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Help please.... I think I'm falling apart

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Help please.... I think I'm falling apart

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 672

Henney..... i recall a 3 month itch, Dealing with stress, New lifestyle & EMOTIONS

You are a brand new Non-smoker living in an old smokers shadow. It sounds like you are at the 'how do i deal with lifes issues without a cigarette' phase.

Stress & 'Issues' are what makes life interesting. It may be that some of these things you are experiencing have been with you for a while. I know that as a smoker we choose to 'ignore' via a cigarette.

Look at it this way.... a non-smoker looks at life differently. During our quits we re-learn how to deal with lifes 'issues'. We re-learn how to : avoid, Completely ignore, Change our lifestyle or 'nip it in the bug smartly'... it's just another way of playing the game.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2005
Smoke-Free Days: 1294
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 45,290
Amount Saved: $8,411.00
Life Gained:
Days: 190 Hrs: 4 Mins: 16 Seconds: 29

Quit Meter

$13,245.54

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 662 Hours: 16

Minutes: 13 Seconds: 49

Life Gained
Quit Meter

3619

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

54,285

Cigarettes Not Smoked

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 90

I know exactly how you feel. I've been going through a lot of the same lately. Lots of blah.

When I really start to focus on how bad I feel, I find it helps to just go for a walk. Exercise is supposed to help lift your mood and I do think that it works. Believe me, somtimes it's a battle just to get myself off the couch, but I'm always glad that I did. It doesn't solve everything, but it's just enough to get my attention somewhere else for a while.

When you wake up at night, are you up for a long time or can you go back to sleep? If you're not able to go back to sleep, make sure you are getting out of bed rather than just tossing and turning. I used to have really bad sleep issues and the first thing the doctor told me was to get up for a few minutes if I hadn't fallen asleep after 10 or 15 minutes. I find it really helps...tossing and turning is one of the most frustrating things in the world and often makes the problem worse.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 6/19/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 29
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 348
Amount Saved: $91.35
Life Gained:
Days: 2 Hrs: 9 Mins: 55 Seconds: 31

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1080

Hey HP- I too am sorry to hear you're not feeling too good. I can identify with alot of the things you said you are feeling, in fact I did go to my doctors today and have been put on anti-depressants (again!!)- I wondered though the same as you, is it anything to do with the quit or is it me?? And I was interested by your last lines in which you said you had come off the patches (me too) and that up to then yours had been an easy quit (again-me too)

I dont want this post to detract from your original, its just i thought you might feel better if you knew I was feeling alot of what you are. I know I felt better reading yours.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/10/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 69
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 1,725
Amount Saved: $1,035.00
Life Gained:
Days: 8 Hrs: 4 Mins: 3 Seconds: 32

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

Hi there HP!!!

It DOES get better!!! I promise!! I was in the same fog for a long, long time! I couldn't focus too well on my job, so I came here and read and read some more! Then I posted and posted some more! The more I posted and helped and encouraged others, the better I felt! I posted and posted to help re-affirm my quit and further develope my confidence! It made me feel better knowing that I might have made a difference in someone elses quit!! Maybe that would also help you!

Do something nice for yourself more often! REWARDS are detrimental when you are in that fog!!! Think of something else that you haven't done in a long time that used to really get you pumped up and excited and make a plan to do that again! Call up an old friend you haven't talked to in ages!! It's all about rewards to ward off the fog!!!

Do a search on what your feeling, like "the blues or concentration" or some other key words!!! There is a wealth of information in the forums and it isn't too hard to find! But since you asked, I'll look some up and bump them up to date for you to read. I'll bet some others here will do the same!!!

It DOES get better!!! You're doing so great in your quit... just take it one day at a time!!!

Jim

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 3/5/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 135
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 3,375
Amount Saved: $556.88
Life Gained:
Days: 22 Hrs: 2 Mins: 28 Seconds: 23

Quit Meter

$45,802.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1096 Hours: 4

Minutes: 13 Seconds: 21

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6107

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

183,210

Cigarettes Not Smoked

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 31

hey penny,

am sorry to hear your not feeling to good. Although I am a long way behing you with my quit I know exactly what you mean about feeling depressed and I too feel as though my little happy ray of sunshine has set, and with work am so ready to quit the job which I have loved for ten years!! I quit cold turkey and not sure if this is just how it is coming of the smokes or if there is another reason for me feeling sad!!....However I find that when I feel really bad I am enjoying some time out on my own (usually watching my fave tv show for a while with my feline friend on my lap just relaxing) or going off to the gym or of course signing on here!!!!

Penny you have done sooooo very well and you give all us newbies so much inspiration to keep going with our quit, you are a now a non smoker and have really proved you can do this so please please keep hanging tough, be strong and feel very proud of every minute of your 108 smoke free days! please keep us informed of how your doing and am very sure you will receive lots of kind words and advice from all those who are much further ahead with their quit and have much more experience with these feelings than i do!!! Just know that I really am rooting for you and hope that you can work thru this hard time.....good luck penny and stay close to the site x x NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE x x

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 6/24/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 24
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 600
Amount Saved: �24.00
Life Gained:
Days: 1 Hrs: 21 Mins: 9 Seconds: 39

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1693

Henny Penny,

It's good to hear from you. Congratulations on 108 days of remaining smoke free! You should feel extremely proud of yourself. In regards to your depressed mood, have you visited your family doctor? It could just be temporary, however I do suggest going to a physician.

Has anything else in your life changed that would affect your mood?

Members, do you have any experiences you can share with Henny Penny or any advice that may help?

Breanne, Bilingual Health Educator

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 433

I've been plunking along here but feel like I am going downhill.

Maybe a better analogy is that I seem to be frozen in place.

Frozen solid. I just can't get it together.

I started off my quit with great enthusiasm and made it through the first month just great. Gung Ho! Found this site around the 3 week mark. I remember making it to 30days and feeling so proud of myself. I remember the reward I bought and still makes me happy to see it.

That was about the last happy time I remember.

I feel like a fog settled in around day 55. I can't concentrate, no work is getting done. I have no joy for my work - a job that used to be my joy.

I barely slog through it. My husband used to call me a "dynamo" but now I can hardly get up in the morning to head off to the flea market. Used to be, I could hardly sleep for my excitement to get there first.... ahead of the competition. Now I walk around there like I could care less. In a total fog. Can't concentrate. Can't think.

The work I do also completely changed around that time so I've just been waiting for the other shoe to drop which has been major, major stress. Do I take on the challenge? No, I just stare at my computer screen.

I feel like this has been going on for the last 50days. Normal? How long are most people depressed after quitting? I'm eating waaaaaaaay too much. Seriously too much. Not sleeping well due to a second major stress issue that came in about a month ago. I'm getting a wake up call from Mr. Stress at 330AM every morning, used to be I could sleep like a rock. All seems like classic depressive stuff but does it ever go away? Asking if this is some temporary symptom of quitting ? Or is this what I really am? Is something wrong with me or is this common? Has anyone been through this?

This is around my 108 day mark but I only went off the patches at day 90. A little longer than most but I had to do it to maintain sanity as learned from a quit a few years ago. Up until day 55 or so, this was the easiest quit ever for me.

Thanks everyone.. I admire everyone on this site for their great determination!

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 4/1/2008
Smoke-Free Days: 108
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 2,592
Amount Saved: $622.08
Life Gained:
Days: 13 Hrs: 6 Mins: 3 Seconds: 26

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Help please.... I think I'm falling apart