I smoked just like you, happy, sad, angry, celebrating - just smoked all day long. Pack and a half a day. How did I quit? Cold turkey and support. I had quit several times over my 35 year + smoking history and I really hated the start up each time. I was kind of badgered into it by my husband. He spent $75 on a Smoke Away Kit and I figured I owed him at least a try. He gave it to me as a Christmas present. Thanks SO much (high sarcasm). It wasn't until Lent I thought, OK, now I'll give it a try. 40 days or whatever. A finite time. I couldn't do it for me, but I could do it for this higher power and a finite period of time. (Took a couple of the pills, which did nothing to alleviate the cravings and never ended up finishing any of it.) I also knew that this was a psychological trick of sorts. If I could quit for 40 days, there ain't no way in hell I was gonna go through this process again. BUT I gave myself permission to smoke after 40 days.
Outcome: I didn't then smoke. Why? Because I really couldn't bare the thought of going through the process ever again. It became easier to stay smoke-free than start anew. I never proclaimed this is my FOREVER quit, never proclaimed anything. I just just knew I really hated the whole "gotta quit, need to quit, know how awful it's gonna be to quit" thinking.
That was back in 2006. But what truly enabled me to remain smoke free was support. Support solidified my quit every day I communicated with others going through this process. Reinforced the necessary mindset to overcome this addiction. Support is what made the ultimate difference in this last quit. That and education, but also a continuing interest in the quitting journey, we learn so much about ourselves in the process, we grow so much, and by offering support to others and reading of their journeys we get closer to being that "best that we can be." Quitting smoking is a huge step in that direction. At least it was for me.
Beating the cravings is something learned through the process. That's just the first leg of the journey. It's easy to stay smoke free for a while. Whatever "that while" is before relapse until there is no more relapse. The 3 month quit, the 8 month quit, the four day quit, the 2 year quit. It's the maintenance part that's ultimately the part we need to pay the most attention to. Most of us have quit numerous times. It's hanging onto it that's the challenge.
But you're not in the maintenance stage yet. There's a strong search engine here. I suggest you put "craving buster" in the search box. You'll be presented with a host of blogs on that topic. Also read the material in https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/content?filterID=all~tag%5Bbest_of_ex%5D Eating clean is good and especially incorporating exercises. Exercise replaces the dopamine high we get from nicotine, so go for it.
PS - we all liked smoking. Except that time we put the first cigarette in our mouths and inhaled. That's the real truth. The rest is just the addiction speaking to the pleasure receptors in our brains. When you recognize the lie, you begin to see your salvation from this addiction.
