any advice on how to get past it? How long did it last for you? I can honestly say I have never reached a point where not smoking has been as comfortable as smoking.

Hi Jumping Jupiter,

I feel exactly the same - it's like progress has levelled out these past few weeks. Like you my last quit lasted only 5-6 weeks (I forget the exact date). This time I'm determined not to go back but it is difficult. Hope we both feel better soon.Stay strong.

Angie

xxx

[Levs 1000 Days Smoke Free]

Good for you Looper

Jumping Jupiter - hang in there, it goes away. Notice that when the tap is dripping and you're trying to sleep the more you concentrate on that noise being there the worse it is and the louder it gets!!

Don't give it more importance than it deserves and just move on, someday you'll realise, like looper, that someone's called the plumber.

That is so right. ^^

Distraction is the key I think. How often do you notice that a tap is dripping when you are busy?

Keep busy, stop worrying about how long your tap will drip for. It will stop and you will one day suddenly think, oh someone must have fixed it. And you know what? It will have been you.

Sian

[nsd_user663_22856]

Thanks for the response folks. I was beginning to think it was just me. That people were at complete peace punctuated by hard cravings. Nice to know I'm not alone (misery loves company, lol)

Thanks Looper. Now I have a time frame. By 3'ish months I will forget about the tap because it isn't dripping. Awesome... I'm halfway there.

Yes, distraction is the key. I must admit there are 5-10 minute periods that I don't think about it. When my attention is on something else.

[nsd_user663_22968]

I am using patches but still seem to get the dripping tap, distraction seems to work best. I am finding times inbetween are getting longer but it is still there.

You are doing so well, keep it up!

[nsd_user663_22856]

One more question. Not sure if its from the Champix or from quitting. Do you Cold Turkey quitters get feelings of sadness/loneliness since you quit?

I didn't feel sad/lonely when I was taking Champix while smoking. Started a few weeks after I quit the cigs (it's part of my dripping tap).

[nsd_user663_22002]

Yes CT comes with lonliness....think this is universal, unless you hit upon the perfect mindset to start with. It's to do with the fact that cigs were always there - calming you down when stressed, celebrating with you when happy etc, so it's like losing a friend... below link may help if you havent seen it already?

whyquit.com/joel/Joel_03_13...

Hang in there

[nsd_user663_3282]

I so subscribe to Lulabelle's comments and sympathise with JJ's 'dripping tap' description. Prior to me taking up the mantra of Read, Read, Read, which was in it's early days the 'dripping tap' suggestion was more the 'chinese water torture'.

'...like losing a friend', describes many of us when it comes to quitting. Even though we knew we would definitely stop smoking come hell or high water we possibly haven't accepted the reality...it remains a desire. Sitting down and saying goodbye to 'an old friend' and then welcome in the reality of not smoking may bring it's own peace of mind.