3 min, my ass

[kiwilee]

Well it's been said that the average craving is 3 min. On day 6 I have had a 5 hour craving!! I can get distracted for a bit, but it's this underlying urge all night. Grrrrr. I just keep saying nope!!

 

I don't want just one because that means a million. So what do you guys do to make the craving go away?

[BAT]

You do what you're doing now. Stay hooked to this website or any other stop smoking site. Post and read, post and read ..... it gets better I promise  :)

 

[Doreensfree]

Check our your first few days nicotine free...at the top of the page...plenty of good folks here..

Your stronger than any crave..do anything..just don't smoke..xx

[Reciprocity]

I'm not sure I had urges to smoke the first while after I quit. Wanting to smoke was like just a constant thing occupying my mind. So much so that the first week or so I could barely function at day to day life. As Bat said, you just do whatever you have to do to get through that part of your quit. As D said, you are stronger than that feeling of needing to smoke - believe it, you ARE. You just have to want it badly enough to get through it. It's not comfortable. It's not pleasant but it's so worth it once you get through that stage of your quit. Also, that's why you must never take even one puff because that will make you relapse and then you have to start all over again.

Look at my ticker thing below. I have only been quit for just over 1 month so what you are going through is still VERY fresh in my mind. It sucks big time I know, I was just there recently. I can also tell you that it is not like that for me now. Sure, I still think about smoking here and there. Quit a bit actually but it isn't constant any longer and it's a lot easier to distract myself and just move on from those thoughts much more easily than it was initially. You will get to that point too. We all do. There's no set time frame as everyone progresses differently but what you are feeling right now will gradually get better and better. You just have to want it badly enough to get there ;)

[Doreensfree]

We could always use another chick... In the sticks and chicks game...

What better way to forget the cigs ...slapping the sticks..come and join us ...it's so much fun...

Ask R !!!....

[Reciprocity]

YES ... (from the resident Slap receiver) lol

[Colorado Rockies]

I'm going to share my experience with something that happened recently.  I haven't heard of it happening to anyone else but maybe it's because it was never correctly identified.

 

As smokers many of us developed esophagitis, GERD and the issues with the parts of our bodies that were constantly under attack from smoke.  A few weeks ago I was having all day cravings almost every single day and it was driving me crazy.  I was going to quit smoking forums and posting like crazy just to keep occupied enough to forget the cravings for a bit.  A doctor friend asked me if I had esophagitis and I told him I did and he told me that the feeling I'm having in my chest (sort of that "just swallowed too big of a bite of peanut butter sandwich stuck-in-the-middle-of-my-chest feeling that a craving also feels like) is what esophagitis flare ups feel like and that smoking masks the feeling but that you also mistaken it for wanting to smoke and "smoked the feeling away".  After a couple weeks it settled down.  Right now I still feel it a little, I may have to go get this fixed (easy outpatient surgery) because craving for more than a few minutes sucks but when it feels like all day long it's torture.

[Doreensfree]

Thanks for sharing CR...

I havnt heard this before...our bodies are truly amazing ..and even now I'm still learning about the damage of smoking..

When I smoked sometimes I felt like food got stuck and I felt I was choking...since quitting I havnt had it once..

I never connected it to my smoking..

[Reciprocity]

Haven't experience this myself but the most significant thing I have noticed since I quit is that my breathing has improved immensely and the "smoker's cough" and constantly clearing my throat when I talk to people has virtually disappeared even with just a month into my quit. This is the most valued benefit I have found so far. I could never taste or smell anything before or after my quit so no loss or gain there for me. We are all different I guess but it's interesting to hear what others are experiencing..

[Stewie]

I had 30 minutes cravings. I would take a shower, play with my dog and bite my hand. Anything worth it, and then i was good again. As long as you dont smoke youre good.

[ExTex]

If I am home when a craving hits, I make a cup of tea.  

That's a bit of a process for me, boiling the water, finding the teapot, cleaning up the mess under the honey jar (every damn time, I swear).

It was just enough to keep me away from a smoke until I could get passed craving.

 

At work, I just walk back to receiving and take inventory.  There is always something going on in receiving.

[Jackie]

I too didn't have just a couple minute craving my first few quits.  It was an all day every day thing that lurked in my head always.

 

However, I did learn that it's ok to just take a second...stuff your face in a pillow or go outside and just scream.  Get the frustration out and 9 times out of 10, you will laugh at yourself and feel better :).  I never believed people when they said you have to be ready to quit.  Once you are ready, the cravings or bad days still come, but you can kick them aside so much faster.

 

I'm also quite a fan of tea, sparkling water (makes me feel like i'm sneaking a pop), and JOLLY RANCHERS.  Always have something you can stick in your mouth. 

 

Last but not least, no matter how bad the craving or days may be, NEVER EVER tell yourself its ok to go to the store and buy a pack...that you just need "one"....this is never ok and will lead to millions more.  Don't fool yourself and keep the sane brain steady when bad moments hit.  However, do take the time to pat yourself on the back, buy a little something and be PROUD of yourself.  Every day, every hour, every second is a WIN and you should be proud!

[Doreensfree]

My punching pillow..I used a permanent marker to draw a face ..who???I'm not saying...o.m g

I would punch that pillow with everything I had...watching it fly through the air..usually made me laugh..

Crave over...

[Colorado Rockies]

What both of you are referring to can also be achieved with a Dammit Doll!  Check them out online :) 

[Doreensfree]

Oh I have to get one of those..I wish I had known about them back then,mine was more like this

[MarylandQuitter]

Well it's been said that the average craving is 3 min. On day 6 I have had a 5 hour craving!! I can get distracted for a bit, but it's this underlying urge all night. Grrrrr. I just keep saying nope!!

 

I don't want just one because that means a million. So what do you guys do to make the craving go away?

 

When I first quit I found that I could obsess about wanting to smoke, if I let myself.  You'll drive yourself loony if you fixate on this.  I expected to have craves.  Expect, Detect, Reject.  Turn your thoughts to something else and by that I mean do something physical.  I would get up and start doing something because it would force me to focus on what I was doing, instead of what I wasn't (smoking).  I can tell you that it doesn't take long before the craves do away, especially if you train your mind to deal with these unwanted thoughts.  :)

 

 

I Want One!

Video discusses how to stop the internal debate that often occurs after quitting.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHvi6dwLanA

 

Will I Ever Stop Thinking Of Cigarettes?

Most people overestimate how much of a battle staying smoke free will be once they quit smoking. This video discusses how people will generally stop thinking about smoking, and much sooner than they usually think.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8310BI-euJw&list=PL8EB359C247D3FE6C&index=13

 

Frequency And Duration Of Thoughts And Urges

Smokers often want others to tell them how many urges they are likely going to have when first quitting smoking, how strong will they be, how long will they last and will they face these urges for the rest of their lives. This video addresses these concerns and gives some practical advice as to how to deal with urges when and if they do occur.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuRQVdXv7Is&feature=em-upload_owner

[ChRiSpY]

DEEP BREATHING!!!  Count it out everytime....4-7-8... inhale to 4... hold for 7 and exhale for 8.

 

You can do it!!! 

[PorkandPancakes]

Hi. I haven't been around for a long while but spent the first 8 months of my quit close to this board. For craves, I would first acknowledge the craving saying to myself "oh, I am thinking of a cigarette. This is perfectly normal and to be expected. I am totally free to smoke if I so choose. I am not choosing to smoke. I choose to quit". I would then take a moment to feel the crave and tell myself "it doesn't actually hurt. I am feeling no pain. It is a slight discomfort and it will pass". And then you have to allow yourself to move on. Because quitting is a choice. Your choice. So own your quit and move on.

 

(And if none of that works, punch a pillow as Doorbell says!)

[bakon]

I put it in my head with NOPE and I didn't time anything. Any crave was the devil knocking on the door and that ffukkerr wasn't coming in. I said Nope a million times a day. My mind was made.

 

I was told each crave got weaker and I got stronger . So if I beat it first day, why would I give in any time after?

[Doreensfree]

Hi. I haven't been around for a long while but spent the first 8 months of my quit close to this board. For craves, I would first acknowledge the craving saying to myself "oh, I am thinking of a cigarette. This is perfectly normal and to be expected. I am totally free to smoke if I so choose. I am not choosing to smoke. I choose to quit". I would then take a moment to feel the crave and tell myself "it doesn't actually hurt. I am feeling no pain. It is a slight discomfort and it will pass". And then you have to allow yourself to move on. Because quitting is a choice. Your choice. So own your quit and move on.

(And if none of that works, punch a pillow as Doorbell says!)

Hi P+P..soooo good to see you...I think of you often....well when sausages are mentioned...

Never doubted your quit..don't be a stranger ....

[Dee]

I haven't heard of that either. I sometimes talk myself through the moment when I feel the craving. It is not so much a craving anymore as it is a thought. Thank God that at this point it is just a thought some days not at all. But then I breath deeply.

I am pretty faithful about hitting the gym during the week and weekends. So it helps me to say "I want to be able to work out and keep up" My son and sister want to do a mud run in June and this year I am going to be there with them. So I guess the best distraction is thinking of those things you enjoy doing and say I can't do that as a smoker. This site has helped allot as a distraction during the day to occupy those old smoke breaks. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL!