You are COMPLETELY normal. I distinctly remember I point where I didn't care to be around ANYONE---including myself! LOL There was also a period of time where I was BORED of quitting. The HO-HUMS. It is normal and you just have to suffer through it...it does get better! Matter of fact, your post is labeled negative thoughts...I think I have an old one labeled 'evil thoughts'. LOL Like a lot of things in life, it just might get worse before it gets better...ride the waves! COWABUNGA! [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 9/8/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 122 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 6,142 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $976 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 13 [B]Hrs:[/B] 0 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 31

Quitting can be quite exhausting and our bodies and minds (as the mental part of quitting can be the hardest) are SOOOOOO tired of fighting off urges and thinking about NOT smoking cigs. There is going to come a day where you don't think about it anymore and you will realize how happy you are, how great you smell even if you weight a couple pounds more. Make sure to treat yourself to something nice when you reach a goal. It's IMPORTANT! CobenFan And when all else, fails, take N2K's son's advice, and take the nap :p [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 3/25/2006 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 290 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 5,805 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $1015 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 27 [B]Hrs:[/B] 13 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 58

Hi 2tone~ We're so glad to have you as an active member of the site. It is normal to feel sad for a period of time after you first quit smoking. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. It acts as both a stimulant and a depressant, depending upon your mood and the time of day. It controls your mood by regulating the level of activity of key parts of the brain and central nervous system that control your sense of well-being. (Read Shevie's "Rewards, Nicotine & the Brain) There are generally two kinds of depression associated with smoking cessation. ('Clinical' and what we at the SSC call 'The blahs') 1. Clinical: Having a history of depression is associated with more severe withdrawal symptoms~including more severe depression. Some studies have found that many people with a history of major depression will have a new major depressive episode after quitting. The good news is there are wonderful medications available. (ask your doctor) 2. [u]However, in those with no history of depression, major depression after quitting is rare.[/u] If mild depression occurs, it will usually begin around week 2 or 3. (it does vary) We call week 1~Hell week. Week 2~Heck week and Week 3~Blah week. For mild depression you can try to identify your specific feelings at the time that you seem depressed. Are you actually feeling tired, lonely, bored, or hungry? Focus on and address these specific needs. Make a list of things that are upsetting to you and write down solutions for them. Increase physical activity! This is primo to help improve your mood and lift your depression. Also, focus on your strengths. Do not let your thoughts romance the cigarette! (that's BAD! Refuse to entertain those thoughts) AND Establish a list of your short- and long-term personal goals and REWARDS. Try some of these tips and 2tone just think of how healthy you will be when all smoking effects are gone from your body and you can call yourself smoke-FREE! :) [color=blue][font=Tahoma]All the best~[/color] [img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6922/n3us.gif[/img][size=3][color=blue]2[/color][/size][img]http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2344/k6ob.gif[/img][/color] [color=maroon][size=2][font=impact]I Killed the Nicodemon and got off scot-free and you can too! [/color][/siz

(((Freedomforme))) When I was where you are I would be crying one minute and then bust out laughing the next. The following week I became really agitated and depressed about almost everything. It got so bad, one day (when I was sitting on the bed feeling really sorry for myself) my little boy came in with a book ( he set the book down)and hugged me and said, "Momma, can I sing a song to you. I made it up myself" And suddenly his sweet smile was replaced with a grin and he began running his hands through his hair to make it stand up in the front and then he stated singing the following lyrics while doing an exagerated side to side butt dance. [i]Oh Holy crap! Some-body needs a nap! Daddy told me what to do, So I have come to read to you. 'Cause Oh Holy crap! Somebody needs a nap![/i] This silly little event suddenly put my mood in perspective for me. So long story short. Try to find the humor in it and take it one day at a time. All the mixed emotions level off. You'll be back to normal before you know it! :) Smoking kills. There is not ONE good thing about smoking. So whatever it takes to get beyond it's grip IS WORTH IT. I promise you. [img]http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9910/nopewz3.jpg[/img] [color=blue][font=Tahoma]All the best~[/color] [img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6922/n3us.gif[/img][size=3][color=blue]2[/color][/size][img]http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2344/k6ob.gif[/img][/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/20/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 506 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 11,152 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2530 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 9 [B]Mins:[/B] 5 [B]Seconds:[/B] 37

You'll quit scowling on a Tuesday :p -- Sometimes just 'venting' helped me. So keep posting. :) (Gonnadoit is right~sometimes it gets worse right before it gets better- But it gets so much better!) Also~ RE: Forgetting why you quit I believe education is vital. It forces us to take the blinders off. Most smokers avoid reading and thinking too much about the dangers of what they're doing. As you know, it's called denial, and the sooner it is removed, the quicker the recovery. So keep researching! I honestly think you are doing REALLY GOOD 2tone. Hang tough! [color=blue][font=Tahoma]All the best~[/color] [img]http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6922/n3us.gif[/img][size=3][color=blue]2[/color][/size][img]http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2344/k6ob.gif[/img][/color] [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 8/20/2005 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 506 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 11,150 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] $2530 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 49 [B]Hrs:[/B] 8 [B]Mins:[/B] 55 [B]Seconds:[/B] 1

I looked back to what I wrote about around the end of the second week of my quit and here is what I found. [quote] I do actually feel slightly better. To be truthful I feel worse but I no longer crave a cigarette every 5 minutes it is more like every hour or so. I am prepared with sugar free polos but I miss that first cigarette of the day which wakes me up ,I miss that cigarette after a meal , I miss that cigarette I take to break up my day ,I miss the few minutes of calm between the storms and no f*$%^�& polo can replace it. Read a bit on the internet that helped me which roughly said : We can all paint a picture in our minds of the most wonderful cigarette ever perhaps in a foreign country with a glass of champagne watching the sun set but we forget the desperation to leave a non smoking restaurant, to leave a cinema before the end of the film, to dash out of the shop, to leave your colleagues chatting while you dash out into the snow.I am having occasional anxiety attacks about very mundane things which has surprised me because I have not had any since i was a young lad. [/quote] Concentrate on your reasons for quitting and remember all the bad things about smoking. You are not alone and this will pass so stay quit. [B]My Milage:[/B] [B]My Quit Date: [/B] 5/30/2004 [B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 954 [B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 23,856 [B]Amount Saved:[/B] �6201 [B]Life Gained:[/B] [B]Days:[/B] 147 [B]Hrs:[/B] 18 [B]Mins:[/B] 9 [B]Seconds:[/B] 16