Time to Rebuild

[Minnie Mouse]

We carved out really deep smoking neuro pathways in our brain for years when we smoked.  It was easier for many of us to postpone, procrastinate, and avoid people, issues, and situations using smoking as a crutch instead of dealing with our life stuff head on.

 

The new neuro pathways we make when we quit smoking, the healthy recovery ones, just aren't that deeply ingrained in us in the beginning so its easy, even compelling, to want to revert back to our old familiar patterns.  It takes time & repetition to rebuild new pathways to replace the old ones (and to stop our addiction from leading us astray).

 

Be kind to yourself (especially with your self-talk).  Don't judge the urges you are having;  just turn them away.  It gets much easier & better with more smoke free time.  Every time you say "NO" the concrete foundation you are building becomes stronger & firmer.  Patience.  It takes time to build new auto "go to habit" responses.  It takes time to rebuild US.

 

(Written by me 12-3-21.  Nicotine addiction (or any addiction for that matter) physically changes our brain.  It takes a while to recover ourselves once our addiction is dormant (but still lying in wait should we ever decide to use our DOC again) so remember to be kind to yourself.  Best Wishes.)

[DenaliBlues]

Well said @Minnie Mouse! I agree with this. Not only do we need to create new - hopefully healthier - coping strategies, we also need to rewire the reward centers in our brains.

 

For a while after I quit, everything seemed flat. Nothing satisfied. Because I’d scorched all the dopamine receptors in my brain by force-feeding them with nicotine. I thought I’d never feel happy again. 

 

But I was wrong. That malaise was temporary. After a while, I started to be able to enjoy things again… the taste of food, the feeling of a cool breeze on a hot day… the fizz of my favorite beverage. Life’s little pleasures. 

 

It’s a beautiful part of recovery, actually.