Almost 7 months , the hole gets bigger !!

[Papagoat]

Hello , 

 

    It’s been almost 7 months since I quit . At first I felt like a new man !  Now , 7 months latter ,  every day gets worse and worse . 
   I smoked for over 30 years at least a pack a day sometimes 2 , as the years went by I started noticing the negative effects smoking was having on me , but after I quit my breathing is much worse, but more importantly is the emptiness I feel , it’s like I have a hole in my soul and nothing can fix it . Coffee and food help a tiny bit , but I really just want to go back to smoking , I felt so much better emotionally. 
Of course there are a lot of up sides , for one the money I’m saving is fantastic! No more cigarette smell , my teeth are whiter and my skin is looking better, but .... I’m not sure if it’s worth it . 
Have any of you experienced this ? 
is it the addiction never going to let go ? 
is this what “recovery “ feels like ? 
 

I’m looking  forward to hearing from you .

 

Thanks  

John 

[Paul723]

You have quit smoking but your brain is having trouble accepting that fact.  It is like the final stage of grieving, you will feel better when you know that you are done with cigarettes.  The day this happens will be like magic.  You must keep going.  Read on the forum to help you get a better understanding of the process of freeing yourself from nicotine addiction.

[Doreensfree]

7 Months is still a very early quit .....

Your body has some serious healing to do ....you have been feeding it poison for years ....up to 40 times a day 

Be patient ....Quitting is a journey ...with ups and downs ....until one day ....Wham the magic happens ,and it all slots together ...

If you have health issues you worry about always seek medical advice ...

Take a seat on the Train ...travel along with us ...there is so much great information here to help you along ..

Play games .. have fun ...

Quitting is not all doom and gloom ...

[JohnQ]

4 hours ago, Papagoat said:

...but more importantly is the emptiness I feel...

...but I really just want to go back to smoking , I felt so much better emotionally... 

... I’m not sure if it’s worth it ....

 

Welcome @Papagoat

 

I smoked for nearly 40 years, I quit and failed many times because of similar junky thoughts as you've stated above.

 

This time I'm confident that it is my permanent quit because I have learned so much about the Nicotine addiction, and getting the tremendous support from members here.

I now realize that all the junkie thoughts about missing smoking because I thought it kept me calm, helped me relax, helped me concentrate, filled the emptiness, etc. were all lies.

 

I now realize that I was just simply an ADDICT who needed to feed the Nicotine addiction, which had controlled almost 40 years of my life and I'm taking it back. I treasure my FREEDOM from Nicotine addiction which helps me squash all those junkie thoughts, those perceptions, those lies.

 

Please do yourself a favor and go educate yourself about this nasty addiction, there are a lot of great materials in the static posts in this forum and from Joel Spitzer's library as well.

Obtain an understanding about this addiction will help you get rid of those junkie thoughts.

 

By the way, A big Congratulations on your 7 months of Freedom!  Treasure it!

 

 

 

[NADA]

9 hours ago, Papagoat said:

Have any of you experienced this ? 
is it the addiction never going to let go ? 
is this what “recovery “ feels like ? 

 

Hi John. The answer to your question is yes, I have experienced this. I kept a journal on a smoking app for nearly 2 years with a few words (almost daily) about how my quit was going. I was still having some hellacious days after many months.  Here's my entry on June 22, 2016:

 

"7 months quit today. Still craving frequently and feeling like crap! Thought I'd be over it by now." 

 

It can take some people a long time to get to the place where they feel like the corner has been turned and it's no longer a struggle. I was one of those people. All I can say is eventually the addiction does lose its grip and freedom emerges victorious. It's worth whatever amount of time and effort you need to render. Keep focusing on those positives you mentioned. I also encourage you to take up some type of physical activity to help focus your mind and body on a beneficial course. Hang in there.....you're worth it.   

Edited September 24, 2020 by BKP

[jillar]

Hi John, congratulations on 7 months quit, you're doing great! I have to agree with the others. I smoked almost a pack a day for 35 years and my whole first year was rough with me feeling sorry for myself that I don't "get" to smoke anymore because of my breathing problems. I even wrote a post about it when I was 6 months quit.

I liken quitting to the death of someone close because really when you think about it smoking was our constant companion for x amount of years. Going everywhere with us and doing everything we did. Then suddenly it's gone...............

For me it takes about a year to accept the death of someone close and smoking was no exception....

Please keep in mind too that this pandemic is playing on everyone's well being mentally and some of how you're feeling could be attributed to that as well. And lastly, if your depression is too much to handle please consider talking to your dr. They can usually give you a temporary med while your body is readjusting to life without nicotine.

[breath]

It was at about 7 months that I noticed the first major change. Non smoking felt "normal" as a day today activity. Imperceptible but I knew this was new. At about 14 months i felt a complete non smoker! The "process" was over!

Ever since those days it has not got any better than that! Believe me - from where it started, it felt like a miracle but miracles are rare. Rather i followed the strategy of NOPE...even though i had never heard of it. Hundreds of millions of people have quit for good. I was just the next on the FREEDOM BUS.

You have quit for 7 months. The worst is over. Allow yourself no slack but keep doing "freedom" everyday. You will change.

I will have quit 19 years next Friday.

Edited September 25, 2020 by breath

[Angeleek]

Hi John, Papagoat, and welcome to the forum.

 

Nicotine is like any other dope.  It hijacks our inner happiness by turning off our brain's own dopamine production, so that we become dependent on the nicotine rush in order to feel "happy".  So yes, it is worth it to stay the course.  You will notice the change, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week or next month, but do please hang in there because you're almost there.

 

Somebody once said, "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."  This is so true with nicotine recovery.  It doesn't happen overnight or even in a few months for most. But persevere and believe that you will get your mojo back because you will.  If it's a deep depression, do seek mental help. But if it's the ain't-got-no-nicotine blues,  then hang in there, John, cuz soon you'll be whistling the Freedom tunes!

[Sirius]

I think you might be experiencing "no man's land."

 

You quit smoking,  The honeymoon is over and...is this it?

 

I don't believe everyone goes through this stage.  I know I skirted it.

Your looking back at your smoking days and thinking things were

better back then.  

 

Questions for you.  How often do you find yourself in a good mood?

Throughout an average day are you mostly in a good mood, bad mood, 

even keel, numb, irritable, sad, energetic...?

How does your current moods compare to when you smoked?