mental and physical craves

[nsd_user663_24115]

Well its the first day of wk 3 and i feel a bit daft counting days a bit anorak like, some people say if you count the days and all that you'll start smoking again. Iv learned to ignore those comments ,this is the way im doing it, every day is one step further away from who i was. Had a couple of hairy moments yesterday, after completing two big important projects my immediate response was 'cigarette' time.all those yrs of condititioning to have a smoke after every completion of anything. Anyway i just faced them and saw the way my addictive mind tried persuading me to not even bother challenging this crave.I found it scary to realize that some craves are subtle and completly mental having no physical feelings connected to them. I need to keep on my guard for them. i know from experience how easy it is to collude with these thoughts and leave no space in my mind to challenge them. I realize that early days cravings have more physical qualities and as time passes they are more mental. Im off to read the terrible threes. Am i becoming obsessed with not smoking.?

Mash x

[nsd_user663_32615]

I need to keep on my guard for them. i know from experience how easy it is to collude with these thoughts and leave no space in my mind to challenge them. I realize that early days cravings have more physical qualities and as time passes they are more mental. Im off to read the terrible threes. Am i becoming obsessed with not smoking.?

Mash x

Hi Mash - sounds to me as though you are doing great. I think that you are right to educate yourself as much as possible, and you seem to be doing that. Most of us seem to go through a bit of an obsessive phase - I think this is also part of the process. You are kicking a very ingrained habit, and it is not going to go away without a bit of fight!

Good luck.

[nsd_user663_33441]

Hi mash,

I agree with Mrs T. Actually, my Week 3 felt a bit flat, cos I knew I had got over the physical addiction but a month still felt a long way away so I didn't feel like I had any goals if that makes any sense. But today I have completed 4 weeks, and it will be a calendar month on Sunday, and you know what???? I feel great So keep going, cos this feeling is well worth waiting for.

Zoe

[nsd_user663_35351]

Hi Mash,

You are doing a great job - keep it up.

I wouldn’t worry too much about obsessing over quitting, I think many people who have quit feel the same way and I am certainly one of them, it contained by thoughts for the best part of 4 weeks.

I am now 6 weeks in to my quit and over time especially the last week the thoughts of quitting/smoking slowly disappear, it has just become part of my life, I no longer smoke. My advice for you is read as much as possible - read this site, step ahead a few weeks and learn from other people experiences, this way you will know what to expect.

For me Allen Carrs book really helped for me to understand my addiction, if you haven’t read it already maybe this book will help for you too.

All I keep thinking to myself lately is why did I smoke in the first place? What was the point ? I honestly wish I quit earlier.

However by reading people posts in month 2, month 3 etc etc I have learnt that there can be dips - more than likely because people feel that they have beat it and believe just one cigarette will be ok.

Well because of their mistakes I am confident I will never ever have one puff.

Mark

[nsd_user663_35711]

Oh Mash I am just the same I count every day off like its a battle I have one. I still have the war going on but each battle is a little victory.

Be obsessed, do whatever you need to do to get to the winning post. This is the one time in your life that you can totally focus on you.

You are doing great and I know that we will reach that penthouse together!!

Keep going

Lillie x

[nsd_user663_20558]

God Mash, I was completely obsessed (still am a little, or why would I be here?). At the beginning I could tell you to the hour how long I had been going without referring to any quit counter. When I hit 100 days I stopped doing that but I'm still counting month by month. I think if I don't, if I forget how far I've come and how hard it was, I might allow myself to slip up in a mad moment.

Sometimes (as I've just been posting elsewhere) it's almost impossible to distinguish between physical and mental responses to quitting. It's amazing what the mind can do. But as you rightly say the physical thing wears off faster, and then you're left with the inner junkie whispering in your ear every now and then. But it gets easier and easier to tell them to get stuffed. Thank God.

Keep going. You are doing fabulously well. Three weeks... woop!

Helen

[nsd_user663_24115]

I cant beleive im into the thitd week, it feels more like the third day. im in a strange time warp, cant for the life of me remember what ive done for the last 2 wks and two days, apart from quit smoking. i cant remember eating, sleeping what iv wore who iv seen or any conversations iv had. all i know is that im fully conscious all of the time that iv quit smoking. nothing else has any real meaning. im not complaining its just all weird and wonderful. i coughed up loads of gunge earlier which felt great[that souds sick] and the pain that iv had at the top of my lungs for years is getting lesser each morning, in fact for the first time in my life its a pleasure to wake up.

thanks for your posts guys its good to know its ok to be obsessd and to be in your company doing this amazing thing . non smokers just dont get it.

Mash

[nsd_user663_35121]

I think at first we have to be obsessed...we're just looking after ourselves.

At some stage (when?? who knows? soon probably) we will relax and non-smoking will be entirely NORMAL!

Take it easy, you're doing amazingly.

LizzieX