Well, from my research it appears that women will experience "worse withdrawal symptoms" than men, mainly due to....
Guess what? Our hormones, of course!
But then this makes sense when we just look at a general picture, too, of the emotional differences between men and women. However, it seems to me there's the physical/physiological aspect, the emotional/feelings aspect and the mental/intellectual aspect.
Frankly, can we realistically expect to never have craves or urges after even a few months when we've smoked for years? In psychological terms, we are told to not expect to fully recover from a divorce until we've experienced at least half the amount of years we were married.
When you think about smoking, how often, how long - we must admit to oneself that a few months is only reasonable to expect cravings and urges. This doesn't mean we will forfeit our quit, however, and as our sweet conductor likes to remind us, there are no excuses! Male or female!
But for women, as in losing weight, it seems that maintaining a quit is harder. Our emotional roller coaster is a bit more unpredictable and perhaps, intense.
I know for myself, it was in keeping with my basic temperament. In other words, I'm not a crier. Never have been. Tears are not my thing. But oh, boy, look out! Can I get angry! Irritable! Annoyed!! In other words, BITCHY!!!! And then, depressed. (Anger turned inward.) I also experienced "foggy brain" at the beginning.
I happened to say on here that if this was how I was going to be from now on, well, then I'd rather smoke. Of course, the addiction talking again. Because we are not the same every day, much less forever.
I think I have mellowed and become my normal "upbeat" self again as friends have commented I seem more myself. But still, I keep on watch for that unexpected "crave" and try to simply monitor my feelings rather than suppress them. I try to observe my own feelings with a sense of detachment since I'm aware that yep, this, too, shall pass.
I am almost to 3 months quit and candidly, I'm expecting to maintain a presence here for a while. I still need the encouragement and the stability that being with other "quitters" entails.
It was so true what Dale wrote and Scott reposted in No Man's Land - and also expanded upon. Our non-smoking friends don't realize that we're still in the struggle for our life. Our smoking friends don't want to be around us or talk about it at all. For me, it's only here that I discuss and think about my quit with my "quit family".
And I hope others here know that I've come to profoundly appreciate the honesty, dedication and commitment many have devoted to this site. It absolutely amazes me that so many have put so many hours of their time here to help others. Bless you and you know who you are......
