4th Day and saying Hello

[nsd_user663_42164]

Hi all, I have decided to join this fabulous forum after spending the past week viewing it as a 'guest'.

I stopped smoking on monday 30th jan at 15.30 so have now completed 79 hours without a cig. I have never gone this long without a smoke in 22 years.......which in itself is incredible as I've not shown such dedication to anything else in life :rolleyes:

Anyways, I have found some really useful info here and have felt less 'alone' in my quit while reading posts......but, here's the thing, I am using the 16 hour patches as I have a anxiety/panic disorder and don't feel that i could have done the CT thing and I am getting such massive cravings that I feel like my head is going to explode!

I haven't had as many of them today as yesterday, but, by golly they are powerful when they arrive and I feel terribly anxious when having one, so have started to dread them,which is causing more anxiety....

I desperately don't want to fail, I'm sick of smoking, I'm sick of the addiction and I'm sick of disliking myself for continuing something that I dislike so much.

I am seeking reassurance that it will get better and that I, weak as I am, will be capable of being a non-smoker too.

I apologise for my wittery post, I don't usually do forums and things and am also finding it hard to concentrate making me more wittery than usual.

Thank you for reading and good luck with your quits

[nsd_user663_20558]

Ah Legsy, welcome to the forum.

Take a deep breath!

And another.

And another.

That's better. Congratulations on your quit. Now, I can - absolutely and categorically - tell you that it DOES get better. But it can be a bit of a rough ride, and while some of the roughness is due to the nicotene, far more is due to the mental readjustment that has to happen in your head.

Think of all these years that have been spent building up masses and masses of smoking associations. You smoke when you've eaten, when you're tired, when you're bored, stressed, argumentative, thoughtful, hungry, having a drink, and so on and so forth. It's no wonder, really, that right now your brain is constantly saying 'SMOKE! SMOKE! SMOKE!' so loud it's hard to think about anything else.

BUT. The good news is your subconscious CAN be retrained,and it doesn't take anything like as long as it did to build up the addiction! You just have to stick with it, read, educate yourself, post, try to focus your mind. Don't panic about the cravings, ride them. Embrace them. They're the sign of another association being broken. They're a symptom of how strong you are. They are totally beatable, just take them one at a time.

You want this, and anything you want this badly is worth a fight, right?

Hang tough

Helen

[nsd_user663_42164]

Thank you

Thanks so very much Helsbelles for your incredibly helpful reply!

It was spot on and just what I needed to hear late last night...I have been deep breathing all day today and have in fact had a much better day on day 5.

I feel a wee bit braver today, so much so that I've told other people about my quit....I didnt want to say anything before as I was frightened of failure

Thank you again Hels

[nsd_user663_41933]

Legsy u legend- u are doing GREAT!!

Type on her eas much as u need to- I have found it really helpful! U have done the first few dats- the worst ones!! This is my first Friday night without a smoke or a drink in a long time!!! Bring it on!!

The next few days will be steps towards freedom!!

U ARE DOING GREAT!!! xx keep on smiling and embrace the ride!!

[nsd_user663_42145]

keep goin'

Your doin great Legsy! You CAN do it! Hels is right, it's a retraining the braining.

Here's a Legsy Story ....

I heard it takes 14 days to make a habit and 14 days to break a habit (Mentally). A study was done on a man, asked to put his pants on one leg at a time, with the opposite leg he usually uses. So every morning, he had to stop and think before he put his pants on " Left Leg First" He told himself. After a few weeks past, it was automatic (self programmed... a habit).

Moral of the story... We CAN never take another puff again

[nsd_user663_20558]

It's all been thoroughly programmed into our noggins. Proved to me by the fact that nine months into my quit, when I was doing just peachy and didn't have cravings at all any more, I encountered a situation that I hadn't been in since quitting (a theatre tech day to be precise, a strange mix of stress, boredom, and social1sing). All of a sudden, BOOM, the smoking associations hit me like a ton of bricks, and for about half a day my head was having this massive craving party. A crave rave, if you will. I wanted to chew the furniture, it was like being back on day one. Luckily, I knew I'd beaten day one and a lot more besides, so all I had to do was choose not to smoke, ride it out and get through the day and I would be fine - which indeed I was. And since then I have encountered the same situation again and not even thought about smoking.

Keep making the conscious choice, and eventually your subconscious will follow!

Sorry, that was longwinded and on reflection maybe a bit preachy. But I suddenly felt the need to share

[nsd_user663_18145]

Thats a great share hels when you encounter a situation where the part of your brain that still thinks as a smoker its a trigger and for a while that feeling just overwhelms you its like hearing a song you havent heard in 20 years that you know the words and can recall memories associated with that song that you had forgotton and all these forgotton memories take you back in time

You just have to remind yourself that it will pass and also it makes you stronger for the next time

Those times will get less frequent

Onwards and upwards is the only way to go