From: The Old Quitnet.com
Repost by gummer Date Unknown
These compiled reposts all say essentially the same thing... Smoking is the cause of your distress… so don't ever be fooled into smoking again to feel better — it cannot ever work! Smoking did a major job on you. It will take time and effort to straighten things out again, so be patient. You need to allow yourself the time required for your body and mind to return to normal. So hang in there! It doesn't matter what it takes, just hang in there and you will get through this. It is going to happen… Cravings are going to hit you out of the blue. That is the way quitting goes. It may happen at day 5, or day 27, or day 152... cravings can... and do... come out of thin air.
But never let them surprise you. Expect them, and when they do arise, treat them just as you have all the others... Simply, do not smoke. Ride them out... recognize them as a natural part of the process... as a sign of healing and progress... until they go away… In time they will stop bothering you at all. But until you reach that point, do not be discouraged if you are suddenly slammed by a craving.
That is what smoking did to you. And that is what you have to go through until you free yourself. Never be fooled into smoking again... because it was smoking that got you here in the first place. Not smoking is the only answer. Be patient. Be steadfast. Be optimistic. N. O. P. E. Not One Puff... Ever.
Smoking always... always... makes quitting harder... and not smoking always makes it easier. Cravings... a re a sign that your quit is working. They are a symptom that your body and mind are trying to find equilibrium again. Never be alarmed or discouraged because cravings hit you all of a sudden… that is what is supposed to happen as you `detox,` and start shedding the addiction. It is clear evidence of progress, whether it is day 1 or day 157.
I frequently see posts desperately looking for advice for something to get rid of these withdrawals... drink huge amounts of water... take extra vitamins... try homeopathic remedies... but the truth is that If... you shift your mind, then you do not need anything. Stop thinking of withdrawals as a desperate need to smoke, and instead start to see them as cleansing moments that, while uncomfortable, are very effective at healing. Shift your focus, and your attitude, and the way you interpret things.
After all, that is what is going on... your body is simply convulsing against the poison you have forced upon it. Withdrawals and cravings do not have to be a sign of trouble, because they are really a sign of progress. See them that way and you will endure them with far greater ease, than if you try to fight them, or fret over them…
The breakthrough comes... not when you stop craving, but when you stop seeing smoking as a solution to the cravings. It happens when you come to the conclusion that smoking (rather than not smoking) is the source of your misery. At that point you will start to see the withdrawals quite differently... No longer as a desperate need to be filled... But as a side effect of smoking, as damage to you, caused by years of smoking.
Because this yearning to smoke is no different from other effects of smoking... it is damage, plain and simple, just like shortness of breath, or poor circulation, or gum disease. And, as with all smoking damage, the only hope you have of ever reversing it is by not smoking.
So when you feel that craving to smoke, try to see it for the damage that it is, rather than any deprivation of your needs. That urge to smoke does not necessarily mean that you want to smoke. It is not a natural and voluntary reaction... It is involuntary and a by-product of the addiction. It is an effect... A symptom. It does not need to be satisfied!
Once you see this, quitting no longer feels like burden.... Not smoking will actually feel like therapy...
Like you finally are doing something to counteract this burden...
Like you are in control again…
And that shift of perspective is a huge breakthrough that can finally turn the tables in your favor. Gummer
