Dealing with anxiety and depression

[MN_Engineer]

Hi all,
I have tried quitting chew several times in my life. I usually chewed Grizzly wintergreen and I would say averaged around 1 can per day. I’m almost at 2 months in my most recent attempt. I’m very determined to quit because chewing seems to cause a lot of problems in my life.

At this point I was expecting the withdrawals to start to fade away, everything I’ve read online states that withdrawals don’t last more than a few weeks. Lately, I have been having a hard time dealing with depression and anxiety. Since I quit chew it seems like I fixate on certain things that used to not bother me. It’s causing issues in my relationship because I fixate on things my girlfriend does or does not do and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t have these concerns before I quit, but now I find myself second guessing the relationship.

Part of me thinks that my brain is trying to push everyone away just as an excuse to start chewing again. I’ve found that when life gets tough I tend to self isolate, and I’m unsure if withdrawals from chewing are sending me back to isolation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their quitting experience?

Welcome @Dancing Bear ! Glad you found us. I'd encourage you (if you haven't already) to join KTC on Discord. Follow this link for instructions: https://ktcforum.org/index.php?board=267.0

Our process here is not always easy but it is incredibly simple: Post a daily promise that you will not use nicotine in ANY form right away in the morning when you wake up and then keep that promise for 24 hours at a time.

What you describe is incredibly common and something almost every quitter deals with during their quit. I would caution you in regard to expected timelines related to craves, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc. Each person is different and our brains need time to rewire and heal. At 2 months in, you are still playing the mental game. Days ~60-80 for me where some of the most brutal of my quit. Join our community over on Discord which is very vibrant and active with people who are dealing with everything you are going through too.

One last note for now - don't hesitate to go to your doctor to talk about the depression/anxiety. I never dealt with those issues myself until further along in my quit. I eventually used CBD for a while and found a therapist to speak with on a regular basis. There is no shame in any of it but defer to your doctor to help you find a plan that is right for you.

Exactly. Just post roll.

^Don't ever listen to this guy. He has never bought into the system and certainly doesn't practice what he preaches. Ignore his trollish posts.

[BaylorGrad19]

Hi all,
I have tried quitting chew several times in my life. I usually chewed Grizzly wintergreen and I would say averaged around 1 can per day. I’m almost at 2 months in my most recent attempt. I’m very determined to quit because chewing seems to cause a lot of problems in my life.

At this point I was expecting the withdrawals to start to fade away, everything I’ve read online states that withdrawals don’t last more than a few weeks. Lately, I have been having a hard time dealing with depression and anxiety. Since I quit chew it seems like I fixate on certain things that used to not bother me. It’s causing issues in my relationship because I fixate on things my girlfriend does or does not do and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t have these concerns before I quit, but now I find myself second guessing the relationship.

Part of me thinks that my brain is trying to push everyone away just as an excuse to start chewing again. I’ve found that when life gets tough I tend to self isolate, and I’m unsure if withdrawals from chewing are sending me back to isolation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their quitting experience?

Welcome @Dancing Bear ! Glad you found us. I'd encourage you (if you haven't already) to join KTC on Discord. Follow this link for instructions: https://ktcforum.org/index.php?board=267.0

Our process here is not always easy but it is incredibly simple: Post a daily promise that you will not use nicotine in ANY form right away in the morning when you wake up and then keep that promise for 24 hours at a time.

What you describe is incredibly common and something almost every quitter deals with during their quit. I would caution you in regard to expected timelines related to craves, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc. Each person is different and our brains need time to rewire and heal. At 2 months in, you are still playing the mental game. Days ~60-80 for me where some of the most brutal of my quit. Join our community over on Discord which is very vibrant and active with people who are dealing with everything you are going through too.

One last note for now - don't hesitate to go to your doctor to talk about the depression/anxiety. I never dealt with those issues myself until further along in my quit. I eventually used CBD for a while and found a therapist to speak with on a regular basis. There is no shame in any of it but defer to your doctor to help you find a plan that is right for you.

Exactly. Just post roll.

[Keith0617]

Hi all,
I have tried quitting chew several times in my life. I usually chewed Grizzly wintergreen and I would say averaged around 1 can per day. I’m almost at 2 months in my most recent attempt. I’m very determined to quit because chewing seems to cause a lot of problems in my life.

At this point I was expecting the withdrawals to start to fade away, everything I’ve read online states that withdrawals don’t last more than a few weeks. Lately, I have been having a hard time dealing with depression and anxiety. Since I quit chew it seems like I fixate on certain things that used to not bother me. It’s causing issues in my relationship because I fixate on things my girlfriend does or does not do and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t have these concerns before I quit, but now I find myself second guessing the relationship.

Part of me thinks that my brain is trying to push everyone away just as an excuse to start chewing again. I’ve found that when life gets tough I tend to self isolate, and I’m unsure if withdrawals from chewing are sending me back to isolation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their quitting experience?

Welcome @Dancing Bear ! Glad you found us. I'd encourage you (if you haven't already) to join KTC on Discord. Follow this link for instructions: https://ktcforum.org/index.php?board=267.0

Our process here is not always easy but it is incredibly simple: Post a daily promise that you will not use nicotine in ANY form right away in the morning when you wake up and then keep that promise for 24 hours at a time.

What you describe is incredibly common and something almost every quitter deals with during their quit. I would caution you in regard to expected timelines related to craves, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc. Each person is different and our brains need time to rewire and heal. At 2 months in, you are still playing the mental game. Days ~60-80 for me where some of the most brutal of my quit. Join our community over on Discord which is very vibrant and active with people who are dealing with everything you are going through too.

One last note for now - don't hesitate to go to your doctor to talk about the depression/anxiety. I never dealt with those issues myself until further along in my quit. I eventually used CBD for a while and found a therapist to speak with on a regular basis. There is no shame in any of it but defer to your doctor to help you find a plan that is right for you.

@Dancing Bear   MNxEngineer speaks the truth. A few things to add would be to really focus on just quitting today. When I stopped thinking about quitting forever and just focused on quitting one day at a time it greatly reduced the stress. Drink a ton of water, get some exercise, understand your body is and will be going through a ton for a while, again - everyone is different. Also, try to get some extra rest even if it is for a short nap. Your body is working hard and doesn’t have the “boost” from nicotine in it anymore. Find positives in our quit. You should be support proud of yourself. The final thing I will add is make connections over on Discord. It is sooooooo much easier to quit with a group of fellow quitters than to attempt it alone. Different method of quitting just might yield a different result. Hit me up through messages if I can help either here or on Discord. Happy to partner with you to beat this addiction. 

[MN_Engineer]

Hi all,
I have tried quitting chew several times in my life. I usually chewed Grizzly wintergreen and I would say averaged around 1 can per day. I’m almost at 2 months in my most recent attempt. I’m very determined to quit because chewing seems to cause a lot of problems in my life.

At this point I was expecting the withdrawals to start to fade away, everything I’ve read online states that withdrawals don’t last more than a few weeks. Lately, I have been having a hard time dealing with depression and anxiety. Since I quit chew it seems like I fixate on certain things that used to not bother me. It’s causing issues in my relationship because I fixate on things my girlfriend does or does not do and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t have these concerns before I quit, but now I find myself second guessing the relationship.

Part of me thinks that my brain is trying to push everyone away just as an excuse to start chewing again. I’ve found that when life gets tough I tend to self isolate, and I’m unsure if withdrawals from chewing are sending me back to isolation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their quitting experience?

Welcome @Dancing Bear ! Glad you found us. I'd encourage you (if you haven't already) to join KTC on Discord. Follow this link for instructions: https://ktcforum.org/index.php?board=267.0

Our process here is not always easy but it is incredibly simple: Post a daily promise that you will not use nicotine in ANY form right away in the morning when you wake up and then keep that promise for 24 hours at a time.

What you describe is incredibly common and something almost every quitter deals with during their quit. I would caution you in regard to expected timelines related to craves, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc. Each person is different and our brains need time to rewire and heal. At 2 months in, you are still playing the mental game. Days ~60-80 for me where some of the most brutal of my quit. Join our community over on Discord which is very vibrant and active with people who are dealing with everything you are going through too.

One last note for now - don't hesitate to go to your doctor to talk about the depression/anxiety. I never dealt with those issues myself until further along in my quit. I eventually used CBD for a while and found a therapist to speak with on a regular basis. There is no shame in any of it but defer to your doctor to help you find a plan that is right for you.

[Dancing Bear]

Hi all,
I have tried quitting chew several times in my life. I usually chewed Grizzly wintergreen and I would say averaged around 1 can per day. I’m almost at 2 months in my most recent attempt. I’m very determined to quit because chewing seems to cause a lot of problems in my life.

At this point I was expecting the withdrawals to start to fade away, everything I’ve read online states that withdrawals don’t last more than a few weeks. Lately, I have been having a hard time dealing with depression and anxiety. Since I quit chew it seems like I fixate on certain things that used to not bother me. It’s causing issues in my relationship because I fixate on things my girlfriend does or does not do and it’s driving me crazy. I didn’t have these concerns before I quit, but now I find myself second guessing the relationship.

Part of me thinks that my brain is trying to push everyone away just as an excuse to start chewing again. I’ve found that when life gets tough I tend to self isolate, and I’m unsure if withdrawals from chewing are sending me back to isolation.

Has anyone else experienced something similar during their quitting experience?