Calling All Ex-Smokers....I'm Losing My Mind.
Well, here I am 2 months into quitting smoking. On a daily basis, I have to fight not to go buy a pack and I find myself constantly making excuses for why quitting was a bad idea (really dumb excuses).
I literally did not leave the house for the first month, I told everyone to steer clear of me and I pretty much stayed in bed the entire time. Staying in bed for the rest of my life is not an option, so I now drag my ass out of bed and try to move on with a normal day.
2 months in and I am STILL having cravings of some sort. Usually only once or twice a day, but they last for hours rather than minutes and they almost cripple me. Brain fog will be the death of me...I don't drink or do drugs mainly because I can't handle not having a clear head, but all I do is sit here staring off into space the majority of the time because I can't focus.
I'm ready to throw in the towel and I'm desperate to get suggestions from anyone who has had this same struggle. I just don't feel like it's worth it at this point. I went through all of the steps with the patch (faithfully) and now that I'm done with that, I have the gum to get me through the moments I start melting down, but I want to be done with it completely.
I presume this crap is all psychological, but it doesn't make it easier to deal with. I do not want to vape, suck on a carrot stick or do anything that replaces one stupid habit with a "better for me" equally stupid habit. If I have to suck on vegetables to get through my day, I'll simply go back to smoking. Any and all suggestions or stories are welcome though!
Well you have come this far. Congratulations. You are come farther than most.
Your dependence at this point , as you pointed out , is psychological. As a physician, I am not certain if we can actually say it this cut and dry. What it means is that physical withdrawl symptoms are over with. That is all.
I would have expected that you would immerse yourself in work/activities or picked up additional activity like exercise, music, or something that you get to doing when cravings come in. It is not too late to start.
In the mean time, if the patches helped, you should go back to the lowest dose again and see if that helps.
Do not rule out short term vaping. There are no good studies from Canada and USA on vaping. UK has done long term research and actually recommends it as a means to get off cigs.
There is also another natural substance on Tabex.net that may help you. You can buy their stuff perhaps even on eBay.
In short what I am saying is to replace nicotine and plan your life/additional indulgence into something healthier as a distraction and a focus point.
Please also look into a local hypnotist. A few sessions may help a lot.
If you need reference on the landmark study published in UK on vaping let me know or go through my blog. It is there somewhere.
I've been losing my mind the entire time. The patch helped, but I'm really not any worse off now that I'm done with it, so I don't see much point in going back on it.
As for the vaping, I worry I'll just end up replacing one addiction with another, but you say there are studies to show it's a proven thing? I'll be digging through your blog over the next couple days to find this. I may reconsider.
You're probably right about keeping busy...I have been so lazy and I guess it just gives me more opportunity to lay here thinking too much and feeling sorry for myself lol.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2017-02-07-long-term-vaping-far-safer-than-smoking-says-landmark-study/
Let me know if you don’t find my blog.
I sent you the link to the study. Use it only with plans to quit it. Plan now to use it, get back in the swing of life and wean off of vapes.
Thanks! I coudn't find it, but I had planned on looking again today. I managed to hazily get through the article and I think I'll hit the vape shop.
I can't keep going like this, but I can't start smoking again and it's the lesser of two evils. One cigarette in the morning would make my day normal, so that's really the only time I plan on using the vape. I don't want to replace my previous habit with it, I just want it to get me through those one or two moments until I can do it on my own
Now to research the actual vapes. I know nothing about them and the shop will see me coming a mile away lol!
Good luck Mel.
Thank you :) And thank you for all of the help too!
Pursuant to our interaction, I want to memorialize your commitment. Mornings only, get back to living, then get off vapes.
More power to you brother.
Good plan. I have a habit of setting loose goals so I have room to screw them up. I don't want to do that this time
The last stick I smoke was 13 years ago. Never looked back then and never taken a smoke again despite being in the social environment.
Understand that there is always a trigger before the action. Remove the trigger and association and you will succeed.
When you smoke how does it make you feel? Feel good, comfortable, stress reliever. We all chase the outcome not the act itself. All we need to do is to associate smoking strongly to something you despise, that make you sick to the stomach. This will replace the current association of pleasure. Once you have reinforce the new association, you will be not intrested to look at another stick.
To assist you to do that try to look for someone who is trained in the field of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). Since I am a practioner myself so I knew the technique to make the transition.
It worked for me and perhaps it may help you too. Dont discard the power of the mind, it can create instant change.
I can't remove my triggers, so I need to learn to work through them. Since NLP is your area, what are your thoughts on Allen Car? I read his quit smoking book years ago, but really didn't get much out of it.
I am trained by Dr William Horton from NFNLP. Different person required different approach in tackling their concern. If one does not work try another. The fastest is try to link smoking to something that will make your skin crawl or obnoxious. Remember the scientific study on Pavlov dogs. it works the same way.
Mel, dude hang in there. I will write a detailed reply soon.