When I smoked my stress level was unbelieveable. I mean I flipped out over the slightest hair out of place. I could not believe how scared I was of quitting knowing my stress level, and how bad it was already. I thought for sure I was going to go off the deep end.
The first 24 hours of my quit I was doing well. I stumbled upon the SSC within 5 hours of my last smoke. THANK GOD I DID. That is how I have been able to retain my sanity while experiencing withdrawl and cravings.
I have learned now that my stress level was actually another ILLUSION. Smoking was the cause of my stress you see...'when am I going to have another one, what do I do about this situation, what do I do about that, oh I need a smoke to figure this out, oh I will just have a smoke and think about what I have to do today, Oh I need to pick up smokes I am almost out, and on and on and on it went, neverending excuses. These were the cause of my stress. NOT what was going on in my life.
Now that I have been maintaining my coping skills and I am coming along, my stress level, well, I really don't have one anymore. WHY? Because I QUIT SMOKING. Life is rather pleasant and very enjoyable without that constant nagging stress of when your next smoke is going to be, or how much you have left, or the illusion that you can't cope with anything without a cig in your hand. It really is a bunch of BS. We are buying the big LIE when it comes to smoking, believeing that it helps and the only thing that it helps to do is KILL US FASTER.
So there it is, my illusive stress level revealed. I really didn't have a high stress level at all. But smoking made me believe that I did. There are days that I get frustrated now, but the frustration comes very far and few in between and is also a far cry from what I used to be like. :scared:
I hope you will think about the myth of stress in your life and what is actually happenning. You are fine without smoking. There is nothing that you need to put in yourself to cope with anything, you have all the answers within you already.
Many Blessings,
Eve :)
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B] 4/8/2006
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 87
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 702
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $261
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 7 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 16 [B]Seco