The most difficult part of quitting smoking is mental. There are hundreds of triggers and associations in our days that our minds link to smoking! Angry? Have a cigarette! Lonely? Have a cigarette! Boss unkind? Have a cigarette? Tough deadline? Have a cigarette! Disrespectful child? Have a cigarette! That's not even mentioning the after meal ones, the coffee one(s), the finished task one(s), the driving one(s). All (and more) of those things trigger a smoking need.
The nicotine is out of your system in 72 hours. Your body needs to adjust to life without it, which takes maybe a couple of months. During that time and after, it is the MENTAL triggers that create the desire to smoke. Once you conquer each one in a different way (Angry? Take a walk! Bored? Play a computer game! After dinner? Clear the table right away!) you begin to relearn your life as a nonsmoker. Each thing you unlearn takes care of THAT situation. See why it takes awhile?
Give your quit the time it needs. Dale's challege is 130 days. It takes most that long to unlearn the triggers and associations we have with smoking. You, then, must STILL get through two years of holidays, seasons changing, family dramas to be truly done - but these are more like memories and are easy to get past once you realize what is going on.
This all takes some effort - but I promise you it is worth it! Stay the course!
Nancy
