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Give and get support around quitting

Cravings

Its been a month tomorrow that I quit and the cravings are still strong and intense everyday. When does it start to taper down? Its tough!

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12 Replies
YoungAtHeart
Member

It should start to get easier soon.  Are you working to relearn your life as an ex-smoker?  Changing up your routines?  Staying busy or surfing it when a crave hits?  Changing your mind's direction when a crave hits?  Sipping on cold water?  Increasing your exercise?

The better you get at these, the sooner you will start to have better days.  This takes real effort in the beginning. 

It WILL get better - and some of that time frame is up to you.

A month is HUGE!  Congratulations! 

Keep going!

angieo666
Member

I'm only on day three and the cravings are driving me insane have my patch on and take the gum when I need it but sometimes the cravings are so bad I feel like getting sick anyone have any ideas on how to get through it I really need help

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MarilynH
Member

Welcome to the community @angieo666 this is an old post but that's ok I'm glad I saw it congrats on day 3 you are doing this quit and you're doing it one precious Smokefree Day at a time or hour minute or even a second at time  deep breaths and believe in yourself because we believe in you and we're rooting you on. I chomped on carrots and celery sticks to which helped me plus I drank alot of water and still do and I kept a bag of sugar free mints around in case of of any unforseen cravings try to keep your mind as well as your hands occupied and tonight you'll be saying YAY for another Day WON with many more to come, it's definetly not easy by any stretch of the imagination BUT with commitment and perseverance you will succeed in living a life of Freedom.....

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Barbscloud
Member

Welcome to the EX @angieo666    What your experiencing now is normal.  You've eliminated nicotine and a multitude of chemicals from your body so it's going to react.  Remind yourself that this is actually your body  healing.

It will get easier, in the meantime do some things to distract your self.  It can be anything, listening to music, dancing, playing video games, etc.  I found going for short walks really helpful.  I would just walk out the door and go for a few blocks.  It really helped me to refocus.

Have you been working on creating new associations instead of smoking?  That really helps too. Just doing things a different way or in a different location.

Stay strong.  It's one day at a time.  Continue to reach out for support.

Barb

Cousin-Itt
Member

Once I made a conscious effort to begin being active in doing different things It really started getting easier.

As Nancy said Change your routines  do things that you didn't do when you smoked    

sweetplt
Member

Everyone is different Juliejules2456 Julie...honestly, mine didn’t truly stop until I was about 70 ish days quit...I started having many “aha moment’s”...like life was going to be ok without the smokes.  Be sure to read https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/groups/best-of-ex/blog/2011/05/24/no-mans-land-days-30-to130-appr... ... hang in there some more Julie...it will happen...~ Colleen 

Thesegoto11
Member

Everyone's different.  I did so much research the first couple weeks of my Quit.  Ran across some advice that really helped me through:

1. Make a distinction between the physiological "urge" or craving you experienced the first few days--as your body flushed out the nicotine--and "thought cues," which is everything that comes after.

2. Don't fear "thought cues." Instead, embrace them. It's only by working through them you relearn how to become a non-smoker. I would remain calm and simply have a conversation with myself. Keep a journal and write down how many "thought cues" you are receive each day. You will see they decrease--fairly dramatically--over time. Some days you will have none.

3. Time how long a "thought cue" lasts. What seems like minutes--or forever--is typically just seconds.

In short, after the first 3-5 days, it really is simply a relearning process.

Barbscloud
Member

Of course everyone is different, but it's normal to be experiencing this still.   Be patient with yourself.  Most of us smoked a long time, so your body is going to take some time to adjust to the loss of nicotine and a multitude of other chemicals.   Stick to your plan and keep moving forward.   It will get better with time.

Barb

Thesegoto11
Member

As an addendum to my earlier post, here are some things I would remind myself by way of self-talk during an episode:
 - "I've had these before. This isn't the end of the world."
 - "Give it a minute and it will pass just like all the rest."
 - "Would I rather go through this one little episode or start back up smoking again then quit again then go through all these urges and thought cues again? Really, is that what I want to do?"

By then the episode had usually passed.