Grateful to know this community exists

[KSSilva23]

My quit date was two days ago, and I am a 25-year stress smoker. I can go for weeks/ months without a cigarette, but when under serious stress, I chain-smoke. I have been diagnosed with small lung nodules and have still struggled to kick the habit for good. I have a lot of shame and guilt around my "dirty secret," and am thankful to have a community of people to grow with and overcome this once and for all. 

[maryfreecig]

Welcome to Ex. Congratulations on quitting. Definitely stick with the community and feel free to share your story, comment and read as  you go. We might smoke seemingly for different reasons but we have an addiction in common. Keep working on your quit one day at a time. Yes you can.

[biscuit9]

Fellow nicotine addict here, Quit day 119.  So, you only smoke when you are stressed?   Have you read Allen Carr's book, Easyway?  I read it in the early days of my quit, and it helped me understand nicotine addiction.    I smoked for pleasure, so the nicotine told me, and apparently the nicotine is telling you, you need it for stress.  Smoking does not take away the stress though, that's the LIE the nicotine tells you.   You know this, of course.  Smoking did not make me happy, either, it was wrecking my health and when I did use it for stress, nicotine never solved a single problem.  

I wanted to give you credit for the TWO DAYS of no smoking!  Congratulations on that.  Keep going.

[KSSilva23]

Thank you so much, and I will look into that book. Yes, it certainly is a lie, and I ultimately feel worse every time I do it. I appreciate your support and encouragement. 🙂

[JohnRPolito]

Interesting.  So, do you consider yourself a chipper?  Have you ever been a regular smoker?  How many cigs did you smoke 3 days ago?

[KSSilva23]

I honestly just had to google the term, but I guess that is what I am. Maybe I was a regular smoker in high school/college, but quit for 5 years and then only started again after a very stressful situation. I smoked 8 cigarettes 3 days ago, which is a lot for me, but it had been 2.5 weeks before that. 

[Barbscloud]

@KSSilva23 Welcome to the Ex and congrats on our 2 days  of success.   

   Quitting can be difficult.  It's  so easy to begin a quit and then block out the reason we wanted to quit to begin with. That pretty much defines an addiction-the urge to do something that is hard to stop.  It will get easier, so be kind to yourself right now and listen to what your body needs  

I have numerous attempts at quitting and it finally took me 50 years to get it right.  What was different this time?  I had a quit date, an aid, a class and cut down for a week. Sounds like a road to success.  I was fortunate to find the Ex a week prior to my quit.  I learned about nicotine addiction and that I needed a plan that would prepare for what I was going to encounter on my journey.  And for the first time, I had the support of fellow quitters.

Take the time to learn how to do this.  Part of it is mindset and part of it is hands on work identifying triggers, what tools you'll use, what associations you'll create instead of smoking, etc.   Spend time on the site, getting a well as giving support.  The early days take commitment so why not have other quitters to help you deal with the up and downs of this journey.

This link is a great place to start

https://www.becomeanex.org/guides/?cid=footer_community_linktobex

We're here for you so reach out anytime we can help.    Going for walk is a great way to refocus your thinking and get an added boost of dopamine.   Spend time on the site when you need it the most 

Consider taking the Daily Pledge.  It's a great way to stay on track one day at a time, even the weekend.

Stay busy and stay close.

Barb

[KSSilva23]

Thank you so much for all the support and additional areas of reference. Quitting after 50 years is such an accomplishment!

[JohnRPolito]

Fascinating.  If I'm seeing this correctly, and you experience zero withdrawal other than use urges when stressed, it sure sounds like classical conditioning.  What's fascinating is that you're here in a quit smoking support group, when for you, cue extinction associated with a single trigger is all that's needed.

Also fascinating is your apparent long-held belief that smoking is a stressbuster when in fact smoking has never once in the history of the world fixed any underlying crisis.  If the tire was flat or the bill unpaid, there was no change.  What the nicotine-dependent person experiences when stressed is the onset of early withdrawal being added to the underlying stressful event, due to their kidneys accelerating the removal of nicotine from their bloodstream (see "Use relieves stress and anxiety" ).   Watch Joel's explanation. 

What may be happening with you is experiencing a cue-induced craving when stressed, with nicotine-induced dopamine blanketing the experience, while not satisfying any underlying chemical need.  Still, either way, it helps in appreciating why you're here.   

Read Joel's New Reactions to Anger as an Ex-smoker with the above in mind. Urine acidification aside, you still need to adjust to handling stress without smoking, in dealing with the underlying stressful event in a healthy manner.  It would seem that then you'd be better positioned to extinguish your stress-smoking trigger once and for all.  How do you do that?  Not by me suggesting it but by you addressing one stressful situation at a time while remaining nicotine free.  Hope this helps.

Breathe deep, hug hard, live long,

Jonn

[KSSilva23]

Thank you for the wealth of information and the additional links to review. I so appreciate!!