New to Site - Weird Question

[Jazzmine]

I found this site online while I was searching for the answer to a question.

 

I quit smoking almost 6-1/2 years ago and have not had one puff of anything since. I despise the smell of cigarette smoke. But WHY do I still smoke in my dreams? At least once a week I have a dream and I'm smoking in it.

 

After this long, certainly the habits and cravings are long gone so why on Earth do I smoke cigarettes in my dreams? The only "answer" I found online is I'm craving nicotine, which I'm clearly not.

 

Thank you in advance for any insights.

 

Jazz

[Reciprocity]

Hi Jazzmine! Welcome to the Train and congrats on over 6 years quit  

I'm certainly no expert on dreams, but I would think it probably has nothing to do with you subconsciously wanting to smoke or still craving to smoke but rather some sort of imprint on your brain that was crafted during all the years you smoked and it is somehow summonsed when you dream? That's my best guess anyway but the important thing is that you don't act on it. What you do when you're awake is the critical thing so just keep the quit you have. That's all you really need to do. Feel free to hang around if you like. We're a pretty close group here who all have one thing in that we are all quitters and stick around to try and help others looking to put their nicotine addiction to sleep.

[Sazerac]

Dreams are really common in the early days of a quit as the lung's cilia sheds the poisons.

This can alert your sense of smell and taste and migrate into your dream.

 

Do you have some subconscious or conscious ambivalence about your quit ?

Do you still romanticize about smoking ?

Do any of these Red Flags  ring a bell  ? 

 

Nicotine Addiction doesn't go away, we can put it to sleep for a long time

but, it is instantly re-activated after one puff.

That is why we commit to NOPE (Not One Puff EVER)

Vigilance is essential, no matter how long we have quit.

 

Congratulations on your Six Years of Freedom, @Jazzmine  !

and welcome to the QTrain.

Protect your quit.

S

 

[Martian5]

interesting question Jazzmine.  I too have dreams where I am smoking to this day -- and I mean I fully experience smoking so much I feel like I have broken my quit upon waking up.  As said above I believe it is imprinted in the brain as are other experiences you have gone thru.  So long as it is not in your daily waking life and you are not really craving I believe that you are good.  And by the way awesome job on the 6 1/2 year quit!!!

 

By the way not a weird question, I have asked or mentioned here a couple/three times!!!!!!

Edited August 21, 2019 by Martian5

[Jazzmine]

Thank you all! I have woken up, upset that I've broken my quit. It's so strange to me! I definitely think I romanticized smoking in the sense that I always felt it calmed me, which is a normal reaction to feeding an addiction. There are still RARE times I think having a drag would be amazing, BUT then I think it would taste like ass and I see other people smoking and it looks and smells disgusting. I also would never disappoint myself by smoking again. Being a quitter is amazing!

[jillar]

Welcome aboard jazzmine, congrats on that awesome quit you have I wouldn't worry about it since you don't wake up craving a smoke after you have one of those dreams. 

I think that even though over six years quit is a long time, you probably smoked for much longer than that so I would imagine that it could take another six years before those dreams stop, or at least occur less often.

Or maybe getting it off your chest is all that was needed and after today you never have one again

[Reciprocity]

9 minutes ago, Jazzmine said:

Thank you all! I have woken up, upset that I've broken my quit. It's so strange to me! I definitely think I romanticized smoking in the sense that I always felt it calmed me, which is a normal reaction to feeding an addiction. There are still RARE times I think having a drag would be amazing, BUT then I think it would taste like ass and I see other people smoking and it looks and smells disgusting. I also would never disappoint myself by smoking again. Being a quitter is amazing!

Pretty sure it would taste like crap and you would gag and cough while your head would spin from dizziness. I can't imagine the deflation of suddenly realizing you had blown a 6 year quit  Oh man! Don't ever do that please 

[Sazerac]

The more information we acquire about nicotine addiction,

the better prepared we are to identify triggers or chinks in our armor.

We need to be ferocious and completely truthful with ourselves

to conquer this addiction.

If you know you still harbor some romance, you have the skills to route out those thoughts

well before they lead you astray.

Keep your focus.  This whole quitting smoking business is a continuing journey, for true.

[Boo]

3 hours ago, Jazzmine said:

I quit smoking almost 6-1/2 years ago and have not had one puff of anything since. I despise the smell of cigarette smoke. But WHY do I still smoke in my dreams? At least once a week I have a dream and I'm smoking in it.

 

Dreams are fascinating and confusing.  A lot of subconscious clutter comes to the surface when we dream.  Many studies have been performed and many smart people have spent time thinking about the subject.  And still, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why we dream the dreams we dream.

 

Smoking is an addiction that encompassed every facet of our life.  We smoked cigarettes all day.  We smoked through the entire gamut of emotional states.  The cigarette was always there and in turn became a part of our identity.  Then we quit.  The process of quitting forced us to undo years of conditioning.  Quitting smoking brings about a seismic shift in our brains.  I suppose that the dreams could be little more than lingering remnants of the years we spent conditioning our brains to believe in the cigarette and identify as a smoker.

 

Vivid dreams can produce powerful feelings.  The realization that it was just a dream should provide comfort.  I wouldn't sweat it if I were you.

 

By the way, congratulations on six-and-a-half years of freedom.

[Doreensfree]

Hello and welcome Jazz...

I have never had one of those smoking dreams that some folk experience....Thankfully...

I never dream full stop ...I don't think I go in to a deep sleep enough ...

I can only imagine how annoying this must be over 6 years of Quitting...It just shows the power of the mind ..and how smoking was inbeded in our brains and memories...

All you can do is keep rejoicing youv,e quit ,and hopefully they will in time disappear......

Congrats by the way on a Quit to be proud of ,for sure ...and it would be nice for you to stick around and support  the folks who follow you ...

[johnny5]

Welcome to the site, Jazzmine and congrats on a fabulous quit.

 

I had regular smoking dreams for several years after I quit.  I can't remember the last one I had but they can be very scary and it was frustrating that I continued to have them for so long.

 

Nobody seems to really have a concrete understanding of what dreams mean despite a lot of fascinating studies that have been done over the years regarding them.  Regarding smoking dreams, I think smoking was such a big part of our lives for so long that it can still regularly be a part of our subconscious world long after we've quit.  That's my theory at least.

 

Those dreams are frustrating but as long as you don't light up in the awake world, you are ok.

[Christian99]

I haven't had a single craving or even passing thought of smoking in well over fifteen years, yet I have periodic smoking dreams like the ones you describe.  They're deeply unsettling.  A friend of mine who has advanced training in psychology and whose insights I value suggested to me a few years ago that the dreams probably have nothing to do with my quit proper and instead may be a way for my subconscious to examine/express broader issues like success/failure, the "imposter syndrome," etc. 

 

Christian99

17 1/2+ Years Quit 

[Roark]

I don't remember where but I read someone suggesting that smoking dreams may actually be a physical reaction to your body (specifically, your lungs) pushing up and out some of the cigarette waste.  The taste of whatever it is triggers your memory.  You somewhat taste tar so your brain kicks into gear and provides the context (a smoking dream) to explain it.  Because that was the last time you "sensed" whatever it is.

 

That being said, 6.5 years later seems a bit long for the lungs to still be getting rid of smoke crud.

[Sazerac]

8 minutes ago, Roark said:

I don't remember where but I read someone suggesting that smoking dreams may actually be a physical reaction to your body (specifically, your lungs) pushing up and out some of the cigarette waste.  The taste of whatever it is triggers your memory.  You somewhat taste tar so your brain kicks into gear and provides the context (a smoking dream) to explain it.  Because that was the last time you "sensed" whatever it is.

 

 

 

 

[sgt.barney]

On 8/21/2019 at 7:12 PM, Jazzmine said:

But WHY do I still smoke in my dreams? At least once a week I have a dream and I'm smoking in it.

 

 

 

Because : Addiction. 
Duh ?!? <boggle>
It's kinda the WholeIssue™ with this thing, right? 

EZPZ

[d2e8b8]

Sometimes dreams can be a symbolic representation of a concept (like dreaming of being naked).  Would you have any other habit or something in your life that 'could' be represented by the smoking dream?

 

I'm not a dream expert so don't really know but there may be people who could help interpret the dream.

Edited August 30, 2019 by d2e8b8

[greenlight]

@Jazzmine I get this too from time to time and I quit 7+ years ago. For me this has always been the addiction speaking, it amazes me how strong it is. While my awake brain may not even think about smoking my subconscious mind does. After these dreams I'm always really confused/distraught at the fact that I've smoked and it takes me a good while to realise I've not actually messed this up. Sometimes I'm confused in the dream too. it's the power of addiction. 

Edited September 1, 2019 by greenlight

[Wayne045]

I think a dream is just a dream.   I've had smoking dreams, but I also do other stuff in dreams that I have/haven't done in real life.   Like I remember this one dream that I was back working my very first job as a sacker at a grocery store and then suddenly the scene changes to me helping my old high school English teacher fix her car.   The job is a real thing that happened, but hanging out with my high school English teacher, that never happened, and I've never fixed a car before (beyond changing a flat tire).

 

I just go with the flow.