
Smoking Addiction & Recovery Support Group
The CDC claims that nicotine is a "very addictive drug" that can be "as addictive as heroin or cocaine." Nicotine is typically eliminated from the body within 2 to 3 days, however, physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms may last for much longer depending on the individual. If you are trying to kick the habit, this community is dedicated to giving smokers the...
Have you visited Why Quit.com at all? The articles on there are REALLY GREAT! Joel, the founder of the website, talks a lot about having the right perspective, Nicotine addiction and how to combat the psychological side effects of quitting smoking. I would highly recommend it.
You have come a long way, celebrate that accomplishment, take a deep breath and realize that you are freeing yourself from a life sentence of poisonous addiction.
Remember as cheesy as it sounds ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! I know that you can do this. Just hang in there!
If you get toooo mean, hell, just join a support group for that! LOL! But dont smoke! And keep that damn nicotine away from your body! You are almost thru it! Its like QUITTING AGAIN!! Have I said taht a milion times... LOL! Well, chin up buddy... You can do this! And if they offer you a cig again... FIRE THEM!! Just dont smoke!
Keep up the great QUIT!
REYNA
One thing about addiction is it stunts our emotional growth. Instead of learning to deal with life on real terms, we learned to turn to the addiction to smother our problems. For alcoholics it's beer or booze. For junkies it's heroin or cocaine. For tobacco users it's nicotine. Even though our drug of choice didn't "fix" anything, it at least gave us a little time to "gather" ourselves when something came up that was unpleasant. It gave us a moment to calm down.
Now that we've quit, when something like that comes up two things happen: First, we react to the something as we always did. Second, we want to smoke as a response, but since we've quit we can't. This adds to the emotional burden. Add them together and toss in our stunted emotional development and we go into an adult version of a temper tantrum. I know I've done it and I bet a lot of others on this site have, too.
Also, a lot of people use tobacco to manage depression, anxiety, anger management issues, and a host of other emotional/psychological challenges. For me it was depression and anger management.
I suggest you take a few minutes each hour through the day and use them as a "decompressing" time. Go to where it's quiet (if possible) and you won't be interrupted (the bathroom works very well). Look at how you are feeling right then and how you've felt through the past hour about various things. You can be brutally honest with yourself - only you will know. Analyze how you reacted to things, what reactions may have been excessive or inappropriate, and discover how you could alter the reactions to be more appropriate responses.
If something really tweaks you and you find yourself reacting or on the verge of reacting, STOP! Take a deep breath, hold your hands up to ward the person off if that helps, and if necessary, leave the scene. Walk away with no explanation. That can come later when you are back in control.
Above all else, do not listen to the guys at work. By suggesting you have a cig, they are demonstrating either their lack of understanding about quitting smoking or a lack of concern for you.
Peace, strength and wisdom to you, Steve.
Shevie
Quit May, 2005
I am glad you are doing better. Get some of that anger out at the gym.(or sack someone else...LOL) Stay with us my friend.
Shevie, you sooo rock in your wisdom and words. A writer maybe??? I love reading your posts as they make me feel soo comforted.