The cravings are brutal, that's why you need to arm yourself with hard candy, veggie snacks, go for walks,exercise, and really get a mind set. If you need aids ie patches, gum etc,.,, do it. they are healthier than the crap in cigarettes. You also have to avoid your friends that smoke for a time so you are not tempted, or ask them to smoke outside, but the smell will get to you. Sleeping a lot is normal, it helps with the cravings and seems to be part of it. Read, do anything to distract.
there are 5 d's
Distract
Drink water
I've forgotten the others but will get back with them, Mayberry knows them.

Lot of good reading on good posts.

Retraining your brain, I DONT SMOKE..staying focused,NOPE. Just getting thru the day to day tasks without reaching for a smoke. I was here years ago, the group was fabulous, I couldn't have gotten thru without them. It was a devil trying to login to the new DS but I took the rare opportunity to tell a newbie, YES it can be done. Each night you go to bed smoke free you are another day stronger.

Thanks for all the responses! Big help for me.

Distract, deep breathe, drink water, delay and discuss were my 5 D's for quitting

Ugh! I quit years ago, and was able to maintain it for several years, then I took a better job, at a better agency, and the stress drove me to start up again. yes it's a better working environment, but there is that God Awful adjustment process you have to go through. so now, here I am again, trying to quit once again. I do fine as long as I don't have to work, (social worker for child protective services), but as soon as I have to work, by about 3:30pm I'm dying for a cigarette.

whatswrong19 sorry it happened but you're back, you've done it before you can do it again. What got you back started wasn't the job, it was the first puff. Thanks for reminding us how we must remain vigilant. Anxiety or frustration was the trigger? What can you do when you leave work to fight the urge? A brisk walk? Quickly get to no smoking zone? Let us know!

the difficult part of quitting smoking for me was the self doubt. Your brain isn't always your friend, and it would sit there and lie to me and fixate on cigarettes and bang on and on about them till I went and got some. Every upset I had, it would tell me that this was why I had to smoke... etc.

The actual physical withdrawals are no worse than having the flu. We can all handle the flu. But this 'you won't make it' stuff coming from the brain with the 'you can't live without cigarettes' and 'just one' and 'hey you could pick that butt up off the gutter and smoke it and nobody would know' crap was my enemy.

I only got around it by smoking nicotine free. Because then i could say to my addiction: 'oh yeah? I smoke for emotional comfort? Here I am, smoking for emotional comfort. And clearly not for nicotine as there is none in this cigarette.' and it worked. Or rather, it half worked. Because I was smoking for nicotine alright.

And that became abundantly clear. But at least I could smoke while I was quitting, which was very helpful.

Anyway yes, the hardest part of quitting is silencing your own mind. And understanding that every thought you think doesn't actually emanate from your own innermost soul. Sometimes it's a kind of programming from elsewhere. A kind of brainwashing.

I think what would work best for me I'd on an island with no cigarettes available, and good people lol. I quit once before using the vaporizer, and I still had mad withdrawal. That was the only thing that worked, but it made me cough up a long. I started again because a good friend was a smoker, ugh. So now I want to quit again and the thought is giving me panic attacks. Going to try hypnosis.