Well after reaching my 21 day milestone yesterday I really didn't expect this.
ALL day today I've been craving a cigarette! The worst ever since I first quit.
I've eaten everything in the house - didn't help. I've kept myself busy all day - didn't help. I've been for long walks in the icy cold wind across the fields - didn't help.
My mind just continues to return to the habit.....
I've been reading everyone's posts on here to see how you all coped at these times. It helps of course to know that others have been through days like this and survived.
I thought getting over the nicotine addiction would bring freedom, but it seems that for me, anyway. It's the habit that's taking some time to break.
Aaargh! Sorry guys for a negative post. Just need tell someone.
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Hey Becky, no need to be sorry, we are here for you and all have gone through these bad days that hits us like a bolt of thunder!
I am not sure if you seen my post last weekend which was a bad weekend for me as I reached Day 60! I was shocked that these feelings of craving and thinking of smoking the whole weekend, but I got through it by staying very focused and strong which was extremely tough, you can do this and are doing so well.
Keep telling yourself, do you want to loose all you have done for the last 22 days just for 2 minutes that you think will satisfy you - it is not worth it, get that sword up and attack, I promise Becky you will get through this, you will be typing us an update in a couple of days so proud of yourself that you got through it.
Maybe try to have an early night after a relaxing bath and things will seem better in the morning, good luck, will be thinking of you xo
Hi Becky, I am sorry you are having a difficult day today.
Rowens is right, those days will happen but they will come less and less often.
When they come, you just need to focus on one single question: is the 2 minute smoking worth scrapping 22 days suffering?
If you stay strong they will come less often and eventually disappear.
Becky, how are you feeling now, any improvement? always remember... Nothing lasts forever and everything happens for a reason...
I went back and looked for my day 22 or that week actually because I genuinely don't remember anymore...it was actually quite challenging all week, I remember feeling very proud of myself when it was finally over.
If you can, sleep it off and back to camomile tea and loads of water.
It's back to basics, I've had to do it many times since.
Thinking of you... Send us an update and be strong.
By keeping busy and walking you are doing all the right things Becky. You probably have more time to think about it on the weekend. The cravings are a curvy gradually downward slope. So they can be worse one day than the prior day, but over weeks and months it steadily decreases.
Feeling better thanks Mmaya, the urge seems to have gone. Hope tomorrow's better. Today my husband was home so it could be that. Seeing him go outside to smoke. I don't join him anymore, not even with an eCig. Or it could be something else. Of course there's always something but we have to learn to get through it don't we?
Anyway tomorrow's a new day. Thanks for your support. I can't tell you how much it helps.
That's it, one small victory that will lead to the biggest victory if them all! Always remember, no one can just turn around and stop a habit that one had for decades...it might take a bit longer than just a few days or weeks....I'm happy you managed and proud of you for not giving in....
Do you know what?I think it might have already clicked for you....you just don't know it yet
Hi Becky, Sometimes quitting does feel like a slog and it can be physically and emotionally draining. That's probably why I've given up on all my previous attempts.
The only thing I can say is just keep going because it is ups and downs for a while for all of us. It takes time to adjust and we do miss smoking to begin with and sometimes for a lot longer. The main thing is to focus on your goal and keep going. It's so easy to quit on quitting and nobody knows that more than me. Just keep telling yourself that it's you that's made the decision to quit smoking and be ready for any difficult days that come along. I've had plenty of them this week - nothing life threatening, just things going wrong in the house? Why do these things all seem to happen together though?:mad:
I'm well into my quit now and getting used to it but WHY, when these annoying things happen, is my first thought "I wish I had a cigarette"! I really wish I could overcome these stupid thoughts but they still happen even after almost 3 months of not smoking - and more importantly not wanting to.
It certainly knocks my confidence I can tell you.
Despite this I'm carrying on staying quit and hoping that one day everything will click into place and I'll forget completely about smoking. I'm not sure it will ever happen for me but I live in hope.
Stick with it Becky because for all I've said I'm glad to have got this far and I don't want to give in. The longer you stay quit, the easier it will get.
Becky...Ja eina...you know the meaning and I sympathize big time..you are now experiencing the full wrath of the Nicodemon... You have won the physical craving for nicotine because it was out of your body after 3 days....and the demon was cross !!! Now it is a psychological attack.
It is proven Becky and part of the process and very painful
3 Weeks -- Psychological Withdrawal
At three weeks, we've gotten through the shock of physical withdrawal and we're just beginning to tackle the mental side of nicotine addiction.
And be aware ... psychological cravings can produce very real physical reactions in our bodies, making a mental trigger feel like physical withdrawal. Thinking about that smoke break you used to take at a certain time of the day can cause tension that makes your stomach churn and leaves you on edge. It feels like a physical craving, and in a way it is...but the source is a thought, not physical withdrawal from nicotine.
Hang in there...Stay strong .... ​
Ps...This was the time I started to attack and not defend....!!
Eish! Hercu. I'm not enjoying this. I have enough psychological withdrawal to deal with already, still feeling homesick for Africa. And now it's the Nicodemon.
Thanks for explaining it so well. It does make sense.
I understand exactly what's going on here but I'm being a bit of a coward.
One good thing though. I have absolutely no desire to step outside to look at a low grey sky, leafless trees and stand in a cold 2 degrees misery in order to have a cigarette!
Just to reiterate that it does go away Becky... I haven't had a craving in a long time.
That's exactly what has been keeping me off the cigarettes... I'm from a hot country as well and the thought of going outside on the cold, rain and windy for a few smelly puffs just makes me feel like a junkie and I do not like that idea.
Hercu's description is very good, you can get more indeph into the science bits, it's very interesting.
Search for neurotransmitters nicotine addiction, I think understanding the process makes the quit easier.
Between 21 and maybe 50/60 days, it's a different battle.
Being a long term smoker, we have more gaba neurotransmitters than a nonsmoker, they will seek for their normal feed every so often but if you resist and stop feeding them, they will disappear and by 12 weeks we should have the same amounts therefore no cravings or need for a cigarette.
There are very good posts on this forum by a member called meli I think, for me reading those posts and my own research was the key to survive.
There are supplements you can take at that stage and again Hercu has touched that subject a few times. They do work...and it helps a lot to keep it together.
The most important thing is to stay alert, prepared and like Hercu Says: attack!!!!
I think we have to expect 'the odd thought' even when we've been quit for months. Everyone I know who's given up smoking successfully all say the same. These sudden impulses are much easier to deal with than the cravings we all experience when first we withdraw from smoking. I wish they wouldn't happen but everyone says that they do stop eventually.
The science of the quit process is too deep and complicated to me but for some it probably does help us make sense of the changes and mood swings we go through while coming to terms with our quit. I make do with thinking of quitting as more of a reward than a denial and that makes a lot of sense to me whenever I feel tempted.
I think we all reach the point when, no matter what, we feel we can't allow ourselves to start smoking again and it's so much easier from then on.
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