A persistent battle

[nsd_user663_62591]

Hello,

I quit smoking almost 4 months ago - after 20 years - ugh!

I have often visited this site just to see how other people have battled through the various stages involved in ridding oneself of the burden of being a smoker.

I have to say, while I have continued to socialise and get on with my usual routes, although time in the gym has increased to compensate for my now ravenous love of food, I still find it pretty hard going at times.

I had hoped that I would be more comfortable with it all by day 115. Have done the holiday, the summer evenings and the beer garden with smoker friends etc... I know it is still early in the scheme of things, but starting to feel a bit bewildered from all this dedication to my reform, and the continuous waiting for calm, acceptance to kick in! I have been working long hours, and under pressure lately, so maybe that doesn't help but mentally I am finding it a little frustrating and harder to move along the process than I had imagined.

Anyway, patience and perseverance will hopefully pay off .... very soon!

Thought being part of this forum might help move me along a bit and remind of the bright side and that things do turnaround etc...

[nsd_user663_61170]

You need to ask yourself "What Is A Cigarette Going To Do For Me".

Is it going to help, a big no is the answer.

[nsd_user663_62463]

Hi Sbsb

Firstly, excellent job on your quit, I know how you feel....you wait patiently for this magical moment when you are at peace with quitting. The great news is that you have already reached this point - the minute you stubbed out your last fag and chose not to smoke anymore!

I totally agree with the others advice

Read the Allen Carr Easy way book, it will for sure help. The feeling you now have is a romantic memory that smoking gave you some kind of benefit. All it gave you was temporary relief from the withdrawal symptoms from the previous fag. Its not that we like smoking, its only that we don't like the withdrawal feeling of not getting a nicotine fix....otherwise we would smoke old rope or something, but we don't because there is no nicotine involved

And as beer says - there is not one good reason to smoke, you will not feel better in any way...you don't need it. Non smokers manage fine through life without needing to poison themselves

Hope this is of some help to.

Have a great weekend

[nsd_user663_60964]

Sbsb, so glad you've 'dunlurkin'. I do hope you'll post regularly and join in. The moral support you'll get from everyone here is invaluable in my opinion and will really help when you encounter those self-doubting moments (and we all have them from time to time).

I do know what you mean. I think there comes a point (usually some months in) where the initial elation of quitting has worn off but you still have that niggly feeling that something is missing, and that somehow the rest of your life is not going to be the same. Which, of course, it isn't-in an extremely positive way- but you feel a little like you're being punished somehow.

The others are right though. When you feel like that you just have to keep reminding yourself that you've succeeded in breaking free from a terrible, pointless and expensive addiction that would almost certainly have killed you eventually. All the comfort that came from lighting up was an illusion and it would be just the same if you caved in now (except that you'd have a huge feeling of failure and probably despair to content with as well).

Just hold on and the bad patch will pass (they always do). We're here to help whenever you need us to.

And congratulations on your 4 months- that's mighty!

[nsd_user663_62591]

Thank you all.

It is a game of patience and persistence I think.

Its the weekend now. So can catch up on sleep and catch up with friends.

I guess its just waves of good and bad a bit at the moment.

Might look into Allen Carr again

[nsd_user663_62294]

Hello SBS, well done, 4 months is fantastic and you should feel very very pleased with yourself