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Give and get support around quitting

Whatman21
Member

Tips advice, new here

New to this forum and not normally one to join blogs, forums etc... I've smoke 14 years give or take and quit once before for 3 years when I met my ex-fiance. She's  long in the past and that's for the better except I started smoking again. Now I'm on day 4 using the patch and I don't recall it being this miserable. I already deal with good old bipolar issue an am in a funk but jesus this has tanked me and now am numb, angry for no reason etc. Beyond my normal lows. (No I'm not suicidal or anything bad). I expect the tight chest, irritability, cough, depression,  so on. But the depth of it is rough, also as a 32 year old in shape guy the weird sensation of being too warm when relaxing is a new odd one I havent experienced. I work a very physically demanding job as a millwright and welder so I get a free workout daily which helps a bit and distracts me to a degree. It's the night like now when it gets really bad. I have no support  and live alone  except one friend and I have a pretty hard family so I dont expect much from them plus we live far apart. I see a shrink for my aforementioned reason of  being bipolar which helps. It's the lack of energy and motivation to do any that are killing me. If I smoked 2 or 3 in a 10-20 minute span it was almost like a manic episode without the negatives of true mania. I'd like to get there again, I know it'll come with time but does anyone have tips or tricks to get to help out? I already get the work out through my job (have to eat 5500 calories a day to maintain my weight to put the job in perspective) sooo yea have that covered. Any other advice is welcomed with an open mind. I have no intention of starting up again since it gave me ulcers I recently found out. Well guess my rant is over, I wish everyone in the process best of luck I did once before I know all of you can and for those already past the miserable part congrats.

10 Replies
Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the Ex and congrats on your decision to quit. You've come to the right place for support.  There are quitters here at different stages of their quit and understand the journey.   It is a journey, not an event. The more you understand about nicotine addiction and have a quit plan in place, the better your chances of success.  Read everything you can on this site to prepare and decide how you'll quit.  Some of us picked a quit date and used that time to prepare.   Decide if you'll quit cold turkey, use NRT or a medication.  I used Welbutrin, nicotrol inhalers and a smoking cessation class.  I was fortunate to find the Ex a week prior to my quit.   It's important to have new behaviors in place you'll use instead of smoking.  They're really aren't any tricks.  We have different tools that we found helpful.  I had to stay busy--walking helped me a lot.  I used Sour Patch Kids and chewing on straws during a craving.   

And, we're here to support you.  Just reach out anytime you need encouragement.  It worked for me.

Barb

Whatman21
Member

Thanks for the info, I guess I meant more tips or tricks to deal with the lows mentally not with the quitting aspect, I've done this before and quit heroin cold turkey. Oddly that was a lot easier. I'm a very irascible person by nature and now even 4 days in with the patch it takes barely anything to set me off anger wise or make the blues turn into a dark black hole. Cravings dont bug me, physically it is what it is. But I work with gnarly guys in an all guy environment and at any moment if the wrong thing is said I'll go to war. So I was talking more about ways to divert that anger energy into something more useful. Well guess I answered my own question there. A simple example of something that shouldn't have pissed me off was whomever the guy mark is here messaging me 4 times to sync my quit date, introduce myself, put up an avatar etc. I like my privacy I live alone and if I wanted to divulge that information I would have so don't keep messaging me. There's a reason I work nights in live in the styx alone. I'm a quiet person who keeps to myself.  I greatly appreciate your input as you didnt pry for info and are encouraging which is awesome.  I'm here to chat with people like you, not make this an version of facebook. I'm not looking for pats on the back or celebrations of milestones. To me and this is a personal belief I don't find it okay when people applaud milestones of sobriety etc. Its getting yourself healthy from something that shouldn't have been started to begin with. It's why I never told anyone I kicked heroin. It was dumb to even start it. Yeah this post made no sense I know. I am grateful for your response even if I came off harsh here. I'm not the most agreeable person. It's something I'm working on. Thank you again barbscloud

maryfreecig
Member

You have to do what you have to do. But Ex has seen it all. Or most of it. You will find here those who have lost almost all to smoking--they got unlucky. I hope you don't assume Ex is a kintergarten for quitters. About being pissed off--welcome to the club and take a seat. This is a life and death matter and quitters know that. If you want support from Exers, you got it. We're people just like you.

Barbscloud
Member

The "lows" are part of quitting for many.  The psychological part of quitting lasts longer and can take some work.  Being angry and irritable are normal.    I had little in the way of physical withdrawal symptoms.  Mine was more emotional and did last a good while.  For me it was important to keep busy to distract myself.   This site has really helped me keep my quit, especially in the early days.  This is the first time I've ever used a sight like this and I'm not a social media person.  

Use the sight in a way that works for you.   Some quitters are here more than others.  Some quitters just read posts and don't respond at all.  And many of us do celebrate milestones.   If nothing else, I found taking the Daily Pledge not smoke each day keeps me on track.  How you participate is really up to  you.    We're here to support you and want to share our success.

Four days into your quit is great.   Keep moving forward.

Barb

890 DOF

maryfreecig
Member

Tips and tricks

You asked, I'll try!

`Read success stories (here at Ex you'll see a lot)

`Watch success stories (youtube is a good source) Search with keywords like successful tobacco quit

`Become active at Ex--blog about your ups and downs with quitting (we listen to one another here) and 

        make comments, read--settle in

`Sit back and relax-realize that you now have a community of quitters already rooting for you

`Check out the 100 things to do list 

`100+ Things to do instead of smoking / vaping / chewing 

`Know that you are not alone

`Helpful Blogs, Discussions, Comments, Videos, Links, Info Re Quitting 

`Quit Kit aka Tool Box 

`Dopamine - the Double Edged Blade 

`Take your quit one day at a time. Not yesterday, not tomorrow.

`What is the Single Best Thing You Can Do to Quit Smoking? - YouTube 

`Quitting Cigarettes Journal  my own quit story which I started blogging about in 2014--- 7-9 months after I quit

I'm glad you are here. Thanks for telling your story. And congratulations on quitting!

indingrl
Member

indingrl
Member

 hello and welcome - just SHARING - when a crave HITS bite into a lemon and come and blog - please give us time to HELP - OR - when a crave HITS - jog in place as fast as YOU can - these have HELPED ME throughout MY DAY - WAY TO GO - staying a NON SMOKER - GOOD JOB

Mandolinrain
Member

Great advice above, just want to add thats being active on this site can be of immense help. Everyday brings different situations of its own in early quits and by coming here and talking about them helps you to see and work through it and it reminds us to remain vigilant.

Welcome to this community

elvan
Member

Learning to feel without nicotine is quite a journey. All of the emotions that were squashed with nicotine seem MUCH more intense without the drug. It WILL get better but it takes time & alas, l have no way to speed that up. Feelings are normal, smoking is NOT! You sound like a very reasonable guy & you have all the support you can imagine on this site. I could never have quit without the generosity & support of the members of this site. We are here to help & we have all been where you are, we remember that.

Welcome to EX.

Ellen