Getting through a craving

[Thyme]

Last night my husband was in the garage and I went out there to ask him a question. In the beginning of my quit I was incredibly firm about not putting myself in situations where I could see or smell cigarettes. Anyway, yesterday I went out there and he was smoking a cigarette. It smelled really good to me. I got out of there and went back inside. I read my journal from my last night smoking and what it was really like, which took away my desire. But this morning I woke up with a craving. Not a hard core physical craving like I had when first quitting, but just kind of remembering waking up and smoking a cigarette with my coffee and how much I used to enjoy that and bounce out of bed in the morning. I drank some water and took a lozenge and read my reasons for quitting and got on the ex and read some blogs and took some deep breaths and those feelings have passed. All the tools I have learned here! But I was surprised to be having a craving/having those thoughts because I’ve pretty much felt like I’m over smoking for a while.

[YoungAtHeart]

The "out of the blue" cravings usually occur when you have an association with the time/place/circumstance.  Even after more than 11 years quit, I still might get a thought when I take a break from raking leaves, or when I go down to the water's edge at the beach to watch a sunrise, "gee, a cigarette would be nice right now."  Since I know there can never be "just one,"  they are easier to dismiss than earlier in my quit, but still there nonetheless.

You did GOOD to use your tools!  As you get more time under your belt, even if they still might be there, those thoughts are easy to dismiss with just a shake of the head.  This is a tenacious addiction, and we will always be addicts.  

Stay vigilant!  Stay committed!  

Nancy

[biscuit9]

ALL of what Nancy  @YoungAtHeart said.  My last hard craving I had around day 30, out of the blue as far as I was concerned.  I was watching a playoff baseball game on TV (for the first time without a cig) and the crave came AFTER the game was over.  I had celebrated every sporting wins/losses with a smoke.  Never underestimate the power of the memory of nicotine receptors.  They can lay dormant for many years and be awakened fairly easily.  What helped me was yelling I DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE!

I also want to commend you for quitting with a smoker in the house.  It is an extra challenge and you are managing it very well.  Not easy, but maybe you can help some of the quitters that come here and feel helpless and powerless to quit with a smoker in the home.  Stay vigilant and do not smoke.

[Barbscloud]

@Thyme

I suspect you've heard about this before, but just in case.

No Mans Land Days 30 to 130 (approximate) - EX Community

Someone smoking a cigarette  still smells good to me.  There are memories in our brain that have established receptor connections.  It takes time to re-program those connections.

You're doing fabulous with a smoker  close by, so be proud of your accomplishment. Keep using those tools that are working for you.

Stay busy and stay close.

Barb

[maryfreecig]

You saw it, you dealt with it, you shared your experience with other quitters...you are working your quit. The weird attachment to nicotine (because of the years of addiction) takes time to go away. Great work on focusing on what matters most to you. The day will come when you no longer find a loyalty of sorts to smoking. But it's always one day at a time IMO!!! Today is a great day to be smober! Congratulations on all your wins.

[champsin97]

It will get easier to dismiss those cravings the longer your quit goes.  I had a pretty big craving when I was out last night but was able to just shrug it off without a second thought.  FWIW I am currently in No Mans Land.  You just gotta have that "I'm not smoking" mindset.

[CommunityAdmin]

So happy for you @Thyme for using your tools to stay quit! Good for you!

Quiana, EX Team

[Thyme]

Thanks so much for all the support and advice!! Here I am, on a new day, still smoke free, and proud of myself for not smoking. I know from many failed quits the guilt and shame and remorse that comes as soon as that first cigarette is out, sometimes while it’s still lit, and I also know from giving up previous quits that after having been quit for a while and not being in withdrawal anymore, that first cigarette wouldn’t even give me that “ah” feeling I’m remembering. It would just taste bad and make my lungs feel bad, and yet still suck me back in and eventually lead to another and another.

[biscuit9]

@Thyme   The beauty of being 30 days free of nicotine, is that you should be more 'rational' in your thinking.  If you had walked out on day 3 in the garage, you MIGHT have given in to the temptation.  Being 30 days out, you have TOOLS that you have used and that have worked for you.  You were able to rationalize your way out of smoking, "it's not gonna taste good", "lungs will hurt", etc.

[Giulia]

What a gathering of wonderful responses you've received.  And I echo what they've all said.  You should be so darn proud of yourself for staying true to your commitment.  Brava!  Keep doing what you're doing and you will never lose another quit.  You're in teaching mode now and setting a great example!

Something I wrote a while back still holds true today:

In my journey I thought that once I reached a certain “place,” a certain point, I’d suddenly be free of cravings forever. That I’d somehow cross a special Quit Craving Line where all cravings ceased. But like the International Date Line or the earth’s time zones - there’s no out of body experience. You don’t notice a thing when you cross from Eastern to Central to Pacific Time. Nor do you feel a thing when your cross the Continental Divide. There is no fixed date in Quitland when all cravings are gone forever. Nor is there an amount of time of being quit when you will never experience a craving again.

Talk to any long-term quitter and they will tell you to always watch your back. Why? Because from experience they know that sometime, somehow, somewhere, when you least expect it the Candid Camera of cravings will come upon you. And you’d better be prepared.