looking for some wisdom about handling cravings while angry

[lizzy2]

it seems to me that i get angry quicker and more intensely when i try to quit. i really don't like who i became when tried to quit before. i am in the process of setting my date to quit. i think one rule i'll be demanding is that when things get rough-I GET THE COMPUTER so i can check the blog and look for support. i was just reading some of the postings and i can't believe there aren't any more of us participating...i was so glad to see a bipolar area because as someone else mentioned, i don't want quitting to be the stressor that lands me in the hospital. thanks for talking about some of your personal issues-it really helps to know that i'm not by myself-isolated.

[katheen]

Thanks Lizzy, I know that it helps to know that there are others who have gone through the same things that we go through. As far as gettoing angrey at people it's best to walk away from that place where you can think about what made you angrey in the first place that may work or at least that has worked for me. Although sometime a good augrement does'nt mean that your a bad person either I know that just try different things because something will eventully something will click in you.

[lizzy2]

Linda and kathleen-Thanks. I've been reading some of julie fast's materials and your suggestion is almost exactly like hers in bipolar happens.com. please stay with the site, we all need each other-not just when we quit smoking but also just day to day.
beth

[lizzy2]

linda,
i'm sure i'll be on the site more often after i quit, right now i'm trying to get things organized with my son's home school (also bipolar) so maybe things will go better after the quit. Oh how many times have i "quit my job" as teacher over too much stress? several. you have been very kind to write and i appreciate it.
beth

[lizzy2]

linda,
a normie! what a huge smile that put across my face!! i'll be sharing that with a number of friends and family.

they say now that nicotine is harder to quit than heroin. they used to say the other way 'round. congratulations on your 7 1/2 months! yahooooooo. good for yooooooooo! drugs and alcohol and bipolar they are almost inseparable-self medicating so you can function in the normal world. i got really lucky and puked every time i drank much and before long i realized that there were a ton of addicts in my family, so i just got addicted to the legal drugs: cigs and caffeine. my method for finding my predecessors is: "when looking for bipolars in the family always start with the alcoholics". relatives are much more likely to tell you about someone who "drank too much" that the ones who were "crazy". then months or years you can ask about other people in the family and they'll whisper about aunt so and so who had a "breakdown".

I think my mother was bipolar too, but never had an episode bad enough to get her diagnosed. i'm almost positive that her brothers (or at least 2 out of 3) have it. the one we won't have much to do with anymore (because he is so king sized obnoxious and intrusive) well, a couple of years ago his children had t-shirts printed up that say, "we believe in God, and you're not him." Oh yeah its hereditary and somewhere i heard that the science geeks actually found the portion of the chromosome that we have that creates the potential for the disease. you can actually see it. that made me feel so much less crazy when i heard. i need to dig around and find the articles and print them out for my son and me.

Linda, one of these days if you are ok with it, i would like to ask you about growing up with a bp mom. i cannot really imagine what it is like for my 15 yr old son. i think if i had a better idea, i might make a better mom and be able to help him be a better dad if he has children. gotta run-thank you so much for your help. i do feel kind of isolated with re to the quit/bp there really aren't any people who understand us like us.

shutting mouth-have a good weekend. beth

[anna12]

I too have bipolar and was diagnosed back in March 2003, I've put my body through hell growing up when I went without being diagnosed. I started with the cigarettes and moved to the drugs. Now I just take the drugs that the docs give me! Another discussion for later if ya want. I quit on the 20th and what has helped me is that I do not work so I have isolated myself in my room, live with my parents and my mom smokes still, BUT I am using the nicotine patch which has helped 100% of my bitchyness and I also take Vistoril when needed and I have only needed it a couple of times this past week. So far my anger has not been a problem, but then my son is 17 so he can read my moods really well after living with my bipolar for all these years. I'll have to ask him about living with me and start a topic on that. And yes, I ramble with my bipolar! Sorry about that, do u have that problem too? Back to the anger, the advice of walking away is really good, it's hard but good advice. Are you taking any cessation methods with your quit? The patch has really been a life saver for me and my anger. Which anger is usually one of my biggest draw backs with the BP. I hope I made a point in all this, Sometimes it just feels better to just write it all down and then throw it away! I hope you have a sucessfull quit =0)

[lizzy2]

linda-how do i leave you a message? i was so sorry to hear about your daughter. i am still interested in the bp family tree stuff.

Anna, you ramble right on girl! of course i do it too, julie fast calls it the bp focus/attention problem. i think loads of us have to deal with it.

kathleen-i realized how much value your comment had when you talked about "just walking away from" whatever was getting to you. i am going to start practicing that on a mental level. look for a method of mentally "checking out" of a series of thoughts/stressors. i'm thinking the anger won't come up as frequently, because as you said you'll discover the cause for it. and for some reason i was able to understand that there is hope even if it takes awhile--if you wait for the click, it will come. i'm glad i re-read the posts today. i picked up things i had missed before.
Thanks to you all

[lizzy2]

linda-it just occurred to me-when i went to see the nurse pract we talked about meds and my memory. i realize you were referencing attention earlier, but have you changed meds? the med i'm concerned about for me is one that i started about a year ago. she agreed to start reducing it when things settle down with the quit. i'm wondering, did you notice any memory/atttention/spacey problems when you first quit smoking and if so, how long did it last?

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! on your 8 months of success!

[lizzy2]

linda,
my quit date is monday feb 9. and guess what? my anxiety level went down! after i set my quit date. not what i expected.

i think i'm not being clear-too much thinking about cigs-whaddaya bet?

i didn't really mean probs after quitting, just about memory in general. oh, and i'm interacting with more people lately than i really want to-i've had so much to deal with at home with family, doctors and with the management at my complex, i'm ready to just take a break from people in general. i'm doing well, just depressed, slow moving (you know, like walking through mud) but functioning at a pretty good level.

what a huge bonus-to have improvement after quitting. i'll keep my fingers crossed! thanks for your thoughts, beth

[lizzy2]

linda,
did you use patches before the actual quit date?
beth