Hi, Ive been smoking about a pack a day for 3 years now. Lately I’ve been trying to cut back/ quit, but when I do I feel AWFUL. It’s not a sick or ill feeling, it’s just a feeling like something should be happening. This is probably just anxiety, I know, but it’s a terrible feeling. How long did it take you to feel normal after you quit? Did you feel any anxiety or something like it?
Recently my wife and I decided we should quit smoking. We tried almost everything and it didn’t work for us. We felt the same as you, any time we quit no matter what with we felt sick, but finally we found these new electronic cigarettes. They are fantastic, and we are slowly working on lowering the amount of nicotine we smoke each time we refill. It’s working great, we aren’t feeling bad at all, and I love the taste and as a couple we are saving almost $300 a month by switching over. I put up a blog chronicling our adventure if anyone wants to read.
http://www.quitcigs.us.tt
I know it isn’t 100% up to date. I wrote some posts while I was on vacation and I will get them up asap, I promise.
Sorry to say, my mom quit smoking too, and it took her like a year. My mom was just angry all the time. She also had a lot of mood swings. God Bless You.
That depends.
I didn’t feel anything due to the special method that I used to quit smoking. You might feel like that your hand (right or left that is used to holding a cigarette) has no place to stay. It’s just a habit. When you get used to it, you will be okay.
What you’re going through is normal – but only because you are doing things the wrong way
First of all cutting down doesn’t work – it will never reduce the withdrawals. If anything it just makes it worse, because you are always holding out for a cigarette – so you actually enjoy your cigarettes more when you do have one. If you quit after cutting down you will go through the same withdrawals as when you just quit. I would suggest you just keep smoking as usual until you quit.
What you need to do is get into the right head-space. You have to realize that you don’t get anything out of smoking.
Be glad you don’t have to do that anymore – that you are getting rid of this filthy addiction. Never think you will miss it – that’s what makes it hard. But instead see yourself as happy, content and proud that you’ve done it.
Theoretically the withdrawals will only last for 72 hrs – most will be gone after only a day. As the nicotine leaves your body (within 3 days) the pangs disappear as well. If you still feel them afterwards that’s due to mental fabrication.
But… if you prepare yourself properly, you can easily override the withdrawal pangs completely and it won’t even bother you at all to be in situations or with people where before you smoked. I know that from experience – my partner and plenty of my friends still smoked all around me when I quit – no problems at all!
This is the trick: Sort out your head BEFORE you quit. Trying to do it afterwards is what makes it hard. Look forward to being without cigarettes!!!
Go to the resource below for more info on that.