i give up smoking but its making me cranky , moody and i m moaning alot

pottermanic

hi,

i stopped smoking over a month ago , i went to hypnosis. i havnt had a smoke since , but i really cranky and moody etc ,the people in work and my family are commenting about it. I feel guilty my behavior because i dont want to be arsehole in work.

ive started drinking lots of coffee , next week im going to stop the coffee..
anyways anyone else had the same thing happen to them? what did they do? how long did it last for?

Zen65

Hi OP,

congratulations for breaking the habit. So many people try and fail, you should rightly feel good about yourself.

My experience of others who have given up is that they are likely to be a bit moody for a couple of months, but it passes. Remember that non-smokers don't feel the need to smoke to settle their nerves or calm them, so it is logical that once all of the nicotine has left your system you won't feel that urge either. A lot of the "urge" is simply habit, and like any habit it is formed by your actions, so as you continue to abstain you will acquire the habit of not smoking.

Go easy on the coffee, it can have similar addictive properties.


Be at peace,

Z

mercer

the way you're feeling is perfectly normal. nicotine is an anti-depressant, so without it you may feel down or depressed. also when you smoke you increase the dopamine or reward pathways in the brain. you can go to your doctor who may prescribe you a mild anti-depressant to get you over the hump. don't replace one addiction with another - ie the coffee, thats not healthy.
its important to take the good days with the bad. giving up smoking is an important decision to make in terms of your health, you are doing the right thing, just keep reminding yourself that. best of luck!

Katgurl

Hey op,

firstly well done that is fantastic. There is nothing like celebrating nonsmoking anniversaries. Don't worryabout the short-term probs, it's fantastic feeling when you realise you no longer are victim of your cravings.

In terms of advice - start swimming and ideally also running. I swam and swam when I quit and I can't recommend it highly enough. The saunas help too, dunno why but they do. I started running a few months later and I can honestly say it would never enter my head to reach for a cigarette now.

Best of luck and stick with it.

cbyrd

it's a great achievement to quit smoking.. it's more addictive than a lot of heavy drugs and so hard to quit.. I'll be 8 years off them on january 15th.. and the odd time i still get a craving or i have a dream that i was smoking and it's so real i wake up disappointed..
The first stage is the hardest.. it takes 3 weeks for the nicotine to leave your system completely.. this is when the craving is at it's strongest, after that it's sheer willpower that'll keep you going.. i was a complete monster for about 2 months.. when it was over i apologised to everyone and most people gave me benefit of a wide berth and understanding..
something that works for one person mighnt' work for another..find something that relaxes you and do that..it could be exercise or painting.. for me it was housework.. i had a spotless house for about 8 months.. then i got a life again