Cracked under pressure

[Christinie]

Literally an hour away from 6 months smoke free I cracked and had a cigarette. I had a very stressful day, had tried to comfort eat away my woes and 2 hours after leaving work, I just had to go to the shop and buy a packet, the craving was the strongest craving i had since quitting. I had 2 cigarettes all weekend and I don't think I'll be taking it up again, I've locked the rest of the packet in the garage (a place I'm not fond of visiting, so I'll have to be desperate) for in case of emergencies. Problem is how do I manage stress going forward? I don't want to comfort eat as much as I don't want to smoke, i need to find something new that brings me joy to help me get rid of a terrible day. What does everyone else do? Has anyone got any tips?

[KatNL 6 Months Smoke Free]

I hear you. I did not smoke, but I had terrible stress this weekend while I was in production. The worst yet and I am still on the patch. I am going to the doctor as soon as I can this week to talk about it. I drank so much coffee felt sick - not a good idea at all. Good luck to you and to me

[Christinie in reply to KatNL]

well done for not giving in to your craving, stick with it! Most cravings do pass. I had been through a lot on Friday and I just can't explain the scenario of what had got me so stressed, but 2 hours after getting home from work I hadnt got over it and i just couldn't function anymore and I had this extreme craving, i can usually ignore them but this one was like a craving multiplied by 1000. Going forward I just need to find something that picks my mood up after a tough time that isn't food and defo isn't a cigarette.

A small tip from me, i found caffeine to be a proper trigger in the beginning so I lowered my intake a lot.

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

Definitely KatNL , try to avoid the coffee as it is a serious trigger for cravings and anxiety when we stop. Water, Water and more water is the best medicine when stopping Over 3 and a half years smoke free and would say I have had about 5 cups as brought on serious episode for me Again, continue to take it day by day and stick to the plan to gradually reduce the patches, have faith in yourself and well done on surviving the stressful situation.

[Mummymonster 100 Days Smoke Free]

Hi Christine. Gosh that’s tough. I find listening to guided meditation / mindfulness is exactly the right thing to do.

There’s an app called insight timer, has thousands, some just for stress, others for recovery, including smoking. Regular practice is proven to reduce mental health issues connected to stress, anxiety and depression. It really is fantastically powerful.

Which doesn’t explain why I have gained so much weight in the past 3.5 months. They have loads on comfort eating too, maybe I need to look at that

Max

Ps. Non of my business, but if those cigs were in my garage they would be singing to me, I would break them into a million pieces, and pee on them before putting them in the bin!

[Christinie in reply to Mummymonster]

I'm happy to keep them there, as I have got past the part where any regular craving means caving in, I had plenty of smaller cravings since Friday and pushed them aside as I normally do. The Friday night thing was weird, such a strong craving that i had no control over it at all. That'll be the only circumstance where I would give in. I didn't enjoy the cigarette at all, it did calm me right down though.

[Bonnielala 6 Months Smoke Free in reply to Mummymonster]

MM i also listen to Insight timer, wonderful app, agree with you on the eating situation...as said I have put on 8kg since stopping smoking...but i had about 5 to lose before that....have lost 2kg since the tooth op but still battling away with the weight, someone who stopped smoking about 2 yrs ago said to give myself a year and the weight will come off....scary, as what if i put on more during that year...anyway one thing at a time!!

[Mummymonster 100 Days Smoke Free in reply to Bonnielala]

I know, I lost weight in 2017; regained most of it in 2018 and then went past that weight this year. I don’t think I can leave it a year, I am now obese, could be dead in a year!

Love Insight timer. My favourite is Mary Maddux, she has the nicest voice, but I work on new stuff all the time, smoking, sleeping, stress, anger, crap childhood stuff. Dfnitely time to look at overeating!Christinie, please have a look. So good after a bad day

Xx

[Christinie in reply to Mummymonster]

I'll give insight trainer a go then. I do tend to lose concentration with meditation, i'll try to start my weekends off with a bit of meditation on a Friday evening. Lets see how this goes.

[Mummymonster 100 Days Smoke Free in reply to Christinie]

Brilliant. There are lots of really short ones, might work for you

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

Hows things going now Christinie , you back on the horse?

[Christinie in reply to RoisinO1]

Sorry for not replying for so long. Yes back on the horse, to be honest that ciggie tasted so nasty i would have to be desperate to start again!! Its odd this is the first time I've quit using champix and the first time I quit and cigarettes tasted absolutely vile to me, if only they had tasted so nasty 20+ years ago when that naive teenager took her first puff!

[dugahole 5 Years Smoke Free in reply to Mummymonster]

Wow Mummymonster, A million droplets of pee !!!!!!!! Must be a monster type thing hahahaha

[Mummymonster 100 Days Smoke Free in reply to dugahole]

More of a mummy thing, pelvic floor wrecked!

[dugahole 5 Years Smoke Free in reply to Mummymonster]

I should of had more sense then to really go there!!! But a million was a big number!!!! I am a father of 6 children so I do have an idea of what happens to the poor pelvic floor!!!!!

[Quit4Money 1 Year Smoke Free 9 Months Smoke Free in reply to Mummymonster]

omg apparently my pelvic floor is dropped. I shouldn't laugh but wtf? When a gynecologist told me that I was like ...

She said because I had a hysterectomy so young ... and due to lack of ... ahem ... activity. Oh why thank you, Life, for that! Whenever I went on a date, one of my girlfriends would ask "have you told him about your dropped pelvic floor yet?" We'd just roar with laughter. If you can't laugh, what can you do. Sorry for the digression on this thread.

[Mummymonster 100 Days Smoke Free in reply to Quit4Money]

It’s not even true for me. Despite 4 huge babies,my pelvic floor seems rock solid!

[Quit4Money 1 Year Smoke Free 9 Months Smoke Free]

Yours is a cautionary tale, Christinie. Because it shows us 6 months quit (and likely a year or two quit), we can still be besieged with a strong craving. It's good you posted here to share this happened. Because you've identified you need to figure out how to manage stress. Five years ago, I had to reduce stress in a huge way due to a medical condition. I stepped down from a busy position and took an easier job. I removed negative people from my life. You know the type. Negative takers, not positive givers of energy. I leaned everything out in my townhouse and now live clutter free. I don't consume sugar (and it's in a lot of stuff). Gradually, you will find what works for you ... as we are all so unique. You may need to make some drastic changes in your life to get rid of what's causing you stress. Or you may need to make small changes. Only you can really know. I wish you so much success xoxo

[RoisinO1 Administrator 3 Years Smoke Free]

Sorry to read Christinie - these out of the blue severe cravings are normal and can really knock us for six. To survive them, the sword MUST be kept up at all times ready to attack.

See below pinned post worth a read if not already done so:

healthunlocked.com/nosmokin...

I too agree with Mummymonster , get rid of those cigarettes in the garage as discipline is key in recovery in addiction. You are recovering from being addicted to nicotine so it should be nowhere near you to access easily if having a bad time, just like a recovering alcoholic or heroin addict......

You say you didn't enjoy smoking but they calmed you down, reflect on this as is very likely they did not calm you but Mr Nico getting back in your head from that very first drag....thats how powerful nicotine is unfortunately and how it makes it so hard to stop ;(

Let me know your new stop date for your milestone badges and fair play to you for coming back on and sharing as SO many don't and it takes guts

[KathieO 100 Days Smoke Free]

I agree. I need an outlet and I don’t want it to be food. It’s too cold for outside activities. What do we do?

[Hidden]

Try Nicotine anonymous. Look up the website and you’ll find a toll free line that they call the Freebridge. It has helped me a great deal being as its difficult to find face to face meetings that are close to home. I’ve got 36 days smoke/nicotine free. I’m working on getting as many resources as possible to avoid a relapse. I want to be truly free.

Good luck and God bless you.

Umpire13