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Feeling hopeless

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 175

I can relate to yoir extreme emotions and depressive feelings when trying to quit. I have felt like this in the past and had many failed attempts as a result of feeling so sad and depressed when quitting. One thing lve learnt is dont give up quitting ...it gets easier. I still havent succeeded but this last time l tried was nowhere near as hard as all the other times (l just bungled it). One day you just become more ready for it. The other thing that helped me through the beginning is NRT (nicotine replacement therapy). I find the oral spary really helpful because when l crave l can at least spray some nicotine in my mouth. It has such a strong mint taste that it lasts in your mouth a couple of minutes . Its not as good as cold turkey but l couldnt cope without it. Im also an ex drug user and l understand your desire for freedom of every addictive thing that keeps us bound. Keep on quitting...2 cigs in 2 days is an awesome effort. And keep us posted.

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Days: 101 Hours: 3

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5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11213

Welcome Desiree,

First of all, congratulations on succeeding at beating one addiction. That is amazing in itself. What did you learn from that experience? How can you apply what you learned to this quit?

All your feelings are, unfortunately, pretty normal. Nicotine addiction is one of the toughest to beat. The good news is - the withdrawal does go away and you can feel more confident in your quit. I encourage you to work on the program to create a quit plan. I also encourage you to talk to your doctor about quit aids that may help you. You do not have to white knuckle through this. Try to access as many supports as you can. We will be here to support you every step of the way. You can do this!

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 180

Hiya, welcome to the quit zone! I'm in recovery, too (just celebrated 3 years last week), and 8 months into my quit. So, quitting substances really blew, right? That was not a fun period of readjusting to a new physiology, but ultimately, I feel a billion times better today than I did when I was using. It's just one of those facts of life - detoxing off any addictive substance is going to involve a period of discomfort, and emotional discomfort is a gigantic part of it. The key for me was keeping in mind that this was going to be a PERIOD of discomfort. Not a lifetime of pain, but merely a finite period where I am going to not feel my best. One of the things that I repeated to myself, ad nauseum, during the early days of my quit was, "Do it now or do it later," and what I meant by this was that, if I really wanted to quit, I had to radically accept that feeling ****ty was going to be part of it. Putting it off for another week or another year wasn't going to magically exempt me from the ****ty feelings. And if I HAD to feel that way at some point, then I might as well do it right now and get it over with. I'd rather be standing on the other side of it than shaking with dread and trying to mentally bargain my way out of the inevitable. I 100% assure you, IT IS TEMPORARY. And it didn't even take *that* long to start feeling better. Maybe a couple of weeks? And even before it was all sorted, I started getting flashes of elation that I was actually doing it within the very first week. I hung on to those flashes of elation instead of the flashes of panic. Our bodies recalibrate. Our minds recalibrate. It gets easier. Then it gets significantly easier. Then you are free. I found journalling my process on this site really helpful. Thoughts feel so big when they're in our brains, but they tend to shrink right down once we put them out in the world where others can see them.

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 10

Hi,

I'm in recovery too! I made it two weeks not smoking and then caved and smoked over the weekend. I completely understand how you're feeling and it's great that you can see that the only pleasure in cigarettes is coming from a temporary nicotine relief. Smoking over the weekend has reminded me how much I hate it. Back to square one for me, but this time a little wiser and a little more determined.

Wishing you the very best of luck!

Eliza xx

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$363,256.00

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Days: 3219 Hours: 18

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5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 796

Hi Desiree,

Welcome to the stop smoking center. "I just did the Allen Carr's Easy way to stop smoking and there is Nothing easy about this for me." Quitting smoking is not easy by any means. If it was easy everyone would be quitting.

"if you stop purely on willpower then there's no point and you are going to fail" I would have to disagree with that statement. In my opinion you NEED willpower, and the right mental attitude to quit and make it stick. "this withdrawal has felt like hell so far" That's why the first week is called hell week. Nothing pleasant about it, other than you have quit inhaling poisons into your body. "I have smoked 2 rolled cigarettes, I can see that the only enjoyment I am getting is relief from the discomfort the cigarettes are causing. the relief doesn't last long either" The relief does not last due to your brain has grown accustomed to the nicotine over the years and it wants more as soon as you put out the cigarette. Its due to the Dopamine receptors in your brain.

Quoted from Verywellmind:

"The nicotine in inhaled tobacco smoke moves from the lungs into the bloodstream and up to a smoker's brain within seven to 10 seconds. Once there, nicotine triggers a number of chemical reactions that create temporary feelings of pleasure for the smoker, but these sensations are short-lived, subsiding within minutes.

As the nicotine level drops in the blood, smokers feel edgy and agitated—the start of nicotine withdrawal. In order to relieve this discomfort, smokers light up another cigarette... and then another... and another. And so it goes—the vicious cycle of nicotine addiction. One cigarette is never enough, a fact that every smoker knows all too well."

Does this sound familiar to you?

"Mentally I just don't see that I could ever be okay without them. I feel so trapped. I've been crying and feeling so panicked and helpless". These feelings are normal at the start of your quit journey. They WILL subside in time. You just have to be stronger than the urge. As time goes by the urges will become less intense day by day.

If you have the time, read through the forums here on this website. There is some great information in here about what you are going through and how to cope/deal with it. Also go through the "my program" at the top of the page. It can also help you out. Hang in there Desiree, it will get better and easier in awhile. The time it takes is different for each person though.

Stay strong.

Not One Puff Ever

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Stay safe & Strong.

Not One Puff Ever (NOPE)

Tim

5 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1

Hi guys,

I just did the Allen Carr's Easy way to stop smoking and there is Nothing easy about this for me.

The guy doing the course said that if you stop purely on willpower then there's no point and you are going to fail, this makes me so nervous because this thing has such a hold on me it feels like the only way I will get through is white knuckling.

I'm in recovery from drug addiction for a year and a half and I really just want to be free from all addictive substances. I was smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day and this withdrawal has felt like hell so far.

It's been 2 days and I have smoked 2 rolled cigarettes in that time (normally I was smoking 2 boxes a day so 2 instead of 40 is pretty good).

I tried to smoke these 2 consciously, not drinking coffee or sitting in front of my laptop. I can see that the only enjoyment I am getting is relief from the discomfort the cigarettes are causing. the relief doesn't last long either. In this way I don't feel like I'm a complete failure for having them because I did learn something.

Mentally I just don't see that I could ever be okay without them. I feel so trapped. I've been crying and feeling so panicked and helpless. I feel so irritated and agitated all the time, its really so uncomfortable and I feel like there will be no end, I was so hooked on cigarettes for so long.

Did anyone else feel these extreme emotional responses to stopping? Do they pass? How long will it take?

Any guidance or support will be much appreciated

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Feeling hopeless