Day 17 - why has it got so hard again!?

[nsd_user663_40752]

Hi, i'm on day 17 and the last few days it has got really really hard again. The temptation to smoke is almost unbearable. I'm in a foul mood and my wife and kids are sick of me - i feel like giving in if only to save my marriage!

[nsd_user663_40384]

Don't do it! It won't save your marriage.I don't know why its so hard again for you, but it might be in the A C book somewhere....seventeen days is fantastic! I'm only on day four. Seventeen seems a long way ahead.

All I know is you will be sooooo gutted half way through that cigarette.

I did alan carr years ago and quit for 13 years...then fell on my bum (don't ask, but no it wasn't stress!) and now doing it again. It's the only way that's worked for me.

The only thing i think smoking accidentally did for me was to make me stop and go outside 20 times a day, and hang out. Now i'm doing that still without the fags...because i can end up running about and not stopping when i don't smoke...is it that? do you need a bit of quiet time just to chill out?

Anyway...whatever!....i'm rootin' for you to keep going. You've come this far

[nsd_user663_40725]

Nick, you have done amazing to be on day 17! I got to day 10 and crumbled and I know how that made me feel. Hang in there, you can do it!

[nsd_user663_20558]

A successful quit is all about retraining the brain.

Even if you've gone CT and there's no more nicotene in your sytem, the brain is still encountering trigger after trigger, and as a result it's sending you constant messages l - loud, insistent messages - that can send you a little crazy.

Ride it out. Try to recognise the cravings for what they are - what's triggering it? Are you hungry? Need some space? Tired? Once you've beaten these triggers a few times they cease to be triggers and life gets a lot easier. For you and everyone around you! Take a breath, go easy on yourself, you're doing well and it WILL get better.

On the other hand you could cave, carry on ingesting copious amounts of tar and poison for years, get horribly sick and see what *that* does to your marriage. Not being harsh, just want you to stop and think before you light up. It's not worth it, mate.

Stay strong!

Helen

[nsd_user663_20558]

Karri, that's good advice.

[nsd_user663_3282]

Nick,

As others have stated you have done fantastic and got now 18 days quittage going. But you're not the only one that has come to a point where it seems so fekin' difficult to carry on.

There are solutions and karri's advice about seeking the support of your family is a very powerful tool to add in. Also, if you haven't been reading your Allen Carr book again then do so. Affirming your reasons will also do a lot to lift the spirits and provide more energy to...

...keep on keepin' on :cool:

[nsd_user663_40752]

Thanks guys, your messages have helped me.

I suffer with depression, have done for years. It sounds crazy (or does it..?) but stopping smoking seems to have dropped me about 10 rings down my depression-ometer.. :confused:

I was expecting the nicotine pangs and some mood swings etc etc, but it seems to have really knocked me sideways.

Is this a common thing for people who have very recently quit?

[nsd_user663_3282]

Don't under-estimate stopping smoking. It's a powerful drug and as is the case with withdrawal from any drug there will be the initial periods when everything seems totally upside down from normal times. It is usual but similarly it will pass...it will, Nick, and because nicotine can and does cause depression when the withdrawal period has passed life will be very much better. Don't just take my word for it...here's someone else's comments (and apologies to the original poster for cutting and pasting)....

"...imagine a life without depression and tablets i myself never in a million years would have believed smoking contributed so heavily towards how i used to be since quitting and getting through the tough times i never be so relaxed , not stressed, no anxiety, touch wood no depression, no medication, i am like a naturally happy person these days "

Short-term discomfort for Long-term happiness :cool:

[nsd_user663_40752]

Thank you.

I have already noticed that my anxiety levels are massively lower than they were, to the point where i have stopped taking certain medication purely because i dont need it anymore.

Its the mind bending, reality twisting twisting depression that i'm fighting (again) now. But i have fought it before, and at least this time there is a reason for it.

Thanks guys, and heres to the next 18 smoke free days!

[nsd_user663_20978]

Don't under-estimate stopping smoking. It's a powerful drug and as is the case with withdrawal from any drug there will be the initial periods when everything seems totally upside down from normal times. It is usual but similarly it will pass...it will, Nick, and because nicotine can and does cause depression when the withdrawal period has passed life will be very much better. Don't just take my word for it...here's someone else's comments (and apologies to the original poster for cutting and pasting)....

"...imagine a life without depression and tablets i myself never in a million years would have believed smoking contributed so heavily towards how i used to be since quitting and getting through the tough times i never be so relaxed , not stressed, no anxiety, touch wood no depression, no medication, i am like a naturally happy person these days "

Short-term discomfort for Long-term happiness :cool:

ha ha i said that quote

never a truer word said even if i do say so myself;

well done nick stay strong u can do this

boo

[nsd_user663_24115]

Deppressiuon sucks its vile i hate it i wish mine would sling its hook. But hang on a mo . am i depressed or just pissed off, both ? does it matter, mine seems {only seems] to have got worse in the last few months. If i stop and think about there are lots of things that im unhappy about I lost my best frind recently my mothers on her last legs and will probably die soon. i lost my carreeer 3 yrs ago and my partner buggered off, im fast approachin mid fifties. i lost my other best pal his name was smoking and we lived for each other... Actually im not depressed thats a clinical term ,im bereft. disappointed scared , lonely , tired, sad . a few mths ago a gp put me on anti deppressants and now i feel worse. or is this just part of the quitting process.. mostly im bored at least smoking gave me somat to do ,, but thats my main reason for quitting to break that bond, bbbboooo hooooo i miss my dummy. im actually terrified of the future at least when i smoked i knew what was coming , another cigarette.. I have no idea what im going to do with the rest of my life i need a new reason to live .i used to live for smoking how sad is that.....Hope it all gets better soon for you Nik and me too