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So far I've not smoked 152 cigarettes and not spent £40 (thanks Chndru).
On Monday and Tuesday I had less that two hours sleep each night; the brain seemingly going into some sort of mad, frenzied overdrive, bombarding me with wave after wave of random thoughts and images that seemingly would never end.
I'm starting to dream again, but they're like some sort of acid trip. Wow, I wish I could film those dreams!
Concentration has been a somewhat wayward - mistakes have been creeping into my work. However, thay have been rectified (I hope).
Time is altered. The secret to understanding time is in cigarettes - I'm sure of it. Stop smoking and your perception of time alters completely. Time slows down without cigarettes; it's like being a bored child again - when an afternoon would seem like a year and a hour like a week.
Ventured to the pub late Friday night. Boy, that was tough. Put a drink in your hand and suddenly that's it; you NEED a cigarette. Still, survived the pub without one.
A week on and sleep patterns are returning to normal. Cravings are minor - although they may well increase as the next couple of weeks progress. I've had a headache that no amount of pills can cure for eight days now. A cigarette would cure it in an instant, but that's tough; I'm opting for the headache - I know it'll pass.
Can anyone sticky me a cigarette ;-)
Syzygy
congrats on the 1st week
take 1 day at a time and youll be fine
the hardest bit is over
just keep at it mate
Shak
Remember if you fall just pick yourself back up and make another go of it.
Personally took me several years to be what I consider successful at it. ( I still smoke when I am at a bar, which is something like once a month or longer )
Remember if you fall just pick yourself back up and make another go of it.
That's good advice.
Another week and the strangeness of all the cold turkey symptoms will begin to subside. And you will begin to notice the immediate benefits....
Food tastes better
You smell better
Your wallet is fatter
:)
Maybe I should start a new thread.
"I have had a cigarette everyday for 4873 days!"
That equates approximately to one 2 mile long cigarette so far, going by the small amount I smoke.
Maybe I should quit!
Ska
I quit about 10 yrs ago, and that 1st week was HARD! Make no doubt about that. Second week was much less severe. By the third, it was not difficult at all to be without a cig, but I still wanted one. It took a longer while for that nagging feeling that "just one wouldn't hurt" to subside.
I still smoke when I am at a bar, which is something like once a month or longer
Then you're a smoker. Every time you light up, you restart the addiction.
Syzygy, don't think about the cigarettes you're not smoking. That's a past part of your life. Think of yourself as a non-smoker.
The symptoms start to disappear after a couple of weeks. After four weeks, I noticed that I didn't have cravings any more, but that seems to have been a bit longer than most people take.
As RossWal notes, you'll get the feeling from time to time that one cigarette won't make a difference. Remember two things for these times: that one cigarette will restart the addiction and that giving up is hell. One cigarette will therefore mean that you will have to go through hell once again.
After a while, the psychological habits disappear - roundabout the time that you stop feeling that you have one hand too many :)
This time around quitting has been easier. That's not to say it's easy - not by a long way - but certainly less stressful than on previous attempts. Going into the pub is now not a problem and I have to say that in these situations the inhalators are superb. Still, it's no time for complacency; a 15-20 year habit of 20-30 cigarettes a day will take more than 1 week, 4 days and 11 hours to get rid of...
My key problems now are an addiction to fried chicken (fried chicken from the back streets of Islington - lol!) and too many bouts of boredom. Oh, and spending way too much money. On the basis that I'm saving every day, so I go out and spend what I've saved - and more...lol!
So, if my impending cholesterol problem, boredom and bankruptcy don't get me I shall stay on course and remain a non-smoker.
Will let you know how I'm doing after six months...
Thanks again.
Syzygy
addiction to fried chicken...and spending way too much money.
Time is altered. The secret to understanding time is in cigarettes - I'm sure of it. Stop smoking and your perception of time alters completely. Time slows down without cigarettes; it's like being a bored child again - when an afternoon would seem like a year and a hour like a week.
It's been 9 months for me since I quit, so I still remember those first weeks very well. Horrible! Seriosly, some of the worst days of my life. But it does get easier. Now I only deal with "the first time" syndrome. The "first time flying" without smoking, the "first nice summer day" without smoking, stuff like that.
As far as drinking....well...that's still tricky;-) The way I get through it? I tell myself, "Well, at least I'm not giving up drinking!" : )
Syzygy
Syzygy, that was a major step towards freedom.
But just dont sit on your laurels. Even if nicotine withdrawal symtoms will slowly vanish from now, 20 years of smoking habbit will need about 3 years to completely dissapear.
Just trow away the nicotine inhalator, it will just stretch your suffering.
I quit over three years ago. It's still basically one day at a time, but I don't think about it much anymore. It's really nice to be able to sit through an entire movie. I don't mind long flights anymore. There's no more frantic rushes to get to smoking areas. It's a better way to live.
