Day 8 of quitting smoking

[BobbyJ01]

Hi, I am on my day 8 of no cigarettes and had a very stressful night last night. I am motivated to quit but today is soooo stressful. I cant think of anything but a cigarette right now. I have on the patch, have went through about 8 pieces of gum, ughhhh! Any advice would be so appreciated right now. Thanks!

[Nozmo Valued Contributor]

Hello BobbyJ01 I know what you mean; some days are rotten. Are you in the UK/Ireland If so an early night may be a good idea. Seriously, it seems like a waste of an evening but it worked for me on a few occasions.

A good rant helps too; on this forum or to some person who’s willing to listen where you are.

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free]

Welcome BobbyJ01 - huge congratulations on over 1 week smoke free! That is great

What you are experiencing at the moment is perfectly normal as you are now over the novelty of stopping and now the real mental battle has begun as your body and mind rewire, repair and recover. I stopped cold turkey over 2 years ago and also posted here for the first time on Day 8 as I was pulling my hair out. This community was one of my saviors along with keeping busy, lots of water, deep breathing and knowing the enemy, read up as much as you can here and elsewhere and stay close to us. As Nozmo rightly suggested, if you can, lots of early nights and being kind to yourself even if it means being a bit selfish to those around, remember this will be one the biggest and best achievements of your life

Below is a link to some pinned posts worth a read if not already done so:

healthunlocked.com/nosmokin...

Post anytime....

[laura6 1 Year Smoke Free]

It is hard. You need to keep your mind as busy as possible so the thoughts have no room in your head.

Each day will get easier. You need PMA

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free]

How is things now BobbyJ01

[BobbyJ01 1 Year Smoke Free]

RoisinO1,

Thank you so much for your support and everyone on here! I am now officially in the double digits, day 10!! I took everyone's advice. I've been drinking more water, tea, and mostly going to bed semi early when the cravings in the evening get really strong. This forum is really helpful. I may not respond everyday but I definitely check it every day (thanks to the email reminders;). The physical dependency is not so back right now, most likely because I'm using the patch (still on 21mg). But the emotional dependence is what really kicks my butt. I didn't notice how much I smoked when I was stressed. So now the challenge is replacing it with something different. I know its not the best but I've been replacing it somewhat with food and lots of sleep! I hope to start exercising soon but don't want to overwhelm myself! I've been researching tips on how to better deal with stress but the problem is actually doing it!!

Anyone just joining this forum, my advice would be to use it as much as you can!!!

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free in reply to BobbyJ01]

Hey BobbyJ01 - I hear ya about the stress and for me, that was the biggest thing to overcome dealing with it as was brainwashed into thinking chain smoking solved the stress, made it better. When I stopped, my first stressor was linked to something I had been smoking very heavily (grief related) prior to stopping - I decided there and then, right I am going to have to deal with this regularly so how am I going to do it smoke free, my solution was to talk about it, don't bottle it up and it worked. Other daily stressors, such as work pressures, anxiety about a matters, family problems etc... I said to myself how can stop these stressors, usually the solution was to ask for help and to deal with it there and then and not to brush it under the carpet and smoke like a chimney thinking it will go away....

Well done on Day 10, you are doing great