DenaliBlues

^ ^ So true!! I quit more than 18 months ago and I can tell my brain is not fully healed yet. It is happening, but slowly. The “deceiving allure” still calls me. Well NOPE on that! Gonna face forward, no going back.

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nope

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NOPE

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NOPE

Enjoy!

Ranted and raved

Hey, @Slow progress! Great to see you. Love love love that your quit is going strong!

Mop the floor

NOPE!

Glad you are feeling better. Attaway to ride out the wave! R/E feeling embarrassed, I would offer a counterpoint: Expressing our struggles is a strong act of showing up for ourselves. Addiction thrives in darkness and isolation, so speaking up lets some air and sunshine in, and strengthens our quits. It also helps others. Anything you say offhand today might really help someone else who is struggling tomorrow. Personally, I benefit hugely from exchanges like this and reading everyone’s comments… they give me insight and bolster my quit. So please keep sharing!

Oh M, I’ve been there. Bigtime. There were phases of the quitting process where I felt massive waves of cravings… restlessness, grief, feelings of falling, feeling desperately incomplete. I promise that it gets better. Every craving conquered builds your quit muscles. This is the “tantrum” stage where the addiction wants its control back. But you will NOT die without smoking. And you will NOT feel this way forever. The cravings are commercials, not commands. They are just noisy blah blah trying to sell you s—t you don’t wanna buy. Change the channel. Again and again. Because your quit is precious and worth protecting with all your might. You are doing the right thing by writing here and acknowledging the experience. Re-read everything you can about addiction, and double down on staying busy. You can do this.

NOPE

I know it’s tough, but the only way to break free is to take smoking off the table, @Kdad. No negotiation, no bargaining, no increments. There are a million things you can do to manage your restlessness and cravings - keep distracting yourself. You know that quitting gets easier with time, you just need to stand tough to make it through those first few days. Give yourself that gift!

Sorry to hear that you are going through hard times, @Kdad, but I’m glad you came back here for support. The thing with smoking (and other addictions) is that they are demoralizing, isolating, and they erode our self esteem. You don’t need all of that junk that when coping with the loss of a relationship! So saddle up and re-start that quit. It will be hard at first but will ultimately help you feel better. You are not alone, we are here to help you!