"I just want the feeling I used to get from smoking." Um, may I suggest that you give some thought to that "feeling" you got from a cigarette as opposed to the unpleasant "feeling" you got from smoking. The coughing, the phlegm, the lack of being able to do what you normally have done without huffing and puffing. Or maybe none of that is true for you. In either case, why are you here? Were there enough unpleasant feelings that motivated you to quit? Or are you quitting for - what reason exactly? Your health insurance demands it for a lower cost or...?
I can tell you this, point blank truth - you will not get the feeling you had smoking when you quit. Because - part of that "feeling" was simply the "high" from getting your next nicotine fix. Your nicotine receptors were screaming and you gave them what they demanded by that next cigarette you put in your mouth and inhaled. And you had this great feeling of ease. You will get many other feelings, and you will find ways to deal with that "feeling you miss," but accept the fact that when you quit - you won't get that feeling you used to get from smoking.
But even given all of the above - I think what you feel you're missing is the "enjoyment" of everything in your life that you experienced with a cigarette in your hand. The talk with a friend, the phone call while you smoked, the drink at the bar, the moment you could get away from whatever stressful thought or emotional confrontation was happening, the enjoyment of a happy moment or the peace to go off alone and just think.
May I comfort you in saying - all those enjoyments, all those relief moments will occur, CAN occur without a cigarette in your hand. They will not be lessened in any way. Your "feelings" will be as rich.
But you won't know that until you get past the point of no return. So fly on.
And PS - you're not cheating by using a patch. Quitting tools are there for a reason. We take what works and leave what doesn't.
