"Smoking would just make me feel worse about myself really. " Exactly! So cross your arms, grab each shoulder and say "GOOD FOR YOU!"
Coyote - Canis latrans "The species is versatile, able to adapt ... and expand" Quitting is all about adapting, through behavior modification, to life without a cigarette or vape in hand. We can change our physical behavior in an instant, but our brains take longer to process and adapt it all emotionally. Have you written a goodbye letter? Finding Closure in “Goodbye” It's a helpful psychological tool in working through the emotions of letting go.
It's ok to be sad about quitting. (If that's what you're sad about.) We feel like we're losing a piece of us. That the self we know will never be the same. That it will be altered forever. And that's kind of true. Our psychological image of ourselves with cigarette in hand is potent. But life is all about change. At 70 I see pictures of myself as a 12 year old and something wonder "was that really me?" And I see the 12 year old that didn't smoke, and the 35 year old that did, and the 56 year old that didn't. And as with aging, the morphing of the quitting journey is gradual. In that case it would be great if it could be instantaneous. But that only happens to some rare folk like Allen Carr! lol Epiphanies aren't a dime a dozen. And fortunately we don't wake up one morning as a 12 year old looking like a 70 year old!
Hang in. The day you smoke is the day you awaken with regret. Regrets bring us down. Stay true to that Best of you. https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/positive-affirmations-and-support/blog/2017/10/24/its-gonn...
