Tell me I am normal.....
Hi all, just looking for someone to tell me I am normal. This is about my 4th attempt to stop smoking over the last couple of years.
I seem to get into a pattern, start well - first week I actually feel great. Then I seem to get to week 5/6 and feel awful. I have suffered previously from anxiety which seems to hit the roof. This morning I got up and all I want to do is cry and feel low. This pattern seems to happen every time I stop....then I pick up a ciggie and start again.
I don't want to start and I won't, I just need to know there is light at the end of the tunnel and how long from peoples experience...does it help anxiety reduce over time??
Thank you, any guidance gratefully received.
Hi Emsie, welcome and congratulations on making the best decision you could ever make for your own well being.
Everyone is different and so is their journey. Most do find that accepting the journey and positive thinking rather than negative thoughts and resistance (even sub conscientiously) makes a different in the difficulty and length of this transformation. Start thinking in terms of CHOOSING a different lifestyle. LEARN about you and what nicotine did you to. UNDERSTAND that nicotine is the cause of most of your stress and does not relieve it. We have been brainwashed by this drug which is addictive and has controlled our day to day lives and finances for years. The nicotine withdrawals are over in 72 hours and for the most part are just thoughts. Drink more water, eat a balanced diet, and exercise. These activities lessen physical maladies. 80% of the journey is breaking the habit and replacing a bad habit with good things.
You will not crave what you do not desire.
Research Dopamine and ways of having our bodies increase it. That is what nicotine triggered and gave us that boosts what we now lack and miss. Do things that you enjoy, think happy thoughts, listen to happy music , meditate ,and inhale lavender which promotes this sense of well being. Relax and read stories right here on this forum and know that you are not alone. Learning also makes our minds happy and increases dopamine. See how many have escaped to new lives and enjoy their money now saved.l You too can stop fearing the journey and embrace it to become a happy non-smoker.
Think positive. The Battle is Won in the Mind!
Hi Emsie, Happiness is right. Today I have just hit 365days without a smoke. My first year after 46 years of jamming them into my lungs. I felt like crap for months sadly but decided to just wallow in it. I was grieving, depressed lethargic OMG everything but I kept reading how other people were suffering and kept telling myself this is normal just stop whinging and get on with it!!!!. Slowly over time I have eventually come good. Well I have put on heaps of weight so the money I saved I have to spend on fat clothes!!!! Just try and embrace the miserable journey and it will improve. It may take some time so just be gentle on your self and treat it as a grieving process which it is. Stay strong the mind is where the battle is!!
Hi
Am on Day 4. Of my umpteenth attempt. Previously have used nicotine replacement, and other aids. Am cold turkey on my way home from work feeling like I’ve nothing to look forward to when I get home
To those who feel like GBanger remember that smoking really did nothing for you. Take the money you spend on them and go out and enjoy life. Have coffee or a drink with a real friend. I never heard of a cigarette that talked or gave good advice or a warm hug.
Today may not be the best of days, but look towards the future. It will be much brighter without the smokes. That is the third guarantee in life besides death and taxes.
Always remember that this is a battle won in the mind. Positive thoughts will bring positive results! You can do this!
Hi emsie. I hope this message gets to you while still quit. You do seem determined this time, and i really do think that the forum and its support can make a difference. I know it gave me the confidence to attempt a quit that i never in a million years thought that i could do. Just because past attempts fell flat does not mean that you will fail. Learn from them, pick yourself up and devise a plan from all of the knowledge you have learned. Taking part in this forum was a key for me i have learned since our minds loves to learn, and happiness releases dopamine, just as nicotine did. Plan things to make you happy. Embrace this journey. Learn to really want it.
I have written a piece "if You've Given Up, Giving Up , Try This" if you have picked up smoking again. I have also posted a link to Easy Way To Stop Smoking by Allan Carr which is wonderful in helping to achieve the right mindset. Positive thinking and understanding our addiction is so very helpful on this journey.
Don't give up! You can do this. Let us help.
Thank you all for your replies, it is reassuring.
I have had a tough week, feel constantly stressed but I haven't had a ciggie and I wont.....I know it will pass just takes time.
Thanks again.
Good for you emsie, we are all cheering for you and here if you need us. It does get easier and you are normal. Don't forget that even if you smoked you would be having cravings, that is what nicotine causes. Now even without it, we still "think" we need to have one when we know that it is unnatural and that we do not need one. We can beat this. You can beat this. The cravings not being fed are reminders that you are winning. Starve them out and be free. Embrace the journey positively and get there sooner. Read Robyn's story "Embrace It".